Cp1
04-21-2008, 11:21 AM
So this might seem pretty silly to some of you guys here to have a tech article on just the upper and lower intake manifolds but for the sake of removing emissions completely i think it worth a look.
When you do either a non-sequential conversion or the complete removal of emissions (Kevin Landers offers on his non sequential tech, that doing one without the other is actually a waste of time and i agree) you may go one of two ways and use either a block off plate kit to plug all the ports on the upper and lower manifolds or a much more involved route of welding the ones that matter shut. this is important to know because if you weld them (like i will show you) you DO NOT WANT TO WELD EVERYTHING because you will create pockets of permanently trapped air. which heats up and may cause localized heating to your nice cool intake air or it may expand and crack the intake. the possibility of that is small but why not take some precautions.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/2430832019_5eefba2221.jpg?v=0
In the picture above ive labeled where all these ports go a-a, b-b, etc.
You can see that it is only necessary to shut the bottom ports because as you know heat will rise and therefore escape out the top. the most heat will come from the exhaust manifold/turbo which is next to most of these ports.
from that photo the only two ports needed to be shut are B(which travels to your EGR Valve on the opposite side) and C (which goes to your airpump solenoid assembly)
With those closed youll want to make sure you use either a long flat belt sander with a very fine grit to make sure you level the mating surface again before you mount it back to your engine.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2290/2430831853_85f84e010f.jpg?v=0
The out side of the manifold will look like the photo above now you can see that it is only necessary to close off the right hand side of the port where 'B' has been labeled. this is normally where your EGR valve is and the left side is where spent Exhaust gas is coming from and the right is where it will be dumped back into your intake. if you take a good look into that right hand port you will see very small holes drilled out into each of the minor Diameter intake runners. it is not necessary to close those little holes just the big one you can see them through.
if you want to go one step farther like i did i actually ground off a lot of the casting that i didnt need with a sharp BALL-END MILL and a die grinder. this picture will show you what i did:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2430831917_16df9b0ee6.jpg?v=0
After bead blasting that will look great so dont worry about looks right now. You'll also notice that ports labeled 'A' and 'D' dont go anywhere when you remove stuff so theres really no need to block them off is there? nope so just leave it.
Now for the Upper. if you plan on doing a full on conversion and removing your double throttle and youve still got that tig handy you might as well try blocking some more stuff.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2430831427_64df6afc7f.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2430831351_7aeab01b66.jpg?v=0
Youll notice the filled in spot below the hose there used to be for the PCV system and since i didnt need the two extra little ports above it those went too. BE CAREFUL though youll want to think this through because if you remove all the little vacuum lines that go to your intake you wont have anywhere to attach accessories like a boost gauge or vacuum meter. so leave enough of them for expansion. or youll be looking for a new upper intake manifold.
You should also note the amount of grinding i have done removing excess casting left over from the conversion. this is how clean it looks (almost like factory) after a slight bead blasting.
you dont have to go crazy just take your time and plan things out. The old adage measure twice weld once applies more than ever.
Hope that help in your quest to map things out.
When you do either a non-sequential conversion or the complete removal of emissions (Kevin Landers offers on his non sequential tech, that doing one without the other is actually a waste of time and i agree) you may go one of two ways and use either a block off plate kit to plug all the ports on the upper and lower manifolds or a much more involved route of welding the ones that matter shut. this is important to know because if you weld them (like i will show you) you DO NOT WANT TO WELD EVERYTHING because you will create pockets of permanently trapped air. which heats up and may cause localized heating to your nice cool intake air or it may expand and crack the intake. the possibility of that is small but why not take some precautions.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/2430832019_5eefba2221.jpg?v=0
In the picture above ive labeled where all these ports go a-a, b-b, etc.
You can see that it is only necessary to shut the bottom ports because as you know heat will rise and therefore escape out the top. the most heat will come from the exhaust manifold/turbo which is next to most of these ports.
from that photo the only two ports needed to be shut are B(which travels to your EGR Valve on the opposite side) and C (which goes to your airpump solenoid assembly)
With those closed youll want to make sure you use either a long flat belt sander with a very fine grit to make sure you level the mating surface again before you mount it back to your engine.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2290/2430831853_85f84e010f.jpg?v=0
The out side of the manifold will look like the photo above now you can see that it is only necessary to close off the right hand side of the port where 'B' has been labeled. this is normally where your EGR valve is and the left side is where spent Exhaust gas is coming from and the right is where it will be dumped back into your intake. if you take a good look into that right hand port you will see very small holes drilled out into each of the minor Diameter intake runners. it is not necessary to close those little holes just the big one you can see them through.
if you want to go one step farther like i did i actually ground off a lot of the casting that i didnt need with a sharp BALL-END MILL and a die grinder. this picture will show you what i did:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2430831917_16df9b0ee6.jpg?v=0
After bead blasting that will look great so dont worry about looks right now. You'll also notice that ports labeled 'A' and 'D' dont go anywhere when you remove stuff so theres really no need to block them off is there? nope so just leave it.
Now for the Upper. if you plan on doing a full on conversion and removing your double throttle and youve still got that tig handy you might as well try blocking some more stuff.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2430831427_64df6afc7f.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2430831351_7aeab01b66.jpg?v=0
Youll notice the filled in spot below the hose there used to be for the PCV system and since i didnt need the two extra little ports above it those went too. BE CAREFUL though youll want to think this through because if you remove all the little vacuum lines that go to your intake you wont have anywhere to attach accessories like a boost gauge or vacuum meter. so leave enough of them for expansion. or youll be looking for a new upper intake manifold.
You should also note the amount of grinding i have done removing excess casting left over from the conversion. this is how clean it looks (almost like factory) after a slight bead blasting.
you dont have to go crazy just take your time and plan things out. The old adage measure twice weld once applies more than ever.
Hope that help in your quest to map things out.