I'm just blown away whenever I come across this thread. It always inspires me to clean up my engine bay, but I need some help with that. Does anyone know the color/code of this blue powder? It's very similar to my car's body color, and I'd love to have my intake, valve covers, and misc. parts done up in it.
Thanks in advance for any input. Feel free to shoot me a PM or email.
You might want to check out the various colors on either Eastwood's or Caswell Plating's websites. It looks a little like Caswell's "Lollipop Blue" metallic powder color to me....
Heres the refurbished thermostat housing with the throttle body cooling lines removed, the holes MIG welded in and ground smooth and painted:
Since there were no more TB cooling lines to worry about, the cast on lug on the upper manifold for the tube mounting was also removed and while I was at it I removed all of the casting parting lines on the upper manifold and smoothed it out a bit before painting:
Heres the other end of the manifold nicely cleaned up and painted:
I still need to sand the paint off the raised portions of the valve covers, polish all the areas and hit them with some high temp clear to forestall oxidation.
Should be just about ready to swap the new 3.4 in by next weekend if all goes well. Thinking about removing the casting parting lines on the middle manifold too, but they are hard to actually see once the motor is installed and the distributor, brackets and misc. plumbing are in place.
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 05-12-2007).]
A small tip when painting manifolds or other parts.. I leave approx. 1/16th inch "overlap" on masked off areas wherever possible, (green arrow). This helps prevent chipping of the paint on corners and edges and leaves plenty of gasket sealing surface.
You can also see how nice the upper manifold looks without the cast parting lines. Not a perfect job but it looks much better to my eye
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 05-12-2007).]
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04:28 PM
shawnkfl Member
Posts: 2457 From: Largo, Florida Registered: Oct 2004
randy, you're too humble! everything you've done to that car and engine is top notch. i was just staring in awe. next weekend, we'll hear it purr!
Coming from a fellow mechanical engineer and a guy who has built a VERY nice 3.4L engine himself, I am honored by your compliment.
I'm happy we both were able to find the oil pan and block sensor plugs, and even happier that they were so "expensive" You spent about what?, $6.00 for them?, and they turned out to be commonly stocked, off-the-shelf, items too! Couldn't have been easier huh?
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08:15 PM
shawnkfl Member
Posts: 2457 From: Largo, Florida Registered: Oct 2004
i think i have about $6.00 invested in the oil pan plug, crankshaft sensor plug and the cam sensor plug. why people leave the cut sensors in there instead of spending a few bucks is beyond me? i guess it goes along the same line as the bashing in the oil pan method though....it's all in the details.
we're all clear for saturday. i can't wait!
oh...tell kim that my A/C works much better with the vents open...lol. i like the windows down when i drive so i keep the vents closed. it took me a minute to figure out what the "whistling" sound was coming from the dash.
randy, i was thinking. lets get a "to do" list going to get ready for the swap next weekend.
i know you need to do:
lifters pushrods rockers gaskets lock down the oil pump vacuum lines (new or make them?) injectors and fuel pressure regulator manifolds (are you using the ones off the 2.8?)
anything else?
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11:50 AM
alex de jorge Member
Posts: 501 From: Kissimmee, FL Registered: Nov 2005
Which plugs did you guys get for the crankshaft sensor and the cam sensor plug? I would love to get them out and not leave them there.
Advance Auto Parts They are on the shelf:
Dorman 571-003
The same plug fits the cam and crank sensor holes. Trim off the area in red in the photo above so that the cam sensor plug clears the lower intake manifold. About 2-3 minutes work with a file or a bench grinder.
Sardonyx used the expedient method of simply denting in the 3.4 oil pan to clear the Fiero 2.8 motor mount, and I guess thats ok, but I opted for something a little different. (Actually Shawnkfl put me onto this mod)
Here the 2.8 mount is scribed approximately to where it needs to be trimmed to clear the 3.4 oil pan:
I used a die grinder and a carbide cutter to trim away the corner. Took about 20 - 30 minutes to clean it up: You can probably do the same thing on a bench grinder as well.
Leave a generous radius and not a square inside corner to prevent creating a stress riser that might crack the mount later. Just smoothly blend the cut as shown.
The mount bolted to the block and it now clears the oil pan nicely, and so little material is removed I don't think the mount is weakened structurally....should be fine. I'll remove it and paint now
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 05-13-2007).]
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07:53 PM
shawnkfl Member
Posts: 2457 From: Largo, Florida Registered: Oct 2004
with the pan installed, it's really easy to see exactly where to trim the engine mount bracket. took me maybe 10 min. with a 4" angle grinder. nice job randy. that red paint is making me second guess my yellow...
that red paint is making me second guess my yellow...
RED IS GOOD
VHT "Universal Red" with VHT Clear to prevent oxidation on the brushed aluminum. The block, heads, lower and middle manifold and the thermo housing are VHT "Aluminum" also with clear coat over it.
Leave your 3.4 yellow Shawn. It will look great in that black coupe
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10:35 PM
May 18th, 2007
David DeVoe Member
Posts: 1358 From: Grand Blanc, MI US Registered: Jul 2001
If you have an 87 or 88 timing cover, the 3.4 oil pan will mate up to it just fine.
If you have an 86 or earlier timing cover you will need to use the 2.8 oil pan and dipstick. The 2.8 oil pan is shallower than the 3.4 I believe. You'll get a false oil level reading from the 3.4 dipstick in the 2.8 pan.
You need to remove about 1.5 square inches of metal from the front motor mount on the short part of the "L" shape to clear the corner of the 3.4 original oil pan. This is not necessary on the 2.8 pan. The trimmed off metal allows the 3.4 pan to fit nicely and it's such a small trim it doesn't really affect the structural integrity of the motor mount.
I'll be trimming my motor mount tomorrow and I'll try to post some photos this weekend.
so with this info, is there a difference in the 2.8 pump and the 3.4 pump?? or is it just the pickup tube??
so with this info, is there a difference in the 2.8 pump and the 3.4 pump?? or is it just the pickup tube??
I believe that the 3.4 oil pump is a high volume pump (as well as the pick-up tube being slightly different.) The 2.8 and 3.4 pump housings appear to be otherwise identical.
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09:21 PM
May 20th, 2007
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
Well, it been a long time since I have done an update. Today, with the help of Eli, I got the timing chain done(the small sprocket was a PITA to get off), as well as the rod and main bearings. Also, got the flywheel off and the new installed, the same with the rear main seal and the timing cover seal. Things should start to pick up as far as putting everything together. I still have a few things that have to get painted.
Since the following photo was taken I have the old engine and trans off the cradle and the cradle is completely stripped down. I have new polyurethane cradle and A-arm bushings going in once the cradle is cleaned and painted and new tie rods and ball joints going in too. New Pioneer motor mount and trans mounts are going on also. Found out that my front trans mount was broken and had been since I bought the car. Explains the *clunk* I sometimes had when putting the car in reverse!
The new 3.4 is on the stand in the garage waiting to go on the cradle. I got the trans cleaned up more today as well as a lot of brackets and misc. parts. Tomorrow should be "paint" day for the cradle and trans and A-arms and then reassembly can start
Hope to have it all back in and running by next weekend. I did say I work slow ....
Randy
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 05-27-2007).]
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12:12 AM
alex de jorge Member
Posts: 501 From: Kissimmee, FL Registered: Nov 2005
OK. The only thing done today was the installations of the timning chain dampner. The one that came with the engine was pretty worn. I am waiting for my new oil pump, flywheel bolts and oil pan gasket to come in. I also stripped the middle and lower intake and they'll be painted tomorrow.
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10:51 PM
May 30th, 2007
civicduty13 Member
Posts: 342 From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota USA Registered: Jul 2004
all i can say is that this thread has helped me out a lot. I will be doing my swap this weekend and have already used a lot of the info off here to purchase parts. I wont be doing a lot of the painting and all that stuff but I did do all new bearings, piston rings, oil pump, cam, timing chain and will be porting a set of exhaust manifolds today. I will post up my choice of color for the plenum and valve covers after I get it painted. Hehe
Do you have to get an adapter for the oil pressure sender if you arent using ac??
all i can say is that this thread has helped me out a lot. I will be doing my swap this weekend and have already used a lot of the info off here to purchase parts. I wont be doing a lot of the painting and all that stuff but I did do all new bearings, piston rings, oil pump, cam, timing chain and will be porting a set of exhaust manifolds today. I will post up my choice of color for the plenum and valve covers after I get it painted. Hehe
Do you have to get an adapter for the oil pressure sender if you arent using ac??
I'm really happy that maybe some of the engine overhaul posts have been helpful for you. You never really know sometimes if what you post is helpful or just repeating already well known stuff.
As far as the oil pressure sender adapter, it depends on what oil pressure sender you have. I know that the one from the 2.8 with A/C will not fit into the threads on the 3.4 block, (big size difference). If you have a sending unit from a non-A/C 2.8 it might fit, but I don't have one to verify that with. The threads in the 3.4 block for the pressure sender are 1/4 NPT. If you end up needing an adapter, it's no sweat at all. Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware or any good hardware place should have a whole range of brass fittings for you to find something. For my adapter, (car with A/C), I used a 1/4 NPT male to 5/16 female flare fitting, cost approx. 90 cents
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02:16 PM
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
Randy, I have a similiar project going, but although I will be replacing the engine in my 86GT, the main goal is to replace a badly rusted cradle. I will be installing a low mile, completely regasketed and painted 2.8. After following this thread I'm wishing I had put all that time and effort into a 3.4. Oh well, next time maybe. Great job, great thread.
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07:59 PM
civicduty13 Member
Posts: 342 From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota USA Registered: Jul 2004
Today I painted the middle and lower intakes and timing cover. I also got a call form the powder coater, he's got my plenum, valver covers and headlight buckets ready to be picked up. As soon as I do and get a chance, I'll post pics.
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10:06 PM
May 31st, 2007
civicduty13 Member
Posts: 342 From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota USA Registered: Jul 2004
awesome. so it is just a tube that the sender goes into. I havent looked at my fiero in about 3 weeks and really had no idea how that worked. Thank you again.
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01:29 AM
alex de jorge Member
Posts: 501 From: Kissimmee, FL Registered: Nov 2005
Cleaning, repairing and prepping parts is the hard part. The real fun begins when you get to start putting it all back together Looks like you're doing a nice clean professional looking job Alex. Keep up the great work! Wish I had powder coated my headlight buckets from Timo like you did. Looks like they came out great.
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09:05 AM
alex de jorge Member
Posts: 501 From: Kissimmee, FL Registered: Nov 2005
Cleaning, repairing and prepping parts is the hard part. The real fun begins when you get to start putting it all back together Looks like you're doing a nice clean professional looking job Alex. Keep up the great work! Wish I had powder coated my headlight buckets from Timo like you did. Looks like they came out great.
They did. I am quite happy with them. They look so nice. I am waiting for the headlights to come. When I placed my order some of the items I ordered where on back order.
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02:35 PM
Jun 4th, 2007
alex de jorge Member
Posts: 501 From: Kissimmee, FL Registered: Nov 2005
OK, I need some help here. Trying to get my flywheel on, I noticed that the bolts that came with the engine and the new flywheel are not working out too well. The bolts are not long enough. Can anyone tell me exactly what size and length bolt I need and also where can I get them? I have been to every auto parts store with no avail.
thanks
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05:20 PM
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
OK, I need some help here. Trying to get my flywheel on, I noticed that the bolts that came with the engine and the new flywheel are not working out too well. The bolts are not long enough. Can anyone tell me exactly what size and length bolt I need and also where can I get them? I have been to every auto parts store with no avail.
thanks
It sounds like you got 'flexplate bolts' instead of 'flywheel bolts' for the auto vs stick. I think I have seen them in the "help" section at autoparts stores.
edit:should be m10x1x23 but it has to be a HARD bolt like 11.?
