I have a couple of stupid questions I hope you all can help me with about a 1987 2.8 out of a S-10.

1. With the head gaskets, do I need to do anything to prepare them? I remember having to paint a 302's gasket high temp aluminum.

2. Is there a gasket between the oil pump and the rear bearing cap?

3. For that matter, how the heck do you get the oil pickup tube off the oil pump?

4. I am going to prove how stupid I am here, but............. Nothing holds the camshaft in place except the cam gear?

I have got the crank and the cam in, along with the gears and pistons so I am at a stopping point. Please help with someone who knows nothing about GM products.

Everybody don't answer at once.

Hey, if ya'll don't know, thats cool. Neither did I. But for an advanced technical board............well....

Originally posted by Warlock
Everybody don't answer at once.

Hey, if ya'll don't know, thats cool. Neither did I. But for an advanced technical board............well....

Yep, this is a very advanced technical board. So advanced that they know the correct way to repair a 2.8 is to replace it.

I personally tried to talk the owner into a v-8 but they weren't up to it. So rebuild it is.

Nothing special on the gaskets, get it all clean and bolt it together.

No gasket for the oil pump. Just torque the bolt to spec.

Tube should just be pressed into the pump.

With a flat tappet cam, the lobes are shaped so that the cam is forced to the back of the block by the contact between the lifters and the cam.

Be very careful with the cleaning of the coolant passages. I scrambled an engine (broken crank!) in a 2.8 due to the poor flow characteristics around the back of the engine on the right side. The coolant doesn't flow well here and the crud builds up and the next thing you know, you have a broken crankshaft from the failure of a $0.35 freeze plug!