Broken starter bolt

Well they do exist and god knows I've tried, but Canadian Tire Won't sell me one separately PERIOD.

    They have a drill head chuck that fits on the end of 1/2" drive impact gun, they sell it with there cordless impact gun / hammer drill conversion.   They want $249-$299 for the kit and refuse to sell me just the chuck.  With one of those, you could simply put on a 1/2 drive extension onto it, then chuck it into either an air impact gun, or a good drill using a 1/2 drive drill to socket adapter.      Aside from that, I would say get a long drill bit and a fairly narrow drill.  My Craftsman 19.2v cordless is only about 3" thick, so it can fit into a great deal of places.      However you may still find it easier to remove the front motor mount, remove the dogbone and let the engine droop down a bit, so you can get at it a bit lower and on a slight angle to get a bit more clearance.     The sad part is I have seen complete duke engines sent to the scrape as no one would even pay the $50 that they were worth in scrap metal weight.  MIght be a good time to yard the motor out, remove all the 84 wiring and toss in a carbed SBC then call it a day.    Being as you said it was a stick, if you are lucky it will have the 3.32 gears in it and get better gas mileage than your V6 Auto does.

Long drill bit (aircraft surplus one) from KMS.  Punch a hole up the middle of the bolt.  Hammer in a square bolt extractor.  Heat up the area around the bolt as much as you can (OA torch job here - no propane wimpyness), then back it out.

Nope - not left hand.

But!

I still keep telling myself that I'm going to buy a drill doctor 500X one of these days.  And for about another $50, I can get the left hand chuck for it.  Yup, that means I can take any bit, up to 1/2", and do a spankin 135* split point tip on it!


As for not using a torch under the car....   that's your own issue you'll have to deal with I guess.

Sounds like it's time for a 3800 swap!  (everyone else said it - didn't want to feel left out)

Patrick wrote: Dr.Fiero wrote: Yup, that means I can take any bit, up to 1/2", and do a spankin 135* split point tip on it! What's a "135* split point tip"?

(stolen from a website so I don't have to retype it!)
Typically, 118 degrees is the most common angle. But these drills require a starting “dimple” in metal with a center punch, otherwise the bit will “walk” or “skate” away from the hole location. Bits with a 135 degree point will start their own hole in metal and, of course, can be used on many other materials. ......  the 135-degree split point eliminates walking, making the bit more efficient

If you want more: http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60308

Patrick

I have a 85 duke motor on the list of replacement engines

aircared, still in the car, complete, and running    

Just another option.

 

      Have you ever noticed there are not many 84's in the club.   Thats because the the 2 best things you can do with an 84 are

1 If it runs and drives, sell it, sell it to someone that doesn't really care about upgrading and just wants a car to drive.  Someone that plans to take it to a shop and have the shop replace the parts, because you can't really get cheap parts from another Fiero as all the 84 parts even the module and coil is different. The engine was the worst and least HP of all the Fiero's.  The books don't note it, but the 84 used flat tappet hyd lifters, however in 85 GM moved to a full roller cam with roller lifters that are MUCH better.    Has the worst suspension, (yes the 84 front suspension is a Little bit different than the 85.  It has the worst trans, both the 4spds had the "weak" case Muncie's.   

          All its issues aside it does not make it a bad car, it just makes it a bad car for someone that loves to "have fun" in the car.  With the parts prices being a great deal more, it just doesn't add up.

 

2.  Now the 2nd thing you can do with an 84 if it does not run,  yard out all the Unique 84 electronics, and drop in a non electronic engine like a Chevy V8 or convert a 4.9 to Carb.    You could use any Carb engine even a 2.8 if you wanted to.   

          Or

Buy a running 85/86 car, that is in bad shape, but runs, swap over the body and interior over, and go from there. 

Dr.Fiero wrote: we'd pretend you were a horse and shoot you.

You had your chance at the last meeting while I was standing up front.

 

 

 

        I know they had them in 85, if they were not installed on the 84's they probably had a rash of starter issues and hence installed them in 85.   So I would assume they either did have them in 84 when they were released or there would have been a tech update to add them to the 84's.

Patrick wrote: I just need to track down a brace.

Well, the solution was to rob the brace off my parts car, which is another '84.

Here's a shot of the broken bolt (white arrow).

So I put the starter back on with one mounting bolt (for now) and the support brace on the back.

After much messing about, I tried to start this Fiero which has been sitting unstarted for just over five years in my back yard!  (I brought it home on September 5th 2004.)

Anyway, she started right up.  The only problem is that there's a high pitch loud scream coming from somewhere that goes up and down with the RPM. I don't see anything rubbing.  I removed the fan belt to eliminate the alternator and the water pump. Made no difference. I suspect it might therefore just be a vacuum leak from a dried out and cracked rubber tube, but I ran out of light tonight and had to call it a day.

Yeah, I was pleased it started up so easily (after doing a multitude of things to get it ready), but obviously disappointed as well that there's an unknown problem. I'll see if I can track this down tomorrow...

 

Thanks.  

Still a ways to go with this "project" yet though before she's driveable. Gotta figure out what's going on with the clutch. (Won't release.) Hoping, hoping, hoping that the cradle doesn't have to be dropped.

Bit by bit, one day at a time...