Door Overhaul Suggestions? (Page 1/1)
WaterInYuhDish APR 12, 09:46 PM
Last October I bought my first Fiero. An 87 GT. As far as I can tell, it spent most of it's life indoors and out of the elements. Unfortunately, this past winter I didn't have a covered spot as I planned, so it went through some snow and rain (SLC area Utah). This past week, what happened in the twinkling of an eye, is the windows have gained the sweet modification of vertical scratches! The driver's side has several on the outside, down almost the entire window (front to back). While the passenger side only shows one and it actually looks like an interior scratch... it's hard to tell because it's small and I can't feel it on either side.

Anyway, I figured replacing the dew wipes would be the best course of action given the other posts I've read on this issue. Mine aren't the worst but there are several cracks along both outers. I know the felt guides are also suspect to scratching the windows, but replacements for those seem to be slim to none, so maybe I'll try to clean them if there's anything left to clean. I know there's rivets holding stuff together and there are videos that get more in depth on taking the window out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcKH1DTyoUM) vs other videos that show you how to replace dew wipes without the need to remove the glass or anything too intense (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8hXkptfPl4&t).

Now, my questions are; what else should I do while I'm already there? I don't know if I want to get "drill out rivets intense" but my ears are open. Perhaps suggestions that are on a scale of least intensive to most, would be helpful.
I want to get my fiero tinted before summer comes and want to make sure I'm not doing this backwards; as to make these repairs first and then getting it tinted instead of the other way around.


The only thing I've noticed is that the locks move when I press the button but they don't seem to actually work without hitting the button about half a dozen times. I haven't looked into this but I will soon.
Cheers!

[This message has been edited by WaterInYuhDish (edited 04-12-2022).]

Trinten APR 13, 03:51 PM
In addition to the dew wipes, there are felt pads that you should replace. Those are what has worn out and scratched your glass. The FieroStore sells them (or did!). Cleaning them won't do much, the felt has worn down and it's the metal causing the issues.

Yes, you can do the dew wipes without removing the glass, though it can be a little tricky. I can't remember if we were able to change the felt pads with the glass in.

The door locks can have numerous reasons for not working properly, not enough voltage, worn out motors, gunked up joints. There are threads on what to clean (and what to use to properly lubricate) parts.

I replaced my electric locks with units from Amazon. They bolted in and we reused a part from the original actuators (the rubber piece) to fit into the "eye" where the actuator interfaces with the locking mechanism, this removes all slack, and the new actuators increased throw force. See this post from my build thread for details: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/.../000142-13.html#p515

Some of the reviews on those actuators talked about the case splitting, so if you want to get some zip ties to put around the case of the actuator to ensure it holds together, no harm in some insurance.