Looking for detailed instructions on how to do this guys . I would like to do this on my Christmas break while Im off from school and its parked for awhile .I have been looking for some detailed instructions on how to do this for a 2.8 mpfi and have had no luck .Anyone know any links where this is or have instructions on their webpage ? Thanx as always guys .Wayne

 

To do what? polish, slight port?

Easy take off the upper and intermediate pleniums.
top is a cake walk. Intermidete is more involved. Release pressure off fuel line. remove fuel return and feed lines. remove feed block(mine had 3 funky allen bolts. carefull on those I almost snapped one!). steady pull on the injector assembly and the whole thing will pop out. After that you can get the rest of the lower bolts.

I used my dremel and 160 grit 1/4 inch drums. I think I used about 16-20 of the damn things.

 

Did you notice an increase in power after you did this ? That might seem like a stupid question , but ya know people do mod sometimes and dont feel results ...Wayne ..Thanx

 

Well yes and no. Above 3k it seemed to pull alittle more. But what helped in conjustion with that was converting my air pump into a vacuum pump. Talk about a kick at 3K on the nose it seems.
With the open K&N I could hear alot more vacuum through the intake tube, It seemed to lope a little even(Maybe my imagination) but yeah I feel a little. I should have gone to a finer grit and spent more time on it though. I only spent maybe 3-4 hours doing it, I know I missed a few spots. I will probly take the thing off again and do it all over again this winter sometime. And spend a good 3-4 days doing it instead of 3-4 hours.

 

I'm going to do this as soon as they get hot tanked. I have an extra top plenum, have removed the 2.8 circle & will put in a small firebird emblem from a 77 T/A in it's place ( the outside b-pillar ones), fill in the gap & see how it looks.I will either paint the plenums or polish them up, havn't decided yet.

 

While you have the time polish it
I made a custom emblem for mine.



[This message has been edited by 85SportCoupeto89RS (edited November 30, 2001).]

 

Thanx guys ! ...Looks good 85sportcoupto89 .Looks real good . This maybe a stupid question , but what kinda polish do you use on the inside of the plenum ? outside ? Wayne

 

On the inside and outside I used some Chemical grease from work,Ill try to find where they get it.Also on the outside I used cloth wheels,running at about 4000 rpms.For the inside I used 120,300,500 grit sanding rolls with a die grinder that runs at 22,000 rpms.

 

85SportCoupeto89RS,

I have been working on doing what you have done to your intake and I was wondering how did you get all of the grit (the small bumps) off the out side of the intake?

 

I used a 6" grinding wheel.After that I used a dual action sander with 320 grit sanding disks.Then I used the cloth polishing wheels.

 

anybody need an extra intake to do this with so you don't have to take yours off until your ready to swap?

------------------
mrrjjdh03@aol.com moderator at www.fl-thirdgen.org

 

Thanks! I been trying to snad it by hand (man that takes a long time). Now I have a Craftsman rotary tool so mabye it will go by a bit faster. I will try the grinding wheel though.


I found a spare intake at the parts yar for $11.00. both uper and middle. So I don't have to yank mine.

 

Damn, 85SportCoupe, that looks hot! I like the custom logo, too... nice job!

Did you clear coat the plenum after you polished it, or wax it, or anything?

------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

When I polished mine I just used a wire brush attachment on my drill... Talk about taking off the oxidation though....

 

When I polished mine I just used a wire brush attachment on my drill... Talk about taking off the oxidation though.... The outside of the plenium that is

 

Thanks TomP
I'm going to take it back off to repolish it and put a clear coat on the plenum.I'm going to get the greattest shine I can outta it.

------------------
lol now it needs paint and an int.

 

I,m using the wire wheel on the bench grinder, and the results are excellent. Will need to get the wheel for the drill though. The firebird emblem sits nicely in the hole. will do that after hot tanking. whether it comes out as good as 85SportCoupeto89RS intake is yet to be seen.

 

I wonder if I can get these same kinda results with a dremol ? :grin: maybe worth a try huh ? Wayne

 

I wonder if I can get these same kinda results with a dremol ? :grin: maybe worth a try huh ? Wayne

 

sorry didnt mean to double post ...

 

the little dremel wire wheel didn't do allthat much for me, in fact, it changed the tint onwhat the bench grider shined up. of course, things always go different for me.

 

Yeah i tried using my craftsman rotary and it did was polish the bumps. If you could get a stiffer, and I mean a lot stiffer wire brush for these things it would work. For now I'm going to go the wire brush on the drill idea. After all it will cover more surface area in one pass any ways.

Does any one know what it would take to hot tnk parts at home? I don't have the cash to send anything out to be hot tanked. Or what could I use to clean the inside of it easily.

 

Don't Laugh UNTIL YOU USE THIS!
Easy Off Oven Cleaner.
IN THE UPPER, you will see lots of carbon.
I hot tanked mine MANY TIMES, to get it clean.
MANY TIMES,
The middle is easy as is the bottom.
FOR PORTING,
YOU NEED 20,000 RPM'S
AND A VERY GOOD AIR SUPPLY RESERVE.
Really, I waited many years until I could port and polish my stuff.
That was when I finally got my hands on teh right tool.
Electronically?
I DO NOT KNOW of ANY tools.
That tool will cost $$.
Then factor in the bits.
Air tools are the best. PERHAPS a LOCAL GAS STATION will let you hook up to their air tank if you supply tools & cash.

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

I'm not looking at doing a port and polish just yet. I just wanted to polish the outside and clean the carbon out of the insdie while I was there. It's completly black inside. I'll use the oven cleaner and see how it works. I'm also considering cleaning the throtle body also. Is this a good idea, or am I messing with some ting I shouldn't?

The rotary tool I have is adjustable and has a max speed of 35,000 RPM. So I have RPM part down. Sence this is a spare intake I may just give it a shoot and see how it works. My only problem is finding the right stones to use. The ones that came with it don't seem to do jack. The get coated with metal with in a couple of seconds of use. I'm thinking that I might need a corse stone instead of the smoth one it came with. So for now I am useing the cutter bit to remove the flashing from the outside of the intake. It appears to be working great.

 

Karl , you have some good ideaus man ! Air tools ? I have an air compressor .One of those expensive ones you buy at sears or somewhere .I inherited it from my grandfather .Its brand new hardly been used .Its one of those $300-500 dollor ones .I will have to look into this "air method" Im starting to get set-up nicely to work on cars though .I have my ramps to work underneath the car , two jacks .alot of tools ,creeper ...blah blah...And I could still be dangerous in the sears tool dept guys ...Karl , How do you hot tank ? ..Thanx bud ...and thanx again guys , Wayne

 

My $20 bench grinder (from big lots) takes off the flashing pretty dam good. As for hot tanking, I can get mine done for $30, just gotto find the place Did a little experimenting on the exhaust manifold, dremel tool & stone works pretty good smoothing it out.
Q: anyone have any info onthe different p/n on the bottom of the upper manifolds? My 85 & the spare 86 have completley different numbers.

[This message has been edited by Project: 85 2.8 bird (edited December 04, 2001).]

 

As far as soaking to clean carbon. A good rubbermaid container and a few gallons of gas. The best method. Breakes down EVERYTHING oily. After a few days in that hit it with brake/parts cleaner to get out the residue. It'll come out lookin like a brand new penny. Wire brush it, polish the inside and then saok it again overnight. After that then spray it down again and take the polishing wheel to it.

 

What's hot tanking.
SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES.
WHAT I AM FORTUNATE TO USE.....
is basically a "Dishwasher" type unit.
I throw parts onto a "tray", it spins inside a big empty box, with lots of pressurized water different angles thrown at it.
What does this guy use for "removing agent"?
Common laundry soap.
I've used "Easy Off" OFTEN. The stronger the usage, the better the initial results.
GOOD ALSO IS KEROSENE

I STRONGLY DO NOT FAVOR "Soaking in Gasoline".
Keresene is just as effective and slightly less voliatile.
But, soaking is the word.
Different part numbers?
That's GM for ya. If it looks the same, 9 times outta 10, it ends up being the same.
PERHAPS you'll notice the part number is assending, so it's just some GM modification used for whatever reason they needed.
Like how many GM produced cast iron 4 bbl small block chevy maifolds are there? Enough to fill websters dictionary!
IF YA REALLY WANNA GET "INSIDE" THE MANIFOLD buy many parts cleaning brushes, used for differnt purposes.
I just kept trying to get my upper clean, and I had to accept the level I got it clean. I was on a time budget.

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Karl , I was just checking out my air compressor .Its a blackmax 3and 1/2 horsepower ,13 gallon tank .Not as expensive as I thought it was but still a good one I think .What are some air-tools that I could use ? ....Wonder what this thing runs in the 1/4 ? it just doesn't have 3 hp it has 3 and 1/2 ....Wayne

 

I used hydroflouric acid to clean mine when I rebuilt my motor. My dad used it to clean the outside of his aluminum dump trailer. They shined quite nicely and it didn't take much work.

 

Karl,

Hot tanking is when they use a heated solution of some kind. I'm not sure exactly what they use, but it normally only takes about 3 - 4 hours to get it completly clean.

For me though I will go the oven cleaner and bottle brush route. It sounds a lot cheaper and I can do it my self. I've been quoted $30 dollars and up for a good hot tanking. Oven cleaner and some baby bottle brushes should come to less then $10.00.

 

Yea, my Buddy refers to it as a parts washer, too.
Still real handy.
GO GET GUN CLEANING BRUSHES.
Baby brushes, effective, BUT NOT STRONG.
It's a real pain to get that upper thing cleaned out.
I also ended up using a screwdriver to chip out some stuff, too.

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

I bet mine is REALLY ganna be a pain seeing its got 182k miles on it .Yeah , I have a new engine , but not plenum , they just put the old one back on ....But I cant wait to get started , might even get started on it tuesday .I figured I will take the injectors out and send them to Rich at cruzin performance .
Wayne

 

Not to be a killjoy here, but don't waste a boatload of time on cleaning the inside of the plenum... it's just going to get dirty again. If you have carbon 1/4" thick, then yeah, clean it out! But, the normal extra 1/32" or so of crap isn't hurting performance enough to spend weeks on cleaning out the plenum, in my opinion. In other words.. if you've got the tools, and got the plenum and intake off, why not put most of your work towards porting something instead? That's power gained that will stick around.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

Thanx so much for that advice Tom .

 

The intake I got from scrap yard has some much carbon you would swear it was made out the stuff! IT was the only one I found there. When porting these intakes is it a good idea to only do a gasket match? Or what is the best way to get the best performance?