I haven't posted in awhile due to some other activities requiring my attention. The old V6 engine has been hauled away thanks to another member here. I need to get started on my cylinder heads, but got sidetracked to another portion of this swap ... axle shafts. I previously found info that said, "4t80e tripots, 4t80e axles shortened 3/4", fiero outers. Take the stock axles, move the snap ring grooves on each end 3/8" towards the center (away from the end) on a lathe, and lop off 3/8" off each end." Well, that's not entirely accurate.

I will use the 4T80E tripots and axle shafts with the Fiero outer CV joints, but moving the grooves 3/8" at each end will not work. There are two snap rings at the tripot end of the shaft, and you must move the exposed ring further onto the shaft first, then slide the 3-pointed spider further ONTO the shaft to gain access to remove a small wire retainer ring on the end of the shaft. Once the wire ring is removed, you can then slide the spider off the shaft. The problem is that you can really only move the tripot end grooves about 1/4" further onto the shaft so you'll have enough spline left over to move the spider and get to that wire ring. This is not a problem because the CV joint end of the shaft has enough spline that its ring groove can be moved 1/2" further onto the shaft.

After I disassembled the CV joints on both axles (Seville & Fiero), I found that the internals were interchangeable between them with one exception. The Fiero CV spider race will not fit the 4T80E axle shaft. So, I must use the spider race from the Seville's CV joint. Again, this is no problem. I wish the entire engine swap was as simple as this portion. All I need to do is visit my machinist buddy to have him turn the shafts to relocate the grooves, and shorten the ends.



The image below shows the two CJ joint spider races. The Seville is on top, and you may be able to see that its splined hole is a tad larger than the Fiero's.

[This message has been edited by WAWUZAT (edited 06-30-2007).]

This latest task went too smoothly. Normally, I'd use a block of wood and a mallet to seat a shaft seal. While I did seat the front shaft seal using wood blocks, the blocks were used to prop up the timing cover, and I pressed the seal home using my drill press as an arbor press. To seat the rear shaft seal, I needed something that would allow the seal to be recessed below the surrounding surfaces. The seal is conveniently sized so a short length of 4" NPS PVC pipe (4-1/2" O.D.) fits perfect. I drilled a scrap piece of 3/8" x 3" steel, bought some bolts and washers at the local Ace Hardware, and installed the seal very easily. See photos below. And yes, I do realize one bolt is shorter than the others ... was all they had on hand in 8mm x 1.25mm pitch. And no, those 2" wide pieces of scrap steel would not fit between the bolts ... I could've made 'em fit, but didn't need to. I also double-checked the bolt lengths and stack height to ensure the bolts did not protrude through the crankshaft flange too far and damage the aluminum block.


And here's a shot of the new Felpro seal after being installed ...

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"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible."

Spent 6 hours today going over the ports in ONE cylinder head. Other than putting a knife-edge on the bulkhead between each pair of intake runners, and getting the exhaust ports into a D-shape to match the CHRFab exhaust flange, my only goal was to remove casting flash.
Intake port ...


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"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible."

[This message has been edited by WAWUZAT (edited 07-08-2007).]

[This message has been edited by WAWUZAT (edited 07-18-2007).]

Beautiful weather today. Opened up the garage doors, let the light in, and the gentle wind blow through. Got lots done, too. First, I reinstalled all freshly ground intake and exhaust valves.


In order to position the little keepers AND have them stay in place on the valve stems, I employed a bit of grease. A small dab on the inside of each keeper allows it to "stick" to the valve stem, and another dab on a small screwdriver so I could position each one down in the holes where the retainers are located. Slowly ease off the spring compressor, and everything stays put.


Finished the valve installation early, so I continued with installing the heads on the block. I did buy one of those torque-degree indicator tools that AJ recommended on the first page of this thread, and it performed wonderfully. Hmmm ... that didn't take long either. So I went ahead with pre-lubing the followers and camshafts, and installed them, too.


Next step is to install the secondary timing chains, gears, guides and tensioners. Then I can button-up the front of the engine, and install the valve covers.
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"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible."

[This message has been edited by WAWUZAT (edited 07-21-2007).]