Hello all! New here. I just bought my first Fiero and this seems to be the best community to discuss it.
So for starters, I own a 2006 Pontiac G6. It's a nice car, but a bit mean to me. We never really bonded, ya know? But we do get along well enough.
Years after I bought my G6, I saw an 84 fiero in the scrap yard. I saw the speakers in the headset, and that alone made me love it. Since then I've been keeping my eye out for a good deal. And I think I finally found it.
1986 Fiero 2M6. A little beat up, and the engine currently doesn't fire, but it has lots of potential. It's been through two people, the original owner was a mechanic and treated it well (so I was told). The guy I bought it from had it sitting for 2.5 years and decided to finally sell it. Wanted 1000, but since the engine doesn't fire up I offered 700. The engine has 255k on it so if I do get it started, there is no guarantee it has much life left. The guy agreed on 700 and yippee I got one of my dream cars! It's a project, but doable even for me I would think.
Some questions for anyone willing to answer. First, what is the expected life on a Fiero V6? If it was taken care of very well, and if it was treated kinda badly. Second question is what are the most common issues with Fieros. He said they are known for grounding issues, so maybe that's why it wasn't firing. Third question, how do you deal with the constant flock of women when driving these things??
Welcome to PFF!!! Congratulations on your new Fiero! A little bit of work...but a whole lot of fun!
I'll leave the V6 engine life question and the question about the hordes of women because...well I don't have either...
As for the grounds, yes they are a common problem on the Fiero. It certainly wouldn't hurt to go around the car cleaning and re-seating the straps and ground wires. Common problems? Unfortunately, pretty well everything, lol. But I will advise you to open up your heater box and clean out any debris that has worked it's way in there. Common spot for fires to start. Search is your friend on PFF...if you can think of it, then it's already been done and there is a thread to help you through it.
Good luck and post pics using PIP (located at the bottom of the page)
[This message has been edited by Neils88 (edited 06-14-2017).]
Congrats on catching the disease!! there is no know cure.. sorry to say. First we are going to want pictures of your new baby.
Can not speak to the engine life issue.. my stock GT only has half that.. so good news to me if you get it running. As far as flocks of women go.. I deal with flocks of both men and women when I drive the chop top around.. I recommend not showering for a few days if you do not want the attenton the problem should take care of its self then. If you like the attention make it pretty and drive it until the wheels come off..
Common issues.. there are two big ones that can cause you head aches.. First is the ignition control module. These little pain in the butts like to die after about 50k to 60k for no reason at all. I carry one in the stock GT with a Phillips screw driver so I can change it. This may be the issue as to why the car does not start. I would suggest you get a spare as well. The next one is the fuel pump... we all love the day we turn the key and do not hear it prime. Only way to change one is to drop the tank. Do not forget the tank is dead in the middle of the car. This could be another reason your car is not running. The pump should run for a few seconds when the key is turned to run but not start. If it does not you have an issue.
If your pump is working I would suggest draining the tank and purging the lines of the old fuel.. If you have to drop the tank.. clean it out. Gas does not do well after sitting that long.
Keep us updated and again welcome to the addiction.. think of this as an addicts support group with some really cool cars.
No set lifespan on a V6, but it was probably cared for to last that long. Since it's been sitting, all fluids need to be replaced. The brake calipers usually lock up.
Before you do anything else, you need to check for rust in the wheel wells, the trunk corners, etc.
Much of the rubber will have deteriorated, the fuel pump is probably bad, and the fuel filter is probably clogged.
After you change the fluids, and clean the heater box/resistor, check for fuel pressure at the schraeder valve. Then check the plug wires for rodent activity.
The battery is probably done, but clean the contacts any tray, anyway.
Story time.... in 2008 I "went to look at a fiero for 1200" the better half said ok.. I bought the car for 800.. she was not pleased.. oops.. any way. I picked up an 87 GT with a 5 speed manual for my $800. The guy who had the car had planned on doing a Lamborghini body on it and thought it was a weekend project. He told me he had never had the car running the whole time he had it. Claimed the motor had been redone by the previous owner. I ran a car fax when I got home. He had the car for a little over five years.
This is what it took to get this can on the road as a daily driver... New battery, then a new fuel pump, the reason he could never get it running. Car then fired right up. I changed the oil, just in case... this led to the discovery of the O ring on top of the distributer leaking a lot of oil.. replaced that and drove it. That's it.. Ran the tank of horrid gas through the car.. ran like trash until I put 2 or 3 tanks of clean fuel in it.
I did not change all the fluids, never even looked at the heater box, plug wires or rust in the trunk or wheel wells. The car was then painted and became a daily to work car for the next couple of years. I did end up putting a new A/C compressor on it after a year, I live in Florida. During the daily use I did end up replacing the rear calipers and pads on all four wheels. I also changed the rubber lines on all four brakes. The only other thing I had to do was put new tires on it, the old ones were so out of balance from sitting flat for 5 years they could not balance them.. I still drove on them for 3 or 4 months... yes Fiero guys are cheap.
I still drive this GT when it looks like rain, it's FL so 1 or 2 times a week, to work. The other fiero does not do so well in the rain. Your advice is soild but you just do not need to do all that to get the car running. Get her fired up and running and see what you have to do to make it a daily type car.
Check distributor, pop the cap off, look at the rotor & the contacts inside. I had trouble with one car, a new cap & rotor fixed it. Had another one with no start, I replaced the plug wires, still no start, then I check the center wire, it was bad, I replaced it, and it started right up.
1. Motors last however long you want them to by doing routine maintenance. However you never can plan for a catastrophic failure. 2. Rust can be a common Fiero problem depending on where the car has been. 3. LOL, no real answer
Ask the girls if they don't mind being second to your Fiero. That should get rid of most of them. If any stick around, they are probably worth your time
Good advice peeps. I didn't check for rust behind the carpet but the underside is quite good for being an older car. Probably less rusty than my G6 (which has sheet metal wrapped around the rusted muffler :P). Can't wait for the weekend to start working on it.
EDIT: Can't seem to get PIP to work yet. the file size it requires is abnormally small, and images don't seem to want to show up in forum.
[This message has been edited by Blitz54 (edited 06-15-2017).]
I have never tried PIP but I do use Photobucket. Most cringe at Photobucket because after some time the photos will disappear.
If the person using it keeps their photobucket account open they don't disappear. I have 10 year old pics still live. Now if photobucket went out of business, who knows
When Windows UAC is on or login to the machine as User... PIP need to "Run as Admin" to get update for picture server etc. Want to check the profile when you run PIP.
Have Car Problems then first See My Cave like Wire Service
Note: V6 used in Fiero, Cavalier Z24, and others have a nasty habit of low to very low oil pressure cause by crank and other bearings wearing. Many run the engine like that for years but is not normal and engine can die w/o warning. Get a mechanical gauge to test when dash gauge read low because electric gauge can lie. Normal pressure for V6 is 30-45 PSIG (Source, ALLdata) for any RPM. See my Cave, Oil and Filter
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Last topic first: A lovely lady recently hurried to talk to me after I had stopped in front of her house along with several cars approaching a stop sign. She was VERY attracted by the '86 Fiero 2.5L 5 speed coupe. I suspect however, that her interest was piqued by the fact that I had just bounced the car up over a 6" curb and between a telephone pole and traffic sign post onto the grass in order to avoid hitting the car slowing in front of me when my left front steel brake line burst. How I handled it: I reassured her that everything was fine; it was just a braking issue and drove back onto the road using the next driveway.
That car, purchased in 2011, shares daily driving duties with an '84 SE 4 speed that I bought new. It has 376,000 kilometers on it now and is getting a new evaporator coil next week to make it a cool car again.
I bought an '88 Formula 5 speed in 2008 with 5,200 kilometers on it that was in showroom condition. It had been maintained and serviced by a meticulous owner keeping it for his son since he was born. The son preferred the Mustang convertible also in the garage, so I was pleased to get a 'new' Fiero. I've done a little brake and ignition work and the heater core was replaced at the time of the sale during the certification process.
I'm not inclined to replace stuff that ain't broke, so I may be taking more of a risk than some who replace lots of things because they're old but so far, so good.
I would suggest that if you ever think your ICM may be faulty, polish the spade lugs that connect it to the pick-up coil, and make sure that connection is good and tight. I think ICMs may be getting a bad rap and are sometimes unnecessarily replaced when that connection is weak. I have a new spare and have tried it, but cleaning up the lugs on the old one has restored its function twice. The 2nd time, I pulled the female receptors out of the plastic holder on the wires from the pick-up coil and squeezed them a little to grip the spade lugs of the ICM tighter. A LOT of corrosion happens in the 2.6 distributor...
Lots of good advice before you got to here. If it has been well maintained, there's no reason it can't still be reliable with some TLC. (Fuel pump, probably. Change the oil. Run some fresh gas through it.) OTOH, I have seen poorly maintained V6s die with less than 100K. So it all depends.
But I'm curious as to why you "never bonded" with your G6. I have a 2010 G6 GT that is one of the better cars I've ever owned. Absolutely love it. It's my commuter. I don't do anything outrageous with it, but it's absolutely perfect for my needs. The programming of the 4 speed automatic is absolutely perfect for a commuter. (Lock it in "3" and it provides engine braking for stop and go traffic, and doesn't actually shift into third until 45 MPH, no matter how much throttle it gets.) It's also been as reliable as an anvil. All I've had to do to it is fix one broken wire on the MAF sensor, and replace several TPMS sensors (which could fail on ANY car.) It's got a 3.5 V6, which actually got me thinking about a 3900 swap in my most recent Fiero.
Of course, I've got a dual outlet Magnaflow and sticky 18s on it now, instead of the stockers. Makes it a bit more fun.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-15-2017).]
Lots of good advice before you got to here. If it has been well maintained, there's no reason it can't still be reliable with some TLC. (Fuel pump, probably. Change the oil. Run some fresh gas through it.) OTOH, I have seen poorly maintained V6s die with less than 100K. So it all depends.
But I'm curious as to why you "never bonded" with your G6. I have a 2010 G6 GT that is one of the better cars I've ever owned. Absolutely love it. It's my commuter. I don't do anything outrageous with it, but it's absolutely perfect for my needs. The programming of the 4 speed automatic is absolutely perfect for a commuter. (Lock it in "3" and it provides engine braking for stop and go traffic, and doesn't actually shift into third until 45 MPH, no matter how much throttle it gets.) It's also been as reliable as an anvil. All I've had to do to it is fix one broken wire on the MAF sensor, and replace several TPMS sensors (which could fail on ANY car.) It's got a 3.5 V6, which actually got me thinking about a 3900 swap in my most recent Fiero.
Of course, I've got a dual outlet Magnaflow and sticky 18s on it now, instead of the stockers. Makes it a bit more fun.
Like a G6!!!!! My brother has one as well. Its a nice car
[This message has been edited by Fiero Thomas (edited 06-15-2017).]
Congratulations on your new Fiero! A little bit of work...but a whole lot of fun!
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