The Project Pad

AngryTaco wrote:On a good note...the 034 Fuel rail and brackets showed up today!

Will this hold the cis injectors in? Or just for efi?

DE80q wrote:Remember Jared, step one to solving any problem is admitting you have one.

(Raises hand) "Hi, my name is Jared, and I have CIS."

not for much longer! CIS is only a gateway drug. he will be going to the harder stuff very soon.

also I hate how the 20v EM is set up. you have to jump through too many hoops to just get the turbo off. FYI in the future, its much easier to leave it all bolted together and pull it all with the head all at once. just remove the intake and unbolt the DP. then remove the rest on the bench. reverse is also much faster when installing.

You got CIS? Ohhhhhh, that sounds nasty.

CIS is a pain when it doesn't work, when you want more power that it can fuel, or when trying to work on that side of the engine. I with Dave, it's much easier pulling the head with the exhaust manifold attached. I have to say, however, I have been commuting with the CIS stock Coupe GT with 181k on the odometer and it runs like a top. Barely hit the starter and it fires right up hot or cold and just settles right into an 800rpm idle. When it works it works well. I'm still a fan of CIS except for the limit on how much power it can fuel.

AngryTaco wrote:On a good note...the 034 Fuel rail and brackets showed up today!

Freakin A. Now get the VEMS!

quattro87 wrote:CIS is a pain when it doesn't work, when you want more power that it can fuel, or when trying to work on that side of the engine. I with Dave, it's much easier pulling the head with the exhaust manifold attached. I have to say, however, I have been commuting with the CIS stock Coupe GT with 181k on the odometer and it runs like a top. Barely hit the starter and it fires right up hot or cold and just settles right into an 800rpm idle. When it works it works well. I'm still a fan of CIS except for the limit on how much power it can fuel.

Well put. I love CIS! The 4ktq was extremely reliable and after learning more about it I found it pretty easy to troubleshoot when stuff went awry. I got great mileage with it and the car was dead reliable. I guess I prefer the fail-safe'ness that OEM ECU's provide.
For now I let the experts and ones with deep pockets have fun with EFI...the projects are a hoot to keep up with. Someday...

I know the extent of the damage now. #1 and #2 exhaust valves are bent. Doesnt seem to be any other damage which seems weird because it sure sounded like air was coming back out the intake. Maybe I was just hearing the exhaust?

On another note, all the exhaust studs had backed off to some point. So at least that is getting fixed along with other small items. More extensive port work is planned for this weekend. I thought I had port matched the exhaust in the head but looks like either my gaskets were off or I decided against it for some reason. Either way the exhaust ports are going to be opened up and possibly coated along with the EM

Oh yeah. WHAT A BITCH TO REMOVE THE HEAD

Make sure you check all the other exhaust valves for straightness. Usually, in my experience, if while running the belt breaks or jumps timing, it bends all the exhaust valves. The smaller diameter intakes usually fare a bit better. Pull them all out of the head and roll them on a known flat surface to check for straightness or chuck them up in the lathe and indicate them. At the very least pull the cam, turn the head upside down and fill the chambers with a liquid and make sure the valves to seat are sealed. It doesn't have to be but barely bent to have the valve to seat cocked enough to leak. Get ur done!!

^^ THIS^^

Excellent Idea John. I think you meant to say larger intakes though. Exhaust valves are smaller

Btw. Whats a good solvent to soak the lifters in while they are out sitting? Wouldnt mind cleaning them

ATF has detergents in it. and its a light oil. Id say that would work great.

FYI, ive used ATF to clean lifters while the engine was running.

:stupid:

Yea you are right in that the intakes are the larger valve. It seems like the exhausts are the ones that bend first however. They must line up a bit closer to the squish area of the piston or something.

EM is in machine shop. Getting coated tomorrow and curing over the weekend. Gonna order the valves tomorrow after I pour water into the chambers to verify the seal quality in each one.

Damage $$$ is now known.

WIthout the machine work on the EM and Ceramic coat, I will be into the fix about $230-250.
Add $200 for machine work and Ceramic coat (optional).

How many bent valves?

FYI, another way to check would be to lap the valves and check if the pattern is even all the way around. If you do the water test let it sit for an hour or two, sometimes the water will seep out really really slowly if there is only a thin gap. Sometimes you can see a really thin gap by shining a bright light inside the port and looking for a thin line of light between the valve and seat on the combustion chamber side.

Good Luck!

GTJeff wrote:How many bent valves?

From what I can see obviously, there are 2 bent exhaust valves. I will know more tonight as the day drags on

3 chambers hold water



Chamber number 1


Chamber number 2


That's a .035" feeler gauge




There is some very minor piston damage on the lower portion of this picture. Doesn't look fresh, maybe something found its way in there?
Dont think I need to worry about it

Exhaust manifold has been trued

Looks good man! Keep at it!!!

I put an ad out for a set of MC2 pistons. I honestly hate the bottom end throttle response. I figure the minor knock damage is reason enough to swap em out. Guess it wouldnt hurt to internally balance the rotating assembly either

Welcome to the slippery slope of project scope creep

Oh well lol. I just pulled a set of MC2 pistons and connecting rods for $35