how many miles can be put on the iron duke engine if taken care of ? we have 114,000 miles on ours right now. is 200,000+ too much of a stretch for these lil engines?

Usually the first thing to go is the timing set.

Some one had just over a million miles on one in a s10 before things started going down hill.

I had the auto tranny go out in my first 2M4 at 150k. My second 2M4 went thru 2 timing gear sets at around 190k but it had oil blow by issues. lol I don't think 200k is out of the question at all for an Iron Duke.

I bought an 84 two years ago with 70K miles on it. It was really not driven hard and driven mostly around town. I doubt the PO really ever went over the speed limit. I however, drive it daily 70 plus miles and 70 mph. The timing gear went at about 80K, I think that was more due to age than my driving style.

The main problem with the Duke and some other engine/trans combos from that era is the fact that the Duke runs at about 3400rpm at 70 (4sp with 4:10 final drive). Cars today run at considerably less rpms at 70mph and that has a lot to do with longevity. Think about it, two cars with similar engines, driving at 70 mph, one turning at 3400 rpm and the other turning at 2300 rpm...which one do you think will live longer?

quote Originally posted by Donna D: how many miles can be put on the iron duke engine if taken care of ? we have 114,000 miles on ours right now. is 200,000+ too much of a stretch for these lil engines?

A lot of things will factor in to the answer of your question.

-year of the Fiero/engine
-auto or manual (I find automatics tend to last a little longer from exp, some may disagree though)
-how well it has been maintained with every owner
-octane of fuel used consistently over the years
-if it has ever been overheated
-if it has AC or not

so many things factor in, all you can really do is guess because technically you could pull 10 identicle engines off the assembly line, put them on benches, run them at idle until they blow out after years of running and I bet they will all go out at surprisingly different times.

Some preventative measures can be taken to extend the life. like say you replace the oil pump and oil pump drive shaft at 100k miles just to be safe. Keeping it tuned properly and regular fuel system treatments, etc. It can last you to 200k miles and beyond. They are good little engines for what they were designed for and if taken care of properly will keep chugging along with that signature gumball machine sound for many many years

I had 265,000 on my 85 5spd duke before it went. Never had the timing issue though, had the original gears on it. Ended up breaking a chunk of the #3 cylinder wall off which led to its untimely death. I started to notice towards the end the thing smoked pretty bad like the rings were going, I dont know if putting the motor honey in it helped it last longer or killed it faster.

The car did sit for a few years before I bought it. PO already had another engine he was building for it because he knew it was about time so I got that with the purchase too. After the motor blew I installed the new engine and tried and tried to get it to run right but later found out it had a cracked head. Unfortunately that led to my Fiero sitting for another 6 years before getting another transplant.

-Joe

I replaced my old '87 Duke with a V6 at about 200K miles (199,963 to be exact). It still ran strong, but was leaking oil from the rear main seal. Also, I had to replace the timing gears at about 100K miles, and have the cyl head reconditioned at about 150K miles. But aside from that, I basically just put gas and oil in it, and performed routine maintenance.

I should also add that I very rarely revved the Duke past 4K RPM. I think the highest I ever revved it was about 4500 RPM. These engines do not like to be revved up.

The duke in my 84 has just over 225,000 miles on it. Still runs great and uses no oil between changes.

thanx everyone! i'm glad to hear that with care, she will be around awhile.lol

i inherited my parents' 89 grand am when i was in high school. car had about 210,000 miles on it then and i beat it up until the tranny went at 260,000. motor was still strong at that point with poor service it's whole life...miss that car.