i need to worry about air/fuel and making sure the spark plugs are reliable
anything else?

 

Get a clutch. I know people say they get away with it, but I just had my Vortech installed at RPM Racing in NY and if you drive agressively, and shift quickly in high rpm's, your clutch will slip.

 

Maybe a compression test if you are really concerned. Some owners have problems with #4 and you wouldn't want that going out on the highway up in high boost.

 

never had a problem with my clutch. i know i plan to upgrade it, but i'm saving myself the trouble til it gives me issues, and my engine has gone way beyond stock.

dude, you still don't have that sc in?? you're slower than i was.

 

Micheal, did you put in the TODA cams yet?

 

When you say "I" need to worry about, are you really meaning "self" (first person, singular) or are you meaning things you need to get attended to (third person)?
If you are doing this on your own, worry about the things you can control. Things like A/F, you'll need other facilities to determine and change.
Make sure all vacuum and pressure lines are tight and secured at both ends and at "T's". This goes for the fuel lines and connections. If in doubt, clamp them with new clamps. Everything from the blower output to the throttle body needs to be solidly sealed or you'll lose boost.
Make sure all wiring connections are solid. Soldering is best but if you are going with the crimp connectors, double and triple crimp them.
"Reliable" spark plugs: You can only tell this if you check them routinely. Make sure they have the correct gap for F.I. Careful not to break them when you gap them. Know how to "read" them.
Your install manual may say to not use teflon tape. I'm telling you to USE teflon tape on all the oil fittings. Just be real careful HOW you use it and understand why they don't want you to. An oil leak in a feed line can be a bitch to fix after the thing is on the car.
The VTEC solenoid bracket will come off and you'll put in the supplied "sandwich". Make sure that the gasket (the one with the screen in it) groove is machined to the proper size. If the gasket(s) [there will be 2], do not fit well, you'll just pinch them and they'll eventually leak. Consider using a bit of high temp grease to lube those gaskets before install (if you can find it - if not, lightly oil them first).
Try to look out for stuff that touch each other or rub each other (like hoses) and run them in a different way or wrap them with something to act as a barrier. Don't get them too close to spinning parts or HOT parts (like exhaust manifold).
Put in fresh oil.
The S/C belt uses a pulley as a tightener. The pulley has a locknut to hold it in place and an adjuster to "adjust" it. The adjuster will NOT lock and hold the pulley and the pulley locknut must be loosened before you try to adjust it. Just remember the purpose for each one. Recheck the tightness after the initial few hundred miles, then at regular intervals depending upon how much and how hard you use the car.
Save and label all the parts you take off the car. You never know when you might want the car back to stock.
If it's a Vortech, the fuel filter is goofy. You have to change its orientation before putting it in the tank or your fuel level float won't go its full travel and your fuel gauge won't tell the truth.
As for the clutch, whether you change it now or change it later, it'll cost the same. I see you have an '03. Why throw away a perfectly good clutch (unless you are filthy rich and don't care one way or the other)? Wait till you determine if it really needs to be changed. The stories about having to remove the S/C to do a clutch job is a myth. It has been done with the blower intact.

 

(beroz)
nope i have not put in the cams in yet.... i haven't found the time to..... but im starting to worry since all these posts about cam failure....
what would be ur recommended camshaft break in procedure?
assuming from the pictures mxt posted the ones u have sent me seem to be the revised version

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper

 

I am pretty sure they are the new ones... I would varify with TODA.... tell then you are Beroz and tell them your concern.... preferably in email form so you can sue the Assholes if anything occurs.....
Not sure if they require any break in.... evn Joe Alaniz doesn'ty require any breakin for his head....
BEroz

 

No, I haven't had the need for a new clutch yet. However, I have seen posted here on the forum (about a year ago) from at least 2 (maybe 3) separate owners that they were able to do the clutch job with the S/C intact. They said they managed to tilt the back part of the cradle down, leaving the front as is. I could only assume they we telling the truth.