1988 Fiero 2.5L Engine to a 1987 Fiero 2.5L

[WHIZKID355]

Hey everyone. I have a question for you all. I recently aquired a very mint condition 1987 Pontiac Fiero which (had) a 2.5L engine in it until he blew it up, pulled it out and sold it for scrap metal. I recently found a 2.5L complete engine from a 1988 Fiero with the very exact same accessories, automatic, AC, ETC as my 1987. I read they did some changes to the 88 model engine, but my question is will it simply bolt up to my 1987 Pontiac cradle & automatic transmission, or is there any mods that need to be addressed first. Thought I would ask the xperts first before I decide to try to install it and want to avoid any upfront problems I may run into. Thanks in advance.

 

[Oreif]

There is no difference from a 1987 and a 1988 2.5L 4-cyl. the engine and electronics are the same. The actual engine mounts and trans mounts are slightly different, but the 1987 mounts will bolt to the 1988 4-cyl without any problems.

The difference is between the 1984 thru 1986 and the 1987/1988.
The 1987/1988 use a DIS ignition system and a different oil filter set-up. Oil filter mounts into oil pan.
1984 thru 1986 have a regular HEI ignition and oil filter screws onto side of block.
Mechanically the 2.5L engines will interchange with all years of Fiero's. The computer and engine harness of the year of the engine is what needs to change. So if you want to swap a 1988 engine into a 1985 Fiero, You will also need the engine harness and the computer from the 1988 as well.

 

[WHIZKID355]

Fantastic Oreif, thanks for the info. I did some internet checking before I asked, but found the 87 motor had a slightly different part number than the 88 did, so I was wondering there. They say the 88 motor is slightly better than the 87 also, plus the price difference is slightly higher on the 88 motor too. Once again thanks for your valuable information.