Colby’s 88 Formula

Cheese wrote: With a working cat and the car no longer running so rich, getting through AirCare was easy.

Colby, does that mean we can now stand behind your '88 while its running and not be gassed?

Seriously though, that's great to hear!  

 

Glad to hear the Formula is running optimally once again Colby. That should allow you to spank Patty by an even greater margin.

Hopefully I'll see it around autocross or the meeting soon.

Good job on AirCare, Colby. 

Lessee....beefy coilovers with adjustable shocks, new stiff bushings, adjustable sway bars, lowered, competition alignment, wide wheels with sticky R-comp tires....  that will be good for a start. 

 

AllanJ wrote: Lessee....beefy coilovers with adjustable shocks, new stiff bushings, adjustable sway bars, lowered, competition alignment, wide wheels with sticky R-comp tires....  that will be good for a start.

Colby...  Do it, do it!

Romeo wrote: As for you Patty, don't be jealous because I have a 350 that more than doubles the Duke's output. And a five speed.

...

 

But the 15"s are so pretty... Let me know if you intend to sell them off, I need one.

Oh, I like the 15" rims too. I think they'll become my winter rims so I'll still use them for half the year, two of the rims already have the right tires for that anyway.

Gary, that seal installation definitely looks poorly done.  It's difficult to tell from the pictures though, but is the harmonic balancer actually damaged (from being pounded on)?

It certainly seems strange to me that a low mileage engine would've required a sleeve on the balancer. What would've caused a groove to have been worn into the balancer in the first place on an engine with less than 70,000 kilometers on it?

I changed the balancer on my '86 GT (almost 200,000 kms) because the rubber part of the dampener had deteriorated to the point where the outer ring had begun to spin. Made timing a real challenge!  However, there was little appreciable wear on the balancer where the seal had resided.

 

I thought about the way too many miles on it item too but since I have a near perfect 88 fiero here to compare to. I can say that the engine in the formula just felt and is stronger in comparison and my 88 here is no slouch. It's an absolute shame to see such problems, I would never have sold the car had I known any of these things.

karnak wrote: The balancer may have had a sleeve put onto it to make the diameter larger .. for the sake of the seal

Well, the seal is designed to ride directly on the hub of the harmonic balancer, so without a groove having been worn into the balancer I don't see a need for the sleeve. (Take the sleeve off, let's have a look!)

Anyway, let's see those pictures.

 

ok.. here are the pictures! 

the first couple show the main bearings. notice the pitted look and the 'flake' that appears to mottle the surface. there are groves on all the main bearings but the crank is 'ok' (but was starting to wear). it would seem to me that only the one connecting rod bearing was really shot. (stamped GM, so we know it was OEM)





this next picture shows a cam bearing. you can see on one side (lower) there is a difference in appearance from the other. this is like a corrosion from sitting and being under-oiled for too long (i suspect).



finally, the cylinder walls. there is a very mild ridge on the top of the bore and that ridge is not detectable on the sides (just on the edges).

a quick run thru with a hone will be all it will need.

note the crosshatch i s still visible.



well .. i am taking a small break from the motor and will post more pictures as i do more.

the other internal components of the motor are clean and re-usable.



Gary