2.8 Engine

When you say rod, you must mean connecting rod, not push rod right?


Maybe someone else will comment on this, but...

If you can get the oil pan off, you can disconnect the rod end from the crankshaft and push the piston out the top. Then you can figure out if it's the crank end or the wrist pin. If it's the wrist pin, fix it up and reconnect it. You can check out the crank bearing and get a new rod, then plastiguage it when you put it all back.

You could save yourself the work of pulling the engine, and while you're there you can check out the rest of the crank bearings.

If you do need to pull the engine, it comes out the bottom. The idea is to pull the wheels and brake calipers off, then drop the car so that the cradle weight is supported on a dolly, or just some wood blocks. Get it as low to the ground as is practical.

Then, remove the front and rear cradle mounts and lift the car off the cradle, leaving the engine, tranny, cradle and exhaust in one piece on the ground.

It's a bit tricky, but after practice I've gotten it down to 2.5 hours or so (With an overhead crane).

If your car is an 85 or newer, disconnect the electrical at the ecm and feed the wires through the firewall towards the engine. there is also an electrical connector by the battery which needs to be disconnected.

If it's an 84 then the connectors are the same for the ecm, but the third connector is in front of the engine near the middle of the car (Buried!).

Chay

Chay

As above, and....

It'll be a rod bearing.  It always it.  The crank will be trashed.  I've done 100 of 'em.
The engine you get from pick-a-part will end up with the same problem in-between 180 and 220K km's (my statistic from data gathered over the last 15 or so years) from new, depending on maintenance.

It will cost you roughly $2500 to rebuild what you have (totally) with machining and parts costs, if you do all the rest yourself.

If you DO decide to keep that basic engine, AND do a total rebuild, at least go buy a new Eagle 3.1 crank with matching pistons (rods are all the same) - and only do a .010" overbore if that will clean it up.  More than .030" and the cylinder walls want to twist out of shape due to thin castings.

Yes that is right. If you look at the side of the center console, there is a vented looking portion. that is where the ecm is.

Remove the center console and you can't miss the ecm. Detach the ecm plugs, then push the firewall plugs to the rear (they clip in) and feed the whole thing through the firewall into the engine bay.

C

the 3.1 is not the iron head motor,it has ALUM heads,an a weird intake-
TB.but the fule rail SYS is the same as Fiero.will this motor work guys.
Thanks03_232236_3.1LGoodwrench.gif">

      Someone locally swears they have gotten the aluminum
head version to work, however all I have read it should not
work. So the short answer is I don't know.

Yup - the heads have tiny chambers.  They ALSO have a hugely dished piston to go with them!  So the combo nets you something like 9:1.

So in theory, those big ass dished pistons, plus the large chamber of the cast head should net you something like....  crap...  but....  ????

Ok

Engraved vs Sticker,

85-86 was Sticker, 87-88 was Engraved, there is no other difference, all ports and sizes are the same.  Aside from the brake vacuum port is threaded on one and not on the other. (no real difference)

Wheels yes all Fiero's with either 14" or 15" Aluminum wheels had locks, and GOOD LUCK trying to find the correct key.  I have seen at least 3-4 different keys.  Best bet is get some cheap junk 1/2 drive sockets and pound them on.  Unless the car is drivable then you can just take it to a tire shop, they probably won't charge more than 20 bucks to remove all 4. (they have a special tool for removing locking nuts)

 

Nice looking car!

(They all look linda nice compared to mine right now...no nose on it!)

 

Chay

Dr.Fiero wrote: Yup - the heads have tiny chambers.  They ALSO have a hugely dished piston to go with them!  So the combo nets you something like 9:1. So in theory, those big ass dished pistons, plus the large chamber of the cast head should net you something like....  crap...  but....  ????

Not with the 2.8 rotating assembly they don't, they end up with like 8.5 and that's with a .010" milling on both head and deck. lol

That's going the other way around.

I was saying that:
 Al heads with tiny chambers + dished 3.1 pistons = a good 9:1 (ish)
 Iron heads with big chamber + dished 3.1 pistons = {who knows but it'll be low!}

 Or take a 2.8 block with it's flat tops, plus 3.1 Al heads and tiny chambers...  should stick you around 12:1?  More? Ha!  Who knows - never bothered to do the exact math.  But if a stock ~80cc chamber nets you around 8.9:1, a 28cc chamber has GOT to be high!