i have poured about 500$ into my 84 fiero engine control systems in the past two years, and still have the stalling problem. it is to the point that i refuse to drive it as it is. im sick and tired of the piece of **** . id sell the car if it wasnt so fun to drive (when it runs) and it has never handled so good. so im evaluating my options. as i see it they are:

1. buy laptop, dodgerunners cables, and download WINALDL, figure out what i wrong with my duke and fix it. cost 100 for computer, 30 for cable, and ??? for parts - total unknown

2. put on carb on my duke - 100 for intake manifold, 150 rebuilt carb, 150 distributor, 50 for fuel pressure regulator - cost 450

3. 3800 - cost around 2000 estimated on some threads here

4. ecotec - 1500 estimated based on others experience

so what dy'all think?
jon

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I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!

ecotec or 3800! There is nothing like a fast fiero and the little iron duke is definitely not fast.

Worth it.

Fix the iron duke.

If you can't fix a problem with your stock engine, there is no way you will be able to do an engine swap.

quote Originally posted by longjonsilver: im sick and tired of the piece of ****

Sell it and buy something from this decade. Seriously, if you threw $500 in parts at a 20-something year old car instead of actually diagnosing it, it's time for a Prius or something.

Swap it! Swap it! Swap it! Swap it! Everybody - come on - Swap it! Swap it!

quote Originally posted by Hulki U. My-BFF: Sell it and buy something from this decade. Seriously, if you threw $500 in parts at a 20-something year old car instead of actually diagnosing it, it's time for a Prius or something.

Quoted for truth...

3.4 trans plant imo unless you have money then northstar or sbc.

quote Originally posted by Hockaday: 3.4 trans plant imo unless you have money then northstar or sbc.

is what i will do to mine soon as i get the rust fixed and the body whipped into shape.

[This message has been edited by ApeMan (edited 05-05-2010).]

Take it to a shop and have it diagnosed.

I had an "undiagnosable" problem and it was an MSD box. When I took it out the problem disappeared completely. That is the way with electronics sometimes. Now 25 year old electronics is another story, and not as good.

The Duke will run really nice with a carb. Check out all the old S10's still running with one. If you go to a junk yard and find an old carb'd Duke in a late 70's or early 80's truck or even a Chevette, you'll have a good running car. And cheap.

It is funny when you have a cheap alternative, how the guys pile on and advocate a very expensive one, with your money.

Swap if you want to swap, but if you just want it to run right you have two choices. 1. take it to a GM tech who knows the engine or 2. switch over to carb

Good luck

Arn

I recently had a problem with bad idle and random stalling on my car. It turned out to be the small red wire which runs form the alternator to the power junction in the rear right. The connectors were so corroded, they fell off in my hand. I replaced it ,the positive battery cable, and cleaned up my engine/tranny to frame grounds, and all runs great!

After 25+ years, the engine electrical almost always needs a good cleanup.

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Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival. - W. Edwards Deming

Jay Brintnell
Southern Ontario Fiero Association and the Ontario Pontiac Club

Now this is a guy who knows about the Duke, having learned the hard way. Thanks Eclipse

Arn

quote Originally posted by ApeMan: is what i will do to mine soon as i get the rust fixed and the body whipped into shape.

I'd look for a non rust fiero before anything else. you'll spend more than you want fixing the rust right.

quote Originally posted by Eclipse: I recently had a problem with bad idle and random stalling on my car. It turned out to be the small red wire .... After 25+ years, the engine electrical almost always needs a good cleanup.

my car is from california, it has no rust, except where the battery leaked onto the tray - the battery is now in the front, tray gone. i have checked and cleaned all my grounds. i am the original owner (how many of you can say that?) and i have had trouble with the engine management system (smog **** ) since the car was new. pontiac must have put on 6 oxy sensors and another 1/2 dozen TPS. electrical **** has gone wrong with this car since day one. if it werent so fun to drive with great handling (only second to a porsche 911 carrera) i would have sold it long ago. i started working on it myself because you guys here on the forum have walked me thru stuff each step of the way. for that, im grateful. thanks a million. otherwise i would have sold a dead car in california, rather than bringing it here to quebec. i dont think that there is a single person here on this forum that has had more problems with a duke than me. im sick and tired of all this smog stuff that makes a car run "so much better" (dripping with sarcasm) i have a 92 S10 - basically it has a similar engine management system that my fiero has, and NOTHING has EVER gone wrong with its engine management system in the 18 years that i have known that truck. id fire it up and drive it to california today, i wont drive my fiero 10 miles to montreal because it has stalled on me 100's (1000's?) of times in the last 5 years that i have had it in quebec. many of you must not buy parts in quebec. autozone and rockauto want about 25$ for an ignition module, 13$ for a PUC - the parts stores around here want 110$ - and 39$. feel smug with your easy demands to pour more money into this POS, im done with it. easier and cheaper to fix what you have? then come over and fix my car if thats what you think. its gonna sit there for years if necessary until i feel i can drive it and trust it. thats gonna be a long time - unless you can convince me to enjoy sitting at a stop light with cars honking at me in my POS while i try to start it up so i can get over to the side of the road. so answer me one question - why is my fiero motor a POS when my S10 is the best vehicle i have ever had? perhaps you can hear the frustration in my choice of words? and perhaps you are right in that if i cant fix this POS then i have no business putting in some other computer controlled engine. perhaps the carb is the best choice, but what do i do with my gauges - how do i fool the computer into not throwing codes? take out the check engine light bulb?
jon
jon

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I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!

Jon,
I can assure you, I understand where you're coming from. I don't pretend to be a mechanic and yet, I attempt to turn wrenches on my own Formulas. That being said, I also admit that I'm often whipped by what some folks think are simple. I would argue that what may be simple for some is not simple for all but, that debate doesn't do squat to get my cars back on the road so, I simply do what I can and when I'm stumped, I ask or pay someone for help. Don't let the so called experts get to you. No one knows it all. Well, there are a few that know quite a bit but, they don't generally brag about it and never trash talk others that need help. I could name some examples of very good folks but, I'll bet you already know who they are. Good luck with your ride.

Take the car to a shop and have them see what the problem is. Money well spent.

J.