is there a rebuild kit?
what does it take to get the motor out, anything special? tools? tips?

should i rebuild the 2.8 ir is there something else BESIDES the 350ci or the 4.3l cause i dont want to change out the tranny and transfor case

 

Get the GM 3.4L V6 crate engine. GM doesn't make the 2.8L any more, and the 3.4L is a direct bolt in repacement for it. You can find them in the junk yards as well. Look for one from a Camaro/Firebird (I believe), the key is it needs to be from a rear wheel drive vehicle. Teh front wheel dirve engines have aluminum heads, and the starter is on the wrong side, and the heads are not swapable between the rear wheel drive and front wheel drive engines.

 

http://www.s-series.org/htm/tech/GMPerfParts/144-148.pdf#search='the%203.4%20chevy%20engine'


So step out to the boneyard and find a 3.4 in a 3rd gen camaro.

Might be interesting to find out if the 2.8 can be bored out to the same piston as the 3.4 cause its a bore and stroke thing.

How sure are we all that the 3.4 is completely new or the cranks different to accomodate longer stroke?? I havent checked yet. Will be replacing a 2.8 with another here shortly and the old one will need a major rebuild. Will investigate before that ever happens. Might be fun to see if a buildup similar to the old 283 to 301.7 is possible. Probably would make a 3.1, and they even had that one for a while didnt they??

Seems with the price of gas its a REALLY good idea to see what we can squeeze out of the old 2.8 performance wise. A bit bigger bore and new cylinders with an improved set of heads and a decent cam would make some heads turn, right? Maybe even left??[:-]

 

is the 3.4 out of a f-body car going to require the computer and harness swap too?

or is this a simple swap?

 

Did you click the link?? Answer is pretty basic. If you use the intake and pollution stuff you have now, you dont need a wiring harness. Some other things may be associated with timing chain cover and waterpump and such. If you wish to keep your stock clutch fan setup, then all this becomes questionable. Using the pully setup and electric fan already on the 3.4 is the right way to go.

I am by no means an expert, so read the link, they seem to know what they are doing but wont quite tell it all. They wish to sell parts and engines, like everyone else.

Some things I surmised but wasnt sure about. The 3.1 is a motor that had a new crank and piston setup so that the stroke from 2.8 could be increased, producing more cubes and torque. (A side note: The blocks were externally modified somewhat with strengthening in places during their development. There are subtle differences as they got more developed.)
The 3.4 also has a bore size increase. So a 3.1 is a stroked 2.8 and a 3.4 is a bored and stroked 2.8. Sorta where I was going to begin with. Have also noticed that most seem to be against boring the little 2.8 six, coming up with problems in this procedure. A rebore afterwards seems out of the question, though further investigation on my part is still needed. The price of purchasing a crank and piston kit for a 3.1 is somewhat questionable because of its expense. if it were just the crank, it would be almost right. Many old motors need the crank anyway. Seems the 3.1 uses a dished piston vs the other in the 2.8.

Just taking my donor motor apart here and have noticed that it has the same heads as a 3.1 and the same block casting. The crank and pistons are different as I mentioned.

Yes there are many different types of rebuild kits available. The price of the rebuild should govern your decision. A crank/bearing kit is the expensive part of the story under most circumstances. You wont know what to purchase till you get er apart.

Drop you y pipes hookup. Disco the mess at the catalytic converter. Disconnect AND LABEL all electrical and vacuum lines that go from outside engine to engine and visa versa. Take some pictures?? Take off the starter.

To unbolt the tranny is tougher if the engine cannot be raised and lowerred to gain clearance at the back side. You need to reach tranny-bellhousing bolts where attached to engine. I take off driveshaft and rear tranny mount so that I can raise and lower the whole thing with a jack from underneath. This has to be done very carefully. But does make taking the tranny/engine bolts loose much easier. If you think that anything like that is easy???? On these models the whole rear cross member mount seems in the way. So I take it out.


The tranny has to go UP to turn engine down and away from firewall. The tail of the tranny has to DOWN to reach from underneath easier. Again, CAREFULLY. The trans can stay on a jack (proper) till you place the engine back in.

Learning the right sequence to keep things from falling while working on it is called experience.

The motor mount are a distinct reach through a huge amount of debris, but reachable.

On the S10 the radiator and shroud will probably have to be gone unless you are awfull good at threading a needle with an engine hoist.

Best to purchase a Haynes book or something to get better instruction. I never take notes when I get er done. I probably didnt mention that the engine has to come out, or something more major than that.


Hint; factory cooling of things is too cheap. Buy an aftemarket tranny cooler while there and able to access the side of tranny and the lines. (see there is someting to disconnect that I forgot.) If really rich and lazy; get yourself a remote oil filter kit and make life easier in the future.

like I said, nothing better than experience, I always forget to type something and then folks will hammer me on it ca

 

From what I understand the 3.4L is a 2.8L with a beefier block, to allow bigger pistons. Basically its a stroked out 2.8L and kicks out about 20% more power. Not sure if you could stroke out the 2.8L block though. I would be interested in that as well. I also have a 2putt8 in the '87. From what I also understand from my research is that everything on the 2.8L bolts onto the 3.4L block, intake, fuel injection system, water pump, etc. About the only recommendation seems to be using 4.3L V6 injectors instead of the 2putt8s. Yes, the info even says you can use the 2putt8 computer to run that 3.4L and use the 4.3L injectors.

An old Chevy book I was reading said the 2putt8 was considered a good light weight off-road racing engine back in the 80's. Especially for light weight rigs, like ours. The 4.3L kind of changed things ,huh?

I am in the same boat. Do I replace the 2putt8 with a 3.4L, 4.3L (which I have in the garage) or go V8? The trouble with the 4.3L and V8 is you also need to swap the tranny, run a bigger radiator, new motor mounts, clearance the firewall, etc.

 

Yes a later model block casting like the one I happen to be working on (casting number 10065457) from an 89 camaro, can be stroked cause the exact same casting was also available for the slightly later model 3.1 models that came out next. The bore, I believe is 100 mm, stays the same but the pistons are of a "dished" variety rather than the flat top ones I have in the 2.8 now.

The decision point would be the crank and the condition of the cylinders. If both a crank and pistons become a good idea because of wear and tear. Perhaps needing a crank resurfaced or the cylinders taken out 30 plus or so. To me these criteria would make my decision for me. At that point, spending a couple of more bucks for a decent cam/lifters and spings would not be out of the question.

Problem at that point is wether you like your OWN work or trust others.

I like my own and others around me like it too. I have a for instance standing on the engine stand. The crank bearings look like someone used sand to assemble them but the cylinders are basically fresh. This is what WAS a rebuilt motor. Many refreshers (what I like to call rebuilders) simply slap new bearings onto cranks that they think will make it. Yes a crank can survive a 12000 mile warrenty even if its garbage to begin with. That doesnt mean its going to go 300,000 like a new motor.

The crank is an expensive part for many rebuilders to put in brand new. They prefer to leave out that step. A couple of hundred bucks is what a crank and bearing kit will probably cost me. On the other hand, rings are cheap and the rebuilders alsways change them. Got to have good compression and no oil smoke, right? Slapping cheap new bearings in is often a quick solution to get that engine back out there and sold.

If I had a block that would need pistons AND rings, I would change all and build a 3.1. I could probably still get done with a mild cam and doing my own work for 600-700 dollars. Which is cheap when you consider that if its done right it will perform almost as well as a factory normal performance 4.3 of the same (89) vintage.

Of course I will take a VERY serious look at the heads on this one before prceeding. My mind is not made up yet. They are the same casting as those used on later model 3.1 moters, (14054884) so are also capable of becoming a 3.1.

As I indicated to begin with. Some if not most 2.8's can be modified with crank and pistons, to become a 3.1. Oversize the piston job and gain to a 3.2.. Like I say, it depends on wether you like your own work or not.