Hey guys n gals! I was wondering... A friend of mine just bough an 84, with the Duke... If i recall correctly, the 84s with the 4cyl had the problem with catching on fire because of faulty connecting rods and mislabeled oil capacity. Any tips or trick you guys have to keeping this little guy from granading???? Thanks!

take off the grill over the engine. its magnesium, and will burn with intensity if caught on fire. guys call it a bbq grill. guess who is the meat? i replaced it with a scoop off a mercury capri. make sure that there is no oil dripping down the motor to the cat, if so replace the valve cover gasket with copper top.
jon

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I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!

Print up a small list of things that can be kept in the car for when it is taken to the service shop. I.E. Location of the lift points, proper oil capacity, oil weight etc.

Other than that, have him pull apart the front of the HVAC system and clean the blower motor fan and the immediate vents if he can. Check for any leaves and other debris in the engine bay around the exhaust manifold and its always a good idea to remove the raggy insulation in the engine bay.

see my cave, "do you recall?" It's under the main menu.
Most recall are posted here in PDF form... http://www.fieronews.net/fusion/downloads.php

The cave and PDF can tell you if recall has been done or not.

if the recall work has not been done then I recommend this:
install the larger oil filter PF52 or equivalent.
Use 4 quarts of oil.
Start the car minute or two.
Check the dipstick. If the dipstick says there is over filled then scratch a new line to be your new fill point.

check oil regularly and keep it full. expect to add oil a half quart at a time.


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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 02-23-2011).]

Yup, most of these 4cyls were recalled. Just double check the recall. If recalled, just maintain it like a normal engine.

BTW, just a reminder, it wasn't just Fieros that were recalled, GM recalled other lines with the same engine because of this problem.

Great!!! Thanks for the info. I will pass it along.