Okay guys (and gals) I know this might sound stupid, but I'm asking anyway:
Has anyone ever tried or done a "poor mans rebuild" on the stock 2.8?
My GT has about 159K on the clock and has reasonable power for its size and mileage. It does smoke under load, but Dodgerunner ran it thorugh WINALDL recently and readings were pretty much normal. I know that these cradles aren't that tough to remove (or so many of you say), but if anyone has tried leaving the block in place and replacing rings and maybe reworking heads while off, please let me know how it went.
Thanks!
Tom

I would think with the amount of work it will take to do it while in the car it would be easyer to just pull it and rebuild it

If your going to rebuild the engine, its better to pull it and do it right. If you leave it in the car there are some things you cant get to and may cause problems after the "rebuild". If this is a poor mans rebuild then dont waste the small amount you have have on parts just to have them trashed from something small you could have prevented, by putting in a little extra labor.

If I remember correctly I think you have to remove the front engine mount (or at least move it out of the way) to get the pan off. So with the engine in the car you would have to support it from the top, remove the mount, remove the pan and drop the crank to get the pistons out, all whilst lying on your back under the car.

Good luck with that (never mind the fun of putting it back in)

Provided you have somewhere to work the only thing you really need to get the engine out is some sort of hoist to lift the car. People have been very creative on here making them out of 6x4's, even a tractor front loader! You can even do it with just a jack and LOT of patience (and care) by lifting it a little each time and blocking it in place but a cherry picker or something similar is your best option.
The only other 'tools' you're gonna need are an engine stand and a furniture dolly (to move the whole lot around once its out coz it's ruddy heavy). You 'can' work on an engine on the floor but it's not fun and stuff gets broken turning it over etc.

Anyway, once you've pulled the engine from a Fiero, you'll do it just for fun, honest!

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Dave

www.ltlfrari.com

I did pull a 2.8 out from the top once (did not have any other way), but it's a bugger. Remove deck lid and everything you possibly can from the front of the engine, (water pump, alt., a/c compressor, all brackets, bottom pulley and damper) and it will come out. You will need a cherry picker or some safe lifting device and a couple extra helping hands. Good luck.

Plus you will have a heck of a back ack working from the top that much.

Thanks guys. I knew it would be impractical - 'guess I just wanted to hear it from the experts.

Have you taken compression readings / leak down tests on the engine yet? That may help you determine which way to go on the engine. If you do decide to replace parts / rebuild the engine, the amount of effort to drop the cradle is returned in spades when you need to do major engine work. It is so much easier and you won't be visiting the chiropractor as much.