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How to "gasket match" (port/polish) an intake mani...

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Doing a port/polish job is not as difficult as people make it out to be. This article is by NO means, the be-all-and-end-all of port/polish jobs. This is a simple, step by step guide to a quick, but effective, DITY gasket match port job for the intake manifold. As with all maintenance there is an inherent risk involved, and all manuals should be read, and safety procedures followed. This is for your reference ONLY, neither DSMtuners.com, nor myself shall be held liable for any accidents that occur if you attempt this procedure.

Tools needed:
DREMMEL (or any brand of rotary tool) - I prefer one with variable speeds, and a flex drive attachment, as the grinding stones should be spun a LOT faster than the brushes, and the flex drive allows you to reach farther into the runners, and is easier to maneuver.

Grinding stones - these are used to remove the majority of the excess "stock" from the inside of the runner. Silicon carbide is what I use, but there are other types of stones, some polish cleaner, some wear slower, that is a personal preference...

Brushes - wire brushes, flat, and conical - used to remove dust/dirt/carbon buildup/metal flakes

sanding/polishing barrels (or disks or stones) - again personal preference is used here, as I know people that swear by felt pads with polishing compound, and others that say a wood sanding barrel is all that is needed. Experiment and find what works best for you.

Intake manifold - DUH!

Intake mani gasket - you can just clean off your old one, you SHOULD be replacing it anyway...

eye protection - I use an old pair of sun glasses

gloves -

paint pen, or something to mark the manifold with -

a few bolts that fit in the stud holes in the manifold -

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You can see in the next few pictures how rough the inside of the runners on an intake manifold can be. Not only will removing that excess material open up area, and allow more air to flow, but smoothing out those rough edges will allow the air to flow more freely.


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in these next 2 pictures, you can see that the lips of the runner walls are not smooth, which causes turbulence in the air flowing into the head... this is bad...


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Step 1) After cleaning off the surface of the intake manifold, and cleaning off your old gasket, place the gasket on the manifold as it would be placed if it were on the car.

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Step 2) to keep the gasket lined up while you are marking the manifold, place a bolt through each of the stud holes.

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*~NOTE~* take this opportunity to notice how much metal there is on the INSIDE of the gasket holes... this is all area that could be used to flow more air, which is EXACTALLY what it is about to become... :thumb:


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Step 3) Take your paint pen (or other marking device) and mark all the metal on the inside of the gasket holes:

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Step 4) Using the wire brushes, and the grinding stones SLOWLY remove the excess material from the inside of the runners. Keep in mind that this will require almost NO pressure if you have the speed set properly on your dremmel... remember, let the tool do the work.

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I have only spent an hour thus far and these are the results: I just started the #1 runner, the #2 runner is ready for polishing...

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Notice the difference between the #3 & #4 runners, and the #1 runner with only 10 min. of work, and the #2 runner that has about 45 min. into it...

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Notice how open the #2 runner is compaired to the #3...


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Keep in mind, I only have about an hour into this manifold. Porting/polishing is not a difficult job, but it IS time consuming. This should be enough information to allow you to complete this task, but I will continue to post pictures and how much time it took me to reach each picture. Good luck, and Happy porting...:thumb:
 
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