Gonna look at some pi heads..

[2v_takeover]

Hey guys. There's some PI heads from a guy that my brother works with that I'm gonna go take a look at. I'm not sure what year they're off of, but either way I'm just wondering what I should be looking for? He did have to get a helicoil or whatever it's called put in because it spit out a spark plug at one point. They're also coming with the cams.

The guy used to have these on his old NPI car, but wrecked it. Is there anything specific I should be looking for on these heads? And is it really worth ripping my engine apart for a little extra power from the heads? Just a little standoffish about doing the headswap and having to time the PI cams and such...

Thanks in advance. :wave:

 

[MustangChris]

do it. you'll need a pi intake as well.


I suggest having a head shop deck the head. (they mill it flat) as well as trading ALL the plug holes.

other than that, count the valve cover bolt holes so you know what valve covers you need.

 

[2v_takeover]

I don't know what you mean by 'trading the plug holes' I do need to find a PI intake, and some covers. Along with gaskets and junk but... on to that later!

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

Make sure the PI intake you get has the METAL coolant crossover, not the plastic one. The plastic ones WILL crack and leak and eventually blow out and strand you. I'm waiting on an updated intake right now as I suspect the PI intake on my 99 PI motor is the culprit for a strong coolant smell from my engine bay that I can't locate.

Oh, and whatever you do, make SURE the PI intake you get isn't a Dorman repro unit. They are basically NPI intakes and complete shit.

 

[MustangChris]

I don't know what you mean by 'trading the plug holes' I do need to find a PI intake, and some covers. Along with gaskets and junk but... on to that later!

sorry, i was on my phone! lol.

i meant to say "insert" not "trading"

basically instead of having 6 girly threads for the spark plugs, they put it 9+ threads with an insert. They cost ~$10.00 a hole and are 100% worth it.

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

They're called "Timeserts" and really only necessary if a plug hole is blown out or maybe if you are running boost. Although taking them to have them all done with the heads off the car is SUPER easy and might be a good idea. Problem with the older heads (and really any aluminum head) is oftentimes ppl don't use torque wrenches when they put in spark plugs. I never used to with iron heads but with aluminums I ALWAYS do, even with my newer 2-3 yr old FRPP PI heads that have the updated plug holes. I DEFINITELY will with my 2003 Expedition, those years are notorious for having like... barely any threads at all but I have yet to have an issue, probably because the plugs are factory original at 102k miles. Honestly... I'm not going to touch them until I start having issues.

 

[2v_takeover]

Ah yea I see. Don't really want to go to crazy with this car personally, but figure I might get some cams and be done with it later down the road. Just hoping everything goes smoothly, have yet to go look at them.. What do people usually do with the coil packs when you switch to PI heads? I haven't been able to remember

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

I still have the coil packs in my 98 with a 99 PI motor. Previous owner swapped the motors though, I wasn't the one who did it.

 

[MustangChris]

coil packs are more reliable anyways. no harm.

 

[2v_takeover]

I'm just wondering if they attach/mount to the same place. I wouldn't be asking stupid questions, but my car is buried under about 2 feet of snow so I can't use it for reference...

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

coil packs are more reliable anyways. no harm.

Probably right but I gotta swap them as I'm going to a 04 harness also makes the bay look cleaner and I'm going to turbo it too so they have to go regardless.

 

[MustangChris]

word.

 

[FrankenStang]

pi heads are soooooo easy to port, just lay the stock gaskets on them and port them out to match the gaskets, ud be amzed at how much extra material there is and how many burrs there are...20 dollar rotary tool from a parts store and 20 bucks of bits, vwa la !

 

[Willis_98GT]

I'm just wondering if they attach/mount to the same place. I wouldn't be asking stupid questions, but my car is buried under about 2 feet of snow so I can't use it for reference...

the Pi intake manifold has 8 additional threads above each fuel injector slot that the individual coils thead into, i strongly suggest converting your ignition when you get everything apart to save headaches later on down the road. It also really cleans up the engine bay too. I also have a complete PI intake swap kit for sale too. pm me if you're interested. Also if you have any additional questions with your heads or swap in general.

 

[2v_takeover]

pi heads are soooooo easy to port, just lay the stock gaskets on them and port them out to match the gaskets, ud be amzed at how much extra material there is and how many burrs there are...20 dollar rotary tool from a parts store and 20 bucks of bits, vwa la !

Hate to be a spelling nazi but I think it's 'voila' haha. I'm not sure if I feel confident trusting myself with power tools and heads.

 

[Burninrock24]

Things to look at:

- Mating surface. Dents or chips where the gasket will go are a no no.

- Rust on cam lobes. You can clean up some surface rust, but every spec of rust is literally parts of the cam lobe. So the more you sand a clean the lobes, the more you are altering your cam profile.

- Check the combustion chambers. If there are any signs of chipping or anything there, bad news.

- Check for evenness of the mating surface. Bring along a straight edge and run it across each side of the head the long way on each side of the combustion chambers, and then on each side of each chamber the shorter way. Then finally diagonally across the head. These heads have very little deck height tolerance, so machine shops can't shave down too much to correct for flaws.

I strongly recommend the PI intake too. If your intake right now has an aluminum crossover, you can reuse that on the PI intake. There are some screws on the underside. You will have to use RTV in order to seal it to the PI intake though. It does save time and hassle in tapping a new hole for the other sensor. And lastly, do NOT buy dorman. OEM or nothing. Dorman intakes are NPI intakes with PI port id.

 

[2v_takeover]

Things to look at:

- Mating surface. Dents or chips where the gasket will go are a no no.

- Rust on cam lobes. You can clean up some surface rust, but every spec of rust is literally parts of the cam lobe. So the more you sand a clean the lobes, the more you are altering your cam profile.

- Check the combustion chambers. If there are any signs of chipping or anything there, bad news.

- Check for evenness of the mating surface. Bring along a straight edge and run it across each side of the head the long way on each side of the combustion chambers, and then on each side of each chamber the shorter way. Then finally diagonally across the head. These heads have very little deck height tolerance, so machine shops can't shave down too much to correct for flaws.

I strongly recommend the PI intake too. If your intake right now has an aluminum crossover, you can reuse that on the PI intake. There are some screws on the underside. You will have to use RTV in order to seal it to the PI intake though. It does save time and hassle in tapping a new hole for the other sensor. And lastly, do NOT buy dorman. OEM or nothing. Dorman intakes are NPI intakes with PI port id.

Well that was really what I was looking for thanks. Really simple and straightforward, but I can't think of these things late at night. So a big thanks! haha. My brother's going to buy them for me for looking after his dogs while he goes on vacation, at a really good price so. I will be getting a PI Intake aswell in the future. Only have limited funds as I should try to save some for school...

I need a lot of things for the car, mainly tires. I'm pretty sure they're worn down to the point where they're not street legal anymore haha. Also need a bumpsteer kit and ball joints, but after that I'm set to hopefully save for some cams!

 

[AaRoN]

The coil packs will mount in their original location. You'll have no issues keeping them vs. swapping to the C.O.P. system.

 

[Burninrock24]

Well that was really what I was looking for thanks. Really simple and straightforward, but I can't think of these things late at night. So a big thanks! haha. My brother's going to buy them for me for looking after his dogs while he goes on vacation, at a really good price so. I will be getting a PI Intake aswell in the future. Only have limited funds as I should try to save some for school...

I need a lot of things for the car, mainly tires. I'm pretty sure they're worn down to the point where they're not street legal anymore haha. Also need a bumpsteer kit and ball joints, but after that I'm set to hopefully save for some cams!

No problem! I definitely recommend the Moog ball joints, I've heard mixed reviews about the Steedas over the years, and I love my Moog ones. I never needed a bump steer kit though when I lowered mine with H&R Super Sports. A proper alignment fixed everything right up. I realize funds are low but if you wanted to get new ball joints, and not have to deal with actually removing the ball joints, you could get the 03-04 Termi control arms. They decrease the turning radius by 10% so it makes your car feel a lot more responsive. They come at a pretty hefty price, but you'll never need to replace the control arms either. Just ball joints from then on out.

 

[2v_takeover]

I was considering the X2's because they say that they will lower the car by another 0.5 inch if you wanted, and my front end really needs to come down more. My brother had them on his termi and they seemed to work fine. I would love to get some cobra A-arms as they usually correct the tire placement in the front wheel well. My tires seem to be slightly to the back which bothers my OCD.

I guess I'll have a look to see if I need the bumpsteer kit after an alignment. Figured you always needed them after lowering the car for purpose of properly aligning the steering or whatever.