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hey all,
I'm a proud s10 owner that I swapped a 2.8 into a few years back. this truck started as a 2.5/5 speed base model truck that I lowered. I drove it about a year on the old worn out 2.5 til she threw #1 rod out the oil pan. so with the lack of t5 bellhousing for a 4.3 I decided i would go with a 2.8, mainly because it was available for nothing.
So here begins the build, I grabbed the 2.8 from a 87 blazer including wiring harness, exhaust, radiator and computer. I soon found out that a blazer harness has a 6 wire difference from the pickups. well I ran it like this(all wired up) for a few years and 3engines.
So on my hunt for 2.8 #4, I was made a deal on a 2.8 out of a 87 camaro for a 700r4 I had just laying around. I ran this one for about year til my electric fan died, it overheated and I over revved as I slid across a highway before my tire went flat.....again. basically I was having a bad day and took it out on the truck soon......yep you guessed it.....#3 rod had spun a bearing.
So I let the truck sit for a few years because it needed body work, new suspension and obviously a new engine. I eventually got around to working on it after 3 years of sitting. A friend came to me and sold me a parts truck with a 2.8/5 speed for practically nothing which in turn I only used the wiring harness out of to wire my truck correctly. finally things are looking up.
So my boss gave me yet another 87 camaro 2.8 because he was tired of looking at it. I guess I should have mentioned I used to be a mechanic, I worked for a used car where the owner had me go through every vehicle and practically rebuild them as long as the chassis was in decent shape. Anyways, so I take this motor back home install it, sounded freaking great.
Well I get the body work done, I drive the truck to Chicago area to a friends house where he paints it for a set of rims. on the way there the truck would randomly die going down the highway without any symptoms or warning. I was popping ECM fuse #1, hmm, I seemed to be at a loss at the possible cause at this point.
Either way, I made it there i get the truck painted, its looking sweet. So I head back with it but not before i investigate this possible issue, I replaced my relays with no luck figuring it was fuel related because I had discovered my fuel pump was cutting off on me. Next I replaced the fuel pump, this seemed to have cured it.
I head down the highway I get 2hrs from StL, realize I need some gas and for some reason...now my alt isnt charging or so the gauge says. I get some gas and she does the same thing as before....popping ECM fuse #1. now I'm pissed, I go through every electrical componet on the truck trying to figure this out. After 4 hrs in the 100 degree heat I get it going......the ignition module had overheated and was not functioning correctly.
Finally, I thought. SO I get the truck with no more issues, matter of fact it was running better than ever. So next day I drive the truck around to show off the new paint, naturally. It did the same thing as before....ECM fuse #1 blown, after about 15 min of messing with it I get it to take a 30amp fuse and I race home with it. Few days later I try to communicate with the ECM to try to pull codes and I can't talk to to it. So I grab another computer...the one from my initial swap. She fires up and is actually idling correctly and now it seems my alt is charging.
Awesome I say, so I get to drive it around for a few weeks here and there but it is by no means my daily driver. I mean the damn interior is not even finished. So I'm cruising to a friends house at the end of July and it happens...my trans pops out of 5th gear going down the interstate and jams itself into 4th, I could take the shifter and place it into any gear with no resistance. damn i say. I get it turned around after some major clutch slippage, start my drive back home and the damn trans locks up, I'm thinking that my rear end flew out from under the truck it shook the truck so hard.
Well I get the trans replaced, notice I now have an exhaust leak, no surprise, my exhaust looks like it was welded together by a blind man. well it was my donut gasket on the passenger side and I notice that my serpentine belt had came off on the way back home. no wonder she started to run warm on me I say. I thought my fan had died again. turns out my alt/smog pump brack had broke right above the mounting bolt for the smog pump. Now I scratch my head at this one since there isnt anything to hit it. I get all this fixed, take her for a drive and damn it, she starts to make what sounds like either my cam walking or some crank walk. after some investigating on my part(again), I discover that it is crank walk with 35lbs of oil pressure at 45MPH in 4th.
So now I'm at a cross roads, I am being pressured into a 350 swap which I know I will get into trouble with. I decide that I will finally go through with my plans to stroke my 2.8 with a 3.1 crank I pulled from a 91 lumina motor before I tossed it(overheated, not mine).
well I dont want to do a 3x00 head swap at this time because I don't feel up to the task of rewiring the engine compartment which I just got wired correctly only a few months prior. I would like to stay Iron Head for the time being with a 3x00 head/intake swap later. now I am looking for some advice on this build as far as some options other than Cam, port/polish heads/intake and the 4.3TBI. I already have a MSD Blaster coil and free flow exhaust. Exhaust is Catco cat that got a severe beating from a gravel road when my exhaust broke and a 18" glasspack that has been broke in (squirted cold water into it at 3kRPMs after a 9 hr trip when it was on my sunbird), I also have the glasspack turned around baffles pointed out with a turn down. I am also running a camaro water pump and a electric fan on a thermostat/relay controlled system.
I forgot to mention that upon the first camaro 2.8 I neutrally balanced the flywheel due to vibration.
Any suggestions will be noted. And sorry for the extremely long post but I needed to cover my bases with this truck.
I'm a proud s10 owner that I swapped a 2.8 into a few years back. this truck started as a 2.5/5 speed base model truck that I lowered. I drove it about a year on the old worn out 2.5 til she threw #1 rod out the oil pan. so with the lack of t5 bellhousing for a 4.3 I decided i would go with a 2.8, mainly because it was available for nothing.
So here begins the build, I grabbed the 2.8 from a 87 blazer including wiring harness, exhaust, radiator and computer. I soon found out that a blazer harness has a 6 wire difference from the pickups. well I ran it like this(all wired up) for a few years and 3engines.
So on my hunt for 2.8 #4, I was made a deal on a 2.8 out of a 87 camaro for a 700r4 I had just laying around. I ran this one for about year til my electric fan died, it overheated and I over revved as I slid across a highway before my tire went flat.....again. basically I was having a bad day and took it out on the truck soon......yep you guessed it.....#3 rod had spun a bearing.
So I let the truck sit for a few years because it needed body work, new suspension and obviously a new engine. I eventually got around to working on it after 3 years of sitting. A friend came to me and sold me a parts truck with a 2.8/5 speed for practically nothing which in turn I only used the wiring harness out of to wire my truck correctly. finally things are looking up.
So my boss gave me yet another 87 camaro 2.8 because he was tired of looking at it. I guess I should have mentioned I used to be a mechanic, I worked for a used car where the owner had me go through every vehicle and practically rebuild them as long as the chassis was in decent shape. Anyways, so I take this motor back home install it, sounded freaking great.
Well I get the body work done, I drive the truck to Chicago area to a friends house where he paints it for a set of rims. on the way there the truck would randomly die going down the highway without any symptoms or warning. I was popping ECM fuse #1, hmm, I seemed to be at a loss at the possible cause at this point.
Either way, I made it there i get the truck painted, its looking sweet. So I head back with it but not before i investigate this possible issue, I replaced my relays with no luck figuring it was fuel related because I had discovered my fuel pump was cutting off on me. Next I replaced the fuel pump, this seemed to have cured it.
I head down the highway I get 2hrs from StL, realize I need some gas and for some reason...now my alt isnt charging or so the gauge says. I get some gas and she does the same thing as before....popping ECM fuse #1. now I'm pissed, I go through every electrical componet on the truck trying to figure this out. After 4 hrs in the 100 degree heat I get it going......the ignition module had overheated and was not functioning correctly.
Finally, I thought. SO I get the truck with no more issues, matter of fact it was running better than ever. So next day I drive the truck around to show off the new paint, naturally. It did the same thing as before....ECM fuse #1 blown, after about 15 min of messing with it I get it to take a 30amp fuse and I race home with it. Few days later I try to communicate with the ECM to try to pull codes and I can't talk to to it. So I grab another computer...the one from my initial swap. She fires up and is actually idling correctly and now it seems my alt is charging.
Awesome I say, so I get to drive it around for a few weeks here and there but it is by no means my daily driver. I mean the damn interior is not even finished. So I'm cruising to a friends house at the end of July and it happens...my trans pops out of 5th gear going down the interstate and jams itself into 4th, I could take the shifter and place it into any gear with no resistance. damn i say. I get it turned around after some major clutch slippage, start my drive back home and the damn trans locks up, I'm thinking that my rear end flew out from under the truck it shook the truck so hard.
Well I get the trans replaced, notice I now have an exhaust leak, no surprise, my exhaust looks like it was welded together by a blind man. well it was my donut gasket on the passenger side and I notice that my serpentine belt had came off on the way back home. no wonder she started to run warm on me I say. I thought my fan had died again. turns out my alt/smog pump brack had broke right above the mounting bolt for the smog pump. Now I scratch my head at this one since there isnt anything to hit it. I get all this fixed, take her for a drive and damn it, she starts to make what sounds like either my cam walking or some crank walk. after some investigating on my part(again), I discover that it is crank walk with 35lbs of oil pressure at 45MPH in 4th.
So now I'm at a cross roads, I am being pressured into a 350 swap which I know I will get into trouble with. I decide that I will finally go through with my plans to stroke my 2.8 with a 3.1 crank I pulled from a 91 lumina motor before I tossed it(overheated, not mine).
well I dont want to do a 3x00 head swap at this time because I don't feel up to the task of rewiring the engine compartment which I just got wired correctly only a few months prior. I would like to stay Iron Head for the time being with a 3x00 head/intake swap later. now I am looking for some advice on this build as far as some options other than Cam, port/polish heads/intake and the 4.3TBI. I already have a MSD Blaster coil and free flow exhaust. Exhaust is Catco cat that got a severe beating from a gravel road when my exhaust broke and a 18" glasspack that has been broke in (squirted cold water into it at 3kRPMs after a 9 hr trip when it was on my sunbird), I also have the glasspack turned around baffles pointed out with a turn down. I am also running a camaro water pump and a electric fan on a thermostat/relay controlled system.
I forgot to mention that upon the first camaro 2.8 I neutrally balanced the flywheel due to vibration.
Any suggestions will be noted. And sorry for the extremely long post but I needed to cover my bases with this truck.
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