I bought my 87 fiero gt a few months back and it ran like a champ with 104k miles.

1000 miles later I broke a valve spring which took me months to figure out and fix since the whole car ran like crap after that. Then the same day I finished fixing that, my tranny stopped shifting into 1st and 2nd and started running out of time. I readjusted the shifter and changed the tranny fluid and it starting shifting well, and I used a timing light to time it by turning the distributor cap and got it running in time. Last night on the freeway driving 80mph my tire blew out and ripped off half the rear fender and wheel well. And now after 4 new tires it is running really rich (but in time) which makes me think I have a vacuum leak SOMEWHERE. Is this really what I am getting myself into owning a fiero?

Welcome to owning a 25 + year old car. I'd be more surprised if you were posting how great your car was running.

It's age, dude... Nothing to do with the car, at all.

I have friends that swear by Hondas but they spend more time working to keep them on the road than they do driving them.

I can pm you my address and you can drop it off with a signed title at my house

If you get lucky, you will end up owning more than one. I have owned 4, now I have 2 rolling and a garage full of parts!
I love my Fieros, and I love working on them, it is a labor of love!
Good luck on your Fiero!

quote Originally posted by Fiero84Freak: Welcome to owning a 25 + year old car..

Very very true. It could be worse, you could be fixing a new'ish car. It's just like fixing an older car, but much more expensive due to all of the sensors and computers. The front driver's side ABS sensor for my Sentra was $200.

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-Chris
'85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD)
'88 GT Auto (Under the knife @ Sinister Performance... stay tuned. )
'99 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, owned since new
'03 Sentra SE-R Spec V (Daily driver)
'09 G37x w/ Premium & Nav (wife's car)

quote Originally posted by skuzzbomer: It's age, dude... Nothing to do with the car, at all. I have friends that swear by Hondas but they spend more time working to keep them on the road than they do driving them.

yuck, honda

Yes these are old cars by today's standards, but the engine trouble you are having seems a little premature for a car with only 104k on the clock. My guess is that your car was run hard before you got your hands on it. I always tell people if you don't know how or like to work on cars, then don't own a Fiero.

Old cars will need repairs, regardless of make or model. It stinks your GT has had a couple major things happen right in a row, but such is how it goes.

I am trying to get an 85 SE V6 on the road. The last time it was on the road (was owned by a family member), it ran fine, and was problem free. I bought it, registered it, insured it, then had the heater core go bad, voltage regulator in the alternator go bad (which subsequently blew up a brand new battery), and found a rot hole in the cradle (which is repairable).

Just the life of a 25 year old car.

I cannot tell you how many repairs I did to my 88 Formula the 13 years I owned it (Sold two years ago after it spun a bearing). I also cannot tell you how many times I had a blast driving it, over the 100K miles I put on it!

Was the tire in great shape? Thats one of those things you gotta watch condition of, and if its wearing funny alignment was needed.

the tires has awesome tread but i found out that they were just old age... i got 4 new ones thrown on and its cruising! The tire shop workers are homies and tightened up my A/C belt but told me that I should not use it cause it might freeze up... It was causing the motor to idle funny whenever it kicked on. Any idea? I seem to have a vacuum leak from the house that goes out from the bottom of the throttle body and also a tear in the rubber air intake before throttle. If my motor is running in time, is the only reason it would run rich be because of a leak?

Newer cars break down too. I broke a valve spring on my 2000 TA at about 75k miles. My '99 Grand Am alternator died at around 40k miles.
As they get older, more stuff is apt to break. That's why preventative maintenance is a good idea and not just waiting until something completely fails. 100k miles - have you done ball joints and bushings yet? Go ahead and plan on it, even if it doesn't "need" them... yet.
Engine and tranny mounts?
How long since the brake and clutch fluid was flushed?
Radiator flush and hose replacement?

Replace a lot of these things before they "need" it and you spend less time broken down on the side of the road.

quote Originally posted by KSKENE: the tires has awesome tread but i found out that they were just old age... i got 4 new ones thrown on and its cruising! The tire shop workers are homies and tightened up my A/C belt but told me that I should not use it cause it might freeze up... It was causing the motor to idle funny whenever it kicked on. Any idea? I seem to have a vacuum leak from the house that goes out from the bottom of the throttle body and also a tear in the rubber air intake before throttle. If my motor is running in time, is the only reason it would run rich be because of a leak?

No "idiot lights" lit?

nah, no idiot lights sadly.. lol, even with the vacuum leaks. and I have not done any of those yet but I'm gonna be changing the tranny fluid, engine oil, and flushing the radiator fluid hopefully this weekend. I hate to say it but this car might end up getting sold:/ haven't decided anything yet, but I'm loving it for now!

I'm surprised no one has asked if you connected pin A to B on the aldl before you adjusted the timing

So did you? If you didn't, your timing is way off

I was having the old car vs. new car discussion with one of my employees just yesterday. She was bummed that her '04 PT Cruiser just broke a timing belt and she was spending $800 to get it fixed. On the bright side, the car is paid for and the insurance is much cheaper than it would be for a new car. I pointed out that the $800 she's spending is still dramatically less than a year's worth of car payments. That cheered her up.

My family owns 5 (running) vehicles, the youngest of which is a '96 Lumina. I have to spend time every once in a while fixing a problem. I just finished replacing the transmission in my daughter's '89 Cutlass. I didn't mind a bit, because it's so nice not having a car payment, and also because I like working on cars.

quote Originally posted by FriendOfYours: I'm surprised no one has asked if you connected pin A to B on the aldl before you adjusted the timing So did you? If you didn't, your timing is way off

what is this you speak of?

Try owning my fiero and see how you like it lol...

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Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
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(00 jeep wrangler) fun in the mud.
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