I have an 86 SE 5sp with a blown Iron Duke. Will a 2.5 from any GM car work as a replacement? I have had several mechanics and junk yards tell me different answers… what cars will work? Thanks!

Welcome to the forum.

Several will work. But most, if not all, will required some sensor changes and stuff like that to make it work with your 86 computer. However 87-88 Fiero Dukes are do not have distributors they are DIS and have several different internal workings. BTW, in what way is it blown?

The link at the bottom of the page for Ogre's Cave has good info about the Duke, and a search of the archives will give you more information that you can read in day's time.

Thanks for the info and the welcome. It was my fault... a copper ground wire for the electric fan came off of the chassis and I tried to drive it home. I should have called for a tow.

Elvira and Chester have a low mileage (less than 19,000 original miles) Duke for sale on Ebay. The original owner of the car put a super duty duke in it, but kept all of the original parts. The engine is complete except for the alternator and a couple of other parts, but it is a direct bolt in replacement that would be as good as new. Check the mall to see if they posted it there, I don't normally look there.

quote Originally posted by Jake!: Thanks for the info and the welcome. It was my fault... a copper ground wire for the electric fan came off of the chassis and I tried to drive it home. I should have called for a tow.

If all it did was over heat, you may have just blown a head gasket. The repair is not that difficult. Just need a gasket set, and new head bolts. And while the head is off, have at least a head job (valve guide seals are replaced, with some other minor work) done [someone correct me if I am wrong].

If you do the head gasket and depending on the miles, it would be a great time to replace all the gaskets (intake, exhaust, oil pan, lifter & pushrod cover, etc.), the water pump, the oil pump, the alternator, the distributor o-ring, the rear main seal (if you pull the engine) the timing cover gasket, and a do a full tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, pcv valve, fuel filter, air cleaner, and drive belts). And if you go that far, replace the timing gear, while you are doing all this work. Believe me you don’t want to pull it all back apart just to change the timing gear.

Unless something is severely wrong, you most likely have not torn up the engine, the work listed above will most likely correct your problem. And, if you do all that work, you will have a reliable engine, providing no internal problems exist.

All of that is less expensive than buying a rebuilt replacement engine or buying a used engine and having to do most of listed work anyway. I did all the above mention to my 84 Duke and it runs great. The problem? A blown head gasket.

At least investigate your engine problems a bit further, and pull the head if necessary.

Thanks for the advice Gold, I should have mentioned that I put a rod through the pan...

I've worked on engines before, and I just need a couple of examples of the cars that I could pull one out of. Every mechanic I talked to says it HAS to be out of a Fiero. I looked at the Cave and I at least know that nearly any 86 or before will work. Now I just have to find one a poor college student can afford.

Here's a pic:

[This message has been edited by Jake! (edited 06-27-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Jake! (edited 06-27-2003).]

quote Originally posted by Jake!:

Nice Fiero. With some luck you'll have her on the road in no time.

BTW, a little over a year ago I bought a Duke from an 85 Fiero for 125 bucks. I put very little additional money into the engine and I was on the road while I rebuilt the 84 Duke. My purpose of the post, you can good deals. Best of Luck.

if you want direct bolt in without any other work i think it has to be from a fiero. i stuck a 81 citation motor in my fiero. it had a few diffrences but i used the origanol fiero head(save a big headache of emitions stuff) and had to put a 3 dollar cover over some hole that my fiero didnt have. if your decent at mechanicing it works pretty well but youll have to buy some new gaskets for diffrent engine codes. any vin "r" engine should be a direct fit with no problems. i think mine was a vin "5" from a citation, the olds cutlass ciera should work and i think a celebrities duke should fit also. good luck. if you have any questions about my swap email me battledroid53@yahoo.com

Had a rod thru the pan of my 86 2.5. Bought a used short block out of an 86 Olds for $125. Taper in the cylinder walls ranged from .001 to .004". Honed and reringed it with moly rings.

For about $250 total and my own labor, I had a rebuilt engine.

Shoulda replaced the timing gears, they let go about 20K miles later.

The short answer... The FWD car motors will work but there may be things to watch out for. There is an article for replacing 87-88 Fiero L4 in my cave that may have stuff relevant to early years as well. It will at least point you to posible traps.

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Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. Guess I'll just go eat worms.

You seriously need to avoid the VIN Code U engines. These are usually found in the N body GM cars (i.e. Grand Am, Cutlass Calais, etc.). They are actually shorter (I know, I measured, heh) and the only major things that will interchange are the rods and pistons, and most likely the valves. If you are lucky enough to find a S-10 engine with the water pump port on the side then that will be a better Duke/Tech IV replacement. Also been told for performance the 87-92 S-10 heads are better flowing. Hope this helps ya!

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Webpage www.geocities.com/Turbofiero84se

Aol and Yahoo Msgr S/N - TurboFiero84se

Thank you all for the info! I should have good luck finding an S-10 engine, they are very common here in Iowa.

If you can't find one I have a 2.5 out of an 85 I would sell reasonable, but it would be coming from Portland, OR so there would be about $100 shipping to add on.

I wonder why the Quad 4 was never a popular swap? Were there problems with it? I thought it was supposed to be a very strong running, lightweight engine. I did a search and came up with nada...

I might be able to part with a 2.5 out of a 87 in S E Iowa. You can get the comp and wiring to do the changover. It ran great just has a bad 5spd.

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85 GT 4spd 2.8 1 yr blk
86 SE 4spd 2.8 2 yr blk
86 GT Auto 2.8 new to me.
87 SE 5spd Future 4.9 6yr

quote longtermgt:I wonder why the Quad 4 was never a popular swap? Were there problems with it? I thought it was supposed to be a very strong running, lightweight engine. I did a search and came up with nada...

Quad 4 replacement aprts are not cheap.