Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications 3.0L Duratec Intake Porting Question

I have a 01 Escape 3.0. I had the intake runners aluminum welded . Now I need to have them gasket matched . I'am having trouble finding someone who will do this . Is it that difficult ? Most of the machine shops locally dont do engine work, then the only speed shop in my area wants $300. I personally have never done any port work nor do I want to try now . This is holding me up big time . Any ideas as to what I could say to possibly persuade a shop into taking on the job? THe other issue is that the heads are still on the motor . It only has 35K on it I dont want to spend another $100 on gaskets taking the heads off. Is this completely retarded to NOT take the heads off to have this done ? Any input is greatly appreciated.

I would have the heads off for clean-up reasons. Easier to make sure no metal shavings are in the ports or stuck on the valves and such. $300 could be considered high, but around my area that would be the norm. Custom fabrication isn't cheap. And new gaskets won't cost you $100. New head bolts and gaskets will

Yeah you are right . I should quit trying to be a cheap ass . I guess I will be giving Steve the Ford parts guy a buzz on Mon. to order those gaskets ( and head bolts) . Is general gasket matching considered custom fabrication though ? I wouldnt think of it as such . Oh well whatever it is I NEED to have it done .

Thanks .

Port matching =

Gasket matching =

Gasket matching is WAY overkill.

Mark

I gasket matched when coming up with my new port shape.

I had them flow tested and posted the results, and they were within reason for NA applications IMO.

Clicky for my results

OK now iam confused ... the aluminum welds are completed. What would/should be the next step here ? Iam using everything I can off of the 2.5 motor . cams ,timing etc.

Should I just be looking to have these port matched as opposed to gasket matching ? What do I need to go forward at this point ?

STOP for a second.

I just went through this mess my self and ran into a few problems. I am porting the heads myself and it really isnt too bad, but takes some major [censored] time. I have about 30 hrs of work into both heads and will prob have about 40 hours total. I am doing the intake, exhaust, valve though and am using a craftsman drill with a shabby craftsman bit .

300 bucks is damn cheap if you ask me. I payed 110 just for the welding and they even [censored] that up some. The welding should be done AFTER the porting has already been cut, but not detailed or finished (unless you have done these heads before and know how to build the spots). I did the welding in the beggining only to have to go back and have them weld more, which is why it cost me 100 instead of just 50. More welding is need than just to close up the old injector ports BTW. You need to build a "shelf" on the top part of the port and build one on the bottom. Positition the intake gasket over the port and you should see that it "dips" in the middle which is why the shelves need to be built.

Did that 300 include welding? If so go with that and see if he will include the exhaust opened up a bit. Make sure this guy can do the work though. THis is an extremely artistic job and a little more than your normal head porting job. Remember art is either REALLY good or REALLY bad. There is no in between.

Post some pics of what you have so far it may help.

Iam not trying to have the heads ported . Iam just looking to have the ovel ports rounded to match the gaskets. I paid $80 for the aluminum welds . The guy did weld the "shelf" that you speak of looks pretty good too. I'am not trying to get extra flow , just want the thing to go back together and run .

on a side note .. I belong to about 7 forums and never had a problem posting a pic of something... but how in the hell do you post pics on this board ? Iam not the most pc savoy person but i feel re-tarded

I may have been somewhat vague. I was referring to the port matching that you call Rounding the oval to match the round gaskets. If you are going to pay someone to do that why not ask and see if they can do a little exhaust work also. The bulk of the work is the port matching with the intake. The exhaust side wouldnt take more than an hour per head for an experienced "porter".



There is an "image" button to post pics. It is on the bottom when you "reply" to a message. Located just left of the "font color tablate".

You must have the picture visible on the internet. A lot of places will host it for free.

www.imageshack.org

There are plenty of others too.