It seems that just about every manual tranny equipped Fiero has had these replaced or needs them replaced.

1) What causes these to consistently go bad?

2) Is there anything that can be done to put less wear and tear on these items? (ie keep the clutch pedal pushed in at stop lights VS letting out on the pedal and leaving the car in Neutral)


This is my main concern with buying a Fiero with a manual tranny.

------------------
Looking for a Daily Driver Fiero (Prefer 86-88 GT)

idk, my GT has 240,000 miles on it and still has the original one in there. The only problem I have is that the top is supposed to screw off and it wont budge. I think your okay with buying a manual tranny Fiero. I personally think thats the one of the lesser issues with these cars that you should worry about.

~Dan~

------------------
~Dan~ 85 GT, 84 2M4, & an 86 SE

Age and dirty fluid!
Just a quess
Good Luck
Gary

The biggest problem is because the piston is pushed pretty far into the slave cylinder bore when the vehicle clutch is engaged and obviously while parked. Since brake fluid absorbs water the now exposed slave cylinder walls are so rust prone it is ridiculous. As the bore rusts it contaminates the rest of the fluid when the clutch is applied and fluid moves the piston towards the tranny. Over a short time of non-use the bore will erode and pit to the point it will allow air past the seal as it passes over the bad area of the bore.

If there was a grease type fluid, compatable with brake fluid, that could be applied to the slave bore it would probably last a long time.

Anyone parking their car for the season really should loosen the slave mounting bolts to allow brake fluid to fill the entire bore and avoid the rust problem.

That's my opinion for what ever it is worth.

Its normally not much of an issue, the parts are rather easy to change if they go bad. If they start failing and you don't fix them, they WILL become an annoyance, since for a while it'll drive normally with spurts of not being able to disengage the clutch. Not being able to shift can be annoying.

From what I've heard Getrag hydraulics can be troublesome. I had the slave cylinder go bad on my '86 SE with the Muncie 4-speed, so I had it and the master cylinder replaced for extra insurance. Its been working fine ever since (about a year now). Because of that, I would reccommend the Muncie 4-speeds, they seem to work pretty well.

To answer your questions:

1. I haven't heard of any Fieros that are constantly needing the master/slave replaced. You hear about it often enough because there are many of these cars on the road, and the master/slave will fail at least once in the life of the car. They go bad due to wear and tear... you use them enough and the seals go bad and start leaking air into the system or leaking hydraulic fluid out of the system. That's just how they are, you can't really make them more reliable.

2. No. Every time you push the clutch in you wear the master and slave. Unless you can figure out a way to not need to push in the clutch, you won't be helping any. You could possibly try to shift without the clutch...but that brings in the possibilities of damaging other areas of the car, such as the internals of the transmission. At stop lights you want to sit in neutral with the pedal out. With the pedal in you're exerting pressure on the system anyways, and if you're holding it in you're wearing out the throw-out bearing. Personally, I'd rather replace the clutch master/slave than the TOB.

------------------

quote Originally posted by Tinton: Its normally not much of an issue, the parts are rather easy to change if they go bad. If they start failing and you don't fix them, they WILL become an annoyance, since for a while it'll drive normally with spurts of not being able to disengage the clutch. Not being able to shift can be annoying. From what I've heard Getrag hydraulics can be troublesome. 1. I haven't heard of any Fieros that are constantly needing the master/slave replaced.

I agree with most of what Tinton said, but after about a year of driving my 88GT the shifting got worse and worse until I had no disenagement. After replacing the master and slave, about three years later I suddenly lost disengagement with no warning.

So I would agree that they are prone to failure. Maybe it's the cheap import parts, but show me where you can get an AC Delco master or slave, (I tried and they don't exist anymore).