How-To: VTCS Removal and Porting

what would happen if the holes were the rod was are not plugged and left open? will it mess up the performance it is supposed to give??
 
You have to plug the one hole that leads to the outside air or you will have a massive vacuum leak and your car will not right right at all. As far as the inner holes, I don't think it will make a whole lot of diffrence. Might disrupt airflow slightly, but probably a negligible amount.
 
Yeah...the hole that leads outside i pluged it...but since i did that mod my car feels slower, mostly in lower RPM and it take a lot more time to get to 6.5kRPMs...don't know...anyways i have to chek out because it turned on the CEL and when installing the IM i janked a sensor and dont know what kind of sensor it is...thanx anyways
 
What do you mean you janked it, you broke it, removed it or what? What did it look like?
Anyways, yeah getting that code read should help diagnose the problem.
Is your VICS hooked back up and in working order? A while after doing my IM, I noticed a crack in the vacuum line leading to my VICS actuator. Without VICS, you lose a lot of lower end grunt. You could also have a vacuum leak at the mating surface of the IM if you weren't careful about tearing the crappy gaskets, or if it was not torqued down properly.
 
How tough is it to get the IM off the car and back on ? I was in the process of doing the porting on my donor manifold and was looking at the holes on the bottom (under the VTCS) flange. It looks like the 2 on the outsides will be a b****. Please someone tell me it's not that hard to get to em.........
 
It's a b****. :p You will probably need a 3", 6", and 9" extension at least to get all the spots. Depending on your ability and toolset, you might want to set aside an entire weekend for it. Took me a day and a half of toiling. The EGR tube is actually the worst part IMO.
 
Well just did the diagnostics and the code was P0325-Knock sensor 1 circuit malfunction...don't know WTF that means...can anyone tell me what that code means?
 
Read the thread and he got the same code as mine...i'm just gonna keep asking everyone to see what is the purpose of this sensor and if it affects the engine in someways....
 
Yaggie1 said:
How tough is it to get the IM off the car and back on ? I was in the process of doing the porting on my donor manifold and was looking at the holes on the bottom (under the VTCS) flange. It looks like the 2 on the outsides will be a b****. Please someone tell me it's not that hard to get to em.........

I got mine in and out in a half hour each way. Do yourself a favor and get the craftsman extension kit with 1,3,6, and I think 12" extensions with 1/8, 3/8, and 1/2 inch converters, and U-joints. That will make life a ton easier.

I took pictures just in case I forgot the vacuum stuff, but it's really not that hard to figure out.

Be careful with the fuel injectors. There's a bit of fuel left in them, they fall off easily, and they have O-rings or washers on them that will fall off too. Other than that, just get everything lose and spend some time wiggling it in or out.
 
i am getting ready to start this mod, anybody feel like it wasn't worth it? Luckily I have an extra manifold to work with. Anybody know the temperature ranges inside the IM?

Great write up flat_black.
 
Get the recall done for the VICS screws first. If your car isn't a part of that recall, make sure you do something to the VICS screws so they don't end up in the combustion chamber.
 
iluvmacs said:
Get the recall done for the VICS screws first. If your car isn't a part of that recall, make sure you do something to the VICS screws so they don't end up in the combustion chamber.
not on the list, any remarks about the removal of the vtcs?
 
VICS screws are between the two halves of the manifold, and can be locktited. I did while it was out, but it wasn't a big deal. Easy stuff.
 
flat_black said:
VICS screws are between the two halves of the manifold, and can be locktited. I did while it was out, but it wasn't a big deal. Easy stuff.
thats my plan, so its definetely worth it to remove the vtcs? I warm my car up every morning as it is, so the cold shouldnt be too big a problem
 
For the guys that have done this did you plug the holes on the inside also? I need to see how this is setup but why cant you just remove the screws and butter flys doesnt the actuator keep the rod in place?
 
Laser03pro said:
For the guys that have done this did you plug the holes on the inside also? I need to see how this is setup but why cant you just remove the screws and butter flys doesnt the actuator keep the rod in place?
you'll still have turbulance created by the rod and the holes, i haven't finnished p&p mine, I cut my rod off so that the actuator is still going to be in place, but from inside all the holes are filled and ground down, i need to finnish mine, I started awhile back and just had to put it on hold after spending a couple hours working on it. i recommend filling all the holes, its a little more work but if you want to get the best gain, go all the way, imo it wouldnt be worth it to remove the mainfold and hardware and not put it back in knowing you are gonna get the greatest results from what you did. Once I finnish mine and switch manifolds in the car, I'll still have an extra so if you are interested I could do the work and we could swap them through the mail, small cost.
 
Yes, I wouldn't suggest just leaving the rod in there... As far as velocity is concerned, adding more edges and ridges would make flow/VE worse if you were to just remove the butterflies.
 
Back