Hi everyone. I'm hoping some of you might help me figure out the smartest way to spend my money. I have an 86 gt 4-speed. Bone stock. 166k miles. It has two issues that I'm unable to fix now that school has started.
#1: Bad valve stem seals. When warm, it has a long crank and puff of blue smoke at startup. #2: Pops out of 2nd and 4th when decelerating. I suspect this is due to worn syncros or bent fork. (Checked and adjusted cables, fluid change)
My questions are, how damaging are these to the car? I imagine a transmission rebuild is in order, which I'm willing to pay a shop to do. But it seems like a lot of money to fix a small annoyance. Also, I wonder if I have a shop do the valve seals if it would be better to just do a top end rebuild. There are some broken exhaust bolts so the heads could definitely use some work. I can't afford a transmission rebuild and head work, so I need to choose. What would you do?
I would get the transmission in order first. That seems like something that could degenerate quickly.
Since 2nd and 4th are on different shift forks, if they both pop out of gear similarly, it probably wouldn't be due to a single bent shift fork. I don't know if two bent forks is likely on a Muncie.
I would suspect that the dog teeth on the speed gears (or sliders) no longer have parallel flanks. If this is the case, a run-of-the-mill bearings + seals trans rebuild probably won't suffice; consider looking for a "good used" transmission.
Some oil puffing isn't the end of the world. Neither are broken exhaust studs, provided there are no major exhaust leaks.
Bad valve stem seals. When warm, it has a long crank and puff of blue smoke at startup.
Have you tried "high-mileage" oil, or an additive that accomplishes the same goal... which among other things is to cause the seals to swell a bit? I use this in a '94 Elantra which could use new valve guide seals, and it works pretty good.
Strong chance that the transmission pops out of gear due to worn and or misaligned shift cable. My 4 speed does this for 3rd gear because I have the new cables installed but the shift cable is slightly aligned in the bracket at the transmission poorly. Easy fix, but it's always thought of when the exhaust is too hot for me to adjust it. Lazy. Haha It does only pop out of gear when my foot is off the gas, and is more likely to occur in the middle of a turn.
Looking at the cost of a transmission rebuild, compared to a transmission swap, it might be more economical to swap out to an Isuzu 5-speed, depending upon your driving style. If you don't slam gears and pop the clutch, it will do very well. The only thing you'd need to change is the throwout bearing, cables and shifter. Not sure about one of the transmission mounts. Could be as cheap as a rebuild on the 4-speed.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I took it to a shop this morning that I've taken many cars to, and had a bit of a nightmare experience in the first 5 minutes. The tech wasn't the guy that I normally deal with, but seemed knowledgeable with fieros. Well he took it for a test drive while I waited for my ride home. About a minute later I see my car being driven back into the parking lot with the back wheels billowing out white smoke. The dude couldn't figure out how to disengage the e-brake! I go inside, tell the lady at the counter what just happened. She walks into the shop, comes back and told me the tech said the ebrake wasn't working and it was locked up. I told her that it was definitely working and to go get the tech. We walk into the shop, and with the tech watching I disengage the ebrake. Unbelievable. Just when you think know a shop they go and do something stupid. The warning light on the dash was on the whole time. I told them to not touch in until the shop owner (who knows me well) come in and see if they will replace the rear brakes.
Anyway, from the replies I get the general consensus that the transmission should be priority. If everything works out at the shop I will have them either rebuild or replace, whichever is cheaper. I would consider swapping a isuzu 5-speed if I had the time to do it myself, but for now I'll leave it to the shop. Maybe I'll be brave over a weekend and try to put in new valve stem seals myself with the engine in the car....
[This message has been edited by SCRebeck (edited 08-22-2016).]
he took it for a test drive... About a minute later I see my car being driven back into the parking lot with the back wheels billowing out white smoke... the tech said the ebrake wasn't working and it was locked up.
The tech says the e-brake was locked up, and yet still took the car for a test drive? He's either an idiot... or an idiot.
After almost 2 months my fiero is finally out of the shop. I ended up having the transmission rebuilt and a re-manufactured long block put in. The shop redeemed themselves in my eyes by giving a huge discount on labor and a few free parts. Still paid far more than I'd care to mention, but hey, I'm happy. Now it runs perfect as expected however there is still a hard start when warm. So I did a fuel pressure test when it was hot by cycling the fuel pump, then watched the pressure. Starting from about 43 psi, it dropped to about 30 psi within 5 minutes. I suspect I have leaky injector(s), since they were not replaced when the new engine was put in.
My only question is if an injector is leaking fuel into the engine, is this a problem with the injector itself or can a new seal or something fix it? If it is the injectors, is it better to get new ones or have the old ones serviced?
...had a re-manufactured long block put in... paid far more than I'd care to mention.
Now it runs perfect as expected, however there is still a hard start when warm.
Well, that sucks. The shop never noticed?
quote
Originally posted by SCRebeck:
Starting from about 43 psi, it dropped to about 30 psi within 5 minutes. I suspect I have leaky injector(s), since they were not replaced when the new engine was put in.
How much does the pressure drop after one minute? If it doesn't drop much (or any), and your engine is still difficult to start one minute after you turn it off, then I'd suspect other issues... probably ignition.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 10-23-2016).]
Originally posted by SCRebeck: My only question is if an injector is leaking fuel into the engine, is this a problem with the injector itself or can a new seal or something fix it? If it is the injectors, is it better to get new ones or have the old ones serviced?
Most likely it's dirt in the injector. You can add injector cleaner to your fuel..(may take a few tanks to fix it) or you can take it to a shop for a more robust cleaning. You can also take the injectors out and send them to a cleaning service where they will confirm proper flow. In nearly all cases, new injectors are not necessary.
If your pressure drops like you are descrbing it is likely not your injectors .It is your Fuel pressure regulator .All cars when they get older have the same problem .You can :get a new FPR but if you have a v6 big labour charges cause it is in an ackward spot IIRC . Or just remember to pause when you turn the switch to the on position so the fuel pump can build the pressure up before you crank the engine .
