PICTURES: Having lots of fun doing the PI head swap

[theosan]

First of all, if anyone see anything that I should be concerned about in the pictures (or generally when doing head swap) please let me know. The new heads won't be here until Wednesday and I won't be installing them until Saturday.

I will continue to post pics every step of the way.

How do I get the carbon buildup on the Cylinder heads off?

I had a shop about a year ago install Shorty Headers for me. They only install 5 bolts on each side and I was able to loosen most of them by HAND. Now I know where the exhaust leak is coming from.

My motor mounts are also shot. So I'm replacing those 140,000 miles.

PI Head Swap and other stuff.

 

[tomustang]

the carbon build up should scratch right off. i cant see the pics though. if you have any q's about the swap give me a holla. i just finished mine

 

[ChadS98GT]

pic links don't work

 

[RysRed96GT]

i used a hard-wire brush attached to a drill to get the carbon off the pistons. worked great, i had alot on there with 112K miles.

 

[sacstoy02gt]

Oven cleaner.
Should take the carbon off nicely.

 

[theosan]

Sorry about the broken links. I will fix them when I get home. Here are the pictures...for now.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/1.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/2.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/3.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/4.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/5.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/6.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/7.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/8.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/9.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/10.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/11.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/12.gif
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1lnnh/piheads/13.gif

Why didn't I think of oven cleaner . I will try that when I get home.

How do I set the timining when I put the timming chain back on?

 

[Blev]

OMG, I'm scared now. After seeing that, I'm not going to even attemp the swap.

 

[theosan]

Went down to Lowes and picked up some fine wire brush drill attachment. Works great to remove the carbon buildup. My piston top now looks like new.

Thanks RysRed96GT

tomustang, did you see my question about timming? Any answers. Thanks.

 

[tomustang]

mark the tops with white-out where the gear marks are (single dot on the gear) when the engine is at TDC, mark the bottoms @ 6oclock. if not you'll have to do what i did and that was GUESSING cause i forgot to mark'em and i had to time with pictures.

http://phatdoggy.home.comcast.net/sohc_timing.htm <--- this is a good resourse on timing, print it and bring it with you.

 

[theosan]

i used a hard-wire brush attached to a drill to get the carbon off the pistons. worked great, i had alot on there with 112K miles.

Clean Pistons

Thanks.

 

[tomustang]

nice c/c plates, theosan

 

[4.6litrebeater]

how did you get the passenger side head off? did you have to remove the exhaust manifold from teh head first or did you just unbold it where it meets the midpipe? nice job cleaning the pistons

 

[RysRed96GT]

damn, nice job! looks brand new!

4.6litrebeater, the manifolds come off with the heads, unbolted from the midpipe.

 

[Dan_Soprano]

My advise would be to pull the block and get it machined if you have the time and money. Do it right the first time. If not, some Carb Cleaner should work wonders. Also, might as well change out your water pump since you have the timing cover off. Good luck bro!

 

[NasaGT]

Nice pics.

As mentioned above, carb cleaner will also take that carbon off as well.

 

[theosan]

The new heads are on

Swaping cooland cross over from old intake to new PI Intake

Box of goodies

New heads in the box

New heads, chains, cam gears, crank gears and guides are on

Thanks everyone for your advice and info . The timing wasn't as much of a big deal as I thought it would be (especially with the bright gold timing links in the new chain).

 

[tomustang]

the timing was easy. it's getting that h-pipe back on, damn passenger side.

 

[65straightsick]

What are PI heads? I am obviously a newbie to new cars...looks clean though...what makes PI heads better than stock?

 

[tomustang]

What are PI heads? I am obviously a newbie to new cars...looks clean though...what makes PI heads better than stock?

the PI heads are the heads found on 99+ GTs, they provide better flow than the 92-98's 4.6L heads.

 

[Joe 5.0]

If you're going to buy a 99 GT you'll already have the PI heads. PI stands for Performance Improved, which is the intake & heads that the 4.6L got for the 99 redesign. Its a direct swap for the 96-98 GT guys, and its worth ~50hp. That about right guys?