I have been putting off some repairs for a while now. I've owned and been driving my Fiero as a daily driver for the last 1.5 years. It has had a chronic oil leak since I got it and I've been working to fix that. I completed the recall repair on the oil pressure gauge and my next leak culprit is the oil pan gasket. The following repairs I'd like to get your opinions or advice on.
Oil pan gasket ---------------------
The oil pan appears to have jack marks on the underside where a previous owner may have jacked on the car and ruined the oil pan's flange keeping it from sealing to the engine block. I plan to purchase a new oil pan and gasket set from The Fiero Store.
Exhaust ------------
The stock exhaust combined with wet driving conditions has caused rapid disintegration of the lower section of the exhaust. The muffler has officially become disconnected from the exhaust system (rusted through). I'm considering getting a full exhaust system from West Coast Fiero as follows:
Short Tube Headers w/Y-pipe ceramic coated Downpipe 2" Stainless Catalytic Converter Cat-back system 2" Stainless, Flowmaster muffler
I'd like to get some feedback on my choices here as well as have a few questions answered if anybody has purchased from West Coast Fiero before. Do the short tube headers bolt on without modification for fitment? Does the full system come with the tips and what tips would look closest to stock? Do you think the ceramic coating is a good idea? What about the stainless for the cat-back? What are your thoughts on installing head studs vs installing new header bolts?
Coolant cross-pipe ---------------------------
Shortly after I bought the car, I noticed that the cross-pipe that runs in front of the engine from the driver side coolant tube to the passenger side of the engine had a small rubber coupling in the tube and was not bolted down. I'm planning to purchase a replacement from The Fiero Store, but I don't know where the pipe should be mounted to. Is there a bracket or mount on the engine/transmission somewhere for the pipe?
I plan to remove the catalytic converter and the exhaust aft of it first. Once the exhaust is out of the way I can take care of the oil pan and gasket. I also plan to remove the remainder of the A/C system since the system was already disconnected when I got the car. I can then drain the coolant system, and with the cross-pipe out of the way, I can remove the top end of the exhaust easier.
Again, if anybody has any advice on any of the stuff listed here, I'd appreciate the input. Also, if there is anything I should inspect or consider replacing while I'm in there, let me know.