Dear fellow Fiero enthusiasts, I am new to this incredible forum and proud to be back in a fiero again! I just picked up an 87 GT on Father's Day his year and I am in dire need of a good fiero mechanic. I am currently getting the runaround by a shade tree mechanic who seems to be messing up my dream car more than he has fixed it. I'm about at my wits end with the guy and would like to ask all on this forum for some help. I'm in Columbia, SC and would like to get in touch with a good fiero mechanic in my area. My GT is not able to get back on the road safely now due to this current so called mechanic who has touched it. So far, he has replaced my engine gaskets and repaired a leak from the distributor and did a valve job on it bc my 5th cylinder had no compression. Took him over 2 months to get to it and when I got it back, it broke down on me in the way home. Had it towed back to him and he told me it was the fuel pump and the sending unit so I told him to order the unit from the fiero store. He said he did but I never got the receipt that I asked from him. Anywho, I got the fiero back about 3 weeks ago and now the car is hesitating when you give it gas once it is driven about a mile. It seems like it wants to cut off but once off the pedal, it stays running. I'm nowhere near being a mechanic so I'm left with trusting one to work on my dream car. Please let me know if anyone on this forum can refer me to someone who knows how to work on this car and has integrity about his work. Thank you to all in advance.
I'd recommend looking up a local Fiero club if you can. You are better off finding some local Fiero fanatics who can help you iron some of the bugs. But...be aware that Fieros tend to have lots of bugs... The problems may not be related to anything your current mechanic is doing or not doing, it just sometimes takes a while to get them running nicely. Now would be a great time to start learning some basic mechanical skills. Best if you can find someone local to learn from, but if not, then at least you are now on the best Fiero resource site there is! People here can definitely help you diagnose and repair most things that come up.
Not saying that I'm all experienced and all but I'd might look into your catalytic converter... I experienced the same sort of issue with my Fiero once.. It was weird.. When they get clogged... And then you give it gas it's as if you have a governor set.. Boggs!... Then when off the pedal it runs okay.. But eventually it got worst..
[This message has been edited by unboundmo (edited 11-16-2016).]
Thanks unboundmo, I still believe that it was something done by this shady mechanic who was so sure of himself and his work. He even bent my rocker panels jacking the car up, even after i asked him if he knew how to lift the car. He assured me that he knew what he was doing and now i have my rear rockers and wheel well bent in a little. The rear quarter panel on the pass side is slightly bowed out a little as well. Its been over 2 weeks now and he hasn't made an attempt to come out to see what the problem is, even though he said he would. I've been waiting for him and he doesn't have the decency to call or text me to let me know that he cant make it. I'm just wasting my time and probably putting my fiero in jeopardy letting touch my car again. Anywho, I'm trying to find another mechanic locally for some help. I've also got to get my car to a body shop to get an estimate on the body repairs. He wants me to take it his friend's body shop to have it looked at but I'm hesitant about it, plus I can't even drive the car that far without having it possibly leaving me stranded on the side of the road. I think I may have to go to the magistrate on the body issue and take my loss on the crappy engine work done on my car. Thanks for the help though. And if is my catalytic converter, I will do the replacement myself this time.
I'm hearing Irrationable up in Raleigh is pretty good and I know f85gtron in Augusta is good. Contact them. I don't know if they'd want to take on your project, but it's worth a try to get it done right. hnthomps also lives in the Columbia area. He might be abl to guide you to someone. All are members of Pennocks. Search for them, just as I've spelled their usernames. Usernames on PFF are upper/lower case specific.
Thanks unboundmo, I still believe that it was something done by this shady mechanic who was so sure of himself and his work. He even bent my rocker panels jacking the car up, even after i asked him if he knew how to lift the car. He assured me that he knew what he was doing and now i have my rear rockers and wheel well bent in a little. The rear quarter panel on the pass side is slightly bowed out a little as well. Its been over 2 weeks now and he hasn't made an attempt to come out to see what the problem is, even though he said he would. I've been waiting for him and he doesn't have the decency to call or text me to let me know that he cant make it. I'm just wasting my time and probably putting my fiero in jeopardy letting touch my car again. Anywho, I'm trying to find another mechanic locally for some help. I've also got to get my car to a body shop to get an estimate on the body repairs. He wants me to take it his friend's body shop to have it looked at but I'm hesitant about it, plus I can't even drive the car that far without having it possibly leaving me stranded on the side of the road. I think I may have to go to the magistrate on the body issue and take my loss on the crappy engine work done on my car. Thanks for the help though. And if is my catalytic converter, I will do the replacement myself this time.
Check to see if the coolant pipe under the car is crushed where he bent the rocker panel. Sounds like he doesn't know what the heck he's doing - on ANY car, not just Fieros. The Fiero engine is the same as any 2.8 V6 of that era from a maintenance standpoint. There's nothing that should pose a problem to a competent mechanic.
Thanks formula88, this is a shade tree mechanic for sure. I just went to a reputable body shop near my house to see if they could come by to give me an estimate but they told me they couldn't bc the car was too old for their system plus if it involved the rocker panels, the system would just scrap the car. I don't want this guy to touch my car again nor do I want to take it to his buddy's body shop for repairs. I'm at my wits-end on this matter. I've only put a little over 200 miles on the car since Father's Day of this year and the rest of the time, it's been at his shop- twice. I think I may have to take a lost on this mechanic and maybe try to get a judgement on him but it may be difficult since he will probably say that he was willing to do the repairs. If anyone has had this type of a problem, please feel free to chime in no matter the opinions. Thank you for all of your help. This is indeed the best forum anywhere.
Btw, I see that the pipes have jack marks on them so I guess they realized they had it on the wrong place so they moved it under the rocker panel. Crappy, shade tree mechanic work. You gotta love that.
NOT just shade tree mechanics. I have an 86SE with cracked rocker panels, a crushed coolant tube, and 4 places in the pan where it's been lifted incorrectly. At least part of the damage was done at a Pontiac dealership. I've gotten to the point that I print out the Fiero lifting points diagram and leave it lying in plain view at the shifter.
Thanks fierofool, I just emailed a member on the list and he sent me info and contact number for a mechanic in Windsor, SC. Its about 1&a half hours away from me and not that far from Augusta too. The problen is, I may have to tow my car there bc it is not road worthy now bc of the crappy job this mechanic did. My car is hesitating when accelerating and wants to stall. This is after the mechanic put in a new pump and fuel sending unit. I don't even think he got the right parts for my car but he says he did. Anywho, I've been waiting for this joker to call me back and come look at my car since I can't really drive it anywhere. I am thinking about taking him to court but I am not sure if it'll make a difference since the law is always on the side of the crooks. I don't know what I should do at the moment though. Thank you for your help and I'll be getting in touch with the members whom you have referred me to.
Btw, fierofool, how did you handle your damage to your car? Did you just let it go or did you go after the people responsible? And how much does it cost to fix the damage? Thanks in advance for any info.
I'm betting MAF sensor. My 3800SC behaved the same way when I didn't have the intake hooked up (just open throttle body). I realize it's a different engine, but the behavior is identical to what you're describing. Clogged catalytic converter would be my #2 guess, but seeing how the MAF as much faster and easier to replace, that's where I would start.
In the long run, if you're going to own a Fiero you MUST, absolutely MUST become your own mechanic. You can not rely on others to maintain this car. It will bankrupt you, and the car STILL won't run right.
Stock fieros rely on MAP sensor instead of MAF, but yes, could be that, could be tps sensor, could be that this awesome mechanic installed a fuel pump for a 2.5 instead of 2.8 and there's not enough fuel pressure.....that's why it falls flat on its face. Check fuel pressure first. Edit to add: I wonder if he got the fuel return and pressure lines mixed up at the back of the tank? Would it even run that way?
[This message has been edited by f85gtron (edited 11-22-2016).]
Btw, fierofool, how did you handle your damage to your car? Did you just let it go or did you go after the people responsible? And how much does it cost to fix the damage? Thanks in advance for any info.
The rockers were cracked on both sides when I got the car. It happened with the previous owner. More recently, like about 2 years ago, one of our club members had the car to replace the rear struts. On the way back from the parts store, something broke, sending him off the roadway and ripping one of the rockers off the car. I had a set in stock and had the right one painted to match the car and installed it, myself. I think it cost about $300 for a friend of Raydar's to prep, prime and paint the piece to match the body. Email imthadriver at yahoo dot com Paul has a paint and body shop in the Commerce, Ga. area. He may have the rockers you need and can even paint them for you. If you also need coolant tubes, he may have them, too.
The left one only has a slightly visible crack in it, so I'm not concerned about it at the moment.
