How-To: VTCS Removal and Porting

All Protege's with the 2.0L FS-DE engine come with VTCS and VICS, except the MP3, which only had VICS. The 1.8L is still an unknown, and the 1.6L doesn't have even remotely the same manifold.

Japanese models of the FS engine don't have it, nor the ones in Australia, according to Twilight.

That's as far as I know. =)

If you take a picture of the top of your intake manifold, I can tell you for sure, or you can take a look, and see if you have two electrical connectors connected to solenoids on top of the manifold, to the left a little. One will be green, and one will be white. If you only have the white one, then you just have VICS; If you have the green one too, you have VTCS and VICS.
 
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Well... Lets see... Amount of time taken for my car, broken down, was:

Removal and reinstallation of manifold: 4 hours
Removal of VTCS butterflies: 15 minutes
Port/Polish/Plugging of manifold: 8 - 10 hours

I can't be sure, because the first time I ported and polished up the manifold, I was basically trying things out and evaluating the manifold. The new one (The one pictured in the FAQ) has taken me about 2 or 3 hours so far, and that includes all the time I spent taking pictures and measuring things, ad nausium.

The FAQ isn't 100 percent done yet, obviously, as past the starting port job I did, I still need to do and document the middle touch up, then the finishing/polishing, plus letting it soak for half a day at least in a mix of 50% Castrol Super Clean/50% Water, after washing it down with carb cleaner.

I would say, just going through, now, I could do a full port job on an intake manifold in about 6 to 8 hours, easily.
 
yeap..my FS-DE doesn't have it. No wonder i broke the axle shaft (lol2)



flat_black said:
All Protege's with the 2.0L FS-DE engine come with VTCS and VICS, except the MP3, which only had VICS. The 1.8L is still an unknown, and the 1.6L doesn't have even remotely the same manifold.

Japanese models of the FS engine don't have it, nor the ones in Australia, according to Twilight.

That's as far as I know. =)

If you take a picture of the top of your intake manifold, I can tell you for sure, or you can take a look, and see if you have two electrical connectors connected to solenoids on top of the manifold, to the left a little. One will be green, and one will be white. If you only have the white one, then you just have VICS; If you have the green one too, you have VTCS and VICS.
 
Dude, those were some amazing pictures. =) Did you end up ordering a new one?

Oh, and you still do have those little lips that can be ground down to keep the flow more laminar, too, but it seems like you've got more than enough project to deal with, what with the axle and all. ;)
 
Okay, guys. I reorganized it a little bit. I'm going to take all of today to work on finishing up the port job on this manifold, and then finishing up the how-to accordingly.
 
very nice work, maybe i can stop by and see how the fs engine looks inside
i know the dealer would kill my warrenty if i messed something up doing this kind of mod.
 
Hehee... Yeah, warranty work on something like this... Eigh, not so much of a warranty anymore. =) If you want to come by and take a look at the manifold, then cool. Not like you're far away, anyway. ;)
 
Seal between runners

Flat_black, is it really necessary to plug the holes between runners? The rod didn't have anything on it to seal the passage. Also if it is necessary, on boosted applications do you think it would be better to fuse weld the holes shut as opposed to using Metal epoxy?
 
Oh yeah, what did you do about the vacuum actuator. The electronic thingy that turns on or off the vacuum. Did you remove that also or just plug the vacuum line coming out of it.
 
Flat_black, is it really necessary to plug the holes between runners? The rod didn't have anything on it to seal the passage. Also if it is necessary, on boosted applications do you think it would be better to fuse weld the holes shut as opposed to using Metal epoxy?

Short version; No, and yes.

Long version; No, you don't need to plug the holes at all. It's purely to keep flow as laminar as possible. Yes, if you're able to weld the holes shut, by all means do so! Welding is always a better option than metal epoxy filler, but this stuff that I've used has stood up to the test of a 25psi Saab running every day with a manifold plugged with this stuff, so I'm fully confident in it's ability to hold boost.

As for the vacuum actuator solenoid, if you're not running a standalone or an MP3 ECU, removing the solenoid will trip an ECU. There's no reason to leave the vacuum actuated armature there, however, since there'll be nothing to open and close, and it'll just end up rattling a lot. So, just plug it up, and you should be all set.
 
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flat_black said:
Short version; No, and yes.

Long version; No, you don't need to plug the holes at all. It's purely to keep flow as laminar as possible. Yes, if you're able to weld the holes shut, by all means do so! Welding is always a better option than metal epoxy filler, but this stuff that I've used has stood up to the test of a 25psi Saab running every day with a manifold plugged with this stuff, so I'm fully confident in it's ability to hold boost.

As for the vacuum actuator solenoid, if you're not running a standalone or an MP3 ECU, removing the solenoid will trip an ECU. There's no reason to leave the vacuum actuated armature there, however, since there'll be nothing to open and close, and it'll just end up rattling a lot. So, just plug it up, and you should be all set.
Thanks :)
 

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