For a while I was trying to figure out what kind of car I wanted to have a project on. After a long time I found this beauty in August after it was sitting for 6 years. 2.8 V6 with 78k miles.
The PO replaced the connecting rod bearings and thinks he replaced them the wrong way so it was knocking and he never touched it since. The only horrible rust is in the trunk corners which I have been told is all too common. I've decided to pull the engine apart because I've always wanted to do it and try and see if he spun a bearing or if he didn't do too much damage.
Been able to get everything off the car before pulling the cradle except the rear cradle bolts
Won't be too much to add until I get these bolts out.
fThe rear cradle bolts are horribly rusted in. The driver side is almost completely round and all attempts with stripped bolt sockets haven't done anything. The passenger side I tried to grind off but that has worked too well either. I cut the pocket in the side of the driver side, but I'm not really sure where to go from here. Can I just cut the nut and will it drop out or what else can I try since pretty much the whole bolt head is gone?
.
heat the nut side use penetrating oil on it for a couple days.... and get a easy out dont cut the head or youll have even harder time getting it out and that lines up everything so u dont wanna break it in there
[This message has been edited by 85bluegtma (edited 10-10-2012).]
hi i used to live in villa park, how old are you ? in the picture of the car is it just me or does the sail window say se
im building a 85 gt also the thread is
It's always interesting when someone actually knows your small town exists. I'm 19 and yes the sail windows say SE on them. The replacement windows I picked up also say SE on them. Is that uncommon?
quote
Originally posted by 85bluegtma: heat the nut side use penetrating oil on it for a couple days.... and get a easy out dont cut the head or youll have even harder time getting it out and that lines up everything so u dont wanna break it in there
Finally got both of the rear cradle bolts out. Just a lot of time spent with the cut off tool haha. Said it a while ago, but I'll be dropping it soon, most likely next weekend when I have time for it. About time I got this thing done, I'd say it's almost snowing.
What I'm not sure how to do is the nut is still in place in the passenger frame. Trying to figure out how to remove that.
Finally got both of the rear cradle bolts out. Just a lot of time spent with the cut off tool haha. Said it a while ago, but I'll be dropping it soon, most likely next weekend when I have time for it. About time I got this thing done, I'd say it's almost snowing.
What I'm not sure how to do is the nut is still in place in the passenger frame. Trying to figure out how to remove that.
u dont want to take the nut out thats suppose to be welded in and that locates where your cradle is suppose to go
[This message has been edited by 85bluegtma (edited 10-28-2012).]
Finally got some stuff done this weekend, worked about 18 hours. Glad I got this done now instead of when its going to snow.
I apologize in advance for the crappy cellphone pictures.
After 3 months and finally getting the bolts out I was able to finally drop the cradle.
Obligatory Fiero standing in the engine bay picture
How I left my garage Friday night. Had a group of 6 people over helping take this thing apart. Transmission was stuck and eventually got it off a couple hours later.
As she sits right now on the stand waiting for me to tear her down and see what's wrong with her.
Clutch looks brand new. I don't think the PO ever changed it, but it's pretty mint for 78,000 on it. Forgot to take a picture of it, but the inside of the block is as clean as can be. Not even close to a sign of dirt. Haven't checked the connecting rod bearings, so that should be coming up within a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to a nice winter project at least.
Did some work this weekend. Getting closer to tearing the entire engine down, still unsure why the engine wouldn't start.
Removed the struts from the cradle. I have to get a 30mm deep well for the axle nuts still. Haven't tried removing the caliper bolts yet either.
Someone locally was selling the aux gauges and I've always thought they were pretty cool to have. I have the V6, but I still have the 85 Speedo (is that normal) ?
Started removing the outer accessories and the intake manifolds.
Removed one of the heads, still keeping everything organized for the most part. Not removing more until I can make sure everything I take apart from the future on is organized correctly.
One of the piston heads. Nothing overly burnt, I can't see any chips taken out of the top.
All of the cylinder walls are cross-hatched. Some work had to be done recently on it, but its all mirror finished.
Practically perfect valves minus the spider.
Third piston valves corroded. Only a little bit of water in the oil.
In the next week I'm going to try and find some ways to keep the rest of the short block organized so I can put it back together correctly.
What still needs to be removed: - Other head - pushrods/lifters - Timing cover - Water pump - crank/camshaft -pistons
Looking forward to any questions, comments, or any answers.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 11-12-2012).]
Hope you are planning on replacing the 2.8 block with the 3.4 while you have it out. Its very much worth it. the heads and intake and tranny bolt right up. only thing you need to do is change the location of the starter to the other side. its wasy with this kit http://rodneydickman.com/ca...h=34&products_id=194
------------------ 87 SE. Cat delete, eibachs, aftermarket front swaybar, cone filter. short throw. 3.4 inc
Hope you are planning on replacing the 2.8 block with the 3.4 while you have it out. Its very much worth it. the heads and intake and tranny bolt right up. only thing you need to do is change the location of the starter to the other side. its wasy with this kit http://rodneydickman.com/ca...h=34&products_id=194
Ideally the 3.4 would be better for me because of the cost, but part of me still leans toward the 3800's power.
Been working a little more this weekend slowly tearing down to the small block and I finally hit gold. These connecting rod bearings were supposedly brand new and only ran for a little before the previous owner swapped the bearings.
How it started:
Checking the bearings to find if the guy did actually spin a bearing:
Pushed the pistons out to see if I maybe the top ones went bad
A little difficult to tell but I found my red-headed step child: :drums:
The destroyed cam journal:
How it sits right now:
Definitely not sure where I'm going to go now with this project. Glad I atleast found the problem and finished tearing down my first engine.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 05-29-2013).]
Congrats on your first teardown. By chance did you do either a compression or leakdown test before disassembly?
Thank you! Unfortunately I didn't. After I tore the heads off someone recommended that to me, but it's a little late now. Could be a problem in the future now, but live and learn
Been struggling trying to figure out what to do for my next engine for a while now. A couple hours away from me another 2.8 popped up so I got it yesterday. I've really only been concerned with getting the car on the road before I start saving up for a bigger swap so this seemed perfect to me. I pulled the gas tank out about a week ago. Just have to replace some gaskets for good measure and it should be ready to drop in.
you should check the "New" engine before you put it in the car. Check bearing, valves, camshaft, crankshaft etc... The easiest way of seeing if their is any Major problems with the engine is by checking the oil, if it has metal flakes, water or if its burnt I would Really do a rebuild.
Nothing really too much to update. Double checked the motor and didn't see anything that stood out as a problem. Just finished up putting all new gaskets throughout. I have to put on the wiring harness and then I can start reassembling it back with the transmission.
Also broke my oil pan so I had to get a new one:
Just picked up stuff to delete the cat. It's completely filled with dirt and leaves from sitting for so long. After that's all done I still have to paint the cradle, test the fuel pump, and fix the cradle mounting bolts that I had to screw up in order to get it out in the first place. Not too much work to make it at least running. I have to fix a brake hard-line that rusted and broke off, and check all of the calipers to see if they are working before I can actually drive it.
On a hilarious note, I don't know why I didn't look at the oil filter more closely before. When I bought the car I was told that he hadn't started it up in 6/7 years. I'm not sure if he didn't change the filter in those years or if it had been sitting for about 13 when I finally picked it up :rofl:
Finally got a lot of stuff done today so I feel pretty accomplished.
Rattled can'd the gas tank. Needed to be cleaned up a little bit so I got the surface rust off of it. I still have to get it in the car and actually test the fuel pump but I'm glad I was able to get it done because I've been waiting for so long.
Put in the new fuel filter. Was told it was gonna be pretty difficult with how long it sat and it took maybe 10 minutes.
This caliper has been a thorn in my side ever since I got the car. Finally got it off today with some nice persuasion.
Last thing that I did today was delete the cat. I figured that I should replace it but I really didn't think it was too bad from the outside. The whole inside was covered in rusty mud. If I didn't delete that I probably would have had worse problems.
Well I'm reaching the end of this whole thing so I'm really praying that it'll fire up because I don't honestly know if the car even works. I just ordered the bushings and cradle nuts that I needed to finally put the whole thing in the car. All that's left is putting the transmission and engine back in the car, and seeing if it even runs. If it does, then I have some more work to get done like new axles and making sure all of the brakes work. I've put a lot of what little money I have into this thing, so I'm praying that it actually runs otherwise I might have to pass it onto someone else.
Just a little update this weekend. Been working on another car project so whenever I get a chance I like to do a little bit of work.
Painted the engine cradle today. Makes me feel a little better not looking at all of the surface rust on it.
Figured I would use some extra paint and gloss up the frame rails a little bit. Did a little rust management by sanding down and painting over it. Looks better. Still need some problem areas fixed though.
Finally got a bunch of the parts that I've been needing to finish up putting it all back together. Rodney's Solid Aluminum bushings. Since my sleeves are all bad for the rear end didn't really have any other choice but they look amazing.
I give it maybe a week or two and hopefully it should at least be back in the car ready to hook back up. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 04-22-2013).]
Looks like you're getting close. Just be as meticulous as you can when installing the wiring harness. Take a look at the factory routing in a service manual, and you'll be good to go. Also, before you actually install it, check the areas where it looks burned, off-color, or pinched. You may have to unwrap it to some degree, but it's WAAAY easier to fix while it's off the engine. If any parts look suspect, replace that section. If you have a DVM, then you can also check continuity (ohms) on the suspect areas.
Look forward to you getting her all finished up so you can cruise!
Looks cool, seeing all that fresh paint down under. My Fiero's body has a new coat of paint but occasionally I wish I'd at least dropped the cradle to freshen up everything else down there; its tough to do it thoroughly with the car all in one piece.
I'm in Glen Ellyn if you're ever in need of a pair of hands.
Looks cool, seeing all that fresh paint down under. My Fiero's body has a new coat of paint but occasionally I wish I'd at least dropped the cradle to freshen up everything else down there; its tough to do it thoroughly with the car all in one piece.
I'm in Glen Ellyn if you're ever in need of a pair of hands.
Yeah I was tired of the rust on the cradle and decided it wouldn't be a bad time to clean it up a little bit before putting it all back in. If it was in one piece I'd give up and just let it go in the car.
I appreciate the offer for the help. I go to school in Glen Ellyn so that's pretty awesome to have someone so close. I have another person who has come by before and they came from Naperville.
Got a little more done this weekend. Got the solid cradle bushings in.
Burning the old rubber bushings out.
The front bushings pushed in. Got a smooth metal surface with the included sanding wheel before installing them.
Got the rear bushings in and now it's all ready to go.
Getting really close now. Next up is sometime later this week is putting the floating cradle nuts in. After that is mating the engine and transmission together and putting them on the cradle. After that it seems like pretty smooth sailing.
Trying to get the cradle fully assembled and put back in the car by the end of the week. I'm finishing school this week, so it gives me a lot of time to get everything going and ready for Indianapolis. This weekend I'm trying to get majority of the work done because of the free time I've had available.
Today I put the wiring harness on, attached the flywheel, and got some more bolts installed on the cradle. Getting all of the vacuum lines hooked up correctly was probably the most difficult part today.
My garage after day 1:
The engine after day 1:
I lost 3 of the pressure plate bolts so I had to stop early tonight. After I pick them up tomorrow I have to return some rented tools and buy a NAPA camber kit for the rear struts.
I'll definitely be taking video of the initial start up. I'm just praying that it actually runs.
DAY 2: Got a lot accomplished today. Got the cradle all set up with the engine and trans. Unfortunately it's going to have to wait until Thursday so I can study for my finals.
Trans and engine mated together
Final product where it sits right now.
Still need to put the fuel tank back in, and finish routing the coolant lines. Either way it's hard to believe how far I've gotten.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 05-05-2013).]
Started this morning at 7:30 and did as much as I could with the rain.
Got the gas tank installed, still don't know if the pump is fully operational.
Installed the new floating cradle nuts which make it so much easier to install the cradle.
Finally removed the rust that i could get to and painted over the stuff that wasn't too bad.
Pretty much how it's sitting right now.
Felt a little anxious this week before I could install the engine so I removed the seats. The sunroof has been leaking so I wanted to see the damage on the floor and pull up the carpet. Only got the seats removed so far.
Probably my favorite picture that I've taken so far.
Tomorrow hopefully is the big day. Charging the battery over night. Still need to prime the oil, install the plug wires, and reinstall the fuel lines. After that hopefully I still have enough in the battery to actually turn it over :dunno: It's been an exciting and tiring day but being so close is killing me right now
Been slow the past few days. All of the coils and module failed testing so I have a brand new system sitting here now haha. Instead of buying a reman distributor, I did all of the work myself which only took about an hour.
Cool right? Tried starting it and still not turning over. I sprayed some starter fluid and it turned over for about 1 second then cut off. I've always assumed that the fuel pump was bad, but after all of this I really hoped it wasn't.
Went to Harbor Freight and bought the fuel pressure gauge kit, and after turning the ignition and hard-wiring it. No pressure.
Took the gas tank again out tonight and ordered all new lines and fuel pump accessories. Hopefully this will fix my problem, but who knows with a 27 year old car.
That's it for now. If the fuel pump fixes the problem, then I still have the brakes to fix and figure out what's wrong with the hydraulic clutch slave.
Didn't have much to do today, and since the fuel pump still hasn't arrived one of the projects that I wanted to get done when I got the car running was to clean up the interior a little bit.
As I've seen, one of the big problems a lot of us suffer from is the headliner sagging so I removed it today.
As it sits right now, going to the fabric store after I do a deep cleaning on it tomorrow to remove the rest of the glue, etc...
My main focus is still making it run but since I heard it turn over for that split second I'm looking a lot more at the aesthetics.
When I do get the opportunity to get a new color, I want to avoid the factory color which was a like a tan color. Since it's a black car and the interior is the dark grey, I wanted something to lighten it a bit. Is white too drastic or should I consider something else?
Decided that since almost all of the interior was out I would go and just reupholster some of the older stuff. It's all out, and it's cheap if I do it myself so why not? Spent about $110 on all of the materials, but I haven't finished everything yet.
Doing the headliner. Turned out to be the best piece out of the entire thing that I redid today. Thanks to all of the guide and everything available here.
I also bought some nice dark grey vinyl and I'm doing to be redoing the carpet on the bottom side of the doors along with the back firewall carpet piece.
Finally, I've never done anything with carpet before, but from what I've read on here, a few people have bought bulk carpeting and installed it by cutting it. So I gave it my best and it didn't turn out too bad. I cut some spots too low and it's exposing the old carpet under it, but it suits its purpose right now and in the future hopefully I'll get a molded
As it sits right now:
Other good news: Since installing the new carpet and removing all of the backing the terrible smell got removed!
I installed the fuel pump and it actually turned on which is great, unfortunately because the car sat so long, the hard-line that goes from the tank to the fuel filter got a crack in it and is leaking gas everywhere. Gonna look around and see if I can get a used one or pay for the stainless one from the Fiero Store.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 05-29-2013).]
I know it's pretty crappy quality with my cellphone but it gets the point across that it actually runs. I haven't fixed the exhaust so it's pretty loud but it's also idling between 2500 and 3000 so I have to find the problem but at least it isn't knocking or leaking so I must have done something right :bigthumb:
As always I have my list of things I still need to do. I need new axles, need to find out why the clutch slave isn't moving, repair the broken line and do a brake job all the way around. At that point it should be okay to drive to Indianapolis.
[This message has been edited by Midn1ght Driv3r (edited 06-01-2013).]
Need to pick up my packages from the store, but this is pretty much everything for redoing the rear brakes.
Both new axles. A glass pack to replace the straight pipe I put in.
Installed both axles and the new clutch slave this week.
This week I plan on installing the new brake lines toward the rear and finish everything else. After bleeding the new system and Rodney's new slave it should be driving around - when I learn how to drive stick that is.
From one Illiinoisian to another, keep going. I'm keeping an eye on your build. Your doing a good job. Hope you will have it finished for the 30th. I just finished mine, well almost, after working on it off and on for three years. See you at the 30th
From one Illiinoisian to another, keep going. I'm keeping an eye on your build. Your doing a good job. Hope you will have it finished for the 30th. I just finished mine, well almost, after working on it off and on for three years. See you at the 30th
It's always nice seeing fellow Illinoisians! Thanks for the great thoughts and I hope I have it finished too! Are you going with any of the caravans?
quote
Originally posted by 2.5:
Hope you get to put some good test miles on this puppy before hitting the road for Indianapolis.
I hope to get at least a good feel for the car and it's reliability before hitting the road.
So much stuff going on. 6 Days left so there's no doubt I'm cutting this close.
New proportioning valve and brake lines installed. Everything is bled and I have a nice stiff pedal! Really appreciate the help from the people who sent me the parts for this project so far. I couldn't have gotten it this far without them!
Installed Rodney's 4 speed aluminum clutch and bled that with his tool which I highly recommend to anyone.
Finished all of that stuff today, which only left actually trying to drive the car. Unfortunately, I have to find out what is wrong, but the transmission isn't going into reverse so it's stuck where it's at in the driveway. It seems like the transmission isn't going all of the way into reverse so it is registering as 1st gear. I'll adjust the cables again and see how it goes.
I dont know much about automatics, my cars a stick, but sounds like you are headed the right direction. Your high idle was it maybe a vacuum line leak?
Jason, his car is a 4 speed Muncie... look at the pics
Midnight Driver, can you manually put it in reverse at the shift levers on the trans?
Sounds like you are headed the right direction. Your high idle was it maybe a vacuum line leak?
It was a vacuum leak. The large one from the throttle body to the intake manifold. The hose got disconnected so I refit it. The car still idle's around 1200 - 1300. I think if I get the timing light set up on it, it should drop a little more.
quote
Originally posted by carbon:
Jason, his car is a 4 speed Muncie... look at the pics
Midnight Driver, can you manually put it in reverse at the shift levers on the trans?
