Questions about the parts of a CA

[Brocephus]

Does anyone have or know of any books that detail the differemt parts of a CA18DET? The reason I ask is, up to this point I have been a Chevy man. I have since, seen the light and switched to the dark side. My faith in the American auto manufacturers has finally dwindled to the point that I speak out against and discourage friends and family from buying them.

Now, the hard part for me is going to be undoing the years of damage done to my brain by pushrod motors, their extreme inefficiency, lackluster performance, and theory that "there's no replacement for displacement". My loathing for the american made car is great however, I do harbor an affection for things rare and unique; thus my love for the Fiero. As the only mid-engine car EVER made in America, it is about as rare and unique as you can get in my opinion.

The people that designed the Fiero shot for the moon and hit a star when they first gave birth to the idea that became the Fiero. But, the head a$$holes that sit at the big desks began cutting the funding for the project almost as soon as they gave the go ahead for the engineers to really start making the Fiero more than an idea on paper. Budget cuts and a changing auto market left many unused parts from other car lines on the shelves and in an attempt to recover their loss, Pontiac forced the designers of the Fiero to incorporate these parts into their build. On paper, the car was destined for greatness. In reality, the car ended up being a bonfire waiting to happen. The Fiero's designers were forced, by Pontiac, to use leftover, cheaply made engines from a pick-up truck line; a 2.5L, 92 horsepower piece of trash. These engines were very cheap to manufacture and it's easy to see why. The blocks were weak from the start and the eventual downfall of the Fiero was the poor quality connecting rods that were prone to breaking and when they shot through the side of the block, they showered oil mist throughout the entire engine bay...but only after igniting on the fully exposed exhaust manifold. That problem was remedied after the first year; not with better connecting rods, but in the form of a heat shield between the block and the exhaust manifold. Pontiac claimed to have survived the recall and all of the negative publicity surrounding the engine fires, but truth be known, the damage to the name Fiero, had already been done. Nicknamed the Fire-o, the car that won many design awards for Pontiac died a horrible death in 1989 when the most unique of all american made cars was at last laid to rest, strangled into extinction by budget cuts and bad hype. The last Fiero ever made (according to my information) was a prototype that would finally have given the true Fiero enthusiasts what they'd been yearning for for five years; a V-8 powered Fiero.

Anyway as some of you know, I have decided to install a CA18DET in my Fiero. The entire engine, transmission, and rear suspension all come out as a single unit on a subframe assembly. What I mean is, undo all linkages shift cables, throttle, clutch), coolant lines, ground cables, three bolts at the top of the strut towers, brake lines at the calipers, and a few misc. vaccuum lines; remove two bolts in the front, two in the rear and the whole kit-n-kaboodle just falls out of the engine bay. Of course, you have to have the back end of the car about 3.5 feet off the ground, but that's really the only hard part.

So what I have is an empty power/drivetrain cradle just begging for that CA18DET to be mounted in place and eased back in the engine bay. And if they can cram a V-8 in there, I can damn sure slide a CA in there.

Now for the original reason of this post.

What the heck is an ignitor rail, what does it do, and what part on a chevy engine (if any) does it compare to? Is it basically a coil/spark plug wire assembly all-in-one or am I way off?

Does anyone have a picture of a CA18DET they could photoshop for me with names of the different sensors, hoses, vaccuum lines, valves, what to-do's and what-never-to-do's (as far as turbos)? As I said earlier, I am a self-admitted newb with a killer engine and I don't want to screw this up. However, I am very good with tools and machinery and if it can be broken, I can probably fix it. By day I am a mechanic on Ft. Knox working on military vehicles of all sizes, so I know my way around an engine for the most part. But where I am going to run into trouble is knowing, on this engine, what can be blocked off, what needs to be blocked off to make it run better, what I can't block off, and when and where to trick or lie to the computer to make it think sensor "x" is hooked up and functioning properly. I get the feeling from the few posts I've trolled on this forum that I'm in the right place to get the information I'm going to need.

So, if you can help me out and don't mind giving me a hand with a couple of baby steps, I would really appreciate it. I plan on having the engine set in the cradle within the next 4 to 6 weeks. It all depends on whether or not I get the MIG welder my dad said he has for me. Money is going to play a small, but important role. I say small because I pretty much have all I really need to make this happen with the exception of the steel to fabricate motor mounts and whatnot. (If I'm lucky, I may be able to use the mounts that are attached to the engine right now and if not, maybe I can use the motor mounts in the Pulsar I'll be getting from the guy I got the engine from. I want to have the wiring problems (if any) figured out by mid to late February and be driving this demon by spring so I can Auto-X it this summer. With the resources I have available to me and the help of this forum, I feel like it's almost a sure bet. Thanks for your interest, your time in reading this, and most of all, thanks ahead of time for any information.

John

[c-rad]

(pic removed for the better interest of the group)

Sorry, I couldn't resist. But it sounds like an interesting project you are undertaking. If you look in the FAQ sticky at the top of the forum, there is a link where you can download the entire FSM. Every sensor is labeled with excellent diagrams. I suggest you go over and over it.

As for the ignition, its very simple on the CA. The Cam angle sensor on the front of the motor is triggered every rotation of the camshaft. It sends the signal to the ECU that calculates the degree of the camshaft. The CA distributorless system (aka coil-on-plug). You could compare this to the distributor on an American car. Anyway, once the ECU determines the cam degree, it calculates a time to send a signal for the ignition. The signal gets sent out from the ECU. First it goes to the igniter that will drive the coil packs.

Modified by c-rad at 12:57 PM 11/30/2005
Modified by c-rad at 12:58 PM 11/30/2005

[Brocephus]

Man, I didn't even realize that s*** was that long until I clicked "Submit Post", LOL. Thanks for the info though and I'm gonna wear that FSM out.

I have a nasty habit of writing extremely long posts on any board I've ever been a member of. Believe it or not, this is actually one of the shorter ones. Maybe this is why I never have a post count that's worth a damn, rofl!

[float_6969]

To re-idertate, Chris nailed it there. Download the Factory Service Manual (FSM) and memorize it if at all possible. It's you're friend. Your best friend. Love it. Make love to it. Do what ever you have to, but learn it and know it.

Welcome to the world of effecient (and sometimes over) engineering.

[burnout 180]

Chevy rules american musle

[tyrannix]

+1 to reiterate correct spelling

And just to RE-IDERATIER (I'M A RETARD), I've never heard of anyone have a problem with the CA18ET water pump.

ALSO, I've compared the impeller of both pumps, and the CA18ET impeller is a MUCH better design and will flow more water.

To re-idertate, Chris nailed it there. Download the Factory Service Manual (FSM) and memorize it if at all possible. It's you're friend. Your best friend. Love it. Make love to it. Do what ever you have to, but learn it and know it.

Welcome to the world of effecient (and sometimes over) engineering.

[c-rad]

+1 to reiterate correct spelling

Let's try it again...

To reiterate, Chris nailed it there. Download the Factory Service Manual (FSM) and memorize it if at all possible. It's your friend. Your best friend. Love it. Make love to it. Do what ever you have to, but learn it and know it.

Welcome to the world of efficient (and sometimes over) engineering.

I'm satisfied.

[tyrannix]

rooling: ... to the batcave

-CJ

[float_6969]

You guys suck. I'm never posting at 1am again....

[Brocephus]

Well hell, I thought I had a couple of replies to this epic novel of a post!

Upon reading it I discover, "They're not replies, they're just a lesson in grammar, and proof that Ryan doesn't use a spellchecker, rofl!!"

Edited for grammar and misspelled words @ 4:52 am, lol

[NeedCAforS13]

+1 to reiterate correct spelling

hahahahha everyone's on your case again ryan

welcome to the club Brocephus. I have some basic info on the CA18 on my website... click the link in my sig.

Sean

[themadscientist]

CA guys can spell, we just don't care. Being in possesion of a superior valvetrain we don't feel the need to prove our superiority through grammar. SR guys always spell correctly and never put their elbows on the table, coincidence?Hide your daughters, the beer and lock up your jewelry, the CA guys are here, damned hooligans!

[float_6969]

At least SOMEBODY'S got my back.

Thanks TMS...

[themadscientist]

shovel and trash bags in the trunk, you bring the bats?

[float_6969]

Already in hand my friend...

[boost_boy]

Damn street racers

Dee

[burnout 180]

shovel and trash bags in the trunk, you bring the bats?

Maintain your focus on the problem at hand or were the questions of extremely long post man who started this post already answered to our best ability.

TO THE BAT CAVE.

[Brocephus]

Maintain your focus on the problem at hand or were the questions of extremely long post man who started this post already answered to our best ability.

The questions of extremely long post or "ELP Man" were answered in fine fashion, hehehe.