2 questions gents, I'm finishing up the front end and am progressing toward the rear.

1) How do I get my 3800SC motor off the tranny and onto a stand without creating a huge transmission fluid mess in my garage?

2) I plan on putting a cam in and some headers on. Which repair manual (factory service, Haynes, Chilton, other?) would be most useful?

Thanks.

You will need the Factory Service Manual of the vehicle the engine came out of because Haynes/Chiltons/etc.. is garbage

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Former West Coast Fiero Employee

New and Pre-Owned Auto Sales Consultant
Power Ford Valencia

Helms Factory Service Manual

http://www.helminc.com/helm/welcome_select_oem.asp?Style=&mscsid=N0V5MK4V3LT08NM49BTBG5ARR9KHBGFF

Is the engine/trans still in the car . Draining it would help for right now. Your wanting to put the trans on the stand or you want to remove the trans from the cradle, thats out of the car ? Helms factory service manual is worth the extra $$$ its a must have.

I keep a few different sets of axle shaft inners and outers. Remove the axle from the tranny and quickly put the proper inner part back in that way no leaking and no long shaft in the way. the outers are used for moving the vehicle around with no drive train so the wheel bearings do not fall apart.
If doing a cam change definetely get the factory manual for the engine or some one who knows what they are doing to give you a hand. Also when buying a cam get the cam kit with it there is quite a few bolts that need to be replaced for proper torqueing when reassembling. Take your time and pay attention to what you are doing if you have a digital camera take photos before stripping down to aid in assembly.
One thing that seems to of been forgotten by most is when first starting an engine with a new cam do not allow it to idle just work the throttle going up and down slowly between around 1500 and 2000 rpm to allow the cam to settle in. Another good thing if putting in new lifters soak them in fresh oil for a while before installing them. Dan

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Signature compliments of F-I-E-R-O
2003 3800SC series II powered
www.photosled.com/showgallery.php/cat/631
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Guess I should have clarified. The trans and engine are off the cradle sitting together on a furniture dolly in my garage. Should I even remove the tranny to do the other work I'm planning on? I still need to take the harness off and in addition to the cam and headers, I've got a N* throttle body and adaptor enroute. It's also been suggested that I put all new gaskets and seals in. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

If your not changing anything in the tranny, then just leave them hooked together. You can do the cam, headers, ect with it how it sits and not worry about making a mess with the tranny fluid. As far s the cam install goes, got over to Club GP and search for cam install, there are 2 good write ups with detailed pictures on cam installs. I read them both before I installed my cam into my 3800 being I had never done it before on a 3800 motor. The install went great and the write ups where right on point with what do do. The one thing you will read, is you need a special puller for the balancer. ZZP sells it or the writeups tell you how to make the standard puller work.

If you haven`t done it allready, install a new water pump and just about anything you won`t want to fool with while the engines back in the car... This is the time to get everything done, gaskets, seals, paint, plugs, hoses , belts, ect, ect...

Another good thing to change at this time is the oil pump, put in a new one and pack it with vaseline so there will be no oil priming problems on start up. Dan

Thanks for the replies gents. Notes duly taken and entered into the spreadsheet. On another note, I've read the cam install write-ups and some of them allude to a $1000 expense to make the cam change. Sounded pricey to me, but I'm not an expert either. It would also blow me through my $1K upgrade budget without enough HP increase to justify doing it IMHO. Anyone seen other numbers or have an upgrade path that gives a better return?
Thnx.

quote Originally posted by rwlekey: Thanks for the replies gents. Notes duly taken and entered into the spreadsheet. On another note, I've read the cam install write-ups and some of them allude to a $1000 expense to make the cam change. Sounded pricey to me, but I'm not an expert either. It would also blow me through my $1K upgrade budget without enough HP increase to justify doing it IMHO. Anyone seen other numbers or have an upgrade path that gives a better return? Thnx.

A $1000 might be if a vendor intstalled a cam foor yoou but it doesnt cost anywhere near that if you do it yourself. It all depends on what cam you go with and what you do to the motor while your in it. I went with the ZZP XP Hot Cam with springs/modded retainers along with a cam install kit and I think the the price ran me around $475 at the time. You can always buy a cam second hand with low miles and save some money that way but be sure to buy from a respected person.

Dan,
About soaking those lifters in oil, I have read to, and not to soak them in oil , I dont know which is the truth. The last 350 Chevy I did, I followed one of my chevy books, and it said to not soak them as it was better for getting the proper pre-load of the valves. I have 26k on that engine, and no problems from the valve train. I dont intend this as a correction of your advise, just a caution to follow the book he needs to purchase for the 3800SC
Joe

Buy yourself a bag of oil dry. You'll need it trust me.

quote Originally posted by Mike Murphy: Buy yourself a bag of oil dry. You'll need it trust me.

Or Kitty Litter if you have a cat.

quote Originally posted by FIEROFLYER: Another good thing to change at this time is the oil pump, put in a new one and pack it with vaseline so there will be no oil priming problems on start up. Dan

Dan (or anyone else familiar with 3800's)--
how does one go about getting the oil pump changed out? I've removed everything from the supercharger down to the water pump, but I'm not sure how to interpret the service manual drawings of where the oil pump is located and how to get to it. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

For soaking the lifters this not a good idea on the old SBC's because the rockers were set up manually not just to a set torque like they are inthe 3800 engines.
The oil pump is built into the front cover and is driven by the crank shaft, remove the front cover and flip it over to see the oil pump components. Dan

Cam swaps are most likely the cheapest HP per dollar... but they are not cheap if you do all the supporting mods that you should be doing.

double roller timing chain, and 105# springs are a must IMO.

quote Originally posted by FIEROFLYER: The oil pump is built into the front cover and is driven by the crank shaft, remove the front cover and flip it over to see the oil pump components. Dan

Yeah, I can sort of see that in the drawings, but what components have to be removed to get the front cover off?
Thanks.

http://www.mccgp.com/upgrad...l/caminstall_new.php

a cam install instruction page for a Grand prix, My friend eric wrote this, and should be fairly complete as far as the motor work is concerned.