Pontiac dealer lifted it by the rocker panels/water rails, partially collapsing them, coupled with climbing a mountain in 3rd gear. It has been operating without any problems during normal driving, even in our temps. I found a loose terminal on the relay. New Rock Auto clearance motor arrives tomorrow. Guess it goes on the shelf until it's needed in one of the other cars.
Less than a half miles into the first hard curves, running at the posted speed limit of 45mph, the rear was extremely unstable. Rear tires screaming. Then at about a mile it started to overheat. ... The car setup isn't suitable for much more than the speed limit in any curve, and maybe not even that in some of the sharper ones.
As far as I'm aware, the rad fan is only required if you're sitting still in traffic. Once you're actually moving (forward), the fan is redundant and unnecessary. I suspect there's something not quite right with the cooling system.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-29-2016).]
Quite possible. Not in the discressionary income budget at the moment. My truck suffered a blown head gasket. The engine has to be pulled to set the timing on the chain on the rear of the engine. One chain on the front, one on the back between the trans and engine.
Picked up a radiator cooling fan motor on clearance at Rock Auto for $18 then found that the problem was a loose connection at the fan relay. Also searched the major auto parts stores for rubber end link bushings but everything is poly. So, back to Rock Auto and found a complete end link with rubber bushings for $3.95. Bought a couple of those, too.
Removed all the poly on the rear sway bar, installed factory rubber sway bar bushings and the rubber bushings from the Rock Auto end link kit. Still no difference in the handling in curves. Next step is to start looking through the front end to see if something is amiss. I believe everything in the rear is as good as it can be since I know all the bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends and struts are new.
Due to the weather and some family health issues, I've been away from the car other than just a few hours a week. Finally got a chance to take it to an alignment shop. They told me the new tie rod ends were worn out, the new Dickman ball joints were worn out, the inner tie rod ends were worn out, and the low mileage front wheel bearings needed to be replaced, so they wouldn't align it.
Brought it back home and tightened the wheel bearings, and took it back, today. Now, the upper inner control arm bolt and bushings need to be replaced, and the upper slotted Dickman ball joints need to be rotated 180 degrees. That will cost another $65/hr in addition to the $80 alignment. All Tire and Brake, Dacula, Ga. I don't know if they're nationwide or just local, but I won't be returning.
I left and went up to a Firestone store. No qualms. No problems. No upcharge. Car drives fine, and handles the turns much better, but still a little oversteer.
Thanks to all of you for your input and helping me to solve these problems. Now I feel comfortable driving it in this year's Run For The Hills and I can loan the other two out to others who don't have Fieros ready for the run.
Finally got a chance to take it to an alignment shop. They told me the new tie rod ends were worn out, the new Dickman ball joints were worn out, the inner tie rod ends were worn out, and the low mileage front wheel bearings needed to be replaced, so they wouldn't align it.
Brought it back home and tightened the wheel bearings, and took it back, today. Now, the upper inner control arm bolt and bushings need to be replaced, and the upper slotted Dickman ball joints need to be rotated 180 degrees.
Man oh man, I hear stories like this and I just can't take my Fiero(s) to an alignment shop... even though a proper alignment would no doubt be beneficial.
I left and went up to a Firestone store. No qualms. No problems. No upcharge. Car drives fine, and handles the turns much better, but still a little oversteer.
.
It really is night and day sometimes between shops.
Yeah, the only difference in the car from All Tire and Firestone was about 4 miles more on the odometer. It does pull a little to the right when first applying the brakes, but I know that the left front sliders need to be cleaned and lubed. A check of the two front disks using an IR thermometer only showed 7 degrees difference in their temperature.
With the rear sway bar added, the whole car had a very stiff ride, front and rear. Now, it doesn't ride like it's lowered. Still a little stiff, but much smoother going down the highway.
It does pull a little to the right when first applying the brakes, but I know that the left front sliders need to be cleaned and lubed. A check of the two front disks using an IR thermometer only showed 7 degrees difference in their temperature.
Could be the rear driver side caliper acting slow or not working as well. I had a car I bought and noticed a right pull when braking, the drivers rear was dragging, and had been so long the pad looked like char coal, it was ineffective but still got the rotor and wheel very hot, the caliper was seized.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 08-23-2016).]
Fresh calipers with about 20 miles on both rears. New brake cables, too. I know the sliders on the left front are tight. Found that when adjusting the bearings.
In the past couple of weeks, I've been driving the 86 to get a bite to eat or the grocery store or church. I've been noticing a rattle at the right passenger side. That rattle has been there for a while. Just how long, I don't remember. I always thought it was the vent grill because it doesn't sit tightly on the pin that's located on the side of the decklid. To replace the grill after removing it, as I just did to replace the battery, takes some maneuvering to get the tab on the outboard rear side to fit into the slot in the body. Even after in position, the grill must be pressed down in order to get the hold-down bolts to engage the U-nuts.
This afternoon, I wondered if it was actually the grill or something in the suspension that I was hearing as I recently had occasion to drive across a small area of a dirt driveway. Creep along in first gear. The rattle was very pronounced. The speed or severity of the surface wasn't enough to make the grill rattle. So, when I came home from Church this afternoon, I decided to check the top end of the strut tower.
There are 3 studs in the top of the tower, plus the top of the strut itself. All have nuts that help to hold the strut in place.
I discovered that the 3 nuts that hold the studs were terribly loose. One of them so loose that it had actually done some minor damage to its contact area, due to apparent movement.
After tightening these 3 nuts, I replaced the vent grill and took the car for a drive. No more rattle. Feeling that I might have found the cause of the poor handling, I cautiously took a couple of sharp curves at the posted speed limit of 45 mph. There was no tendency to oversteer on a right-hand curve. But the left-hand curves were the ones that were the most problems, so I came back through the same curves at 45 mph. Still no tendency to oversteer. Previously, I couldn't take these curves at the posted speed limit without some pucker factor thrown in.
This may not be the total fix, but I suspect that the top end of the strut was never fully tightened for whatever reason. As I get a little bolder, I'll increase my speed a little at a time to see if the handling is improved through a range of speeds.
thanks for the update! i am thinking about adding a rear sway bar to my 84 build. does anyone that has used the sway bar that the fiero store sells for the rear have any feedback on it? it looks easy to install.
I've been noticing a rattle at the right passenger side. That rattle has been there for a while. Just how long, I don't remember. I always thought it was the vent grill because it doesn't sit tightly on the pin that's located on the side of the decklid.
Charlie, couldn't you have just temporarily removed the grill a long time ago to see if the rattling would stop?
I could have but I was more focused on the lower suspension and the rattle up top was just a rattle to me. Recently it has become more pronounced. I know everything below has been replaced. Aerodonamic was the one that did all the install. I don't fault him at all. He was very ill and this was the last car he worked on. It's possible he had to take a day or two break from the car and forgot where he left off. At the time I didn't know just how sick he was nor what degree of help he was getting from his son.
This may not be the total solution, but it surely made an improvement.
vette7584, just adding a rear bat to otherwise stock suspension may upset the apple cart. Most kits include a front bar that's larger than the bar to be installed on the rear.
But to answer your question, The Fiero Store bar attaches to stock holes in the rear control arm and seems to be pretty easy to install to the cradle. It uses different end links than a stock sway bar. Patrick provides a pic of that on Page 1.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 09-30-2018).]
Today I took the car to Georgia Fieros member MikeMac who owns Northlake Automotive on Lavista Road in Tucker, Ga.
Had an alignment done on the 86SE. This is the 3rd alignment it's had since I've had the car. The first time a local shop aligned it, I seem to remember that there was only one area that was in the green. The rear end was still loose.
The second shop that put it on the rack told me that all the ball joints and tie rods that had about a couple hundred miles on them had to be replaced. And here, I thought Rodney made the best parts. Needless to say, I didn't trust their diagnostics and was suspicious of their abilities.
I left that shop and drove directly up to Firestone. Though they had a lot of red showing in the specs, at least the car would track straight on a good road. The steering wheel was a little off center and you know what kind of handling I was getting, but it was an improvement over the first alignment it got.
Today, I visited Northlake Automotive. The tech put it on the rack and he and Michael delved into it. They found that it needs the upper inner arm bolt and shims replaced in order to bring the front camber into good numbers, and maybe rotate the front Rodney Dickman ball joints.
The rear originally was showing the right rear camber to be within range. On the front, only the left front camber was within range. When I left, Only the left front caster and the right front camber and caster are out of range. Everything else, front and rear is within range.
During my test drive around the area of Northlake, I noticed that the car still tracked well. The steering didn't feel as loose. The rear felt solidly planted to the pavement as I whipped it side to side. When coming out of a side street at a traffic light, I gave it a good whip to the left as I rounded the corner. No tendency to come around. It's not 100% but now I feel the car is safe enough that someone else can drive it under normal conditions.
On my way home, I gave it a little tryout on some of the local roads. I'm happy to say that I think I just might take it on a Rerun For The Hills, should we get enough persons interested.
The reason for the front not being fully within specs is because it needs the upper inner arm bolt and bushings replaced, and possibly Rodney's ball joint rotated 180*. That will be for a time when I have more money.
BTW, I do not have any financial interest in Northlake Automotive.
Thank you, Mike and your alignment tech. Sorry, my invoice doesn't show his name.
Unless you are really good at performing alignments with string and camber plates, nothing beats a quality alignment by a trustworthy shop. Unfortunately, the few bad shops give the rest of us a bad reputation... and a lot of tech's will tend to recommend things without looking, based on age of vehicle.
That said, my newtome 86 has a rear strut tower bar and could use a rear sway bar and upgraded front. Is the Fierostore the only source for sway bars these days?
------------------ hoop SCCA STL Integra '17 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk '13 Xc 60 T6awd 3 1st Gen Crx in Various states of Decay or Repair (for sale) '86 Fiero GT
