I'm new to the forum, and a new fiero owner as well! I picked up a 1986 fiero gt v6 about a month ago and I'm loving it so far. I was hoping to get some info about common problems people have with these cars. I need it to be as reliable as possible because I drive it to work everyday. Also I noticed mine running pretty hot, and was wondering what modifications I could buy to make the engine run cooler. Any general advise would be much appreciated as well!

Something that most of us V6 owners carry is a spare ignition module, and a tube of white or silver heat sink grease to apply onto the metal plate on the bottom of the module. You can get these heat sink greases at any computer store. It's relatively easy to change out with a 6 inch 1/4 drive extension and a 5.5 mm socket. The socket will fit the distributor hold down screws and the module screws.

These modules often fail when sitting in traffic, or after parking the car and the heat builds up in the engine bay. There's seldomly any warning. Just get one at Advance, AutoZone or O'Rielly and get a lifetime warranty with it.

To helpl keepl the engine cool, you can run the stock 195 thermostat. Get the super-stat. Then purchase Rodney Dickman's low temperature fan switch. It will turn on the cooling fan before the temp gets too high, but it will also allow the engine to run in it's proper temperature range. The 180 thermostats tend to keep the engine too cold and fuel mileage suffers.
http://rodneydickman.com/ca...th=22&products_id=88

Your engine may not be running as hot as you think. The temp hand should sit on the 100 mark with the ignition ON, before the engine is started and is at ambient temperature. If not, the needle has probably slipped.

The needles tend to slip due to a factory wiring issue that throws 12 volt into the gauge at startup. You'll learn about this as you go. Use an IR thermometer and point it at the base of the thermostat housing neck and compare readings to your temp gauge to check accuracy.

Another bit of preventive maintenance should be to remove the fan blower motor and it's ballast resister and clean everything out of the heater ductwork. Even for cars that are driven regularly, debris and even mice find their way into this area. The fan ballast resister can cause a fire that is near impossible to extinguish.

Welcome to the Fiero world. You have lots of people in Florida, so maybe you can hook up with some in your area.

[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 02-15-2018).]

Thanks for the info!

Welcome to the forum!! Feel free to post some pictures of your car, everyone loves to see Fiero pictures

For the engine temp, stock setting is 220-235 operating temperature. Its pretty high off the get-go. If yours is running higher than that, then there could be a problem. Like mentioned above it could also just be the gauge is off. But also could be low coolant, bent or crushed metal line under the car restricting flow, broken thermostat, bad fan switch, relay or fuse, leaking radiator cap or thermostat cap. What temp is it running at? Does it ever get into the danger zone?

For common problems, well there's a myriad of possibilities, but no guarantee that you will experience any of them. Personally, I have had to replace the fan switch on all of my Fieros because it would not actuate the fan anymore. I always replace it with Rodney's low temp switch. I would highly recommend Rodney's low temp fan switch. It will keep the car running at a lot more comfortable temp range. Get it here: http://rodneydickman.com/ca...th=69&products_id=88
For cars that have sat a lot, fuel pump, brake lines, water pump and clutch slave cylinder seem to be the first to stop working, or not work to start with. Sounds like your car is already all working though, so that's a plus. If it was driven regularly by previous owners, then those are not as likely since rubbers and seals are more likely to dry out, get brittle and crack when they sit unused.
Another common one is headlights stop working. It can be caused by bad relays or stripped plastic gears. If yours are working now, then you probably don't need to worry about it at the moment. But it could be a good preemptive step to rebuild the headlight motors and replace the gears. Fiero store has rebuild kits, motors, relays (https://www.fierostore.com/Product/Browse.aspx?d=273&p=1) as does Rodney with metal gears or his relay upgrade kit (http://rodneydickman.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=32).
Other possibilities are vacuum leak due to cracked vacuum line or connector. You will probably get a check engine light if that happens. Also a cracked EGR tube is very common on the v6. Look for high idle. If the car idles over 1000, then there could be a small crack. I've seen it up to 2500 at idle for a large crack in the EGR tube. Its easy to replace and again the Fiero Store and Rodney both have them. They aren't cheap for being a tube, I believe Rodney's are cheaper. I've also made my own before from a flexible metal propane gas line.

Whenever you need headlight isolation relays or a headlight motor rebuilt, I have relays and I rebuild motors.

I probably should have mentioned this, but I'm 19 and this is my first car as well, so any helpful video links on installing tutorials would be much appreciated

Hey great pick on your first car! My first was also a Fiero And I'm only a few years ahead in the game, 24 now. When I first started out the only thing I knew about cars was that I liked them. The Fiero is an amazing car to learn on, it strikes a good balance between older simplicity and modern technology to give a beginner something they can understand and still learn relevant info for modern cars. Secondly they are very affordable, cool, fun and not that car that everyone has. You will always be able to stand out. Just start out small, ask questions, make mistakes and learn from them. Learn a little thing here, a small repair there, and one day you realize you have the know how to do just about anything with the car. I just finished up my second engine swap and am in the process of a v8 swap. When I got my first Fiero, I never expected to be able to do this myself. I still have lots to learn as well. This forum has helped immensely, so you are starting in the right place!

Hi Newguy7142

Welcome to the forum. I'm just south of you in Punta Gorda.

To add your photo's, take a look at the bottom of the page, for the icon "Pennocks Image Poster"

Hello Newsguy, and welcome to the Fiero forum and the Fiero craze. If your like the rest of us, as I hope you are, your gonna love this a lot.
You did not mention weather your GT is a manual or automatic, and how many miles are on it. I have had a number of Fiero's, with my permanent one now being my 88 Formula.
so let me think.....along with everything mentioned above, first thing that comes to my mind is the inaccurate gas gauge reading. Almost ever one of mine had this problem, with my Formula being the worst. Once my gauge reads 1/4 tank, I'm empty. So don't find out the hard way and run out of gas someplace like I did, find out if your guage is true.
I have a 5 speed, so about every year and 1/2 I bleed the hydraulic clutch line. This procedure can probably be found in the Tech link here. Its not difficult at all.
I would also take a good look at your front suspension. If theres a lot of miles on your car, there may be something worn of lose under there. Check your ball joints, tie rod ends, and whatever else that moves around down there. Give them a good greasing while your at it too.
As you advance in this madness, you may one day want to functionally scoop out your front hood to release radiator heat. To see what I mean, after a long drive pop the hood and place your hand on its underside near the radiator. It should be very hot due to the fact the heat has nowhere to escape. I did mine and have a great reduction in engine temp. I also removed the bottom section of the heat grills, so the engine compartment heat gets out better. My Formula runs very cool, good thing down here in Georgia.
You may also want to get yourself a repair manual. Page thru it and examine the illistrations. It will give you a better understanding on how your unusual little car is put together. It will also come in very handy as you service your vehicle.
Most of all , enjoy your Fiero and have lots of fun driving it. That's what it, and us, are all about . : )