Feelin the 2.hate

nfswift · Post by **nfswift** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:48 am

So I just noticed that the majority of my coolant issue is rooted to the fact that the base of my thermostat housing is minus one bolt, yes, sheared off at the head... and is easily lifting from it's mount and venting into the engine bay.

At this point, I am honestly wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to invest in a 2.8L core with less KMs on it and swap the heads/intake from the old V6 onto it.

The current 2.8 has over 230,000kms.

2.8s can be had on a budget but how hard would this swap be? This is my (steadily deteriorating) daily driver. Could I have it back on the road in a weekend?

Jinxmutt · Post by **Jinxmutt** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:32 am

The thermostat housing bolts into the lower intake, not the heads.

The Dark Side of Will · Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:33 am

Is the bolt snapped off flush? How are you with a drill?

You could also just swap lower intakes. That'll also fix your lower intake oil leak (for a while, anyway).

teamhavok2 · Post by **teamhavok2** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:35 am

why not get one of those reverse drill tap things from hobo freight. I got mine there and suprisingly it wasn't a one time use tool. cost me like 4 bucks. Although if your just looking for an excuse to put a new motor in then... scrap what i said it's stuck.

nfswift · Post by **nfswift** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:40 pm

Jinxmutt wrote:The thermostat housing bolts into the lower intake, not the heads.

Ah, now that I look at it, too true.

I'm debating backing the bolt out, I hope that'll solve my problems though.

I need to get a proper flush and fill done, but I can't until I've solved the little issue of getting the car to actually hold the coolant first. And I've gotta move fast because, like I said, this is my DD.

Guess I'm in the market for an easy out type bolt tap thing...

Boscolingus · Post by **Boscolingus** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 5:20 pm

with the amount of swaps going around right now and how cheap 2.8 parts are, I'd just grab another intake. This way you can clean up the motor and do some port work while solving the bolt problem

Weponhead · Post by **Weponhead** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:33 pm

park it.. get another beater. its not worth it. trust me, its too much to keep up with hah. once it starts it doesnt stop BREAKING or coming out of adjustment *grumble*

nfswift · Post by **nfswift** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:56 pm

Boscolingus wrote:with the amount of swaps going around right now and how cheap 2.8 parts are, I'd just grab another intake. This way you can clean up the motor and do some port work while solving the bolt problem

I don't know of any wrecked 6's around me... I'm actually fairly sure there aren't any...

Being in SW Canada sucks...

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:07 pm

You think Vancouver sucks? Dude, I had 6.5-7 months of snow on the ground this year. Makes for a pretty short car season.... There should be quite a few fieros around that area? Sucks that you have to take a ferry everywhere you go.

Check out www.car-part.com Could be parts as close as Seattle, not a very far drive (or swim).

nfswift · Post by **nfswift** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:53 am

crzyone wrote:You think Vancouver sucks? Dude, I had 6.5-7 months of snow on the ground this year. Makes for a pretty short car season.... There should be quite a few fieros around that area? Sucks that you have to take a ferry everywhere you go.

Check out www.car-part.com Could be parts as close as Seattle, not a very far drive (or swim).

However true that may be about your snow, it is equally true about Fiero parts for me...

There is ONE engine in Abbottsford on car-part, the rest are all in washington or farther out...

You know about mandatory passports at the border now? I'm 19 and don't travel, so I'm effed... they take ages to get.

I wish I could just find 2.8 parts locally until I have the scratch saved for a 3.4 swap or something actually worth it =\

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:10 am

if someone snapped the bolt off then you'll probably need a torche to heat it up in order to get it out.

getting a new one means you can swap the part out and be back on the road in an hour

getting stuck with a brocken ez-out in a drilled out bolt could leave you stranded.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:24 am

An hour?
You've never had the top end of a Fiero 2.8 apart...

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:37 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote:An hour?
You've never had the top end of a Fiero 2.8 apart...

actually i've had 2.8 top ends apart so much that i thought an hour was leaving enough time to sit around with a beer or two and scratch your head a few times.

head gasket job on a 2.8 is an afternoon job. the lower intake should really only take about half an hour to swap out.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:33 pm

That's exactly why you can do that in an hour... not just that YOU have done the job so many times, but that the job HAS BEEN DONE on your car so many times that everything is free and easy.

I think that Steven's estimate of a 4 hour clutch change is under the same circumstances.

I've done two Fiero clutches. Both too a solid weekend and both jobs were the first time the car had been apart since GM put it together the first time.

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:40 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote:That's exactly why you can do that in an hour... not just that YOU have done the job so many times, but that the job HAS BEEN DONE on your car so many times that everything is free and easy.

I think that Steven's estimate of a 4 hour clutch change is under the same circumstances.

I've done two Fiero clutches. Both too a solid weekend and both jobs were the first time the car had been apart since GM put it together the first time.

bah - i don't have a 2.8 anymore i have a 3.4
getting to the lower intake has never taken more than half an hour. carefully putting everything back in could possibly take more than half an hour the first time around.

as for clutch jobs? i really hate fiero clutch jobs inside the car. its so difficult to get the input shaft to line up and slide all the way in i usually spend half an hour just muscling everything around with a pry bar untill it pops into place.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:00 pm

That part of it's not too hard for me. The trans only weighs about 85#.

But when the car hasn't been apart EVER and the Y-pipe to manifold bolts are seized... and you elect to pull the manifold off because it's leaking anyway and two of the bolts are already broken...

I don't doubt that someone who's done the job before can do the job that fast on a car that's been apart before, I don't think someone green or someone experienced can do the job that fast on a car that hasn't been apart before.

nfswift · Post by **nfswift** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:30 am

The fact remains that there are no 2.8s close enough to buy the lower manny from or anything, it looks like I'm stuck re-affixing the stat housing.

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:38 am

then i recommend pulling it, and getting a ride to a shop and shelling out 20$ for them to remove the brocken off stud

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:26 am

I wouldn't waste either the gas or the $20...

But only if you have access to a drill-press, and something that you can clamp that manifold down with... TIGHT.

Grind the stud flat, mark the exact center, punch it, and bore a small hole in the middle. Work your way up through bit sizes until you start getting aluminum flakes.

Tap a new thread one size up, modify the t-stat housing bolt hole accordingly, and buy yourself a congratulatory Kokanee.

You can do this with a hand-drill, but only if you are good at holding a drill straight.

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:48 am

Mach10 wrote:I wouldn't waste either the gas or the $20...

But only if you have access to a drill-press, and something that you can clamp that manifold down with... TIGHT.

Grind the stud flat, mark the exact center, punch it, and bore a small hole in the middle. Work your way up through bit sizes until you start getting aluminum flakes.

Tap a new thread one size up, modify the t-stat housing bolt hole accordingly, and buy yourself a congratulatory Kokanee.

You can do this with a hand-drill, but only if you are good at holding a drill straight.

and if you already have all the tools and taps. granted i usually buy the tool rather than getting someone else to do the work. but getting steel bolts out of aluminum can be near impossible even with the help of the old blue wrench (acetalyne torch).