How-To: VTCS Removal and Porting

[Velocifero]

Not worth the time. If you're going to take off the intake manifold, pull the whole thing out (I assume by "runner" you mean the rod that the butterflys attach to), plug the holes, and smooth out the ports.



That will throw a CEL on the computer.



You're referring to VICS, not VTCS.

As long as the electricals are still plugged in correctly you shouldn't. I have the vac ports off the solenoids plugged up and no CELs. Several years now.

 

[justanothermp5]

me too, as long as the electrical senders are plugged in there wont be a CEL

edit nvm i think that the one way check valve will def cause a CEL, but that would be dumb, just remove the butterflies

 

[StealthWyvern]

That will throw a CEL on the computer.

a code but not a CEl(never triped the light)... I have put a check valve on both the VIS and VTS playing around and never received a CEL due to it.

me too, as long as the electrical senders are plugged in there wont be a CEL

edit nvm i think that the one way check valve will def cause a CEL, but that would be dumb, just remove the butterflies

It never caused a CEL the month I drove with it using a check valve... now their was a code in the system but it never kicked the CEL on for some reason. Then again I just had teh check valve hold the thing open and the other end of the vac line was disconnected at the sender.

 

[Lewis7789]

Just finished the VTCS removal, port/polish and painted the intake mani black. Whew! What a pain... I removed the intake mani friday afternoon/night. Port/polished it and waited for the JB Weld and paint to dry saturday and finished installing it today (sunday). Probably took me a good 10-12 hours total.

Fired up the car and the idle was high, but it's 40' degrees here. The idle came down to about 1k rpm and dipped down to about 300rpm twice once it warmed up. I triple checked everything before pulling out onto the road. Drove it nice and easy around the block twice and everything seemed fine. The idle is still a little jumpy from 1000 to about 700rpm but still pretty smooth. Then I ran it WOT down the road and you guys aint kidding, it just pulls and pulls now! Everything after 4k rpm just screams. I've also got an MP3 ECU so I'm sure that helped.

Was it worth it all? Yes. Hopefully the idle with smooth out in a couple days after the ECU adjusts to the new map. Great write up!

 

[SoonP5ismine]

i have been running without vics and vtcs for over a year now. because of vics removed my bottom end is a bit weaker but it seems alot smoother throughtout the entire rpm range. it doesnt have that sudden boost feel int the 5300 or whatever it is range like it did before the removal. so if anyone is looking for a smooth acceleration and not really concerned with loosing a little on the bottom end then i recommend doing it. as far as me, well i ams till looking for 1 good vics butterfly as my sig shows and i will put it back in but i will leave the vtcs out. vtcs does raise the warm up rpms slightly but they go back to normal once warmed up

 

[Velocifero]

i have been running without vics and vtcs for over a year now. because of vics removed my bottom end is a bit weaker but it seems alot smoother throughtout the entire rpm range. it doesnt have that sudden boost feel int the 5300 or whatever it is range like it did before the removal. so if anyone is looking for a smooth acceleration and not really concerned with loosing a little on the bottom end then i recommend doing it. as far as me, well i ams till looking for 1 good vics butterfly as my sig shows and i will put it back in but i will leave the vtcs out. vtcs does raise the warm up rpms slightly but they go back to normal once warmed up

I might have one. Next time I am in my shop Ill look for it.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

I might have one. Next time I am in my shop Ill look for it.

that would be great if you do. i was gonna take the 3 that i still have that are good and take them somewhere to see if someone can make one somehow. but i really dont know who could to that and have it match the other 3 exactly.

 

[Lewis7789]

Well I think I've got a leaky vacuum line or something. My motor is still idling really rough and choppy, even after its warmed up. I've checked all the hoses and theyre all tight. I don't have a CEL and it drives okay, it does seem to stutter just a bit while driving and at a normal rpm around 2k. And usually when I turn off the motor and open my door I can hear the hissssss from the AEM air intake. Now its a really short "hisss".

Any ideas???

 

[Velocifero]

Well I think I've got a leaky vacuum line or something. My motor is still idling really rough and choppy, even after its warmed up. I've checked all the hoses and theyre all tight. I don't have a CEL and it drives okay, it does seem to stutter just a bit while driving and at a normal rpm around 2k. And usually when I turn off the motor and open my door I can hear the hissssss from the AEM air intake. Now its a really short "hisss".

Any ideas???

You've never noticed the hiss? Mine has hissed since I bought my CAI in November of 2004. It should just be the last of the air escaping, but if it is a totally new sound for you try spraying carb cleaner around all the junctions to see if there is a leak anywhere.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

Well I think I've got a leaky vacuum line or something. My motor is still idling really rough and choppy, even after its warmed up. I've checked all the hoses and theyre all tight. I don't have a CEL and it drives okay, it does seem to stutter just a bit while driving and at a normal rpm around 2k. And usually when I turn off the motor and open my door I can hear the hissssss from the AEM air intake. Now its a really short "hisss".

Any ideas???

i had a bad egr valve and my engine been behaving erratically

 

[Lewis7789]

No, I've always noticed the hiss but it was much longer before I did the VTCS removal, thats why I am thinking a leaky vacuum line. If a line is leaking, the hiss will be shorter, not the usual long one coming from the air intake. But I'll try the carb cleaner around the hoses, I assume I'm looking for bubbles?

I just cleaned my EGR valve last summer (apparently it didn't need a cleaning because it's always idled fine) and cleaned it again while I had it apart this weekend. But I'll double check it tomorrow.

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[SoonP5ismine]

No, I've always noticed the hiss but it was much longer before I did the VTCS removal, thats why I am thinking a leaky vacuum line. If a line is leaking, the hiss will be shorter, not the usual long one coming from the air intake. But I'll try the carb cleaner around the hoses, I assume I'm looking for bubbles?

I just cleaned my EGR valve last summer (apparently it didn't need a cleaning because it's always idled fine) and cleaned it again while I had it apart this weekend. But I'll double check it tomorrow.

Thanks for the info guys!

you wont see bubbles on vacuum lines but you will notice a rpm change if the carb cleaner gets sucked in to the intake as a result of a hole in the line.
as far as the egr cleaning well in my situation when i cleaned my egr valve the trouble came back after 2000 miles if i remember correctly so at that time i ordered a new one and now i have about 55000 miles on it and no problems at all so far. my original lasted 50000 miles.

 

[Lewis7789]

Well, I tried using nipple plugs like a lot of people said on the VTCS solenoid and hose-T and it seemed to help, but my irratic idle is still there. After resetting my MP3 ECU, it ran smooth at 900rpm for about 3 minutes then started loping and bouncing again. It dropped to 200-300rpm and almost stalled but it bumps itself up everytime it does that. I've been driving it to/from work since sunday and its been idling rough the whole time. I'm debating on buying the EGR valve at Autozone for $150 just to see if that would eliminate the problem. I visually checked all my hoses and they all look good and not cracked or anything.

But if this is the kind of idle I have to live with to have a non-VTCS intake mani, screw that.

 

[MS_Rick]

My cars idle acts the same way ever since I started adding HP parts to
it etc. Peeps in here say get the car tuned - that should solve the problem.

Well, I tried using nipple plugs like a lot of people said on the VTCS solenoid and hose-T and it seemed to help, but my irratic idle is still there. After resetting my MP3 ECU, it ran smooth at 900rpm for about 3 minutes then started loping and bouncing again. It dropped to 200-300rpm and almost stalled but it bumps itself up everytime it does that. I've been driving it to/from work since sunday and its been idling rough the whole time. I'm debating on buying the EGR valve at Autozone for $150 just to see if that would eliminate the problem. I visually checked all my hoses and they all look good and not cracked or anything.

But if this is the kind of idle I have to live with to have a non-VTCS intake mani, screw that.

 

[justanothermp5]

the EGR may not be tight enough
mine had a vac leak from the EGR seal, because one bolt wasnt tight enough
had a crazy idle like what your talking about, and it even stalled once or twice
tightened the bolt and it went away

 

[MS_Rick]

as for me I bought a new egr valve with gasket did not do nothing for me
I guess it depends on the car.. these babies have the own individual problems

 

[Lewis7789]

Well, I'm going to try the carb cleaner trick tonight even though I checked all my hoses yesterday for cracks but they all looked good. There was a whistle while I was driving though, I could hear it when the throttle was just barely open. It's somewhere behind the TB. I'm going to tighten the s*** out of those EGR bolts after I clean it again. It would be so nice to have a normal idle again. My car idled perfectly before I did this mod, now it's rough as hell. Kinda makes me wish I never did it...

 

[Velocifero]

No, I've always noticed the hiss but it was much longer before I did the VTCS removal, thats why I am thinking a leaky vacuum line. If a line is leaking, the hiss will be shorter, not the usual long one coming from the air intake. But I'll try the carb cleaner around the hoses, I assume I'm looking for bubbles?

I just cleaned my EGR valve last summer (apparently it didn't need a cleaning because it's always idled fine) and cleaned it again while I had it apart this weekend. But I'll double check it tomorrow.

Thanks for the info guys!

you wont see bubbles on vacuum lines but you will notice a rpm change if the carb cleaner gets sucked in to the intake as a result of a hole in the line.
as far as the egr cleaning well in my situation when i cleaned my egr valve the trouble came back after 2000 miles if i remember correctly so at that time i ordered a new one and now i have about 55000 miles on it and no problems at all so far. my original lasted 50000 miles.

Well, I'm going to try the carb cleaner trick tonight even though I checked all my hoses yesterday for cracks but they all looked good. There was a whistle while I was driving though, I could hear it when the throttle was just barely open. It's somewhere behind the TB. I'm going to tighten the s*** out of those EGR bolts after I clean it again. It would be so nice to have a normal idle again. My car idled perfectly before I did this mod, now it's rough as hell. Kinda makes me wish I never did it...

Easily could be a little pin hole in a line that goes un-noticed, but I doubt that would cause this major of a problem. What did you use to seal the end of the IM on the passenger side where the VTCS rod exits? Try covering that as air tight with your hand or anything that could make it as air tight as possible. Are you confident that the head to IM flange is as flush as it should be? Same with TB? It is almost like something is creating a pretty big hole somewhere. Check the brake booster line especially, mine would slip off my vacuum manifold and it'd idle crazy, but I also lost the power brakes at that point, but maybe if you just have a large hole somewhere there it might not be effecting the brakes.

 

[bermankahns]

does anyone have a working link to the write up? the one on the first post isn't working for me.

 

[BadBandar]

^^Check pg 9

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