Need some 5SFE upgrade advice

[Tred]

you could always to i/h/e and poly motor mounts, that made all the differnce with my old 5sfe, as far as cleaning the engine bay up, if you have $50 and a lot of time you can do what i did below, but theres many hours into it....




ps, thanks petc

[sickof5sfe]

yeah I was planning on that...if you could list the tools you used and what you did that would be a super help...

[TomsMR2]

cams cams cams. go straight to cams, skip everything else first. grab a used head for 20 bucks or whatever and get regrinds put in, port it out yourself then shim it and install it as a package.

the stock cams are a bad joke. the 5sfe could have EASILY been a 160hp factory motor with more torque than it has, just with a few minor changes and real cams.

[VeilsideMR2]

wow tred, thats a clean engine bay... what exactly did u have done to ur old 5sfe and how did u clean it up so nice?? my 5sfe engine is completley stock and looks like garbage lol...

[sickof5sfe]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

cams cams cams. go straight to cams, skip everything else first. grab a used head for 20 bucks or whatever and get regrinds put in, port it out yourself then shim it and install it as a package.

the stock cams are a bad joke. the 5sfe could have EASILY been a 160hp factory motor with more torque than it has, just with a few minor changes and real cams.

why would i want to get a used head? are you talking about a 3SGTE head? Oh and what exactly is shimming? I'm sure i'll know what it is when i have an actual definition.

[te51levin]

Not a 3SGTE head, but another head just like the one already on your car. Tom is suggesting you buy a second head and modify it before you dismantle your engine. That way you can install the second, modified head, with the new cams, all in one operation.

Valve clearance is adjusted with shims of different thicknesses. Assuming you modify the head by porting under the valves and recutting the seats (this is where the most gains are typically had), you'll need to reset valve lash. Changing to different cams will also require you to reset the valve lash. If you buy that second head, port it, and set the valve lash with the new cams before the parts are installed on the car, you will be able to install everything at once rather than doing it one step at a time.

If you choose to port your own head, by all means study up on it first. Most newbies start by opening up the ports where they enter and leave the head, and there is little or nothing to be gained by doing that (in fact it usually makes things worse)...

[sickof5sfe]

yeah i don't know how to do a whole lot of that shit...i know how to port, but recutting the seats and reseting valve lash...i don't know how to do that

[te51levin]

I don't mean to slight you, but if you don't know how to adjust valves, you probably don't have nearly enough experience to know how to port heads. Porting heads is emphatically NOT just hogging outthe holes where the manifolds bolt on. It is the scince and art of changing the shape of the port to optimize airflow, and most of that is pretty tricky stuff that the untrained eye might not even recognize. By all means get the advice of an expert - a real expert, not an unshaven mullethead who sweeps the floor at the local 350s-R-us rebuilder - before you ruin an otherwise useful cylinder head.

I don't mean any insult here, but if you're that new to mechanical things, you need to be especially cautious.

[Mister2.2]

As an unshaven floor sweeping mullethead, I take offense to that.

Aaron is right though, listen to him.

[wesnemo]

Good luck. I've been pursuing the mysterious $20.00 used stock head for months now. I've heard them described here and on the other board, but like the grail they never materialize despite the vast number of pms sent.

It's good advice though. I have to make time to go to a u-pull it.

[VeilsideMR2]

is there any1 you can go to to get this done if you cant do it yourself?
Also, wuts that EFI thing Tred has on his car? is it an upgrade from stock???

[runabout93]

Ask around locally... just call up garages. When you hear the same person consistently... there's your man.

EFI = Electronic Fuel Injection... it's on my intake too. If it's not on yours, it might be a 93+ 5sfe thing? I'm not sure.

[sickof5sfe]

Originally Posted by te51levin

I don't mean to slight you, but if you don't know how to adjust valves, you probably don't have nearly enough experience to know how to port heads. Porting heads is emphatically NOT just hogging outthe holes where the manifolds bolt on. It is the scince and art of changing the shape of the port to optimize airflow, and most of that is pretty tricky stuff that the untrained eye might not even recognize. By all means get the advice of an expert - a real expert, not an unshaven mullethead who sweeps the floor at the local 350s-R-us rebuilder - before you ruin an otherwise useful cylinder head.

I don't mean any insult here, but if you're that new to mechanical things, you need to be especially cautious.

No insult taken...i'm only 18 and i'm in school right now for auto technical...so right now i'm keeping the 5S as a daily driver and hope to put in the turbo motor about a year or so from now...most of that stuff i know i'll be going over and i don't plan on spending huge $ on the slow ass 5S... i know that gains can be had from modifying the head...but it's not worth it imo since it won't improve it dramatically...