World's slowest Fiero/Quad 4 Swap (Page 27/48)
Quadfather NOV 12, 07:01 PM
I loosened and then torqued the head bolts to the proper amount. Next up was the oil pump. I’ve always thought the Quad’s pump looks like a space ship from an 80s sci fi movie.



Notice how the pickup tube sits at an angle, because the engine is mounted a few degrees off of vertical.






The manual says to prime the pump by taking off the access panel and filling the inside with petroleum jelly.

I’m now cleaning the cam towers. I’m probably going to paint them sail blue.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-12-2021).]

zkhennings NOV 16, 01:11 PM
Really nice work! I just read through your whole thread, you are getting close. Quad Four is such a sweet motor, I look forwards to seeing more progress! If I were you I would focus mainly on getting it running and driving over everything else, that way you can enjoy it and it will motivate you to get to all the details that will make the car perfect.
Quadfather NOV 16, 03:01 PM

quote
Originally posted by zkhennings:

Really nice work! I just read through your whole thread, you are getting close. Quad Four is such a sweet motor, I look forwards to seeing more progress! If I were you I would focus mainly on getting it running and driving over everything else, that way you can enjoy it and it will motivate you to get to all the details that will make the car perfect.



Thanks very much. Yes, I'm trying to keep a laser focus on getting the car on the road. Sometimes it's hard, though, especially when other fun projects pop into my head.

And you're right, the Quad is an awesome engine.
Quadfather NOV 20, 07:15 PM
Made some progress today. I wanted to paint engine parts today, starting with the block, but Tractor Supply didn’t have regular old black so I used grill paint. Should make it easier to spot oil leaks.



Also painted the cam tower for the intake side. I wanted to use silver, but the closest thing Tractor Supply had was smoke gray.



And the timing housing. Recognize the color?

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-20-2021).]

Quadfather NOV 20, 07:25 PM
This engine quit running in 2012, while it was still in my rusty old GTZ, when the timing chain tensioner broke. Because the Quad is an interference engine it bent four valves in the process.

Today I spent about 20 minutes looking for the broken tensioner to figure out if any of it was salvageable or if I need to order a new one. I’ll have to order a new one. Even if I could remember how the spring is supposed to go back inside I don’t think there’s any way to get it back in there.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-20-2021).]

Quadfather NOV 20, 07:36 PM
Back in 2008, I remember being excited when the remanufactured head arrived. I carefully installed it on the engine, then was crushed to discover the holes for the cam tower bolts were stripped. Thanks to the Quad4forums, I discovered that that was a common problem and the solution was to use studs. The holes are very deep but the OEM bolts only catch the first six or seven threads and often pull them out.

Instead of paying one of the forum members for a set, I bought some all-thread and made my own. It was a very tedious process. I bought three sections of all thread, cut them into 20 pieces, then had to carefully grind the burrs off each end. I also cut a slot in one end to use a screwdriver to install them. I don’t remember how long it took me to make them all, but it was worth it.



[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-20-2021).]

Quadfather NOV 20, 07:43 PM
The new timing chain and gears arrived yesterday. I’m on vacation next week and soccer season ends tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be able to get the engine almost completely reassembled in the coming days.
Quadfather NOV 22, 05:11 PM
Amazing how difficult it can be to remove baked-on oil from engine parts. I ran out of oven cleaner but all Dollar General had in stock was the store brand and it didn’t work. I found an old can and managed to get the intake cam tower pretty clean.

Then I got to looking at the oil pan and became worried I’d mixed it up with one of my spares. I don’t remember the pan from my GTZ having a sensor in it.



I considered several ideas for confirming if this was the right pan and finally dug out the engine harness. I thanked my 2012 self for labeling all the plugs on the harness.





I’ve mentioned that this engine was a reman assembled in Mexico. Here’s more proof.



Hoping to reinstall the cam towers, cams and lifters tomorrow.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-22-2021).]

Quadfather NOV 23, 10:03 PM
For the first time in almost a decade, my Quad has a head and cam towers installed. The homemade stud kit works well, after cleaning and adding some anti-seize to the bottom threads.



Spent a lot of time yesterday afternoon prepping the cam towers and caps for installation, then rushed around this afternoon to get the lifters and cams cleaned and installed.



The Quad is such a weird-looking engine. No wonder the engineers decided to use an aluminum cover over the towers.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 01-10-2022).]

Quadfather NOV 23, 10:12 PM
Here’s a tip about storing oily lifters for a decade. Use egg cartons, but be sure to pick polystyrene ones instead of the pressed paper ones. It was easy to read the numbers I wrote on the polystyrene one in 2012, not so much on the pressed paper one, thanks to it wicking up all that old oil.



Also, beware of black holes. This is the plate/lifting eye that bolts to the end of the exhaust cam tower. One of the four mounting bolts disappeared this afternoon.



I spent about 20 minutes moving parts and tools off my work table and even got down on the floor and looked underneath but still didn’t find that bolt. The only logical explanation is that a small black hole opened up and transported it to another dimension.

While hitting the remaining three bolts with the wire wheel on the bench grinder, I dropped one. Spent ANOTHER 20 minutes looking for that bolt, too. Just as I was about to give up, I found it lying on the flange on the grinder. I swear I’d seen it flying across the floor after it left my hand.