So I replaced brake pads and rotors and one caliper (bleeder broke off) and like so many others bled the MC, and each brake per normal instructions but was not able to get all the air out. I did not wrap something around the bleeder threads so that might have been the problem. Any way they were still a little spongy, not bad but not right. tried it a couple times doing it with two people and with a mityvac but no improvement so I tried a little trick we do on motorcycles that are stubborn and it has made a world of difference in the feel. I didn't find this on any threads here dealing with bleeding although I'm sure it's somewhere. Jammed a board down on the brake pedal and fixed it so it stayed depressed and left it overnight. instead of air coming out the bleeder the normal way, by doing it this way it goes the other direction and bubbles out into the MC. I now have a pedal that feels like I just replaced the brakes, nice and firm. Still the same old crappy Fiero stock brakes but now they don't feel spongy.

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1986 Fiero GT Fastback
1979 Naked Honda Goldwing

Did you START at left rear? Fiero is different than most other cars. Rear brake line goes back on the right side of the car which makes the left rear furthest from the master cyl.?

ya bleed from the furthest to the closest. drivers rear, passenger rear, passenger front, driver front. thats the way i do it but im gonna try what you said and jam a board in there over night. im gonna have to bleed my 4.9 lines soon here.

[This message has been edited by Niterrorz (edited 06-12-2012).]

yup tried it that way, but couldn't get it to stop blowing bubbles. One good thing was I pretty much drew all the old brake fluid out which needed to be replaced anyway.

You need to get that bleeder replaced, or replace the caliper so you can bleed the system properly. When you do, use anti-seize on the bleeders and lines to prevent it from rusting up next time. I have started using corrosion resistant brake line, very nice stuff! Easy to bend and double flare.

MC why? Can't bleed that w/o problems on the car.
See my cave, brake service in brake section.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

I did replace the caliper with the bleeder that broke off. I can loosen all four bleeders. followed order of bleeding in the ogre's cave but kept getting air bubbles. next time tires are off I'll go back and put on anti-seize, you are correct not interested in breaking off another tip and then breaking off an EZ out trying to get the bleeder out. The pedal feels good, but I can see why people switch parts, the brakes feel like they are working correct but they don't exactly stop on a dime. Probably should have gotten better pads, mine were pretty cheap. Maybe something I'll change later. still other things to fix. distributor o-ring is next.

The o-ring is easy, it is a rubber band, stretch it round the distributor (JUST KIDDING!)

Sorry, didn't catch about the changed caliper.
Are you suing any sort of hose on your bleeders?
I have a one person bleeder kit I use on all my vehicles, including the hydraulic clutch. Basically, it is a clear tube that is a tight fit in the bleeder nipple and long enough to go into a catch can for the old fluid. I use it for bleeding and flushing the systems, and in fact, I did the clutch the other day, it took 3/4 of a new large bottle of dot 3 to flush the clutch.
It helps using clear tube, so you can see any air/water in the system, and to tell when the fluid is running clear.

I tried using a mityvac the last time. clear tube so I could see the air bubbles.

I used speed bleeders on all four calipers for my last brake job. Worked really well. Very fast, easy, and no mess. One person brake bleeding.
There is a website that explains how they work, http://www.speedbleeder.com/
I bought mine at autozone. They are in the help section with the Dorman brake items. Thread size 10 x 1.5 for fieros. $10 for a 2 pack, well worth it.

I just left my car overnight with a cinderblock holding the brake pedal , but forgot to remove the fuse for the light. So just had to jump to test them. So far seems like it make a world of difference. I am unsure how the pedal specifically feels in the fiero when running. But it doesnt feel bad and it actually returns up without lag it seems. I'll know further when I finish things up and take the car down the road after making sure a rolling test is in order.

Thanks for mentioning the pedal overnight trick , I was suspecting a huge pocket but wasnt exactly sure what was going on was going to buy a might vac and then see if could fix the issue or master cylinder was acting up. Because I would have a spongyish pedal or normal pedal on the first engine off press of the day , and stiffen up or stay stiff rest of pumps , but when car is started it would go flat and kind of lag on the pedal return. I would bleed and have no real luck with the rear left caliper no air just fluid no matter how long I would bleed while the others would be pretty much fine.

I bled the master cylinder before these issues too , so again THANK YOU. Saved me money , time , and taught me something really useful. Of course I still have to finish up the rest of things as I mentioned but seems like it solved my problem.