Car won't move forward (Page 1/2)
Nasta JUN 29, 09:17 AM
I just bought an 85 Fiero GT that was delivered to me, it sounded great, looked great and I had no problem moving it around the parking lot which it moved without any pressure on the gas, a week later after I got it insured and registered it wouldn't budge forward or reverse without 4000-5000 rpm, now it moves in reverse easily without any pressure on the gas but it won't move forward. I got it to move 30' at 4500 rpm in first and still couldn't release the clutch fully without killing it so I stuck it back in reverse and put it back into my parking spot to protect the transmission from my troubleshooting. This is my first manual car which I'm learning on, I primarily drive motorcycles and am very familiar with the concept of driving stick but it seems like this issue can't be all me. The E brake has all new cables and works smoothly, any input on what could be wrong would be appreciated. I also noticed that when parked I can't shift the stick to the right, it can only move between reverse, 1st and 2nd, are the 3rd and 4th gears locked out until at a certain speed or could there be something else?
fierofool JUN 29, 09:36 AM
None of the gears are locked out. As a 4-speed, the reverse is in a gate of its own, to the far left and forward. If the shifter is put in the neutral position, it should automatically move to the right and that would align with the 3-4 gate. It may be that the shifter needs to be realigned. There are alignment holes in the side of the shifter mechanism, and one in the bottom where pins or drill bits are inserted while the shifter is in 1st gear. One is horizontal, the other vertical. Then the cable nuts at the transmission must be loosened and retightened.

Regarding the Ebrake, do you have resistance all the way down when releasing the brake? Do you have 5-9 clicks when setting the brake? Fiero Ebrakes will sometimes allow the car to move backward, but not forward. With the brake released, can you push the car on level ground when in neutral?
Dennis LaGrua JUN 29, 05:05 PM
Sounds like the clutch could be toast.

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skywurz JUN 29, 05:51 PM
is it possible you are not putting it in 1st or second but actually 3rd and 4th? How well is the clutch functioning in reverse?
Nasta JUN 29, 07:22 PM
Thank you for the replies!


quote
Originally posted by fierofool:

None of the gears are locked out. As a 4-speed, the reverse is in a gate of its own, to the far left and forward. If the shifter is put in the neutral position, it should automatically move to the right and that would align with the 3-4 gate. It may be that the shifter needs to be realigned. There are alignment holes in the side of the shifter mechanism, and one in the bottom where pins or drill bits are inserted while the shifter is in 1st gear. One is horizontal, the other vertical. Then the cable nuts at the transmission must be loosened and retightened.

Regarding the Ebrake, do you have resistance all the way down when releasing the brake? Do you have 5-9 clicks when setting the brake? Fiero Ebrakes will sometimes allow the car to move backward, but not forward. With the brake released, can you push the car on level ground when in neutral?



I can shift left and forward to get in reverse and I can shift directly forwards and back but no movement to the right. When in neutral and the ebrake released I can't move the car at all by pushing it, I could when I received it last week, but not now. It does ratchet as I engage the ebrake and the tension is released as I disengage it.


quote
Originally posted by skywurz:

is it possible you are not putting it in 1st or second but actually 3rd and 4th? How well is the clutch functioning in reverse?



The clutch is very smooth in reverse, I'm going to try to shift left and down and try to differentiate if I can get into 2nd and 4th if it is an alignment issue.

Right now I'm thinking the ebrake is indeed engaged to not allow forward movement and the shifter needs to be realigned, I'll fiddle with the ebrake to see if I can push the car forward and just leave it in gear when parked until I can get a mechanic on it, though I'm hoping to get better at driving it so I won't need to tow it.
olejoedad JUN 29, 07:23 PM
Not released or stuck E-brake

3rd gear start
Patrick JUN 29, 07:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by Nasta:

Right now I'm thinking the ebrake is indeed engaged...



No point guessing. Crawl under the rear of the car and grab the parking brake cable that goes across the back to each rear wheel. If the parking brake is engaged, it'll be taunt... if it's loose/floppy, the parking brake is released.
skywurz JUN 29, 07:51 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

No point guessing. Crawl under the rear of the car and grab the parking brake cable that goes across the back to each rear wheel. If the parking brake is engaged, it'll be taunt... if it's loose/floppy, the parking brake is released.



For the love of $#@$ please chock the tires if you do this. Or have someone you trust on the brakes inside.

Edit: chock not chalk

[This message has been edited by skywurz (edited 06-29-2022).]

Nasta JUN 29, 08:38 PM
Solved!

So pulling the ebrake where it clicks actually disengages the ebrake and releasing the tension with the button engages the ebrake so that's weird and;
the shifter isn't positioned correctly, I can get into 2nd gear by shifting left and down which also means left and up can place me in either reverse or 1st since they are so close together, so that needs to be changed asap, currently the only way I can get into first with some accuracy is to shift to 2nd and shift straight up into 1st, anyone know a way where I can have it that there's a more noticeable difference between the gears and not just 3/8" which is about the distance the top of the knob is between 2nd and 4th?
Patrick JUN 29, 09:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by Nasta:

It does ratchet as I engage the ebrake and the tension is released as I disengage it.




quote
Originally posted by Nasta:

Solved!

So pulling the ebrake where it clicks actually disengages the ebrake and releasing the tension with the button engages the ebrake so that's weird



Well, you've certainly got me confused. If you weren't actually releasing the parking brake, how did you get it to "ratchet" as you reported in the first quote? It won't ratchet if it's already engaged.