When I was cleaning my engine I pulled the oil-cap of to clean it up. When I looked into the valve cover I couldn't see any oil. When I put my finger down there to check it was almost dry, just some gooey-black-jelly-stuff on the head and on the valve-springs.

I started the car and took a spin around the block, 70-80 in oil preasure when cold and about 40-50 warm (on idle). Oil stick says full (changed oil and filter about 800 miles ago). With the car on idle I removed the oil-cap and looked down but i can't see any oil... just a little puddle at the lower corner of the cover.
On my Corvette there is oil flying ALL over the valve covers so I'm a bit confused.
I have no knocking or rattling.

Could some of my oil-"channels" be plugged with goo? Is there a good way of cleaning them without pulling the covers or maybe the Fiero just doesn't flush oil all over?
When I fill oil into it it runs nicely down into the pan.

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Jorgen Larsson
1987 Fiero GT
1968 Corvette Conv.
1998 Ford Escort RS Ghia

i dont know how much oil the fiero gives its valve train but they sell this solution that you can put in your oil that helps clean out the oil passages. You just put it in right before you change the oil and run the car then drain the oil.

Yes, it is partially plugged, this is a lack of service issue. Obviously not totally plugged or you would not have a running engine.

Cheap and easy solution is one quart of ATF in the oil next time you change it. It is very high in detergent. Usually after a year or so of FAITHFULL oil changing and the ATF things will clean up. Be carefull if someone tries to sell you an engine flush, they TRASH engines. Makes a lot of money for the shop and you get to buy a new engine thousands of miles sooner than you should have.

Aaron

OK.. thanks!

I've heard that using some synthetic oil for diesel engines also does the trick, it should also contain more detergent.
Anybody tried this?

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Jorgen Larsson
1987 Fiero GT
1968 Corvette Conv.
1998 Ford Escort RS Ghia

Wow, my 85GT has little oil splash inside the valve covers and about the same pressure readings as yours. Your decription sounds exactly like the top end on my motor except it's very clean under the covers and theres no sludge. The original owner changed the oil faithfuly around 3000 miles and it now reads 77,400 miles.
A retired mechanic suggested ATF for me too. Though, I still wonder if this is a common characteristic of the 2.8V6 from that era.

Bj

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Seek knowledge and explore the unknown!

I change oil and filter once a year and I only drive the Fiero during summer so I only drive about 1500 miles a year.
The car now has 89.000 miles on it and I hope there's a few more cause I've spent all my money (and some more) importing a Viper RT/10.

Well I bought my Fieo about 16 months ago and the previous owner didn't do much more than the regular oil-change. Maybe he thought he was driving an old trusty Volvo.

When I got the car the front sparks was 6 years old since the mechanic didn't want to drop the engine to get to them....DOH!
And the EGR-tube was nothing but history, only the heat-sleeve was left in it's place.

Well I'll try the ATF-fluid and hope for the best... I think it's time to keep my eyes open for a "backup engine" but those are pretty rare and the pricing is way off the scale.

Anybody made a Golf VR6 or BMW M3 conversion? We have tons of those over here ... no just kidding! I'm not putting anything but GM under my decklid.

*Bad spelling*

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Jorgen Larsson
1987 Fiero GT
1968 Corvette Conv.
1998 Ford Escort RS Ghia

[This message has been edited by Intel (edited 06-14-2003).]

If the inside of the valve cover looks like that then the engine has led a horrible life and now you have to live with it. Most any of the ways discussed above will work to get rid of some sludge. I like the tranny fluid idea myself, but you really need to change it every 500 miles or so for about 5 or 6 times. That is if you wanna get most of the sludge out. Good luck.

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!
87 FIERO CPE 2.5 5spd
86 FIERO SE 2.5 AUTO
87 FIERO GT 2.8 4SPD
If you found my advice helpful, please take the time to give me a positive rating. Thanks

I got some VERY good results using Rislone.

Dump a quart of the stuff into the engine (don't worry about going over the fill line) and let it run until the fan kicks on. Then shut it off, and let it cool down; then change the oil. When you change the oil, substitute one quart of Rislone for one quart of oil and drive as normal until the next scheduled oil change. Use 100% oil afterwards.

Rislone isn't exactly an "engine flush" but it's a sort of oil additive/replacement that (I guess) contains more detergents than regular motor oil.

"Your mileage may vary" but this worked very well for resuscitating my Dad's '77 MGB with stuck rings....

Ed

The ATF is now in the car and knowing the condition of my car I will be drivig it very carefully the first 300 miles or so and keep an eye on everything.

The car has been driven on low budget mineral oil but changed regularly (so I've been told). I'm going to use synthetic oil with some ATF in it since I'm not driving it during winter and the synthetic oil doesn't sludge as much.