I currently have my 4-cyl 87 Duke in the shop, there is an aluminum fitting that screws into the lower manifold which is leaking. I wanted the shop to replace this fitting, however, the manager just called and said that the aluminum fitting has been discontinued.... I need a quick answer as to if this is true and if so, what other fittings will work as a substitute?

I have heard of a brass fitting....

TIA,
Kelvin

It's a "quick connect" fitting. You may need to replace it with a piece of threaded pipe and a short length of hose. I's complicated to explain and a PITA to do

In correct terms.... from the plumbing supplies you need a short nipple (the shortest one they make in the needed size), an elbow, and a hose barb that will fit inside the heater hose.

You may need to rethread the manifold hole to a US pipe size.

You screw the nipple into the manifold, then put on the elbow and then the hose barb.

If the hose isn't long enough to easily reach the barb then you will have to extend it or use additional plumbing materials to make the new fitting reach.

(Don't streatch the hose tight... these motors jump around quite a bit. streatched hose won't last long.)

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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

Why did Pontiac use aluminum fittings? Oh well. As I expected, when the guys working on my car unscrewed the aluminum fitting, it broke. A piece of the fitting remains in the manifold.

The GoodYear folks are currently working on drilling out the piece and retrofitting something else in its place.

On a side note, the coolant leaking from the fitting leaked onto the dis coils (the 87 duke does not have a distributor cap). After driving the car for a while, whenever I stomped on the accelerator, the car would hesistate/stall. Could a wet dis coil cause this hesitation/stall?

The GoodYear folks think my coils are fine and that the hesitation was due to the coils getting wet. What do you guys think?

Sounds possible, have them fix the leak, then try it from there. At least they arent trying to sell you the coils and ignition module up front.

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quote Originally posted by Kelvin Vivian: On a side note, the coolant leaking from the fitting leaked onto the dis coils (the 87 duke does not have a distributor cap). After driving the car for a while, whenever I stomped on the accelerator, the car would hesistate/stall. Could a wet dis coil cause this hesitation/stall? The GoodYear folks think my coils are fine and that the hesitation was due to the coils getting wet. What do you guys think?

Pontiac did what it thought was best, who knows.
The hesitation and stall are "mostlikely" not related to the brick getting wet. If that were the case it would be in a water tight enclosure since driving rain would cause a problem.
It may be the sparkplug gap. DIS does not like a big gap at all. If you have bosch platinum plugs I recomend you replace them. Another reason for hesitation is the MAP sensor but since it cost a bit more than plugs to replace it if all else fails. MAP sensor is (I believe Ogre correct me if I'm wrong)"open loop" when the engine is cold so if you don't get hesitation and stall with a cold engine I would look at replacing the it.

84Bill,

I JUST replaced the spark plugs and wires, first I used platinum plugs, then I started getting hesitation/stall effects, I bought regular plugs to replace the platinum one and gapped them at .060 as recommended on the decklid, still hesitating intermitently. Ever since I replaced the spark plugs and wires, this hesitation/stall started occuring...

Should I reduce the gap? I also disconnected the MAP sensor when removing the air intake (for easier access to the spark plugs) I'm pretty sure I reconnected it snuggly, in fact I did...

So therefore, I probably should reduce the gap, what gap size do you guys recommend?

Thanks,
KV

[This message has been edited by Kelvin Vivian (edited 01-09-2002).]

Since the Fiero aluminum fitting into the lower manifold was discontinued, the good folk at GoodYear were able to drill out the old fitting which broke in the manifold and tap in a new GM pickup fitting (aluminum).. No more coolant leak.

quote Originally posted by Kelvin Vivian: 84Bill, Should I reduce the gap? So therefore, I probably should reduce the gap, what gap size do you guys recommend? Thanks, KV [This message has been edited by Kelvin Vivian (edited 01-09-2002).]

WOW 60! If memory serves me right it should be .45 But let me check on that and I'll verify the gap say 5:30 EST.
If I am right then this would be the source of your problem.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 01-11-2002).]

Thx, 84Bill,

I'm going to probably gap them at .050 later on tonite. Let me know what you find out.

Sorry it took so long but you were right the gap is .060
Look the wires over, maybe you have a bad one somewhere or it's not all the way down on the plug or brick.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 01-11-2002).]

I picked up that fitting for an 88 4 cly about 3 months ago at my local dealer- he didn't even look up the part number( I had the old one with me). He just said "That's a common replacement part" and got one from the back.

The fitting was most likely used to speed assembly at the factory.

The DIS system uses a 0.060 gap. Don't change it.

read the DIS notes in my cave. From what I've seen... Hesitation is more likely the MAP and/or the MAT sensor acting up. Usually MAP going south but check both.

Coolant on the brick could be a problem. For a start just try cleaning everything. There is a way to pull the coils and module w/o taking the tray off the block. It's in the DIS article. Unless you want to replace the crank sensor that's the best way to do it.

The final posibility and quite posible for you... (Especially since you say it started after the Platinum plugs...)

If the platinum plugs went bad, they may have taken one or both coils out as well. Bosch Platinum and Plat +4 burn the gap open when they fry. that makes the coils overload and overheat.

"Single Platinum" types from Autolite and AC aren't really meant for DIS. Those companies make a "Double Platinum" product that is suposed to be DIS Friendly. I have not tested those products. I run standard Autolite resistor plugs in mine.

Parts for DIS can be had cheap at salvage yards. 87-88 Grand Am and 87-91 Olds Culass Calais use the same motor. grab 2-3 whole bricks.

Read the MotorAge documents linked in my cave as well. You'll mainly want to read parts 1 and 2. Part 3 covers more recent systems, but it's handy for reference.

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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

Thanks for your input guys,

The coolant leak is fixed, the spark plug wires are gapped at .060 and the car still intermittently, about 1 in 10 times will buckle/stall when I stomp on the gas, 9 of 10 times it will accelerate fine...

I'll recheck the wires (although I'm sure they are on tight) and I'll probably replace the mat and map sensors. Perhaps it's time, the car has 128000 miles. How often do these parts last? theogre, I'm going to check out your website...

Thanks again,
KV