I think i've been fed a load of crap this morning!! i have my 86 gt in the shop for a 4-wheel alignment well the dude calls me today and says he can't align the back because the wheels are rubbing the strut tower!!!! when your diving the car the butt of it wants to sway back and forth. then he says its because the thier 14 inch wheels and the car needs 15's I don't think this is the problems do neone have any ideas?????? it seem pretty ****'in stange to me...

I'd take it someone else..
This guy obviously has never done any work on a fiero before..

Sounds like you have something "really loose"
back there for it to sway like that..

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'84 SE
'84 SE (Strictly Parts Car)
'86 SE

All 86 Fiero suspensions have the same geometetry. An 86 SE has the same suspesion set-up as a GT and SE's have 14" wheels. Unless you have the wrong struts on the car, aftermarket wheels with a wrong offset, or extremely wide tires, it should not rub.
Some aftermarket struts do have a wide guard on the bottom that could interfere with the tire. If I remember you can fit 245 width tires on a Fiero and still not hit the strut.
What wheels are you using? What is the tire size?

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.

When I first got my '86 SE the balance weights on the inner edge of the 14" rim would hit the flange where the strut mounts to the spindle. The car had a bad case of negative camber and needed alignment. Since then I have put 15" wheels on it and had it aligned. There is still only a small amount of clearance between the rim and the shock flange. I think the offset may be wrong on the old 14" rims. According to an article in Grassroots, you can use any rim from Grand Ams or other FWD midsize GM (pretty good article on shopping junkyards for rims). Maybe someone put Sunbird rims on it!

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White '85 4cyl coupe
Black '86 v-6 SE
'81 CB900F Super Sport

the wheels are the stock looking 14 fiero se wheels altho i think they did come off a sunbird.. i had them on my 84 se tho and they worked fine. no rub. the strut towers are 87 gt but the cradle is 86 gt if that would make a difference. i took the car in for an alignment because the back would sway (really really bad!!!) at almost any speed over 40. and you can see that the top of the wheel(not the tire) is hitting the strut tower.. ne suggestions.. my car is still sitting at the shop. (the only shop i can find around here that even take my fiero)....

I got fed up with every alignment shop screwing my car up...I do it myself now.

are their any differences between the fiero 14 inch wheels and the sunbird ones???

quote Originally posted by Joe Torma: I got fed up with every alignment shop screwing my car up...I do it myself now.

I did too Joe. Got tired of people that don't know their job at the tire and alinement shops.

quote Originally posted by daveml66: are their any differences between the fiero 14 inch wheels and the sunbird ones???

Yes, the Fiero's wheels are offset more than the Sunbird's. I almost have a set of both. I have had a round with different tire shops when I tell them the offset rims go in the back! They just don't get it or see it or listen to my request. They will rub the tire wieghts off the inside of the back rims if the Sunbird type rims are used on the Fiero.

well i gave the guy 2 stock fiero 14" wheels and he thinks that now he can finish the job.. whew..... i hope this is the last problem i have with my fiero.. considering i've had it for a year now and have only been able to put 4 or 5 miles on it .. thanks for the info about the sunbird wheels..

I have a question for Joe and Butter, What kind of equipment are you guys using to do alignments? Finding a good alignment shop is always a problem, and something I need frequently. I can usually get them pretty close using a level and string line, etc., but I'd like to hear how to get an accurate alignment at home. Any methods or tips you care to share would be appreciated.

Jon

I remember finding directions before on using strings.... anyone know where that was?

I would be interested in doing mine also.. shop messed it up bad last time..

Some weights are thick enough that they hit the bottom strut perch. It's not an alignment problem unless the alignment is off.....

I use a homemade trammel bar for toe and a triple bubble float camber/caster gauge and flat garage floor. I can dial the car in anyway I want.

It's not as cosmic as the shops make it sound. You just have to have those tools and learn how to do it.

TK

We've got a Snap-On roll-over toe guage that works nice,that,some geometry,and a flat floor have done it for me.

When I got my 84 the alignment was really bad! I could see the front wheels were somewhat at an angle, and I think the tires were being chewed up. I somewhat eyeballed the alignment and got it "ok".
The stearing wheel is still off center though. I'm thinking something is not right if the wheel isnt in the center. Car also seems to float around at speeds over 60. Any ideas or tips? I'd like to try aligning it myself since I dont really care about this car all that much. If I cant get it right I'll take it to a shop though.

Thanks

Yall,
Check out this site http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm
It explains some important things about wheel alinement.

I use some homeade tools to check the things they speak of on the above topics for my Fiero. Hadn't needed to do an alinement since the last one I done back in April when I run a tire off the rim and crossed a ditch. ouch! Yes that slightly knocked the rear out a little.

Thats a great article. I'm going to redo my alignment tonight and post some pics of the process.

I hope the shop I'm taking my car to doesn't have any problems. I told them what kind of car it was and they just said ok. And they said it would only cost $39! That seems pretty cheap to me. How much do 4-wheel alignments cost for you guys??

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-Adam
sqoach@yahoo.com

^^^^^new project^^^^^

86 SC 2.5L 5spd

Thats gotta be a front only alignment. $89+ for STS to screw mine up.

Another place tried to sell me ball joints to replace mine that WERE NOT BAD...this was the final straw.

I'd rather screw it up myself.

You guys want the cold truth on alignment shops. A few shop owners I have talked to say that there isn't much money in the alignment business. After they buy the rack(mucho bucks) and try to offer a competetive price, they end up in the hole. Even over the long run. Most zippy shops (Midas, Tuffy, etc.) charge around $40-50 for an alignment. It takes at least an hour maybe two to do the work. They've told me that the only way they make money on an alignment is to find bad parts to replace. The fiero is a prime example(pre-88'). On the front (stock parts) the only thing that is really adjustable is the toe. The other specs are determined by the integrity and proper installation of the bushings, shims and ball joints. On the rear the toe is adjustable but shouldn't go out of adjustment unless the parts are worn. One could possibly knock the rear camber setting out if a curb or the like was hit hard enough. I'm sure these are the reasons that alot of shops try to replace your already good parts.

Best shop in my area, period. --Mr.Front End

Banzai !!!!!!!!!!!!!