Old timing set. This chain has stretched A LOT in 150,000 miles. Check out the deflection- a new chain stays taut against that plastic damper.


This little bastard took like 3 hours to clean and scrape old gaskets off of. It had a 26 year old original gasket on one side, and a 2 year old water pump gasket literally cemented onto the other. Either way, it's clean and ready for installation of the water pump.


Water pump RTV'd and torqued. Front timing cover torqued. Crank damper installed, crank pulley installed. That balancer is a new part for a 3.4. I transferred the timing mark, and went to install it. I learned that the crank trigger wheel on the back of the 3.4L balancer interferes with the Fiero front timing cover... so off it came. I just popped it out the back.


Oil pan cleaned out. I took a disturbing amount of small metallic flakes out of the bottom. Part of the reason why the old engine is dying.


I notched the starter opening in the lower flywheel cover, so this plate can be removed without taking off the starter. This is a pretty common "mod."

[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 03-18-2014).]

Refitted the distributor, and got the timing set as close as I can without the engine running. I was really damn close on correct timing... only problem was it was 180 degrees off. A simple pull and half rotation of the shaft later it was correct.


Drive one Fiero to rebuild another... This is my Dad's 1985 SE V6 that he's had since new. At about 170,000 miles he replaced his 2.8 with a 3.1. Now 110,000 miles on that motor and going strong. It should hit 300,00 miles next year.


Front manifold and head shield reinstalled with new stainless steel fasteners. Dipstick, starter, lift loop, and brackets back on. I left the block shield off, as I don't like how it sandwiches between the head and manifold without a gasket on one side.


Installing front accessories back on. Shoutout to Dodgerunner for making that awesome belt tensioner kit. Makes getting a belt on and off so easy, keeps perfect tension on the belt all the time without needing adjustment. Looks like a factory part, too.


Rear manifold installed. Again, new stainless fasteners. CS-style alternator and wiring adapter visible. This is another upgrade I strongly encourage for the 1987 and earlier V6 Fiero. It gets you a smaller, lighter, more efficient alternator. Just order a 1988 Fiero V6 alternator, and get the wiring adapter. It's bolt-on and plug-n-play at that point. Lots of juice, never have a problem with voltage anymore. This alternator is 105 amp, whereas the best SI alternator that came in a Fiero was 94.

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Next step: THAT goes back in THERE.


1988 Fiero V6 neutrally-balanced flywheel necessary with the internally balanced 3.4L crankshaft. Again, just order a 1988 Fiero V6 part, and it bolts right up. Does the trick. Note the old pilot bushing still stuck in the end of the crank. This would later prove to be a problem.


I installed this clutch assembly new only 1100 miles before the engine started knocking... so back in it goes!


I opened up the hole and tapped some threads into the engine torque strut mount bracket, so that the A/C compressor bracket has somewhere to mount to. The stock 2.8 motor has a boss for the third bolt to share functionality as holding the bracket on, and mounting the AC compressor bracket. The new 3.4 motor has only the two bolt locations. I used a 27/64ths drill bit and M12x1.25 tap to properly thread the now bigger hole in the bracket. There's limited clearance behind the bracket, so I used a 30mm length 12x1.25 bolt which was enough to pass through both brackets and get a couple threads through on the back. You only have to do this if you have an '85, '86, or '87 Fiero with A/C. Check out the next picture to see the mounting points for this bracket.


I installed an '88 Oil Pressure sender, instead of the earlier style with a tube up to a top-mount sender. This eliminates the degradation of the sensor from rain water damage, and is a cleanlier installation. I used a 45 degree angled fitting to get the sender to sit parallel to the side of the block, which allows clearance for the air conditioning compressor. This process is outlined in a 1988 Technical Service Bulletin. I bought the '88 oil pressure sender and new pigtail wiring from Autozone. I pulled the three wires back through the harness and out of the sheathing to get it down to this spot. Overall, another nice change. The two bosses between the sender and the oil filter are 2/3rds of the bosses on the 2.8. This is why you need to do something with the torque strut and A/C bracket. Also, note the larger than stock oil filter. You can get a filter for later 60 Degree V6's that is almost twice the capacity of the stock 2.8 part. Same diameter, same threads, just taller. Holds more oil, gives you longer filter life. Pair one of these with synthetic oil, and you can go 6000-7000 miles between changes and maintain an internally clean engine.

[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 03-18-2014).]

Here's a broken-off section of transmission bell housing. Cast aluminum is apparently very brittle. Damian and I were trying to install the transmission with the aforementioned unnecessary pilot bushing in the end of the crank, which apparently prevents the transmission input shaft from going all the way into the crank. We didn't realize this was why it didn't sit flush, and thought we'd try to cinch it up using the mounting bolts. We knew better, and had always heard that this is a no-no... but tried it anyway. Dumb. This stressed the case in an odd way, and cracked. Thankfully, I had a whole spare 4 speed Muncie just like the one I broke, so we swapped transaxles. Someday I'll either swap case halves on my old one, or have this welded back up so I have a spare again.


Once the trans case broke, I took a break from installing the new engine to do a Post-mortem on the 2.8. These are the #2 connecting rod bearings, with the two halves of rod bearing spun 90 degrees off normal. That's what was causing my engine noise. You can see how the bearings have grooves cut in their backs from spinning in their caps. Bad.


Inner surface of #2 rod bearings. WOW. These are totally mangled. Check out how the upper one is shedding layers of material, and how the bottom one is pitting. Totally crazy. This is as-pulled. The metallic flakes I was pulling out of the oil pan were the layers of that top bearing. Sad.


This is what a perfectly happy, normal, well-maintained rod bearing is supposed to look like. 5 of the 6 cylinder's bearings looked like this- minimal and normal wear after 150,000 miles. It's a shame one rod bearing had to go and ruin my motor.


Transmission replaced, everything set back in place. Next step, back in the car!

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Obligatory "standing in the engine bay" shot. I was already in there installing Rodney's shift cable end link repair parts, so I had to get the photo.


Going UP!

Everything back together, this is the result:


I pre-primed the oiling system when everything was apart, so it wouldn't starve at first-start. The timing was 180 degrees off, which I was able to change. After that, it started right up. Set the timing close, and got it going. Later on, I was able to crank the timing up to where I wanted it. It idles better after that. Has just the slightest hint of idle lope now. My friends say it's louder than it was before, although I can't tell.


And everything back together.

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[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 05-01-2012).]

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"There is no more formidable adversary than one who perceives he has nothing to lose." - Gen. George S. Patton
http://www.flowbenchtech.com

[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 05-01-2012).]