problem with my headlight motors. in the past only one would open with the hood down. if i opened the hood they would both go up and stay up after the hood was closed, with the weaker one occasionally dropping closed when i hit a severe-ish bump in the road. now it doesnt even come up with the hood still up.

im looking to rebuild them, but looking at rodneys website, im unsure of which rebuild parts to buy because im not sure what the actual problem is inside the motor.

any ideas/suggestions?

What year Fiero do you have?

84-86 have the old style motors
87-88 have the new style motors

Get the appropiate kit.

If you have the old style setup you may consider upgrading to the 87-88 setup. Alll you need is the front wire harness & headlight module and a pair of 87-88 motors. they work a lot quieter and you dont need all those relays.

You can pull all you need from a doner car in less than an hour.

Spoon

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Two yeast spent their entire life "about 2 days" discussing what the purpose of life could be and not once did they even come close to the fact that they were making champagne. Quoted by: Unknown

Sure sounds like you have an 87 or 88. You just need to clean out the old slugs and put in new ones. $10 in parts and an hour time. Pull the motor, pull the round cover on the gear box, clean out the crud and old grease. Install three new slugs, a little grease and back together.

You can get the slugs at an auto parts store in the "Help" section - They are for a Ford power window motor but work fine. They are a little tight. Some say to "file" them down a bit. I have done 6 87/88 motors now and have not done any filing. Just installed and they work great. They are lik 7 or 8 bucks for three. You need three for each motor. You can get all 6 on ebay for like 6 bucks plus shipping.

This is what you will find when you take it apart:

Here's the "Help" part:

I actually took one apart and the original slugs were intact. They were pretty hard so I replaced them.
New ones on top, old on bottom:


Like Dodge said, clean out the crud and old grease - use a silicone type grease for assembly. I think the motor on the right side takes a little more work to get it apart. The gear and shaft are opposite and the worm gear on the motor holds it from coming out. Not sure of an easy way to get it apart. I removed the 2 motor screws and pulled the motor out of the housing. That gave me a chance to clean all the crud out of the windings and such. If you do this, be carefull as ther is a small "ball bearing" on the bottom of the shaft. It is used to set the end play of the motor. I made some small clips out of paperclips to hold the brushes in place for assembly. Here's a few pics.

The clips:

Installing them in the housing - used to hold the brushes in place to install the motor winding:


With the home made clips in place and the motor back in, all you have to do is "twist" the clip 1/4 turn and slide it out.


Here's a shot of the ball bearing and the set screw.

When you take the gear out of the case, there are washer shims on either side of the gear on the shaft. Be sure these go back together the way they came out.

These are the ones I last used. Perfect size and didn't have to sand them down.

http://tinyurl.com/ngc7o2

Does anyone know of any place where you can buy new brushes for the 87 headlight?

Just look up an auto electrical business in your area that rebuilds starters and Alternators or any electric motor repair shop.
They usually have an assortment of brushes and can find you some that will work.
You might have to solder the the brush lead to the pig tail of the old brush but not a big deal.
I've always had luck finding bushes for window motors that way.

awesome thanks.

and i completely spaced out, the cars an 88.

I would like to correct one item here. Neither 87/88 headlight motor needs to be completely taken apart to put the new bushings in the gear. If you open the driver side motor and remove the access plate the gear comes right out. On the passenger side the gear can be pulled out with a tug on the shaft with a vice grip with no damage.
I've used 1/2" x 1/2" nylon spacers turned down a bit but now have the set of the bushings sold on eBay for the next job. Also found out that Rock Auto sells the plugs as Dorman #74410 for $5.80 per set/3

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 06-02-2009).]

anyone got a rebuild thread with pictures favorited?

checker/auto zone parts # for the correct size dealys?

ive pulled my own motor/trans, but headlight motors im still uncomfortable with, never taken em apart before.


edit: lol, the pictures wouldnt load at work. awesome, thanks =D

[This message has been edited by ShaddowGt (edited 06-02-2009).]

I second the post on not pulling the motor off. It's not necessary. You do have to pull and wiggle the one to get it out but not that hard. Be sure and clean crud out of the teeth on the plastic gear before you lube it and put it back in.

The 2nd gen motors are a lot easier to rebuild then the 1st gen. Don't be afraid to tackle them.

quote Originally posted by Dodgerunner: I second the post on not pulling the motor off. It's not necessary. You do have to pull and wiggle the one to get it out but not that hard. Be sure and clean crud out of the teeth on the plastic gear before you lube it and put it back in. The 2nd gen motors are a lot easier to rebuild then the 1st gen. Don't be afraid to tackle them.

I believe it was you who originally provided this tip. By taking off the covers and pulling out the gear, it saves quite a bit or work. The passenger motor gear usually needs a tiny bit of messaging to remove it but its no big deal. I just put the nut back on the shaft and firmly pull the gear out with a pair of pliers. Haven't hurt anything so far. If you take apart the motor you stand a chance of breaking a brush or losing a tiny part. With the simple method things go easy and quick anythng more is not necessary.
BTW should they break, Rodney Dickman carries the cover gaskets.

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

awesome, i've got tomorrow off so i'll take the free time i have to remove/attempt to repair them. =D

appreciate all the input guys

The passenger side gear is hard to get out due to a ridge on one side of the gear that is hard to get pass the screw gear. What I usually do on the passenger side one is cut some gooves in the ridge that make it hard to get the gear out that matches the teeth on the gear. There is an arrow on the gear that I use as a reference. The gear goes in easier and if you ever have to pull it again comes out easier also. Not that you might ever have to again.

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 06-03-2009).]

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I believe it was you who originally provided this tip. By taking off the covers and pulling out the gear, it saves quite a bit or work. The passenger motor gear usually needs a tiny bit of messaging to remove it but its no big deal. I just put the nut back on the shaft and firmly pull the gear out with a pair of pliers. Haven't hurt anything so far. If you take apart the motor you stand a chance of breaking a brush or losing a tiny part. With the simple method things go easy and quick anythng more is not necessary. BTW should they break, Rodney Dickman carries the cover gaskets.

I knew there had to be an easier way. The ones I have rebuilt, I was afraid if I pulled on it too hard that I might break something so I did it the hard way. I have 2 to do this weekend and will give it a shot.

i'll be digging into this tomorrow, so i'll be sure to take pictures.

only way to learn is to do it. trust in yourself. it is not hard at all. i have done 10 pairs of motors and they get easyer every time. i buy my rebiuld kits on ebay.under $10:00
per kit. never used auozone parts but i could try a set on my next rebiuld. good luck with your car headlight fix. 90% of the failure is in the motors,10% is the relay under the driverside front fender on a 87-88 gt. the relay is $250.00 at fierostore.com.

quote Originally posted by ShaddowGt: anyone got a rebuild thread with pictures favorited?

hold on...

and for the record, i keep pulling until the gear comes out and then i cut 2 or 3 grooves in the ridge so the gear can slide back in.

http://www.top-downsolution...9280Instructions.pdf

You are late to the show Buddy!

I don't know what all this talk about a ridge is but I have just pulled the headlight motor gears out and put them back just as easily. Did they change the gear design on the 88's perhaps?

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

You can see it best in Katatak's first picture above. On the left side of the gear you see the ridge connecting all the teeth. That is what makes it hard to get past the screw gear on the motor shaft. Some motors are easier to pull it out then others. Could even be gears that don't have it...

edit: ok, headlight motor fixed, that was amazingly easy. thanks everyone for your help on this one =D

was amazed at all that crud that came out though lol.

[This message has been edited by ShaddowGt (edited 06-04-2009).]

know you are a pro headlight repairman. congats!! aren"t fieros fun to play with?! i think so. i have three. help me , i am an addict! but i love it,so much.

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I don't know what all this talk about a ridge is but I have just pulled the headlight motor gears out and put them back just as easily. Did they change the gear design on the 88's perhaps?

one side you have to fight the ridge to pull out the gear.
one side comes out easily.