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Less Vacuum with ported head?


Guest ON3GO

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Okay so i got the L28ET running in my Z but now i have maybe 14psi of vacuum at idle, but i use to have 28 or so before.

i did have my head ported and polished so could this cause the less vacuum?

is this bad? what are some things to correct this if the port work is what caused this.

any help would be great.

 

mike

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engine timing will have an effect on vacuum...... so if its not set to where it was that will give you those results. thats how I used to set the timing on my plymouth, hook up a vacuum gauge a turn the dizzy until until you get the highest vacuum level and then back it off a couple of degrees. Its not something that I would do on a performance engine, but a 69 valiant isnt exactly a performance car....it was a mix of whatever my grandfather could find while he had it, so no timing marks what so ever.

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Guest Magnum Rockwilder
a 69 valiant isnt exactly a performance car

 

HEY!!!

 

I had a '69 Valiant 4 door with a .060 over 318, 904, and 4.56 gears, and it ran mid 14's @ 95mph with a basically stock motor.

 

It was too rusted underneath to fool with, so I sold it and now I'm getting a '68 4 door in the next month and doing a balls-out 360 buildup.

 

A Valiant with a slant 6 won One Lap of America repeatedly.

 

So don't knock 'em til ya try 'em. :lol:

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mine was a 69 four door running a 273V8 with the stock carter bbd two barrel carb. Duels on stock manifolds, shaved, slammed, with flames. I miss that car, but it just rode like shiat because it was sooo low, downtown streets are not fun in a car that low.

 

I had plans to airbag it and notch the frame to get her lower but never got around to it. 12k invested, sold for 2k. ARGH!!!!!!

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I would think that a ported head could certainly have an effect on vacuum. Basically I see it as the air is seeing a restriction and that creates vacuum. The ported head could have less restiction so it now has less vacuum. Also the cam timing and the adjustments on the valves will have an effect on it as well.

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A ported head would have no effect at idle. There isn't enough air moving through the head to make a difference with a throttle plate that is just barely cracked open. A vacuum leak and timing, valve or ignition would effect it though. I think you may have missed something during reassembly.

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Cody,

The vacuum is in the entire intake track from the valve to the throttle plate. If anything a ported head with better flow would increase vacuum, that is except that the cylinder volume filling with air (or actually not filling due to the closed throttle plate or other restrictions) as the piston moves down is what generates the vacuum. The only thing that might be affecting your vacuum other than a leak or missing vacuum canister is a large cam with lots of overlap.

 

Clifton,

I can see how valve timing will affect vacuum but how will ignition timing affect it?

 

Mike,

IIRC you didn't change the cam so you must have a leak somewhere. Put the vacuum canister back in, it was there for a reason.

 

Wheelman

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Cody' date='

The vacuum is in the entire intake track from the valve to the throttle plate. If anything a ported head with better flow would increase vacuum, that is except that the cylinder volume filling with air (or actually not filling due to the closed throttle plate or other restrictions) as the piston moves down is what generates the vacuum. [/quote']

 

I understand that vacuum is from the throttle plate all the way to the cylinder but, vacuum is the measurement of a restriction in the intake track. Right? Better flow = less vacuum. As the piston moves down it is pulling air in the cylinder. If the work of pulling the air in is made easier by installing a better flowing head then the work the piston is doing pulling the air into the cylinder is made easier.

 

Thats the way I see it. Maybe I'm wrong here? Let me know! :-D

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I would think that the amount of port work you had done would not affect vacuum so dramatically. Double check all of your vacuum lines and make sure all of your injectors are tightened down. Did you replace the injector orings when you had it apart, or didn't you remove the injectors? If all the usual suspects check out, check your valve adjustment again to make sure that none of them are too tight and remaining open. After you have exhausted all possibilities, do a leak down test to make sure your valves are seating properly. I understand that you just had the head rebuilt, but unless you do the work yourself, you never know what may have been overlooked...

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For my money the vacume is a measurement of the pressure difference between the atmosphere and the area between the throttle plate and the inlet valves/ piston head (depending on if the inlet valve is open).

 

If you have had your head ported (decreased the restriction between the inlet manifold and inlet valve/piston head, then the effeciency of any air flow (either vacume or pressure) is improved.

 

The piston head should be able to suck more air when the inlet valve is opened on a ported head, thus leaving less air mass in the throttle chamber when the inlet valve closes - which means a greater difference in pressure compared to the atmosphere (vacume).

 

That said, the difference in airflow through a ported/non ported head at idle would be marginal (real gains occur at high flow times, see bench tested flow maps of ported heads). Therefore I dont think the porting would effect the vacume that significantly. I would be looking elsewhere for a leak.

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