Are the injectors actually pulsing? Get a stethoscope or use a screwdriver to see if you can hear them clicking. Also, if the injectors sat for a while after running gasoline with added ethanol, there's a strong possibility that they're stuck. If you use a noid light and confirm electrical pulses to the injectors, but don't hear them clicking, then this is what's happened.
If you're using the '94 ignition with the coil pack and plug wires, then you can get spark from the coil pack without having the ECM hooked up at all.
ok ill check for sound. I need to figure out which wires need to be hooked up for the engine to start, besides the obvious ones. I dont have the park/neutral switch wire hooked up to anything. But it should think its in park that way.
Even if the bypass is not hooked up or hooked up correctly, you should get at least a 2-3 second start. It won't run but it should start and die.
I'd check those injectors as Will said. You can use a LED light hooked up to the injector wiring to see if you have juice to each injector. The LED will pulse on and off as it fires. Do that for each connector plug.
The Fiero does NOT have a tendency to do peg leg burnouts.
However, I have opened up a 282 transmission in which the diff was worn beyond repair by someone doing peg-leg burnouts with it. The interface between the side gears and the diff carrier and between the spider gears and the carrier & cross pin is not well enough lubricated to take sustained high surface speeds such as in a one wheel burnout. A friction device can act to prevent that. I say friction device because there isn't a proper LSD available for the 282 at all.
Sticking my neck out as I'm not nearly as informed as many others here, especially Will, but doen't Quaife make one for the 282? Or is it not a "proper lsd"?
Sticking my neck out as I'm not nearly as informed as many others here, especially Will, but doen't Quaife make one for the 282? Or is it not a "proper lsd"?
It would be a great unit if you could find one...
Quaife used to make a unit for the Isuzu transmission, but never made one for the Getrag. There was a Torsen for the Getrag, but it was always very rare and expensive. there may still be a Quaife available for the F23.
Thanks for the clarification. Anyway I've never felt the need for one and that's with a turbo ls4 that even though I've never put more than 8 lbs boost probably lays down over 400 hp. Even as a hp junkie that's more than anyone needs in a Fiero.
alright, I just about have everything fitted and about ready to pull the engine back out. If im going to keep this engine in stock form are MLS headgaskets necessary? I was thinking about going with the northstar performance head stud kit as well, just in case I decide to do cams or headwork down the road.
On a side note I was able to get the getrag to work with the 4spd mounts and cables. Had to extend the select cable about 4 inches tho
okay well it sounds like I could just go with a felpro head gasket for now and use the time serts. looks like fun!
on a side note my throttle cable was toast so i pulled one out of a donor car I have and man is that quite the chore. holy cow
Also I finally found out that you have to bleed the clutch setup with the slave fully compressed. While doing this my cousin managed to bend the clutch master push rod, not to mention the pedal bracket was already bent
I actually prefer the Cometic metal gaskets because they don't deteriorate like the stock GM head gaskets.
When I cleaned up the decks and inserted with Norm's units, both of my OEM N*'s(120K & 60K miles) head gaskets had serious deterioration at the various cylinder coolant spaces. I think the Metal head gaskets are superior and worthy of purchase just on that aspect. Not required by any means but I think you get a longer shelf life with using them.
[This message has been edited by IXSLR8 (edited 12-31-2014).]
Looks like im just going to go with the the timeserts and felpro headgaskets for now, besides you can rent the timesert tools for $80 which is very cool. Im going to pick and pull portland tomorrow, ill see what they have for clutch pedals. last time i was there they had 3 fieros at one yard hahaaha
hopefully I will be able to get the engine back out today. I will take a look at the headgaskets and see what they look like. From what I saw there it looks like the mls would be a good investment. heck for all i know this block could be in great condition, i really know nothing about it
You can really only guess the condition of your engine if you haven't driven it much, don't know the mileage, haven't done a compression check or had the heads off.
Most of the N*'s under 120K are probably just fine. It seems to be around the 120K mark that the head pulling issue starts to display itself (overheating, loosing coolant). A very high percentage are fixable with redoing the head bolt holes. Chances are that yours is a good engine. Clean up the head bolt holes and give it some good head gaskets and you should have great insurance with regard to longevity and performance. These engines are cheap to acquire...but have expensive parts and are a little unique to work on. But I think its worth it in the long-term.
yeah these engines are super easy to get ahold of around here. I didnt get the engine out today i had some other work to do. on the MLS headgaskets, what is the thickness to go with? so many options.. i wouldn't mind a little higher compression as well with a thinner gasket
haha sounds cool. If i decided to seal the lower halfcase i would need to replace the main bearings and oil plate too correct? I feel it would almost be foolish not do seal the halfcase if im sealing the pan and the engine will be out
Yes, do the case half's when you have it out. It will clean up the common oil seeping/leaking if yours is leaking. If your bearings are good, you can continue to use them. Just get a new oil manifold.
Make sure you use a high zinc oil in your block especially for the cams/lifters.
You don't need to replace the main bearings unless there's a problem with them.
In addition to the case half seals, you should run a bead of anaerobic gasket replacement both inside and outside of the case half seal. This is CHRF's recommendation to prevent oil leaks. I did that on my engine and have not had any leaks.
You will need a new oil plate as confirmed above.
There are two different styles of oil plate, windage tray and main bolts. These items all need to match. However, the older style oil plate is NLA. You'll need to switch to the newer style (I *think* '96 was the first year of the new style) windage tray and main bolts.
okay I see the differences after reading the thread haha. I guess i dont see why you would need to change the windage tray and hardware when using the new oil manifold.. does it put the windage tray to close to the crankshaft or something?
Originally posted on RFT Here's the big difference. The old style had cast-in-place steel bucks against which the main bolts tighten. The new style plate doesn't have those. Instead the main bolts tighten against the steel windage tray
Also, the oil pickup tube needs to match the oil plate in order to have the seal in the right place.
[This message has been edited by Will (edited 01-06-2015).]
haha yes i read that. i just dont understand why that would dictate a new windage tray or hardware. The parts stores list the oil manifold as interchangeable as well.
The friction under the heads of the main bolts can gall and damage the aluminum in the new style oil plate. Also, aluminum that's subjected to high contact stress and elevated temperature can creep and allow the bolt to relax. Having a steel surface for the bolt head to tighten against and which spreads out the contact load over a larger area avoids both of these problems.
They're engineered as a group, the designs were changed as a group, and they should be swapped out as a group also.
Yeah, that dang stock exhaust crossover pipe is in the way. To get that crossover pipe off, you have to take the transmission off the block or cut it in places which is not easy to do IN a caddy.
Just buy the new manifold set. Forget a used one. That way you know the seal is good especially around the pickup tube.
Pretty much all the oil seals on a Northstar are single use. They swell when they come in contact with oil, so they seal great, but then don't seal well when they go back together because of the swelling. This is especially obvious on valve cover and oil pan seals, because they won't fit back in their grooves after use.
In fact, the whole point of the parts swapping operation I detailed above was to replace my old re-used oil plate with a new one because it was leaking.
is 3546580 the correct part number for the oil pickup?
also will i see you are using that solid intermediate axle housing for the passenger side axle... any idea where i can pick one up? these transmissions are hard enough to find already
There's still an axle seal in the side of the transmission. I had to very carefully fabricate the support bracket in order to make sure that the axle was straight out of the transmission and wasn't slightly out of alignment, as that would wear the splines rapidly.
GM went to intermediate axles in manual transmission FWD cars pretty much across the board, I thought in the late '80's or early '90's... maybe as early as '88 for the Type I shaft and then a few years later for the Type II. I'm not sure which apps had the Type II shaft vs. the shaft you were mentioning... I found this one in a junk yard a long time ago.
[This message has been edited by Will (edited 01-13-2015).]
got the heads off today and both gaskets were smoked. rusted thru just like the one you had posted. that is one weird design. none off the bolts had anything on the threads, but one of the twenty was a little corroded. most of the bolts snapped pretty loudly when I broke them loose. Also the crank pulley bolt was a nightmare to get off. wow.
Even tho the bolts look to be free of aluminum is it still recommended to install inserts?
most of the bolts snapped pretty loudly when I broke them loose.
That's a really good sign regarding the condition of the threads in your block.
quote
Originally posted by mcfrandon:
Even tho the bolts look to be free of aluminum is it still recommended to install inserts?
Yes, absolutely. Whenever the heads come off the first time, drop the inserts in. That way you're guaranteed never to have that problem again (unless your block was REALLY corroded)
If I remember right, Alan at CHRF said that if your threads were good in the block, you could stud it without inserts. Though that may be true, I think it is significantly better to install inserts for the GM stretch bolts or ARP studs (unless of course you use CCC's studs or Jake's studs with the coarser threads). Inserts are future insurance create more strength if you decide to use a turbo or blower or just want long-term reliability.
Glad you got to see what gaskets look like before they fail completely. Go with the Cometics.
ok i have been pretty well inspecting the block as far as i can without removing the crank and pistons and i found what looks like it could be a small crack on the outside of the block near the lower crankcase. im going to try and clean it up a bit better and get pictures of anything that looks like trouble.
Before you clean it up, evaluate the dirt, grime and sign of wetness/drainage around it to see if it gives clues about whether it has been leaking in the past and if so what...
ok i couldn't find any cracks. just casting marks. Im trying to figure out a way to get the last dowel pin out that broke off pretty much flush with the block. seems like the only options are drill it or tap it.
Also what are the reasons for replacing the oil manifold if you can reseal it on both sides?
ok i couldn't find any cracks. just casting marks. Im trying to figure out a way to get the last dowel pin out that broke off pretty much flush with the block. seems like the only options are drill it or tap it.
Also what are the reasons for replacing the oil manifold if you can reseal it on both sides?
With the alignment pins, I take them out with a drill bit and vice grips. I put the drill bit in the dowel and snap the vice grips around it and rock them out. Works good. If yours have the top ripped off, then you may be able to get an awl in between the dwell and the head bolt aluminum edge. Tap it down until you can get a larger punch in the same position. Keep going larger until you can get pair of quality needle nose pliers in there and twist. It should come out. Just be careful with the aluminum. Drilling it out should also work after sizing your bit to one of your other alignment pins that have been removed. Because the metal is pretty soft, you can probably get it out starting with the awl.
Just get a new oil manifold instead of trying to seal it on both sides with GM's special sealant. GM's sealant is expensive too. If you really don't want to spend the money on new N* parts, then you should probably be working on a different engine. No offense intended. Its just an expensive motor.
