quote Originally posted by TK: I turned mine upside and used a butter knife in the engine bay until it dropped out.

quote Originally posted by TK: I turned mine upside and used a butter knife in the engine bay until it dropped out.

In the words of Maxwell Smart, "That's the second biggest butter knife I've ever seen" !

replying so I can later (+) you . .. glad to have this thread saved on my computer;
i never would have thought pulling the engine would be possible w/o a lot of #&@!
(hopefully this saves my fingers some grief, should i have to pull anything sooner)

[This message has been edited by Kuta (edited 01-04-2008).]

Big + for the O.P.

Todd, this is for your use in demonstrating how to cut into the frame to free those damn cradle bolts:


For those who have not had the fun of cutting into the frame to loosen the top of a cradle bolt, here is what the bastard looks like when it is out. I had to cut to get to each rear nut.


and here is how the thin metal in the frame holds the nut down -pretty flimsy stuff:

I had that problem on my Formula, I was able to remove the nuts without cutting the frame. I broke both rear bolts, then punched the nuts up into the frame and pulled them out the back. Then welded new nuts onto the diamond shaped plate and fished them back into place through the frame again.

------------------
www.FieroDomain.com
"If any car is both the parade and the rain, it is the Fiero"

Upload and Share Fiero Photos! http://Gallery.FieroDomain.com

great writeup you did there, this is very helpful to someone like me who needs visual aids'. Hopefully this will limit the quesitons i have when it comes to taking the 2.8 out. Now, if only someone could come up with an equally good tutorial on putting a 3800sc in its place :P Thanks a bunch.

quote Originally posted by Xanth: I had that problem on my Formula, I was able to remove the nuts without cutting the frame. I broke both rear bolts, then punched the nuts up into the frame and pulled them out the back. Then welded new nuts onto the diamond shaped plate and fished them back into place through the frame again.

How did you break the bolts?

quote Originally posted by Saxman: How did you break the bolts?

I should have mentioned, they broke when I tried to turn them. The nuts didn't actually break free in the cradle.

[This message has been edited by Xanth (edited 01-04-2008).]

Great thread Todd. Tons of information. I will probably need this someday when I replace the Fieros I have just sold. Thanks!

Good Additional info Andrew.

Todd, don't worry, I'll be able to help you replace those Fieros one day. Just worry about the little one for now and guilt your wife something terribly for yur sacrifice.

I'll dump my posts if you decide to add a "cradle bolt removal" section to the beginning of this thread.

Don't forget to add the 88 instructions you mentioned!

Ah these darn cradle bolts ! I spun one yesterday while putting the new cradle in...incision time lol

Looks like a lot of work to me to get it out the bottom..

I just removed the deck-lid, unhooked the wiring harness, disconnected the fuel lines, all 3 motor mounts, separated transmission from the engine and popped it right out the top. And except for the transmission inspection plate i didn't know about, it was painless and quick and mostly from the top of the car. The only thing that was hard was getting the exhaust manifold loose in the front because the 2 bolts were rusted solid. A quick cut with the Dremel and they were off. It was my first time and took a while but if i had to do it again it would be pretty brainless to do.

Getting it back in wasn't too much harder. Just took some maneuvering with a friend to get the transmission to click back in place.

Car stayed in place on the ground the whole time. no need for a realignment, or deal with the exhaust, brakes, cradle bolts, clutch hydraulics, car sitting up in the air, etc.

[This message has been edited by Nurb432 (edited 01-06-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Saxman: I'll dump my posts if you decide to add a "cradle bolt removal" section to the beginning of this thread. Don't forget to add the 88 instructions you mentioned!

I won't forget. I'm just a little buried at the moment. We had some big storms here and our power was out for 2 days; Just came on this morning.

Andrew, I modified Step 34 to include your cradle bolt method.

To all otherts, The Word version with clear large pictures is now updated and available. Just shoot me an email if you want a copy.

On step 35 when you loosen the front cradle bolts, I go ahead an pull them and replace them with large phillips screw drivers. Doing so makes step 37 really easy because they slide right out.

Very good write up!

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: On step 35 when you loosen the front cradle bolts, I go ahead an pull them and replace them with large phillips screw drivers. Doing so makes step 37 really easy because they slide right out. Very good write up!

I did that too but the point of the bolt and the point of the screw driver would slip too often so I got myself a steel rod, wrapped a piece of grip tape around one end and drilled the other end with a slightly convex hole. One hammer blow and you have a bolt launcher!

FYI, here is that same engine today (topped with a 1988 Intake) in another 1986 GT I am restoring.

Thanks Toddster for taking the time to post this for us newbies

Two little pieces of advice I have: One is to put the front wheels on ramps so you dont have to worry about the cherry picker hitting the back of the car and you dont need the extra links. The next is to leave the brake lines connected to the calipers. just hang the calipers with a coat hanger to the car so as not to damage the lines. This step saves you time after the swap- no bleeding the brakes.

-JOE

Man, why could you not have done this a few weeks ago? I was looking for something like this as I just recently pulled the engine and transmission on my GT.

Nice write up. Will save for the future.

THANKS for taking the time to share this.

quote Originally posted by sjmaye: Man, why could you not have done this a few weeks ago? I was looking for something like this as I just recently pulled the engine and transmission on my GT.

I'm actually surprised no one has ever posted a thread like it before. I'm going to be starting a new thread soon (as soon as this GT is finished) on pulling the 4 banger; got an Indy with a rod knock.

Ha, in june ill be doing this on my bro's fiero i broke. It had a rod kmock, now it has a rod CLACK CLACK CLACK
thanks for the write-up, do you think you could email it to me

jesterking33@hotmail.com

thanks

------------------
The H1 my father, brother and I built.
www.suburbangorilla.com

My Myspace

cars, i build em, drive em, and brake em

quote Originally posted by JesseM: Ha, in june ill be doing this on my bro's fiero i broke. It had a rod kmock, now it has a rod CLACK CLACK CLACK thanks for the write-up, do you think you could email it to me jesterking33@hotmail.com thanks

Email atcha

Don't forget I'll host it with full-size pics for you if you're interested

quote Originally posted by Xanth: Don't forget I'll host it with full-size pics for you if you're interested

Thanks Xan but It took forever to upload something like 60 pictures and I don't think I want to do it again.

I'll do it on the next thread though!

The easiest way to upload a lot of pictures is the Gallery Remote, it logs into the gallery, then you just drag all the pictures you want onto the window and click "upload." I just used it to upload about 30 images, just had to select all and drag them on.

The offer is open for any articles you may create.

[This message has been edited by Xanth (edited 01-28-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Xanth: The easiest way to upload a lot of pictures is the Gallery Remote, it logs into the gallery, then you just drag all the pictures you want onto the window and click "upload." I just used it to upload about 30 images, just had to select all and drag them on. The offer is open for any articles you may create.

Never heard of Gallery remote. What is it and where can you get it?

quote Originally posted by sjmaye: Never heard of Gallery remote. What is it and where can you get it?

Its a java application that makes uploading to the FieroDomain Gallery easier.

http://gallery.menalto.com/wiki/Gallery_Remote

hey thanks for the email, except all the pictures are in PFF code i think, none of them show up in microsoft word, do you think you could re email this to me with the pics?

thanks

jesterking33@hotmail.com

------------------
The H1 my father, brother and I built.
www.suburbangorilla.com

My Myspace

quote Originally posted by JesseM: hey thanks for the email, except all the pictures are in PFF code i think, none of them show up in microsoft word, do you think you could re email this to me with the pics? thanks jesterking33@hotmail.com

Nothing wrong with the pics. Check your settings. Your host may have filtered them out.

nice write up. is there a larger / 'more detailed' version on FieroDomain yet?

JC

quote Originally posted by JCUOIT: nice write up. is there a larger / 'more detailed' version on FieroDomain yet? JC

No, but I can email you a word version. Just shoot me an email and I'll send a copy over.

Todd , do you also have a 89-90 TGP in the drive?

Also , can you email the "word" version to me as well??

intlcutlass@netzero.net?

[This message has been edited by intlcutlass (edited 02-29-2008).]

Does the Word version have the larger images?

If you send me the word version I could upload all the images and convert it for FieroDomain myself, I've got the software to make it easier to do.

ill definitely take one of thos word documents

elenaleerush03@aol.com

when can you repeat step 42? could we maybe bump it up to like 21?

I printed your instructions back about a month ago and put them in a folder.

On Tuesday I used them to pull the engine from my '88. Went right down the numbers. Everything worked great. I even had the problem with the rear cradle bolts, but used the hints from the other threads mentioned to get them out.

The only thing I would do differently next time (actually when I put the new engine back in) is to put some 2 X 12 spacers under the front wheels to get it a little higher. With the front bumper touching the concrete, I only had 3/8" clearance from the top of the engine to the underside of the frame coming out.

GREAT writeup. Congradulations.

Plus for you.

------------------
____________________________________________
"Of all the things I have lost during my lifetime, I miss
my mind the most."

quote Originally posted by newcoolcat: when can you repeat step 42? could we maybe bump it up to like 21?

Only if you think you can do the next 21 steps without slurring your speech..