7.3 Ported Heads... Worth it or not

Im slowly in the process of gathering parts for a build and I am in no hurry as I dont need to be since I have a spare engine. This has been a topic that has come up time and time again.... To port the heads or just leave them be. Now I do know

there is gains to be had by porting them but is it totally worth it to do it on just an everyday daily driven truck that will be used for a little bit of everything? I dont want this to get into a big argument but rather a good discussion that will help myself

as well as others that may do this down the road. It would be nice if the sponsers that offer port work step in as well and give their side of the story (WOP, DI, SWAMPS, etc). Now by my last statement, I do not want the vendors to tell their trade

secrets but instead just help share some good old fashioned info. As well as tuners that have tuned ported and non ported trucks. (Gearhead as well as previous listed).

Look forward to a good thread with lots of info.opcorn:

Heads that have intake side porting done are a tremendous upgrade to a 7.3 especially when you add in a performance cam like WOP's or Gearhead's. That being said, I personally had the exhaust and intake side ported on my truck because I wanted nothing hindering. The exhaust really isn't that big of a deal but the intake should be the main focus in a performance application.

Finding somebody to do the job who has a good understanding of reversion, port swirl, port flow, etc., will be your biggest issue. I can think of only a few people I would let touch my heads again after seeing what I have with work from other shops...

Oh and make sure that you have the heads magnafluxed before any work is done. I know it sounds stupid to even have to say but you would be surprised LOL

Powerstroked162 said:

Heads that have intake side porting done are a tremendous upgrade to a 7.3 especially when you add in a performance cam like WOP's or Gearhead's. That being said, I personally had the exhaust and intake side ported on my truck because I wanted nothing hindering. The exhaust really isn't that big of a deal but the intake should be the main focus in a performance application.

Finding somebody to do the job who has a good understanding of reversion, port swirl, port flow, etc., will be your biggest issue. I can think of only a few people I would let touch my heads again after seeing what I have with work from other shops...

Oh and make sure that you have the heads magnafluxed before any work is done. I know it sounds stupid to even have to say but you would be surprised LOL

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There is about 3 shops that are on the top of my list to do mine. I was gonna try and stay local but i cant find anyone to do them. They will be fluxed, decked and ported if i decide to do it.... Still on the fence.

I would send them off to WOP. They did my second set. Zane will set you up with a quality port job for great daily driver performance. IMO

I'd go back to mini-me's, 38r, cam, and heads if i had to pick a solid 500rwhp+ setup

If it were me - I would find a shop with a wet flow bench and have the heads ported for maximum velocity and let the CFM number fall where ever they land..... but hey - I've always walked to the beat of a different drummer. There is just something to be said about non turbulent flow with all the eddy spots smoothed out to nothing. But that also adds some coin to the port job. I agree with Steve - worry about the intake side for a street truck - just mildly clean up the castings on the exhaust side and let it be.

My next set of heads was going to be done by Joe Mondello - but he passed away a couple of months ago - supposedly the business is still going, and I hope the same passion for the job exists - but be cautious. Mondello Tech Center - Joe was a great guy to talk to on the phone - he even offered classes on porting heads that myself and a couple of other diesel gear heads were talking about taking this winter - he had told us to bring down a half a dozen heads for the class of what we wanted done and by the time we left we would have things figured out on the wet bench to get us rolling. I don't know if that is even still an option anymore.

It would be interesting to take a class on it with someone that is that good at doing heads. I have some calls to make before i make up my mind completly on them but only good things can happen i guess.

my consern on a daily driven truck would be the reliability of the head after you take all that metal out. are they more prone to cracking from daily heat cycles? after the porting has been done there are probably some spots where the wall is pretty thin between the coolant and exhaust or intake ports

Done right, there should not be any issues.

Most of the cracking happens between valves and glow plug holes, or injector holes ect, thats where the heat is at, unless you got super close to an exhaust port/water jacket i dont think it would be any issue.

^^ exactly what Dustin said.

Most of the work in the intake runner isn't gonna get you that close on an average port job.

I dont know much about nothing but I can say I have had ported heads on my daily driver for a good bit and have not had any problems.... In fact I just had the heads gone through because I am going to use them on another build I am doing. I also have a second set in my truck now that has just over 10K on them and no problems. First set was on my Excursion and they had over 30K on them when I had other engine problems. So as far as ported heads on a DD I dont see any problems with them.

Again like other have said make sure to check them for cracks and such before you spend the cash to have them done....

I recall reading a number of articles or tech papers written by Joe Mondello that spoke about the need and or effects of velocity as part of head work. He did a very good job I thought of explaining how the air flow stack performed and in general the tech of how the head worked and the various goals of head work. Based on what I read I agree with HRT on porting for maximum flow vel rather than ultimate flow vol.

I did a search for Joe Mondello and did some reading. He definetly has some good info out there was was very knowledgeable about head work. Sucks it isnt here anymore. Ive also found out some more info that is pushing me very hard to have them done. About 90% sure they will be on their way to Utah when im ready.

I have a fresh motor in my daily driver built by Unlimited Diesel with ported heads and my stage 1 cam with the same injectors and 38r that was on it before. The truck comes up on boost easier, runs cooler under all conditions, and is completely smokeless (not even a haze) up to about 400-425HP with the 80% nozzled hybrids that are in it now. I'm actually thinking about stepping up the nozzles on the injectors since it is clearing way more fuel than before.

good thread! i wanted to figure this one out too!

Gearhead said:

I have a fresh motor in my daily driver built by Unlimited Diesel with ported heads and my stage 1 cam with the same injectors and 38r that was on it before. The truck comes up on boost easier, runs cooler under all conditions, and is completely smokeless (not even a haze) up to about 400-425HP with the 80% nozzled hybrids that are in it now. I'm actually thinking about stepping up the nozzles on the injectors since it is clearing way more fuel than before.

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Since yours are ported, and you have your cam. (the combo im wanting). Does it make more power then it did with the old set up? Also since the air flow has been improved shouldnt your max boost numbers be lower then they was in the old motor due to less drag and restriction in the heads?

Also just for $hits and giggles, did your fuel milage change any since doing the cam and port work? Not really worried about it but just curious to see what it would do.

Choupique108 said:

Since yours are ported, and you have your cam. (the combo im wanting). Does it make more power then it did with the old set up? Also since the air flow has been improved shouldnt your max boost numbers be lower then they was in the old motor due to less drag and restriction in the heads?

Also just for $hits and giggles, did your fuel milage change any since doing the cam and port work? Not really worried about it but just curious to see what it would do.

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I haven't flogged on it yet it only has about 1200 miles on it as I have been away for the last 2 months. The mileage is up slightly and the tuning is definitely different than before. As I have seen in the past on other combos, I had to retard the part throttle timing compared to the old motor with the exact same injectors and turbo. The cam profile is making the burn faster with less timing and thus telling me that more oxygen is making it to the combustion chamber and there is less dilution from the exhaust.

The ported heads and cam are dropping the boost number compared to stock (3psi cruise vs 5 before) but the volume of airflow hitting the turbine is higher. I'm thinking about modifying the 1.0 housing to use the wastegate across both sides of the scroll or just going to a 1.15 housing, but the turbo comes on like a light switch at 1550 RPMs right now and I would really hate to lose that.

I bet you will not lose much if any going to the 1.15. If it at all acts the way mine does on my 42. It's very fast. Maybe things like higer elevation have effects but from what little experience I have it seems the 1.15t4 in general is well matched to the 7.3's flow profile across many turbo setups when run as a single. Most of my driving is from 1000'-2000' so I have no expereince with real elevation like out west. But then you are not exactly much above sea level either. I would also think but could be wrong that the perf gained by head work and cam would only add to more exhuast flow making the housing that much more the point of restriction. What about addingv a custom port for an external gate and going with both it and the 1.15? Maybe that might be the best choice over all? Or is that more trouble and cost than you want to deal with. Not to mention 1.15s are not exactly hanging on trees for easy pickins. LOL

Gearhead said:

I haven't flogged on it yet it only has about 1200 miles on it as I have been away for the last 2 months. The mileage is up slightly and the tuning is definitely different than before. As I have seen in the past on other combos, I had to retard the part throttle timing compared to the old motor with the exact same injectors and turbo. The cam profile is making the burn faster with less timing and thus telling me that more oxygen is making it to the combustion chamber and there is less dilution from the exhaust.

The ported heads and cam are dropping the boost number compared to stock (3psi cruise vs 5 before) but the volume of airflow hitting the turbine is higher. I'm thinking about modifying the 1.0 housing to use the wastegate across both sides of the scroll or just going to a 1.15 housing, but the turbo comes on like a light switch at 1550 RPMs right now and I would really hate to lose that.

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Thats pretty much the results i was thinking that they made on there... I cant wait to get mine done.