HOW MANY CUBES IS A DUKE? 150?+ - AND ALSO WERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO BUY A NEW DUKE MOTOR? OR SHOULD I REBUILD MY 84 WITH A NEWER CRANK AND BETTER PARTS? NOTHING IS WRONG WITH IT BUT ID LIKE TO HAVE PIECE OF MIND THAT SHE WILL HANDLE RARE HIGH RPMS. THE CAR ONLY HAS 50K MILES BUT I JUST WANT RELIABILITY FOR SPORT DRIVING OWNCE IN A BLUEMOON
I WOULD LIKE TO SWAP FOR A V 6 BUT I DONT THINK I HAVE THE ABILITY ANY INPUT HELPS THANKS!!

First of all, if you think you can rebuild the Duke then you probably have the skills to do a V-6 swap. If it's a Fiero V-6 (2.8) it's just a matter of having all the parts (ECM, harness etc.) All the Fiero engines bolt up to all the Fiero trannies. Other V-6 swaps are a little more involved because new mounts, new axles may come in to play depending on the engine choice, and you'll have to wire in a new ECM. I don't know how many cubes a Duke engine is, but it is 2.5 liters, maybe you can find a conversion chart if you "Google" it. My personal oppinion is that throwing a crank and other parts at a Duke with 50k is a waist of money. If you want dependability, just do regular maintenance and take care of it and it will take care of you. No need to rebuild at 50k unless it was just trashed and abused. There is little power to be found in a Duke. If power is what you crave then do the swap. A Fiero V-6 is the easiest, but is not an incredible increase in power. If you still thirst for more, then go for a 3.4 V-6. It's a little more involved than a Fiero engine, but still pretty straight foward. Then there is the 3.8 V-6, probably the most popular choice on this forum, and even V-8's. Remember though, the more power you crave, the more involved it becomes. Do a search on this forum, there are tons of threads of each type swap. Good luck in your selection, and don't forget to keep us updated.

Jim

[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 11-15-2007).]

The Iron Duke has 151 cubic inch displacement.

If you can rebuild the duke, you can put in the 2.8 V6. or the 3.4 for that matter

JIM THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! THE DUKE HAS 50K MILES ON IT BUT NOT HARD MILES. BUT IVE HEARD THAT 84 DUKES CANT HANDLE MUCH ABUSE. IVE OWNED LOTS OF FIEROS BUT ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE IVE DRIVEN MY 84 ( BOUT 2 YEARS) AND IM TRYING TO GET IT ROAD WORTHY AGAIN SO I DONT WANT TO PUT TO MUCH MONEY IN IT IF THE 84 DUKE WILL PUKE ON ME IF I TRY TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN. I WILL NOT BE TRYING TO KILL THE ENGINE BUT SPORT DRIVING AND IVE HEARD THAT THE 84 DUKE IS A BAD DESIGN -----NICK

I love the duke but unless you have an 87 or 88 it is not worth the trouble to modify! to pull the engine is almost as much work as a swap..Fieros are CHEAP the best way to swap is "buy a V6 fiero",, the duke will not handle high rpms..If you do modify your car stay with modifications that do not require the removal of the engine,do mods that increase power and gas mileage.. the 84 comes out of the hole good if you have the 4.10 axle,,If you pull the engine and do all the hot rod modifications,you can produce the horsepower a V6 does stock..WAIT to see if you want to keep the duke engine if you want power you have to swap,, there are many post about increased power for the duke..I would not pull a duke with 50,000 miles that runs good.A swap is not the walk in the park many on the forum seem to think it is...the only easy day will be when the swap is complete...I would enjoy this fiero inexpensive transportation that is fun!! Power! put in a stock V6,you can port the intake and exhaust manifolds on the V6 and it will give good responsive horsepower and good mileage for the $4.00 gas prices that will eventually come go to these sites http://ironduke7.tripod.com/index.htm
[URL=http://mywebpage.netscape.com/fierost4src/fiero4rsc.html

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 11-15-2007).]

YEAH I THINK I MIGHT JUST USE IT AS A DAILY DRIVER OR SELL IT AND GET A V6 THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED! ALSO HAS ANY BODY HOOKED UP AN EXTERNAL OIL COOLER IN THE DUKE? B/C IM AWARE THAT THEY DONT HOLD MUCH OIL SO BY INSTALLING A OIL COOLER IT WILL GIVE YOU A HIGHER OIL CAPACITY!? I DOUBT THAT IM THE ONLY ONE WHOS THOUGHT ABOUT IT BUT SOMEBODY LET ME KNOW

The problem is not oil capacity it is weak stock piston rods..I know kits have been added to V 6 I,m sure you could get one just not worth the effort..On an stock engine with 50,000 miles might be worth it to use synthetic oil,use the larger oil filters a good duke will give you many miles of good service..it is not a good canidate for performance modifications..if you must have more power buy a V 6. you can buy one for what it will cost you to do a swap..If the 84 is in premo,excellent shape then it may be worth it to do a swap,,still I would just do some simple modifications to increase power,maybe 1.5 rockers, porting ,header,improve electricsyour post suggest a swap is not something you want to do..just pulling the transmission on a fiero is a pain for the average owner

I DONT WANT TO SWAP THE ENGINE LETS FACE IT, I THINK I COULD DO A SWAP CONSIDERING IM A DIESEL SPECIALIST FOR UHAUL BUT I HEAR SO MANY BAD THINGS ABOUT 84 DUKES!! I JUST DONT WANT TO PUT MORE MONEY IN THE CAR AND IT TAKES A SHI# ON ME U SEE WHERE IM COMING FROM?I LOVE MY 84 FOR ONE IT IS A SE, AND HAS THE 4 SPEED MANUAL TRANS SUNROOF ECT. ONE MORE THING WHERE CAN I BUT NEW STARTER BOLTS FROM? SOMEONE STOLE MY STARTER IN STORAGE AND THE BASTARDS DIDNT LEAVE MY BOLTS!!

It wasnt really weak rods that were the problem, but defectve rods. The company making rods for the 84 dukes were on strike so GM out-sourced them to a different company, but 95% of those rods were good, leaving 5% bad, and when you have 4 per engine, the odds of getting a dud rod is pretty good. Alot of 84 engines (mine included) were completely swapped out with an 86 design engine (but built in 87-88), they had roller lifters compared to the 84's flat lifters, and used the 88 DIS crank with the oil pump drive gear. They are good, and with 50,000Miles, if you had a dud rod, it would have shown up by now.

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84 Fiero Sport Coupe #1192 :: 86 Fiero Base Coupe Quad 4 HO :: 1998 Dodge Neon EX 2Dr 2.0L DOHC Auto

quote Originally posted by befarrer: It wasnt really weak rods that were the problem, but defectve rods. The company making rods for the 84 dukes were on strike so GM out-sourced them to a different company, but 95% of those rods were good, leaving 5% bad, and when you have 4 per engine, the odds of getting a dud rod is pretty good. Alot of 84 engines (mine included) were completely swapped out with an 86 design engine (but built in 87-88), they had roller lifters compared to the 84's flat lifters, and used the 88 DIS crank with the oil pump drive gear. They are good, and with 50,000Miles, if you had a dud rod, it would have shown up by now.

I got one of those engines one time, I remember pulling it apart and being like WTF, roller lifters? WTF is this crank?

Yet in another reasonably recent post there was somebody suggesting that 87+ crank wouldn't fit the earlier blocks because of the big oil pump gear.... I currently HAVE ONE IN MY 1985 engine!