I've had problems shifting, especially into 1st, 2nd, and reverse ever since I had the engine rebuilt in my 85 GT. The problem seems random; sometimes it'll shift smoothly and without a problem, others it doesn't want to go into gear and I'll have to shift back and forth to get it to go into gear. Is it difficult to adjust/replace the shift linkages? (assuming that's the problem)
[This message has been edited by Xexyz (edited 01-31-2016).]
Try Bloozberry's method he posted here. He says to use 3rd gear, but my repair manual says to use 1st. I used 1st and it is definitely better, but not perfect.
How are the motor mounts? Given that you just had a rebuild I'm curious if the motor is sitting differently. I know my 85 GT is a PITA to get into 2nd and 1st is almost impossible to find when the back of the car is loaded (reverse or on a hill) because my dogbone is pretty much shot and the motor can flex oddly. When the weight is on the nose I can pretty easily find 2nd and a 2nd-1st shift usually works.
I'm pretty sure my is a combination of needing new cables and needing to bleed the system too, but again the ability to even find 1st and 2nd varies depending on the weight load. It's really fun stuck at a light uphill
[This message has been edited by Pancake (edited 01-31-2016).]
How are the motor mounts? Given that you just had a rebuild I'm curious if the motor is sitting differently. I know my 85 GT is a PITA to get into 2nd and 1st is almost impossible to find when the back of the car is loaded (reverse or on a hill) because my dogbone is pretty much shot and the motor can flex oddly. When the weight is on the nose I can pretty easily find 2nd and a 2nd-1st shift usually works.
I'm pretty sure my is a combination of needing new cables and needing to bleed the system too, but again the ability to even find 1st and 2nd varies depending on the weight load. It's really fun stuck at a light uphill
Interesting; when I had the rebuild done I had new mounts put in since the old ones were shot. I hope that's not the reason for my problems since that sounds like a difficult problem to fix.
[This message has been edited by Xexyz (edited 01-31-2016).]
Interesting; when I had the rebuild done I had new mounts put in since the old ones were shot. I hope that's not the reason for my problems since that sounds like a difficult problem to fix.
Shouldn't be with new mounts. The only reason mine does it is the mounts are bad enough it can flex a lot. Have you checked cables like others have suggested? They're a known failure point
Ok, now I'm confused, lol. My Chilton manual said the Muncie was a 5-speed that the Fiero didn't get until '87.
The sooner you throw away your Chilton, the smarter you will be about your Fiero. That book has hundreds of errors/omissions. Haynes is slightly better, and even the official GM service manual (publisher is Helms) has a few mistakes.
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 02-01-2016).]
The sooner you throw away your Chilton, the smarter you will be about your Fiero.
Well, it does make a nice knee pad or headrest when you gotta get down and dirty to fix the car it was intended for!
How are you shifting? Are you hitting the clutch pedal fast and furious style, or are you letting your synchros do their job? My 86 GT Muncie gave me a hard time getting into gear when the shift (not select) cable started fraying. The problem wasn't much at cold startup, but when warm, the cable could flex a whole lot more. After I replaced the cable and transmission mounts, I still struggled. The issue was then, I failed to adjust the cable at the transmission even after following the correct procedure. It ended up just taking a LOT of trial and error to find that sweet spot for the cable's stud to be located in the bracket. All said and done, I've replaced both cables with Rodney Dickman's replacements (awesome quality), replaced the bracket the cables attach to (broke the original trying to install Rodney's brass bushings, agh!!), fluid change with synchromesh, and have yet to install the shifter rebuild kit. So, with the prospect of new motor and tranny mounts, you might have a similar course of action to take. I do not recommend the brass bushings unless it's a last resort. That bracket is uber hard to find if you break it!
It is a Muncie.
