Well, I finally got the car from my old home back yard to my new to me shop. It took all we had for my Dad and I to push it off the trailer into the shop cause the front brakes were seized and I had to beat the calipers off the rotors. Wow, that was fun. Here are the pics from it's original form. No brake fluid in the rear section of the brake resivoir... Telling me there is a leak I should be looking for. The extra brake fluid bottles gave it away as well The #1 spark plug was broken off. This might have been why it stopped running for the previous owner, who knows http://img.photobucket.com/...iero/Brokenplug1.jpg The center Console had some heat issues. Gonna have to fix this http://img.photobucket.com/...nsolecompartment.jpg Dash Center Dash Driverside door, pretty clean as the passenger side is as well Drivers seat as it came to me Engine from afar looks decent and complete http://img.photobucket.com/...%20Fiero/Engine2.jpg This is the headlight wire harness. This red wire was sticking out and chaulky for some reason. I haven't touched it, it looked like this. But the headlights work after helping them up. http://img.photobucket.com/...ightFusableLink1.jpg Headliner is trash Interior looks decent Original miles of 113k The ol' girl sitting in the shop http://img.photobucket.com/...c%20Fiero/OlGirl.jpg Passenger seat Center shifter
Sorry about some of these pics being HUGE. I have resized them down but can't seem to fix all of them, Hopefully you can still see them. I will take smaller versions the rest of the way through the rebuild
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
Then I started looking into the engine to see what might be the problem. Oh did I find problems. i already knew that #1 plug had rusted off, then after pulling the plug wires off I found that #4 was broken off as well. http://img.photobucket.com/...iero/Brokenplug1.jpg The spark plug area was covered in Acorn mess and grease etc.... Had to dig it all out with a small screw driver, then vacuum and then lubricate with some PB blaster.
I found these two plugs just sitting there with no where to plug into You can barely make this one out in the pic. It is a single pin plug, looks like a temperature sensor plug or something, but no where for either to plug into Then I removed the air filter and found this open hard vacuum line.
Then went up into the front trunk and found this disconnected from itself. Looks like a vacuum check valve or something
When removing the air filter, I found this blue sensor melted in the air cleaner The plugs and around them were covered in acorn debre'
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
Took the trunk off to get into the engine compartment better and then removed the luggage rack. Then I moved onto the front brakes that were siezed up since we bought the car. They were bascially rusted together. The car would BARELY roll even under the force of a come along and then trying to get it off the trailer was rediculous and funny at the same time. Here you can see after I removed the rotor, caliper, and sheild that both my Tie Rod ends are trashed. No wonder the alignment is SO off I can see it by eye. http://img.photobucket.com/...20Fiero/Spindle3.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/...20Fiero/Spindle2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/...20Fiero/Spindle1.jpg Before the brakes were removed After the brakes have been removed and also how it sits at the moment until I can get the Grand Am rotors to have them fitted up
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
Then I moved onto the interior where there was a lot of heat exposure to the vinyl that needed to be addressed. I removed the center console and the passenger seat so far. I have started and almost completed re-attaching the vinyl to the plastic around the console and it's pieces. I duct taped up the hole in the seat to keep it from getting worse. I'm not a fan of Duct tape but it works in this case until I can get covers Here is the door jam I cleaned up Here is the what it looked like before I cleaned it up
The interior before I took it apart As you can see here, the PO had super glued some crap speakers onto the top of the radio/AC controls that were rediculous I took it all apart and started cleaning with Purple Magic and paper towels. It was a hot mess and NASTY under all that plastic Did some skeliton repairs Ended up cracking the center console door This hidious speaker install Center console cleaned up
I am starting to get to the end of the glueing and clamping of the interior. It is turning out a lot better than I thought it would.
I don't remember where I saw the idea to use Gorilla Glue and those Office Style paper clamps but whom ever thought of it was a genious and I don't wanna take their credit for that. It's really doing well to bring all that vinyl back into place, with maybe the exception of the Console door that is giving me a head ache pulling that vinyl around again.
I also need to find out where to find the door glass seal. Both mine are trashed
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
I also found out why it wouldn't turn over the engine at all with a battery in it. Come to find out, since the PO had stripped off the battery terminals I cound't tell that there was a main 12v+ connection as well as a secondary wire that should have been plugged up for the ignition. After messing around and looking around in the motor compartment I foun this loose wire from the power distribution box and connected it to 12v+ and everything came alive
After I connected it, I could turn it over. After I used the EZ out to remove the broken spark plugs from the head, i scrounged up 4 plugs to see if I could get her to run. Well with the ignition on the fuel pump wouldn't either pump fuel or there is no fuel in it. Either way i pour a little gas in the Throttle body and got it to run roughly for a New York minute. So I know if I can get fuel to her, she will fire.
I also found during all this, that the throttle body butterfly was stuck shut. I mean you could not move it at all, so I sprayed some PB Blaster on it and tapped it with a Screw driver and hammer and it broke loose and with the PB Blaster, worked itself back to normal function. Gas pedal will open and close the throttle body now. I tell you, this car is in good shape to some aspects and BAD shape in others. But I love cleaning it up and gettin' it going. My wife is being VERY cool about me working on the car. I think it has something to do with my recent surgery. She wants me to have my fun now. :-) Gotta love her for that one.
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
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08:34 AM
Gall757 Member
Posts: 10938 From: Holland, MI Registered: Jun 2010
Now that is a TON of pictures! You may want to go back and reduce the size of those big ones in the beginning as they are pretty much impossible to see on a laptop screen...
The 'Genious' you refer to is none other than Hulki-U I believe....although he may have seen the repair technique somewhere else, I dunno.
Yea, i am still modifying the Large pics to try to get them down to size. Some of them I have removed because they won't go down. But I think I fixed them all now.
Edit: Oh it was 62 pictures total that i had taken in the past two days. :-) I love having a camera on my phone for these instances. I love taking pictures of what I'm working on for you guys to essentially be right there with me. I love this stuff. LOL!
[This message has been edited by jwrape (edited 04-19-2011).]
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08:46 AM
Gall757 Member
Posts: 10938 From: Holland, MI Registered: Jun 2010
They are still too big. Why don't you trash the big ones? You will lose a lot of viewers because they don't have the time to wade through all these shots.....and you could get the message across with about 10 good ones.
Then finally, I started looking at the Front hood latch. It is broken but I can't seem to figure out how it's broken by looking at it. It looks to have two cables coming into it for both latches on the hood, BUT only one goes into the release latch and the other is just hanging down but they are only connected to each other by the cable sleave they travel through. I don't see where the secondary cable is supposed to connect to the release latch. I need help on this thing. How it looked when i got it.
They are still too big. Why don't you trash the big ones? You will lose a lot of viewers because they don't have the time to wade through all these shots.....and you could get the message across with about 10 good ones.
Ok, I think I got all the HUGE pics gone. I've been working on this for an hour now. LOL! For some reason, the same camera takes different size pics and reducing them isn't always possible. I'm better with cars than computers. :-) Hopefully you guys can see them all now. I did change a few of the spindle pics to URL's instead so you can still go see them if you want. :-) Sorry about the trouble, all forums are different and a lot of my other forums automatically size the photo's for me. I think I got the hand of it now.
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09:06 AM
Robert 2 Member
Posts: 2401 From: St Hubert Quebec Canada Registered: Jan 2006
Oh another cool thing I realized while hanging over the engine pulling rusty plugs out: The motor is a Goodwrench Remanufactured motor, meaning the engine must not have 113k on it after all. Who knows how much mileage on the motor, but I was happy with 113k miles, less is even better.
Wow, whoever did the wiring on that car, especially the stereo, should be shot. I'd start with fixing all the wiring (especially replacing the positive and negative battery cables), then the brakes, get it running, etc.
Rear section of the brake resevoir = rear brakes, probably a rusted out front to rear line, or leaking rear calipers. Replacing the master cylinder would be a good idea since it's probably original.
Those spark plugs look like the originals?
The driver's seat is out of an 84 SE, you can get a skin or a whole seat to replace it and match the other one.
Car appears to be an 85 sport coupe, what's the 5th character in the VIN number? I'm guessing M
The sensors around the thermostat housing are the fan switch the coolant temp sensor, and the gauge sensor. I'd replace all three just for peace of mind.
Redo all the wiring for them where the blue butt connectors have been used, preferably soldered and heat shrinked.
The clamp and radiator hose at the thermostat housing are original.
Replace the plastic vacuum lines and rubber connectors with rubber vacuum hose, the diagram for what goes where should be on the underside of the decklid.
The blue sensor in the air cleaner controls the thermac door in the air cleaner
The hood release, the one cable hanging out by itself is the emergency release. it's supposed to just be loose there.
[This message has been edited by RWDPLZ (edited 04-19-2011).]
Wow, whoever did the wiring on that car, especially the stereo, should be shot. I'd start with fixing all the wiring (especially replacing the positive and negative battery cables), then the brakes, get it running, etc.
Rear section of the brake resevoir = rear brakes, probably a rusted out front to rear line, or leaking rear calipers. Replacing the master cylinder would be a good idea since it's probably original.
Those spark plugs look like the originals?
The driver's seat is out of an 84 SE, you can get a skin or a whole seat to replace it and match the other one.
Car appears to be an 85 sport coupe, what's the 5th character in the VIN number? I'm guessing M
The sensors around the thermostat housing are the fan switch the coolant temp sensor, and the gauge sensor. I'd replace all three just for peace of mind.
Redo all the wiring for them where the blue butt connectors have been used, preferably soldered and heat shrinked.
The clamp and radiator hose at the thermostat housing are original.
Replace the plastic vacuum lines and rubber connectors with rubber vacuum hose, the diagram for what goes where should be on the underside of the decklid.
The blue sensor in the air cleaner controls the thermac door in the air cleaner
The hood release, the one cable hanging out by itself is the emergency release. it's supposed to just be loose there.
The Stereo was a plug in Harness. i have already removed it, just after that pics was taken. :-) The rear brakes are leaky cailpers, gonna convert to Grand Am next after the fronts are done. Had to do the fronts first cause the car won't roll. I thought the Spark plug were original as well, but the motor is a remanufactured Goodwrench, so there is no tell how old the motor is. Car is a 86' Sport Coupe per the Title, Not sure about the 5th character. I know one of the important characters is a R. I don't understand the VIN deciferer I was going to replace all the sensors before driving anyways due to the over heating problems they were known for and I want to prevent of course. Hoses, sensors, thermostat, etc... Definately soldier and shrink wrap all my wiring. I went to college for electronics and hate a shotty job on wiring. It drives me nuts to see someone wire something half way, knowing it will catch fire. That Thermic door in the air cleaner need to be replaced I assume. What does it do? The brake release latch must only be broken at the cable then, Good to know that is emergeny release only. I can fix that easy enough.
Oh another cool thing I realized while hanging over the engine pulling rusty plugs out: The motor is a Goodwrench Remanufactured motor, meaning the engine must not have 113k on it after all. Who knows how much mileage on the motor, but I was happy with 113k miles, less is even better.
I've seen stickers like that on recall motors, some Fieros got new engines when the fire recall was performed.
Well that's cool so I guess i could assume the motor MAY have around 60k-80k instead of the 113k reported on the odometer. That's cool with me. I need to do a compression test. Maybe sometime this week I'll do that.
Seems to me, everytime I delete a oversize picture another one blows up. I hope I got them all. I know what to do next time. These pics are rediculous. I am just trying to bring you guys in on the fun. LOL!
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10:16 AM
Isolde Member
Posts: 2504 From: North Logan, Utah, USA Registered: May 2008
If a plug broke, possibly due to rust, when the engine was running, then you may not have 4 complete pistons in there. If you didn't get all of every plug, then the head needs to come off.
If a plug broke, possibly due to rust, when the engine was running, then you may not have 4 complete pistons in there. If you didn't get all of every plug, then the head needs to come off.
I vacuumed the cylinders and the only thing that went down in there was POSSIBLY the diode of the plug. No metal. I am hoping there is nothing harmful in there. Yet another reason for a Compression test.. I didn't hear anything wrong when I started the engine. I know I was taking somewhat of a risk in doing what I did but it's $400 that I have in it right now so I'm not risking much and if the motor fails then I will do a swap before I dig into that motor.
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10:29 AM
Isolde Member
Posts: 2504 From: North Logan, Utah, USA Registered: May 2008
I had an engine I bought used. Paid $500 for it. It arrived with a small hex nut in one cylinder. But I didn't find out until I started it. I pulled the head, and the piston was very mangled. But I put it together with new gaskets, and got lucky. It ran fine. That nut was awfully small. Had it been any bigger, I would have needed a piston and a lawyer.
I had an engine I bought used. Paid $500 for it. It arrived with a small hex nut in one cylinder. But I didn't find out until I started it. I pulled the head, and the piston was very mangled. But I put it together with new gaskets, and got lucky. It ran fine. That nut was awfully small. Had it been any bigger, I would have needed a piston and a lawyer.
Yea, I understand. Like I said I am taking a risk, but I really don't think there is anything in the cylinder that will hurt it. All the metal came out with the Ez out. The only thing that could be in there is a little bit of Porcelin from the old plugs and that will break up, although I vacuumed it out as a precaution. I'm not overly worried. Like I said $400 is not worth pulling that head to me. It's just a project, not a daily driver so I can afford to risk it. I DO appreciate the concern though.
------------------ 86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, bought for electric conversion. Currently just fixing all the old stuff
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10:41 AM
Robert 2 Member
Posts: 2401 From: St Hubert Quebec Canada Registered: Jan 2006
I've made up my general parts list to get ol' girl up and running. After she's up and running I will replace sensors and hoses, just wanna get it running smooth and of course get is rolling down the neighborhood road.
Front inner and outer hub bearings Front Bearing Seals Distributor Cap and Rotor Button Spark plug wires and Plugs both tie rod ends for front end (they are thrashed) Grand Am Brake Rotors and Calipers with pads (Original Rotors Milled down to fit inside New Rotors) Fuel Filter Fuel Pump Fuel Pump strainer Throttle Body rebuild kit Fuel pump tank line (I've read I should replace this but haven't seen where to get one or what it looks like) Battery
That should get me started. Advance Autoparts is the cheapest I've found so far over all. About $462 total. BUT they don't stock it or can't order some of the stuff so I don't know why they list it for sale. Strange.
------------------ 86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, bought for electric conversion. Currently just fixing all the old stuff
Ok I just ordered the rotors, the plug wires, and the plugs. Should get me moving in the right direction.
I can get the machinist working on the rotors benig milled down and I can do a tune up after going to my local Advanced Auto Parts for the Rotor button and distributor cap.
I'm thinking either the timing is off or it's not firing on all cylinders. Either way I'm sure there is something weird about the ignition system on it considering it looks like the original wires, cap and rotor and those crazy rusted out plugs.
------------------ 86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, bought for electric conversion. Currently just fixing all the old stuff
There is a free image program out there that I use and recommend. It is easy to use and you can resize picture, reduce number of colors to 256, etc to reduce photo image sizes. Here is the link:
There is a free image program out there that I use and recommend. It is easy to use and you can resize picture, reduce number of colors to 256, etc to reduce photo image sizes. Here is the link:
I just downloaded something called PIP that auto reduces them for me. I should do better next time. Like I said before my other forums reduced them down. I new to the Picture Posting after reducing. :-) I'm getting better at it.
Did you get the TBI kit yet? Auto Zone had the best price by far last time I looked.
You should also rebuild the distributor (take out, clean up, replace pickup coil and o-ring, new thermal compound on ignition module). Buddycraigg did a video on the V6 distributor, almost the exact same process for the 4 cylinder
Haven't gotten any of the TBI rebuild kit yet. I'll have to get up some more money. Just spent my couple hundred so far. i need another couple hundred to spend. :-)
------------------ 86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, bought for electric conversion. Currently just fixing all the old stuff
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10:48 AM
americasfuture2k Member
Posts: 7131 From: Edmond, Oklahoma Registered: Jan 2006
