I've been doing nothing about this car for years, but had a crazy dream about it and that has caused me to move.
I was agonizing over trying to get the transmission out the side, but I've resolved to drop the whole cradle... and I'm just about ready to do that.
I have a couple questions...
1. What is this pipe *supposed* to be for? It's connected to the air box on one end, but nothing on the other. The car has a 3.4pr swap, so I'm thinking it may be left unused as a result of that, but it's also possible the shop that did the swap (before I owned it...) ran out of talent. Lots of places where they did that...
2. Is there a way to separate the two halves of this connector? One half is very married to the the body, the other half to the engine wiring harness. The latter is something I likely did... if I can avoid undoing my superb cable management, I'd like to.
I was surprised to find the coolant pipe drain came out easily on this side.
I was not surprised to find the coolant pipe on the other side had been damaged and "fixed" ... no doubt by the idiot shop that did the engine swap. It's been fine for years, so I'm not gonna mess with it... just annoying anyway.
[This message has been edited by thesameguy (edited 05-13-2021).]
What is this pipe *supposed* to be for? It's connected to the air box on one end, but nothing on the other.
It's no longer used due to a recall, and it was supposed to be capped on the end. If it hasn't been, then engine bay air has been drawn into the filtered side of the air filter canister for decades.
#2 is C500 is Three sections. main ½ is screwed to body. other ½ is actually 2 ¼ one to engine, other to taillight etc.
Loosen the bolt holding all parts. Bolt is captive to one part so Do Not try to remove it. Maybe a 3/8 or 7/16" not metric. Some hardware isn't metric and easy strip w/ wrong tools.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
This went really well. Engine right onto the dolly, super smooth.
Then things sort of went downhill... the TL;DR is that I couldn't find a good place to lift the body that didn't put the legs of the engine hoist directly in the path of the dolly. I ended up resorting to the trunk latch, which is not what I wanted to do, but here was my spin:
It wasn't a complete solution - that involved an hour-long curse festival - but I did emerge victorious.
The only thing during that process that made me actually happy with hanging the rear calipers from the body to avoid opening the system....
Anyway, I have a lot to do now, but a major concern is going to be how it goes back in. The "installation is reverse of removal" does not apply here - I'm not fighting that fight again!
⚠️ Warning: Never Do This... Isn't "safer" then lifting by latch loop and those Nuts can fail at any time and without warning. See my Cave, Jacking to Clear Engine
Yes, I am aware of your feelings on the subject, but given the substantial evidence it can work and no evidence it's a problem, I took the risk. I considered using a floor jack under the frame rails, but given the angles involved it felt like just a different type of risk - stability vs. integrity. However, for the reinstall I'll probably go that route and pick up one of these:
I was originally planning on doing the clutch in the car, but decided that since crap was coming apart I would take the opportunity to do some other stuff:
1. Oil pan has a seep, so gasket will be replaced 2. When I installed the WCF manifolds I tried header paint, and that didn't last - I'm sending out the manifolds and y-pipe for ceramic coating 3. The paint has been flaking off the top intake manifold and one of the valve covers, so they're getting powder coated 4. Car has an '88 rear cradle, most of the bushings are shot - they're all getting replaced
There are a couple other minor things I'm considering (eg water pump as I have no history there) but this stuff was enough to compel me to pull the whole thing and work in relative comfort.
I got held up today as I can't find my dowel remover so I can't put the engine on the stand. Eh.
and now I'm waiting on WCF for F23 install parts. I figured it would be foolish to start buying up F23s until I actually had - in hand - the stuff needed to install one.
While I'm waiting, I can work on the engine side. Step was one this:
I had some stuff going in for another project, threw the Fiero parts in the box. If anyone needs ceramic coating done, I highly recommend Performance Coatings in Auburn, WA. This is the fifth or sixth order I've sent their way and they always do a superb job at a reasonable cost.
I mostly just wanted to clean things up, but I'd be stoked if it cuts down engine bay temps a bit.
Yeah, I did that a while back, when I installed the WCF manifolds. Well, I paid someone to do it. I don't have a welder.
Has the smog tech ever noticed the non-stock WCF manifolds? They look so much like the stock logs as it is. Still, some people say that anything that looks 'new' is going to be suspect.
Nope. I have two tests with them and nobody has said anything. Unless you had them next to each other or knew *a lot* about Fieros, there's no way anyone would know.
It's the same conversation with the digital EGR... I don't think most techs would ever notice the wrong EGR valve was there.... just *a* valve being there is probably enough. I know some techs do actually look at the vacuum diagram, so that would potentially be a secondary issue, but I'd wager most just look to be sure all indicated components are connected, and there's no vacuum hoses hanging around. I'm sorely tempted to try, but at this point I really just want this car back on the road.
