87 GT sunburst orange 5 spd - new fiero owner (Page 4/6)
hyperv6 AUG 06, 01:00 PM
As for price $20K does not buy much anymore for complete cars with no needs.
Patrick AUG 06, 04:12 PM

Domer, you've failed four times now to post your video (might be a new record ), even after I linked to and embedded your video Here.

If you click EDIT on my post, you can see how it's properly done.
Dennis LaGrua AUG 06, 05:29 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:


Come on Dennis, we're here to help new members if we can, not make them regret their acquisition of a Fiero. What's the benefit of doing that?



Certainly I am here to support new members and am always glad to help whenever I can. We just need to start someplace and my comment should be read by the seller as a reflection on how he does business.
The buyer is NJ based and the car he purchased looks like a very nice platform to move forward on. . If the car is driveable and he wants to come down to West Central NJ I'd be happy to take a look at it. My garage is equipped to the max with all kinds of diagnostic tools. In the new semi-active Garden State Fiero owners group there are a few mechanic members. Should it be needed, local help is near. If there is a suggestion to be made at the moment, the owner could buy an inexpensive stethoscope to pinpoint the noise.

------------------
" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, 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 "

domer94 AUG 06, 10:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:

It's hard to hear, honestly... I'm only hearing the engine itself and nothing external that I think you're alluding to.

Can you explain the sound in more detail?


As for the price... the price of these cars has shot up considerably in the past few years. They're outrageously priced right now. A running / driving Fiero that you can take down the street without the wheels falling off is like $5k minimum. You hop on eBay and most weeks you don't see a single car selling for less than $8k, with most examples above $10k. It's just what it is. It's a bad time to buy a Fiero because everyone is into 80s cars right now. But the engine looks VERY clean, and leads me to believe that for the most part, it was probably taken care of, or at least not neglected.


Anyway, if you can, please try to explain the sound in more detail... like where you hear different sounds coming from. I'd like to know too what you're used to in terms of how cars sound. If this is your first older car, then it could be you're not accustomed to what the older engines sound like. Most older cars, particularly in the 80s... the engines are rough sounding. There's literally nothing in the engine compartment except along the firewall that's meant to deaden the sound. Cars today have sound deadening beauty caps that go on too... which help reduce the undesirable part of an engine sound... so you only hear the rumble and the exhaust noise.



so the more i hear it , its a grinding type noise... stays constant and is very prevalent. this is why i started to think ac compressor... plus when the ac is turned on , some whacky stuff happens, and it seems like the clutch engages every couple of seconds and cycles off and causes the engine to go under what seems like an odd strain. even when the ac is off, it sounds like a bad bearing. thing is it sounds like its all over the engine compartment.. maybe because of the acoustics in there.. but u started to freak thinking it was bad valve train , or timing chain tensioner etc etc. oh there is an exhaust leak too , but i have an ocelot system on the way anyhow so im not concerned at the moment. i think im going to start at the ac compressor and see what happens from there. makes the car sound like a sewing machine.. which is why i told the dealer guy " how could you have let that go out the door". for a "classic car" specialty dealer, you would think they would have gone the extra mile.. not like an auction flipper.
domer94 AUG 06, 10:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:


Certainly I am here to support new members and am always glad to help whenever I can. We just need to start someplace and my comment should be read by the seller as a reflection on how he does business.
The buyer is NJ based and the car he purchased looks like a very nice platform to move forward on. . If the car is driveable and he wants to come down to West Central NJ I'd be happy to take a look at it. My garage is equipped to the max with all kinds of diagnostic tools. In the new semi-active Garden State Fiero owners group there are a few mechanic members. Should it be needed, local help is near. If there is a suggestion to be made at the moment, the owner could buy an inexpensive stethoscope to pinpoint the noise.



thanks. i will have to take care of this before going on any extended ride. it will probably be a couple weeks before the car is "on the road" anyhow. im waiting on the papers from out of state then have to do the dmv thing. if there are any fall gatherings , id be game.
82-T/A [At Work] AUG 07, 03:51 PM

quote
Originally posted by domer94:

so the more i hear it , its a grinding type noise... stays constant and is very prevalent. this is why i started to think ac compressor... plus when the ac is turned on , some whacky stuff happens, and it seems like the clutch engages every couple of seconds and cycles off and causes the engine to go under what seems like an odd strain. even when the ac is off, it sounds like a bad bearing. thing is it sounds like its all over the engine compartment.. maybe because of the acoustics in there.. but u started to freak thinking it was bad valve train , or timing chain tensioner etc etc. oh there is an exhaust leak too , but i have an ocelot system on the way anyhow so im not concerned at the moment. i think im going to start at the ac compressor and see what happens from there. makes the car sound like a sewing machine.. which is why i told the dealer guy " how could you have let that go out the door". for a "classic car" specialty dealer, you would think they would have gone the extra mile.. not like an auction flipper.




Ok, lemme think... I'll go through these each:

- Timing Chain / Timing Chain Tensioner: It is highly unlikely to be anything to do with that. Unless the engine has been modified or rebuilt, the factory chain basically lasts forever. They do stretch a little (it is a chain), but it's always well oiled, and you maybe lose a little bit of timing. Never in all the years have I been on Pennocks (here) have I seen one fail on the V6/60. So it's definitely NOT that.

- An exhaust leak will definitely cause what almost sounds like a "lawn mower" on the Fiero. A very common place to look are the exhaust manifolds. They tend to crack, particularly the rear-most one (meaning the one closest to the front of the car). It almost sounds like a loud ticking noise, but then also sounds like a lawn mower when you rev the engine.

- The only noise up front that I can think of that might sound like a crunching noise, could be a failing harmonic balancer. If the car has been mostly in a dry climate (or just by sheer age), the rubber between the balancer donut and the hub itself will deteriorate, and the balancer will split. It will then make all kinds of crazy noises.

- A/C Compressor... the bearing on the compressor can DEFINITELY start to go bad, and will most definitely start to sound like crap. Does the A/C work on the car now, or not? Another thing worth mentioning too is that the A/C compressor used in the V6s was a really crappy compressor (in my opinion). It had an enormous load on the car... and typically sucked like 9 horsepower from the motor to operate. The 86+ 4 cyl Fieros got a much nicer A/C compressor... mostly because they HAD to have it since the 4 cyl was almost undrivable as an automatic with economy gears and the A/C on. They had what was called the V5 compressor. Some people have switched to this, which is a huge pain in the butt since it's not a simple upgrade. But there is a newer version of the A/C compressor that fits your car (a little lighter), called the HRT. You have the DA6 right now. Anyway, that definitely could be it. If you want peace of mind and don't care about A/C right now, you can just cut the belt off the A/C compressor and see if the noise stops. The belt for the A/C compressor is independent, so everything else will still work. By the way, if you want to see a nice bunch of upgrades for accessories, you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg9-t8kzhdM It's my daughter adding accessories to her 2.5 Iron Duke, which is the 4 cyl one, but all the same things basically apply. The alternator she uses is also an upgrade for the one you have, and the smaller High-torque starter is also an upgrade. All covered in her video. As for engaging and disengaging... my guess is you probably have a slight freon leak, and freon is low... so the low pressure switch keeps shutting it off. If it's all orginal, or was upgraded to R134A MANY years ago, it might be worthwhile to go through all the O-rings and seals again.


Anyway, let me know if that helps you isolate the issues...


Is it a manual transmission or an automatic?
domer94 AUG 07, 11:41 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
Ok, lemme think... I'll go through these each:

- Timing Chain / Timing Chain Tensioner: It is highly unlikely to be anything to do with that. Unless the engine has been modified or rebuilt, the factory chain basically lasts forever. They do stretch a little (it is a chain), but it's always well oiled, and you maybe lose a little bit of timing. Never in all the years have I been on Pennocks (here) have I seen one fail on the V6/60. So it's definitely NOT that.

- An exhaust leak will definitely cause what almost sounds like a "lawn mower" on the Fiero. A very common place to look are the exhaust manifolds. They tend to crack, particularly the rear-most one (meaning the one closest to the front of the car). It almost sounds like a loud ticking noise, but then also sounds like a lawn mower when you rev the engine.

- The only noise up front that I can think of that might sound like a crunching noise, could be a failing harmonic balancer. If the car has been mostly in a dry climate (or just by sheer age), the rubber between the balancer donut and the hub itself will deteriorate, and the balancer will split. It will then make all kinds of crazy noises.

- A/C Compressor... the bearing on the compressor can DEFINITELY start to go bad, and will most definitely start to sound like crap. Does the A/C work on the car now, or not? Another thing worth mentioning too is that the A/C compressor used in the V6s was a really crappy compressor (in my opinion). It had an enormous load on the car... and typically sucked like 9 horsepower from the motor to operate. The 86+ 4 cyl Fieros got a much nicer A/C compressor... mostly because they HAD to have it since the 4 cyl was almost undrivable as an automatic with economy gears and the A/C on. They had what was called the V5 compressor. Some people have switched to this, which is a huge pain in the butt since it's not a simple upgrade. But there is a newer version of the A/C compressor that fits your car (a little lighter), called the HRT. You have the DA6 right now. Anyway, that definitely could be it. If you want peace of mind and don't care about A/C right now, you can just cut the belt off the A/C compressor and see if the noise stops. The belt for the A/C compressor is independent, so everything else will still work. By the way, if you want to see a nice bunch of upgrades for accessories, you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg9-t8kzhdM It's my daughter adding accessories to her 2.5 Iron Duke, which is the 4 cyl one, but all the same things basically apply. The alternator she uses is also an upgrade for the one you have, and the smaller High-torque starter is also an upgrade. All covered in her video. As for engaging and disengaging... my guess is you probably have a slight freon leak, and freon is low... so the low pressure switch keeps shutting it off. If it's all orginal, or was upgraded to R134A MANY years ago, it might be worthwhile to go through all the O-rings and seals again.


Anyway, let me know if that helps you isolate the issues...


Is it a manual transmission or an automatic?



thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. good to know it most likely isnt a timing chain issue. the car is a manual , they said "new clutch"... i only drove the car from the transport to my house so far... about 1.5 miles. clutch and trans feel ok to me. shifts smooth goes into gear fine. there is something loose on the exhaust.. maybe a heat shield or broken hanger... i can shake the tailpipe and hear something rattle around. not concerned because im scrapping what is on there shortly. as far as the prevalent grinding noise, im leaning towards compressor.. i believe e the system is low and the ac clutch cycles on and off pretty frequently. if thats the case maybe its shot already...

[This message has been edited by domer94 (edited 08-08-2025).]

82-T/A [At Work] AUG 08, 11:47 AM

quote
Originally posted by domer94:

thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. good to know it most likely isnt a timing chain issue. the car is a manual , they said "new clutch"... i only drove the car from the transport to my house so far... about 1.5 miles. clutch and trans feel ok to me. shifts smooth goes into gear fine. there is something loose on the exhaust.. maybe a heat shield or broken hanger... i can shake the tailpipe and hear something rattle around. not concerned because im scrapping what is on there shortly. as far as the prevalent grinding noise, im leaning towards compressor.. i believe e the system is low and the ac clutch cycles on and off pretty frequently. if thats the case maybe its shot already...




The Getrag (so I've been told), has something called the Getrag Rattle... which is when specific parts of the internals of the Getrag get some wear and tend to rattle like crazy. Not sure if that sound is what you're hearing, as I've never owned a Getrag Fiero (though I have three Getrags in my garage, haha). But it could be what you're hearing.

Definitely exhaust will rattle in sync with the idle fluctuation... I've definitely had that. The Fiero Store (http://www.FieroStore.com) sells all new exhuast hangers... way better to go with those than the "sh1t" that most exhaust shops weld onto the frame.
Raydar AUG 09, 07:49 PM
Before you spend any more time or money chasing this...
Remove the A/C belt. Kind of a PITA to loosen the rear compressor pivot bolt, but it may be loose enough to allow the compressor to pivot if you loosen the slider bolt and the front pivot bolt.
Or, if you don't feel like screwing with the bolts, a big pair of wire cutters will dispatch the belt in a hurry.
Then start the motor. If the noise is a bad bearing in the A/C compressor clutch, it will become apparent right away, by its absence.

If the noise is still there, do the same thing with the serpentine belt. Loosen the alternator. The pivot bolt is on the top, and the slider bolt on the bottom.
Start the engine and listen. It could be an alternator or (less likely) a water pump.

If both belts are removed, and you still hear the noise, you will need to investigate further.

Wishing you luck in your endeavors. That is a beautiful car.

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Raydar
88 Formula IMSA Fastback. 4.9, NVG T550

Praise the Lowered!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 08-09-2025).]

Vintage-Nut AUG 09, 09:59 PM
BTW

The 'Getrag Rattle' is a low speed condition, like in neutral {think a big rig at the light} and sounds like marbles in a can .

The noise goes away completely when engaging the clutch or on the throttle.

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Original Owner of a Silver '88 GT
Under 'Production Refurbishment' @ 136k Miles