Maybe I should just leave it alone, I plan on getting the 3.4 before too long anyway.

Spark plugs gave us some trouble.

There is not enough metal to grab the outside of the plug and none of the drill bits we had would drill through the center of the plug to use the easy out.

The center of the plug is porcelain. If you have something hard and sharp perhaps you can break it into pieces that you can grab and not have fall in. The porcelain will brake if you hit it hard enough. The only problem is some of the parts will go inside. If you have the engine on a stand, and you have drained the oil you could tilt it so the plug was at the bottom so the bits tended to fall out of the hole.

Wow. Seems like we have gotten ourselves into much more than we expected.

I say drain the fluids and turn the whole thing on its side to crush that porcelain sun of a gun.

I agree. You're going to put new oil in it anyways before you put it back in right?

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 09-30-2010).]

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: I agree. You're going to put new oil in it anyways before you put it back in right?

We already had new oil in it from when he purchased it and got it running. We planned to drain and reuse the new oil that has about 15 minutes of running time on it. Unless the MMO we put in broke loose some serious gunk we should be fine reuse it.

If you roll it upside down and get the plug out, use compressed air to blow out the cylinder. Don't rotate the crankshaft during the operation. OSHA regulations restrict the sale of certain type air nozzles, but you can purchase the type with a long tube that you can insert down into the cylinder. That will blow particles out the spark plug hole.

http://www.msdiscount.com/c...tegory_site=STARTOOL

Well we got the outer output shaft bearing in today. Using our special install kit. (Mag light, brick, and the outer piece of another bearing) cleaned the tranny and alternator up a lil. Thinking about painting tranny black when I get it off to install clutch kit. Anything wrong with that?


Here's a pic of it.

Yeah black will absorb heat and make your Fiero burn up.

That's why I asked. What about red? Or should I just leave it polished? Its gonna be hard to get in every crack and crevice.

Red wont go with yellow. You can paint it aluminum. It looks like aluminum but stays nice looking longer. Or black.

Lol. The yellow and blue is coming off, I'm going with black and red. Intake manifold paint is already stripped. Gotta do valve covers. Was gonna do intake manifold black with red lines on the top.

So do you have a torch to heat up the exhaust manifold to crossover pipe nuts so you can get them cherry red and unbolt them without snapping them? Cherry red and then they should unscrew without breaking. Replace those bolts.

How long are you going to mess with your engine before you get the tranny seperated from it.

4 bolts to take off the inspection plate at the front bottom of the bellhousing
Take off the starter if you haven't yet
Take off the crossover pipe
Support the bottom of the engine and unbolt the tranny mounts
Pop out the other axle shaft
unbolt the tranny and it's off

So why did you take the a-arm off on the drivers side? You can take the knuckle off of the ball joint easier than taking the a-arm off. One bolt and seperate the knuckle pinch point with a screwdriver.

It's also easier to take off the inner tie rod end instead of the outer tie rod end.

Check out your outer tie rod ends. Look at the joint under the rubber seal/cover. IF they are rusted inside the joint, replace them. Rusted joints will feel tight untill you start driving the car. Then the rust will be ground to powder and the joint will become loose. IF they are floppy loose replace them. The joint should look like greasy metal only inside. The joint should move but be TIGHT. If you do replace them you will need to get the car aligned for sure. Do your best to make the new pieces the same lenght as the old so you don't wear out your tires on the way to the alignment shop.

Yeah the black comment was sarcasm cause you asked if it would be ok to paint your tranny black. You can paint your tranny any color you want of course and it won't work any different. If you want it to look like clean aluminum then paint it after you clean it. Black is fine also. If you were to highly polish it so it looked like chrome, then you would want to clear coat it instead. Aluminum can be polished to that degree but it takes a ton of work. If you have a buffing wheel and buffing sticks you can try it on an aluminum can and see how it starts looking like chrome. That shiny chrome look of your aluminum can won't last long as the aluminum does oxidize. The white powder and black stuff you get when you are cleaning it up is oxidized aluminum.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 10-01-2010).]

Well we took the A-arm off to clean and paint. There was a lot of junk inside it. I will be taking many parts off to clean and paint while engine is out.

I am planning on opening the tranny up next. Got a few bolts loose today.

I plan on replacing tie rods on both sides, just because the knuckle/bushing looked bad. And the rod itself had lots of surface rust.

And the paint sarcasm is hard to judge over internet. But I figured something was up there. Ha.

Im about to order this clutch kit, just wanna make sure its nothing bad, or not the wrong kind before I do.

http://www.partstrain.com/s...L/W0133-1606951.html

The throwout bearing depicted is incorrect for a 4 speed transmission. The description is incorrect. It lists the assembly shown as fitting 85-88 V6 Fieros. The 4 speed was only used in the 85 and 86 V6 and the 84's. The correct clutch assembly should be for an 85-86 V6 only. That's why I suggested you order it for the 85 V6 to make sure you got the right one the first time. You may also get a pilot bushing in a Fiero clutch kit. The Fiero doesn't use a pilot bushing.

Here's what your release bearing should look like. No clips or anything sticking out on it. I don't know who this manufacturer is, but the part number on it is BCA 614009 if it's of any help in cross-referencing.

Ok, that one is from the link you sent me and 85 gt is selected. Which one on the link you sent me were you referring too then?

Don't be surprised when you discover there is no pilot bushing in the end of the crankshaft. The Fiero doesn't use it. Look at the input shaft of the tranny and you will notice there is no protrusion to insert into a bushing if it was there. The image of the clutch kit included an alignment tool used to align the clutch disk to the flywheel. Since there is no bushing that tool, if they provide it wouldn't work. Make sure the clutch disk is centered on the flywheel/clutch plate before you tighten down the clutch plate.

It may be that they're using a stock image instead of the actual product. If you just tell them you want a clutch assembly for the 85 2.8 V6 4-speed, you should get the right release bearing.

Thats what I was thinking. Well I guess I'm going to order that one. Would one from Advance Autoparts, Autozone, Napa, or Oreily's be just as good? I ask because we have all within 10 miles of my house, and would be easy to return if it happens to be the wrong one. And would be a little more convenient because most can have them in within in the next day. Just thought I would ask before I did it and find something out the hard way. Also they have a lifetime warranty.

I couldn't tell you which to purchase from. I believe each carries 2 different brands. Usually made in another country. My personal preference would be a NAPA or Pep Boys unit even though they generally cost a little more. As I stated earlier, I'm partial to the Luk brand, sold by Pep Boys for use in stock applications taking a little abuse.

You're correct that if you get the wrong one or have a warranty problem, you're dealing with local people face to face, especially since it appears that this is going to become your main vehicle.

Well not necessarily my main vehicle, as I have a perfectly fine truck and motorcycle that should be out of the shop soon. But it is getting colder so less motorcycle riding will be happening, and driving around campus can be costly on gas since my truck gets about 14 city, But I would like it to be a trustworthy vehicle as I hope to drive it to Yulee, Fl during Thanksgiving week. I think that gives me plenty of time to do everything. I will probably wait until next summer to paint it because it is getting colder. Me and 300zxmaster are going to go in half way on a wire welder so we can port the exhaust manifold, do a cat delete, and weld a piece of metal over a hole on the cradle. IMO a welder is something good too have on hand anyway. I have a stick welder but wouldn't be good for anything but fixing hole on cradle. But I will contact NAPA tomorrow and see if they have one in stock and if not get them to order it. We will try and get the transmission case off wednesday assuming we can get that dang spark plug out.

You said you're going to open up the tranny. Does that mean separate it from the engine or pull the rear plate off it? Unless there's something wrong inside, I wouldn't remove the rear housing plate. Since there's no combusion, there are no carbon by-products in the transmission. Cleaning out any metal particles can be accomplished with a good flush with Diesel Fuel, letting it drain well then refilling with Syncromesh Gear Oil.

I'd pull the transmission, then order your clutch package. That way you can compare release bearings when you receive your clutch kit. Leave the release bearing in the release fork of the transmission so you can see how the new one installs when you get it. I remember one PFF member had all kinds of trouble getting his bearing reinstalled properly and had to remove his engine and transmission again.

From what I understand we are seperating the tranny from the engine. I did read the post about the guy with the problems, and it did scare me, but I will follow your advice. So the pilot bushing... when I get the clutch kit I will have to get the flywheel resurfaced. Should I get the kit and bring it home and look at the pilot bushing, or is the flywheel before the bushing?

You can print out the picture I posted and open the box when you pick it up to compare. The release bearing slides over the input shaft of the transmission, and is outside the clutch/pressure plate. If you don't have one, I suggest you at least get a Haynes Manual. Chapter 8, first page shows the exploded view.

If you were looking at the assembly from the rear of the car, an exploded view would be, left to right:
transmission-release bearing-pressure plate-clutch disk-flywheel-engine. I'm sure 300zxmaster can guide you through the replacement. Take as little off the flywheel as possible, just enough to remove any glazing, and rust, and to true the surface.

As for the pilot bushing, that inserts into the back of the crankshaft on applications where a pilot bushing is used. The Fiero transmission doesn't use it because the transmission input shaft is one piece and is supported by bearings where it enters the transmission, and at the other end.

Thanks for the tip. I will print the page. Oh, and I met a fiero owner on GSU today. He said he's a member of the GA Fiero club. He's from ATL and has an 87 GT. He is 18. You know who I am talking about Fierofool? Clean car. Same color as mine.

Well, we got the transmission case off today, and the clutch kit looks like it was replaced when the engine was, so less than 1000 miles on it. I will still get a kit, because the pressure plate had rust, and heat spots, but the disc looks barely used. Well the problem was that the clutch fork was actually broken, so I got one ordered. The throughout bearing does not spin easily either, and was not on the fork anymore. The fork was behind it. I also got the spark plug removed, and the new one installed. I was able to use an extractor to save some trouble. Pics to come later.

How does the rear engine seal look? How does the input shaft seal look on the tranny? Look at your engine mounts. If they are looking origional and squishy you should replace them. Fiero's kinda surge when the mounts are bad. Really bad and the engine hits the firewall. Rockauto.com is quite cheap on mounts. 1 Engine mount, and 2 Tranny mounts. Inspect your hoses. If they feel spongy or are bulged you should replace them. Three big hoses at the engine. Two more at the radiator if you want to do those also. Two heater hoses at the engine and two more at the heater box. I think there is actually one more heater line hose somewhere but I can't place it right now.

You have the intake and valve covers looking good?

Take the throttle body off and take it to a buffing wheel mounted to a bench grinder. Make sure you don't knick up the brass coolant line fittings. You have to use buffing compound on the wheel You can shine up your throttle body to a chrome like appearance. The brass coolant line connections will shine up like they are a brass bell on a ship. The top where it says Holley is the part you want to make sure you get. No one can see the bottom/back. Paint the "HOLLEY" to match your valve covers if you wish . Then you have to clear coat the aluminum and brass after or it will return to the dull finish you started with.

If you take the throttle body apart when reassembling MAKE SURE you get your throttle plate screws tight and that you use lock-tite on them! If they come out there is a 100% chance that they will get sucked through the engine.

If you haven't already make sure the fat grove in the harmonic balancer has bright paint IN it so it's easier to time. Clean off the timing pointer on the engine and see if you can get some paint in the embossed numbers and marks.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 10-06-2010).]

We don't currently have any members with silver GT's. I don't know who the young man is. I did meet a young man when we did our Road Atlanta event in July who was driving a silver 87GT, but he's never attended a meeting. Maybe it was he.

You say you've ordered a clutch fork. Be sure it's for a 4-speed transmission. Just as with the release bearings, there are 3 different release forks, designed to accept that particular release bearing.

Well, I replaced on transmission mounts, the input shaft seal is good. Hoses are good, dogbone will need to be replaced. I am painting the intake manifold, I have an idea with it. I will show you guys when I get it done.

Fierofool, It was for a 4 speed, and is just the shaft. That could be the guy, he was supposed to ride by today, but when he was able to come I wasnt home.

Getting hope for the car guys, I need the dogbone, outer tie rods as of now. I got syncromesh to change the tranny fluid. I have a lot of sanding and painting to do now. Removed the Y pipe today, and will definately replace the nuts and bolts. Should I really pull off the exhaust manifold and port it? I would probably just take it to the towns muffler shop because I dont have a welder yet, but it seems like it will be a hassel.

Did the exhaust manifolds leak? If you try taking them off and you bust manifold bolts then you're gonna swear. If they didn't leak perhaps you should just leave them alone. If they leaked NOW is the time to take them off in case they do break. If you decide to take them off you really really want to use oil/heat/back and forth tension to very hopefully take them off and not break them off.

You don't really have to port the Y tube right now if you don't want to. If you do take the manifolds off you do want to port the log tube holes.

Well, some of the manifold bolts look okay, but some look bad. I dont think it leaked. I just dont know where to get the studs if I break them. What do you mean port the Y tube? I might can do that if it will help anything without porting the exhaust manifold.

If you're planning on going to a 3.4 later, I'd just leave the exhaust alone until that time comes. You're not going to realize an awful lot of gain and if you really have to break off the manifold bolts, do it because you're putting the manifolds on a different engine, then do all your porting and relieving.

The Y tube is the one that has the EGR valve in it. Where the two meet isn't built with a full sized hole (no surprise there eh?). So the thing to do is cut it, but cut it with a V shaped cut close to the joint so when the welder re-assembles it, there is NO question as to how it goes back together.

Manifold/Header Porting

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/105621.html

Y pipe (crossover pipe) - DO NOT cut it straight like this guy did. Cut it with a V

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/104203.html