Im about to do 264 step 2 cams in my S14 SR, I will be doing stoppers as well as valve springs. I have never done this before but i am familiar with V8 Valve jobs and things of that nature, I would like some advice on the the best tools to you and ways to do this. Thank in advance.

 

Do you have a S14 Silvia FSM? It shows step by step cam install, torque specs, and lists any tools you need. If you don't have one, check online for the FSM at Zeroyon.com.
That's just the basics, and I know you're looking for SR guru trade secrets, which I have no of.
-Jeff

 

Well thank you jeff, I do have a FSM, I forgot..lol, dave actually got it for me...duh.
I would like some tips and tricks from the gurus yes, Talked to charles at Zfever and he said its a pain, They mostly send them to machine shop. I may do that depends on funds.

 

I was trying to avoid pulling the head, Although is seems like its the smarter thing to do. Im assuming the timing chains are fairly easy on these cars. What head gasket do you guys recommend, Im going for 350 WHP and maybe more in future with Inake manifold and bigger injectors. Would like to be safe. We have a good machine shop around here that I trust, I will let them examine the head and see what they think they can do for more power.

 

I will probably be doing the head off idea, seems like its a bit smarter. I will need a headgasket and stud kit, I plan for 350 WHP range, I have a good machine shop in town and I will have them tell me what they can do for more performance, Light port and Polish, gasket match things like that. I dont want to shave the head because I want less compression for more boost.....I will let them handle the valve install as well as cams. I will reinstall the head and torque down according to FSM. retime by the FSM and That should be it, im hoping.

 

My brother has a friend that did the springs/retainers while the head was in the car, by setting the piston to TDC on compression stroke, and then pressurizing the combustion chamber using a tool that threads into the spark plug hole. It's probably a little more time consuming since you have to set each piston at TDC in order for there to be no leaks, and to get it to pressurize and keep the valves from falling into the chamber once you release the keeper that holds on the upper retainer. and you have to keep track of the timing chain as well (though if you do it as per firing order, once you finish you should have the chain brought back around to where it was when you started).

if you're looking to do the HG and head studs as peace of mind for safety anyways do the head off. i just wrote that to prove it can be done head on, but its no easy task.

 

Make sure you take the time to seat those valves if they are going to be new. You'll thank yourself in the future.

 

Yea, deffinitely head off, if you've never taken it off, it will give you some good experience, and knowledge. Also you can see what kind of shape everything is in. While its all apart at the machine shop, have them give it a quick bead/sand blasting, it makes your head look brand new, and only takes a few seconds. Also have them check for warpage to see if it needs milling (or you can do it with a feeler gauge and a straight edge- i believe over .003" is in need of a milling as per nissan specs- but I do it if its over .0015"-just an old timers race-engine builders' rule). I'm not sure what you're meaning by: " a light port and polish", if you're gonna do it at all you might as well get a full out job (even a CNC p&p is less than $200 on a small 4cyl head). you can also deburr the chamber, deffinitely reseat the valves. I'd also look into some titanium retainers (some valves come with them), if you're planning on some real HP in the future, or a high revving life (any kind of racing, or just fucking around) they just add in the security of not having to take apart the whole engine again.

PS: You said you want less compression for more boost, but if it needs a milling and you don't get it fixed, it will warp more, or just keep blowing headgaskets. Just have them check to see if you need it, or do like i explained.