Howdy,

This is Babygirl's husband. I bought an '84 Fiero about three weeks ago for Babygirl. It is black with grey interior. Interior was immaculate, 123K on OD. Great looking car. Really ran nice.

This car has turned out to be the biggest pile of junk I have ever had the displeasure to work on. Right now it is sitting out in the parking lot and it will sit there until someone comes and hauls it away.

The first week we had the car the timing gear broke. That's just wonderful... you have to literally pull the engine out of the car to get the cam out? WONDERFUL. I live at a sort of ritzy apartment and my garage is very small. I got around having to jack the car up very high and just swung the engine down by the two front cradle bolts. Took me 10 days to do it since I work and go to school full-time. Great now "that" is fixed.

A couple of days later the valve covers started leaking. cool. I can fix that.
Upon further research it seems that it takes a master mechanic with a lucky streak to get the valve cover not to leak.... it is still leaking after two failed attempts. Each attempt was done a little differently. Fine.

*This Week*
On Monday, Babygirl calls me on her cell telling me that a belt broke on the car. I said fine and drove down and replaced the belt. Cool. It was 06:45 in the morning.

On Tuesday, the Windshield wipers stopped working. Great. Now I can't let Babygirl take the car to work because it is raining. I like driving the Fiero, cool for me. I have to wait to work on the car until this weekend when I don't have to study. If I can make it till then I will be golden.

On Wednesday morning, the speedometer decided to stop working. Alrighty... now I am getting pissed.

On Wednesday afternoon, I started smelling exhaust heavily in the car. I asked Babygirl about it and she said it has been steadily getting worse over the course of a week. So now the car has got a great big ole' exhause leak. Son of a 'B^&^&

On Thursday, the belt started squealing very loudly like it was not tight enough. I checked it, it looks fine. No big deal. On the way to school the temperature gauge quit working. Followed by the fuel gauge. Upon driving home they both started working again.

Friday Morning
I started calling around for parts and got really pissed off about how much it was going to cost me. I said to myself, "Self, lets just run it down to the car lot street and see what they got." I found a nice Jeep Eagle with Turbo that was fast as heck. I thought great I will just take this little Fiero home and let her sit for a while.

Friday Afternoon,
Upon heading for home the car almost got me into an accident.

The rear wheels decided to start locking up around corners. It is really wet out today and it has the effect of slamming on the e-brake.

I thought no problem... this is not going to make me lose my temper i will just continue home... it only does it around corners.

About the last two miles to my place both tires start to lockup intermittenly. This caused the car to lurch uncontrollably. I spent the last half-mile driving about 5 MPH.

Babygirl loves this car, she even named it Charlotte. In order to make her feel better about this I am going to go put her in a '97 Eclipse with Turbo and let her have at it.

She put all her Fiero post-mortem blues behind her :-)

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~Darcy & Laura
1984 Black SE Fiero

Well....

Belts and hoses just ain't ment last but so long.

The electircal problems may be simple as a loose wire on the starter. 84's routed about half the car's wiring to the starter main terminal. GM did that on allot of cars not just Fiero. The've stopped doing that as far as I know. Thank god. try getting to a fuse link on one of the old trans-ams. 84 Fiero is cake compared to those.

I don't know why you had so much trouble with the valve cover. Unless they are bent the thing seals just fine. (Rubber gaskets work better than cork. All cars, not just Fiero.) Hardest part is getting it all clean so the gasket sealer will stick to the metal.

Rear wheel locking in a turn sounds allot like the rear wheel bearings. Once the caliper is off the hub is 3 bolts (18mm) and one big nut (30mm I think). takes 20-30 minutes a side. Unless the caliper wants to be a pain. then a little longer. (The caliper bolts are T50 Torx I think.)

Yeah, I don't know why I had such a problem
with valve covers either. There is only a two page procedure for doing it, right here in the message groups. Seems like nobody else has ever had that problem.

I guess the car doesn't have enough going for it, for me to be flustrated with it.

Course, everything I just listed could be fixed by an expert in Fiero Mechanics, in "just a few short minutes" and only "a few dollars". Why buy a nicer, newer car that is actually well built? You could become a Fiero expert mechanic just by owning one.

No wonder they were only made for a couple of years. I am also sick of looking in my rear-view looking for smoke to start and fire to burn the hell out of my car. I am selling mine for $500. I have much more important things to do with my time.

Things like operating system design or perhaps compiler optimizations.

It's funny too, I went down to San Leandro for the Kit Car show... I wanted to build a kit car at one point. The people there are real freaks. The custom Jaguar was really cool though, the red one.

This one guy had a F-50, he is sitting there with this really psycho look on his face. On the little sign for the car, it said over 5000 hours!! It cost $55,000 dollars! What a freak! I just wanted to walk up to him and go, "You know... that isn't really an F-50 don't you?" And then laugh madly as he wet his pants.

The only reasons Fiero's turn out to be crap, is because the owner did not take proper care of it. I take good car of my car and have had it two years, I am currently going to replace head gasket because of a coolant leak, and I have already replaced the bad distributor. Thats the only major problems I have had with it. If you can afford a new car every year or two, the go for it, but most of us here dont have that luxary. I do all the work on my car now, and I really dont like doing it, but I love the feeling I get when I fire it up again and it runs perfect, and saved myself 100's of dollars by doing it myself and gaining some experience. When ever I am working on my car and run into a problem, I just post here are I get the answers I need to continue. Fieros are well built cars, most of them. If you buy a new car and never bother to change the oil, youll get a good 30K miles on that engine if your lucky. Any car this old will have some problems. I hate to see what will happen to those new cars your getting after a year or two.

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Sean Heberly
Silver 86 GT 2.8
Killer Stereo System

Sorry to see that GM didn't make the Fiero to your liking. That's too bad for you, but good for us as it is one more fiero that we can have and take care of the small quirks that it may have.

It doesn't take a genius to take care of these cars, just common sense.

I thought about this a bit more on the way home from work. (where I posted the last message from.)

While I understand the frustration.... You could have far worse problems. I'll trade with you. I'm in the middle of being treated for cancer and was told yesterday I likely won't have a job, and hence insurance, after 2 weeks. I'll happilly take the problems with the 84 instead.

I reread the first message.... You did the cradle tip method for replacing the timing set... That very likely pulled that bloody fuse link on the starter. I'd pretty much bet you could fix that yourself in very short order. If it's not that connection check the one by the battery. You remove the retaining bolt unplug and replug it a couple times to work the contacts a bit it will probly be fine. In fact check the one by the battery first. It's easier to get to. (I think I even remember reading a GM notice about that connector by the battery.)

Aside from the timing set and the wheel bearings you've mostly got the same problems I've seen time and again on all kinds of cars. including new cars fresh off the show room floor. Things on cars break. It's a fact of life when you're looking at something that has a couple thousand moving parts.

Don't assume any car is fireproof either. I've seen more than a few cars burnt. Often its really stupid _____ that starts it. Like some git running over a plastic bag. Leaves collecting someplace. Another favorite is parking the car on grass. The grass hits the hot catalyst and lights.

You don't need to be an expert Fiero mech to fix these. There's nothing differant service wise between Fiero and most FWD cars. They just stuck the whole FWD setup in the back where it's a bit more awkward to get to at times.

Actually Fiero 4 cylinder is easier to work on than the same motor in a FWD. In Fiero the engine controls are mostly out in the open. In the FWD all the controls are burried. I spent an hour removing ignition parts from an 87 olds, a job that takes 5 minutes in my 87 Fiero. (You would have had to pull the motor to do the timing. No cradle to tip in FWD's with these motors)

Wow, what a car! He must have bought one of those cars that wasn't made assembled on a Friday. I wish mine was that trouble-free. I would put you to sleep describing the Fiero induced headaches I've encountered.

Like I've said before, the Fiero is a high maintenance, crowded, unreliable piece of sh!t. I've owned a total of 4 in my life. Currently, I have only one which is an 87Gt. I love 'em and hope I keep this one for years. Does the term "exclusive" mean to you what it means to other members in this club? Any housewife can go down and buy a slap-happy-jappy-car that will give them countless thousands of miles of reliable turns of the key. If your emphasis is reliability and you live in an apartment, do yourself a favor and don't own a Fiero (although I did a full engine swap while living in an apartment [trick is to do it in the middle of the night and be quiet!]). You made a statement about owning a Fiero and maybe becoming a Fiero expert. Truth is that you will become a Fiero expert or end up leaving it in a parking lot.

You stated some angry rhetoric about why GM only made Fieros' for a few years. We've bantered that around for a while in here and some of the theories are that GM didn't want the Fiero competing with the Corvette, or that it was politically quashed for insurance reasons, or a barrage of other reasons. My theory is this: GM made a pact with Satan that GM would become the most successfull car company ever if they produced a controvercial, rear-engine car every 20 years. It started with the Corvair, then the Fiero, and now ??? For the average white-collar dweeb to attempt to maintain a Fiero is as futile as a blue-collar guy trying to read a novel and write a report upon the content.

I would never attmpt to buy a Corvair and use it as a daily driver. I could, but it doesn't appeal to me. I respect guys who do this, because they obviously find a great appeal for them. Apparently the Fiero disguised itself as a good daily driver to you. If you had a back-up car you might get away with it. Much of the negative reputation that is proliferated about the Fiero is perpetuated by ignorant people. Once the bugs are worked out, the Fiero can be a daily driver with an asterisk.

Ok you guys, this is Babygirl. Yes, my husband had a bad week with my car, and he doesn't like to see his wife stuck on the side of the road in the rain (guess he's just protective that way! )

We are keeping the car, and until we buy a house, she is going to sit in our single car garage. Once we buy a house, we will have the room in a double car garage to work on her. Apartment complexes have a "problem" with you working on your car in the parking lot. So we will continue to check out the forum, because we are still LEARNING.

By the way, sorry for the flames.

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~Darcy & Laura
1984 Black SE Fiero

Keep it cool...When I bought mine a year ago, people wondered what I wanted with one. It was an '86 2m4 with faded paint, broken window, and an oil leak so bad that smoke billowed from the decklid vents.

Turns out everything was easy fixes. I'm probably in the white collar "dweeb" category in a lot of ways, but I've learned to fix this car.

Owning a Fiero is kinda like living in an old house...if it isn't plumbing, it's wiring, or something.

I just bought a Fiero that hadn't run in a year, and wouldn't start, even with a good battery. I tracked down the problems, got it running, and am about to head out to set base timing, adjust shift linkage, and then drive it. I received the car yesterday afternoon after having it trailered to the driveway since it wouldn't start. It now runs, and drives. This car didn't receive very much preventative maintanance(I don't think), so I expect to have problems with it soon to come. They are expected on most any car that is 12+ years old. I have seen new cars with problems too, we had one.

If you think the fiero Is hard to work on, then you should take a look at my 2000 mazda van. I would like to see you get the spark plugs out , let alone trying to change the alt. belt. I love my fiero and I have found out It Is not as hard to work on as you think. hang In there you will get attached to the little car.

Yup,good ol' American cars definately have a different "product life cycle" than the foreign ones.That's why they're cheaper.
So why'd you buy such an old car,that you know nothing about, for your gf?

quote Originally posted by deceler8: Keep it cool...When I bought mine a year ago, people wondered what I wanted with one. It was an '86 2m4 with faded paint, broken window, and an oil leak so bad that smoke billowed from the decklid vents. Turns out everything was easy fixes. I'm probably in the white collar "dweeb" category in a lot of ways, but I've learned to fix this car. Owning a Fiero is kinda like living in an old house...if it isn't plumbing, it's wiring, or something.

No offense meant, as I have been attending college / university for the past 5 years so I can become one of those white collar dweebs!

Well in the first year my Fiero (started with 105k on odometer) had its tranny stick in top gear, and the motor went south, and the slave clutch cylinder went twice... With all this in mind the Fiero only left me on the side of the road TWICE!! This was due to my own neglect both times (grounds help, and believe the GM wiring manuals even if you are SURE that you are right and GM doesnt know what they are saying!)

I still got the car home in 4th gear in city traffic (although the clutch was hosed afterwords), and the motor still worked but made one hackuva noise.. A little creative shifting/ starting and the slave wasnt a huge problem...

I had an 89 plymouth sundance from 30k to 99k miles on its odometer (Mom drove it 0-30k miles) and although I loved that little sundance, the Fiero has proved to be much less troublesome as far as being stranded when it was an older car. Sundance had fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, injector, brakes, 3 sensors, door jamb lights, car alarm, cig lighter socket, and auto safety belts leave me stranded in the last 10k miles I owned it. Granted from 30k to 50k it was great, then blew a tranny, and from 50-90k pretty much flawless minus the small repairs required, and general maintenance.

All old cars give out sooner or later is the essence of my story I suppose.

the problem with that sundance is the same problem with most mitsubishi products (pardon me if the newer stuff is otherwise) is that they are disposible beyond american cars. the difference between mitsubishi and any ford or g.m. product is like comparing reliability between a new civic and a v.w. bug. hey, i'd rather make an escort push 300k as opposed to making my old dodge ram 50 make 150k(to those who don't see the mitsu relationship, the ram 50 is the mitsubishi mighty max with different nameplates).

i unloaded that truck at 125k leaking a lot of oil, but still running o.k. i sold it to a friend (suprisingly, he's still my friend after it too) took it to several shops who told him the same thing. "it isn't a matter of where the oil is leaking, it's a matter of where the oil ISN'T leaking".

it started losing compression at 130k. and the engine finally started to eat its self at 140k. he sold the truck for about 750 (bear in mind, he offered me 3500, and bought it for that only 1 year prior to all this crap). this truck wasn't mistreated, but it wasn't the epitome of over-maintinence either.

i see a lot of escorts still running around, but very few mitsubishi products from the 80's still alive. the reason i didn't mention my fiero? almost 171k, leaks some oil, burns none and runs strong as hell. no use comparing a fiero to an escort as far as reliability. i wouldn't insult the fiero.

sure, the fiero has it's problems, but but they're 12 years old at the newest now. mileage doesn't mean as much to a car's longevity as age and maintinence does......

but that's another subject and i've allready wasted a lot of bandwidth.

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UR2BITEME
'87 econo coupe
170k and a bad fender :(

I've had about 5 DNF's in the little more than a year that I've had my 84.

1. Clutch (unexpectantly let go)
   
2. Alternator belt (literally exploded)
   
3. Wiring (resistances melted a positive lead)
   
4. Wiring (previous owner's twist-tie let go)
   
5. Lost a starter bolt (vibrated out)
   

I've had to replace a battery, an alternator, PCV valve, entire engine harness changed, changed to a neoprene valve cover, and a ECM temp sensor just to name a few.

After all this, mine runs great now. Like with any used car that's 16 years old your bound to have some quirks now and then. If you need any help on repairs... the forum is here.

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T-T-F-N, Tah Tah For Now!

RacingStripes@hotmail.com

Has anyone else read this idiots post in the " Need help convincing dad" thread? Theogre if you had read the insult to you before I'm sure you wouldn't have offered any of your wisdom to this ignorant A$$.

He proceded to call all of us stupid and generally degrade all of us.

I say let this jerk go off and buy his precious little jap junk, and hopefully we'll never hear from him again.

Good Riddance to this piece of ----