not quit what you were thinking was it . i wanted to replace my valve guides myself and save some money and learn a thing or two in the process. so i ordered the snap-on valve guide remover. heated my head up to about 250F and went to town taking them out. unfortunately my tool broke on the last guide so now i have to wait to get the replacement. i think my arms were a little tired and i let it wobble a little. im a definate noob to the engine building thing but im trying, and so far im happy with what ive been able to do in my room and with limited tools available. +1 for DIY. and ill hopefully have the guides and a new tool next week so ill post my progress on putting them back in. i thought someone might be interested.



16 - 1 = (sad panda)

 

pandas

 

if you havent bought your reamers already, order the larger of the two honda sizes goodson stocks and if its still too snug, run the reamer with lapping compound to act like a hone. freeze the guides you are putting back in and heat the head. use some antiseize or oil on the outside of the guides so they dont gall on the way in and be careful not to go crooked. an arbor press is really helpful. you should make a tool for setting guide depth evenly across the head rather than eyeballing. if you can get to a lathe, turn down the tips of the guides with a taper so they block less of the port roof when installed, youll pick up a little cfm.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike_belben@yahoo.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> turn down the tips of the guides with a taper so they block less of the port roof when installed, youll pick up a little cfm.</TD></TR></TABLE>

or you could just mow over them like some "shops" on here.

 

i understand what you mean about turning down the guides

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Combustion Contraption &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

or you could just mow over them like some "shops" on here.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont understand that? im not looking for the easy way out, i have all the time in the world. also, a question i have. if i turn down the guides a bit, wont i be sacrificing the integrity of it and run into the risk of bending a valve more easily? or would i only take a little bit (1-2mm) and hope it doesnt cause any problems. ive almost finished porting the head, so ive picked up some cfm from that but would it be worth the risk messing with the guide length?

 

some not so talented head porters make up for their lacking by grinding the end of the guide as it protrudes into the port down flat with the roof to pick up cfm. its bad news though because due to the roof shape, the guide will be ground slanted and will form a sharp edge that doesnt stand up to the heat very long and cracks. also the valve runs way hotter for the heat having to travel farther (think sparkplug porcelain for heatrange) and the valve is far less supported. guide will wear faster.

turn it down at the exposed end into a more tapered tip (or like a bellmouth/trumpet shape) just make sure you dont thin out any edges too much as they'll break.