I don't know if you would call me the Star or the Supporting Actor in this Movie, but either way I am sitting on the edge of my seat just like you guys, wondering how the movie will end.
The alternator yesterday fried everything and I got a call last night that it was too late for them to try and make the trip up. He would leave at 9am Sunday. Well that time comes and goes, I start calling and calling, then get a text from a number that I don't know, the person says they are Dallas's Dad and are leaving at 4:30pm to bring the car up. Well 6:30 comes and goes and I have not heard anything, at 6:39pm I get an email receipt from Dallas, (FOY) for customs purposes. So I call him to find out where he is, I can hear he is on a cell phone in a car driving, which I assume is my car. He is just passing the Tacoma dome, which puts him still 2hrs away. Apparently the exhaust fell off and was crushed, they had to go back to the shop and install the 2.5 inch exhaust instead of the 3" exhaust. So now they are on their way again, and with luck be in Blain at 9-9:30pm.
I'll reply back and let ya all know what happens. However its good news the car is on the move.
David
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
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10:00 PM
BV MotorSports Member
Posts: 4821 From: Oak Hill, WV Registered: May 2001
Are you kidding? The exhaust "fell off"????? LOL I am sorry to laugh.. its comical at this point. I'd check every damn nut and bolt when you get her back.
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10:06 PM
FieroMaster88 Member
Posts: 7680 From: Mattawan, MI Registered: Nov 2000
I'm so glad I work on my own car's. I can't even begin to understand how you feel. I would have given up already if it was me.
Agreed, I work on my own cars as well and I want to give up on that haha. Really hoping Capt gets his GT back asap, the exhaust situation sounds funky.
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10:14 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40925 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
If you look on page 1 you will see my car does not have normal Fiero exhaust, its a side exit system. 2 Bolts from the Y-Pipe hold one side of it then the 2 springs just below those bolts, then where the cat is normally I had a bottle muffler which FOY changed to a more conventional style muffler. Then out to the tip. Just before the Tip there was a welded on bracket to the pipe that was bolted to the cradle. FOY had done up a 3" exhaust and I would have assumed they duplicated my mounting system so I don't understand why it would have came off, unless some place in the middle between the 90 bend at the downpipe and the bracket at the tips, maybe the welds on either end of the muffler were not solid and the pipes came apart? I don't know. I know my system held up for a number of years without issue. Its been 45mins since I spoke to him and no calls of disaster yet and Nothing on CNN about any cars blowing up...... I think I'll keep my TV set to the Seattle News for the time being LOL.
The person that was going to drive my 88 back from Washington has had to leave as he was only free till about 8pm. Lisa does not drive stick so I can't have her drive it back either. I am going to wait until I hear that the car is actually in Blain then I will start calling around to a few friends in the area and see if they have a valid passport and a free evening.
I think for the time being though, I am going to go and relax watch some Sunday Night TV and chill out.
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
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10:38 PM
nosrac Member
Posts: 3520 From: Euless, TX, US Registered: Jan 2005
I would have assumed...so I don't understand why ....
I don't like to add fuel to the fire but..... Is this the twilight zone from the 5th dimension? Or has FOY opened Pandora's box. Or has Christine has returned in your Fiero.
Well I am home, I am not going to bad mouth or get mad. FOY and I have came to a cash agreement, on a refund. I am paying for the $400 intake, $100 Delta Cam, $100 for the rocker bridges $250 for install of front suspension, $130 for the alignment and some other misc. expenses. He is refunding me the Total amount for the Engine and Labour.
I arrived to pick up the car and it had under 10psi oil pressure and what sounded like a rod knock. The engine bay fire had damaged the throttle cable and is compressing when you try to step on the gas so I was barley getting 1/4 throttle by the time I got the car home.
There were also missing parts that he is going to ship up, or I will go and pick up on my way by to Oregon and back.
In the end we both walked away frustrated. I paid for a lot of cool parts that I did get, but still have a busted Fiero. He spent probably 3 times the amount he got trying to fix the car and is in the hole for thousands over it.
Well $hit Happens.
P.S. Just a side note, by the time I made it home, it sounded like gears rattling around in the top end, and the firewall side band exhaust was GLOWING bright orange. With the reduced throttle the engine would barley run above 3000 and at times I would have to keep my foot planted to the floor and it would stumble, stumble then pick up, and try to run right. Like there was an intermittent short or something like that.
Other side note, we got screwed at Customs going down and coming back. I got searched going down and had to spend 45mins while they went through my car while my friend and I sat inside the customs office. Then on the way back up, they pulled me inside and charged me duty on the cost of the repairs. Which for the sake of keeping it straightforward because even I don't know what the final tally was spent on, we called it a head gasket job, and I paid duty on 500 bucks. I heard them call Dallas on the phone to verify it as well.
Well its 1am and I need to get to bed.
Have a Good Night or Day if you are reading this with your morning coffee.
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
This has just been a huge mess. I think he may chime in but my father was with me and he drove the car the 3.5 hours all the way there. And like we had told David, there were absolutely no knocking or issues aside from the throttle cable completely coming apart and the TPS/ICS possibly dying from the wire shortage, I would have changed it out if I had caught it. I didn't know it was making any noise until David showed up. You can all not believe me but my father who is a very highly respected attorney of 20 years attested to this as well. I'm completely sick to my stomach, I was really looking forward to having this be done and David be able to show off and me have something to show for it.
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05:20 AM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
I have taken enough prescription drugs to drop an elephant right now, so forgive any typo's.
Stuff that really worried me was the glowing manifolds and crossover pipe were Bright Orange. The knock albeit still there became much worse and sounded like a hand grenade had gone off.
It is possible one of your testing instruments is wrong and it is in fact tuned WAY LEAN. with much too much timing? Either way the car is parked for now and I'll get to it when I get to it.
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05:46 AM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40925 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
It's possible it's running way lean, or way advanced.
Since it wasn't (apparently) doing it right away, I'm thinking that something in the PCM "learn" degraded over time, as a result of the fire. The quick and dirty "fix" would be to disconnect the battery, and let everything "unlearn" and reset to the base tune. Then connect a scan tool and see what sensor readings are out of whack. I had an O2 sensor to "stick" full lean. The PCM was dumping in fuel at a tremendous rate. Enough that my eyes would water if I stood behind the car. With a cat installed.
The more I think about it, the more I think you should replace the O2 sensor on the affected bank. Or at least swap them (you have two... right?) to see if the problem follows. Or it could be the wiring.
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05:58 AM
gen2muchwork Member
Posts: 861 From: dearborn, MI Registered: Feb 2012
Too little timing and rich could cause it as well. I can tell you that when I unloased the trunk when we pulled off, the crossover wasn't orange, that I saw. I would say the increased heat and friction from the knock and/or miss cylinder not firing would put excess fuel in the manifold causing late ignition
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06:49 AM
IROCTAFIERO Member
Posts: 791 From: Montgomery, Al USA Registered: May 2005
Are you really getting knock or is the engine pinging?
Knock is not likeley to be from a bad tune.. How is your oil pressure?
Glowing manifold on ANY engine would be a lean condition. This can destroy a piston is short time but would rarely cause engine knock. (It would ping like there is now tomorrow however). I know they call it knock retard (KR) I guess ping retard sounded too odd. :P
To play it safe, get a wideband. Anytime you have a tune, you should have one anyhow. that will tell you for sure how your AFR is.
Now the wiring... *sigh* If you had a glowing manifold and the wires in the picture are close to the manifold... I'm thinking this was not an electrical fire... Just saying..
Can the harness be salvaged or should it be redone?
You need a new throttle cable from what I can see..
Is the engine computer throwing any codes?
I'm not familiar with OBDI tuning. I'm a 3800 guy and play with DHP... Are you able to monitor individual sensors with your OBDI? If so, you can test the functioality of the sensors while plugged in the harness to see what the PCM sees.
How was the engine temp on the way back? Any vacuum leaks? If there was a fire, maybe a plastic vac tube melted also..
Good grief... I wish you were closer, I would take the day off to come have a look.
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08:11 AM
FieroMaster88 Member
Posts: 7680 From: Mattawan, MI Registered: Nov 2000
The bright side is that you finally got the car back, and didn't lose a fortune dealing with this mess. I think once you take a step back, relax, and get to troubleshooting the car you'll have things figured out soon enough
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10:28 AM
Patrick Member
Posts: 37671 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
I really wish I was closer so I could help get this thing sorted out. If the manifolds are glowing that's more than likely what caused the harness fire because its not that far from the exhaust. I'd also think its running lean either from the tune or from a major vacuum leak. If it does have a knock in the bottom end it can be rebuilt. I had my 4.9 start knocking which is why I rebuilt it. Got a good crank and new bearings. I also replaced the head gaskets and cylinder sleeve gaskets while I was at it. If it were my car I would rebuild the engine and redo the wiring harness. Also get a wide band and have it tuned properly. This fiasco has made me want to do another 4.9 swap to show what a proper 4.9 swap looks like.
The fire WAS NOT caused by the exhaust. Period. The wiring was heat wrapped and the alternator had been overcharging and then died. No smoking no nothing. Dead short. Replaced it and with a cold car it caught fire.
The car ran fantastic before we left, it made it 3.5 hours there with no issue. The tune is not the problem. You don't get the kind of knock it has from detonation. The PCM that is hooked up right now is HIS PCM that he dropped the car off with, and it is much milder than mine. He can check the timing and the tune very easily to confirm it's nothing I did
He has the car now and a very large chunk of money. I am looking forward to seeing the result, but it is not my fault the engine started knocking and I'm done talking about this. It WAS NOT knocking when we left or even half way when we got gas
[This message has been edited by FriendOfYours (edited 01-28-2013).]
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03:54 PM
ericjon262 Member
Posts: 3109 From: everywhere. Registered: Jan 2010
Well I went out to fire it up today and now we have 2 knocks, and this new one is so severe I didn't want to let it run long enough for the lower end sounding knock, this sounds like its coming from the top end.
I have about 2 dozen photo's of the car that I will be posting up later.
Before anyone notices the amount of movement from the engine, yes the mounts are really soft, I can grab the motor and move it almost an inch back and forth by hand. (1/2 inch either direction) So under load I am sure it moves a bit more.
However that will be fixed up with converting to all poly mounts and putting back at least one missing bolt.
I am not holding this against FOY as he has refunded me a portion of my money and will pay me the balance at a later date. Right now I am just looking to get what I can fixed so that I can find out the root of the problems.
So now that you have watched the video, what's the bet that there is at the least a broken rocker support in their some place.
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
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07:39 PM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
Originally posted by Purple86GT: Mine were supposed to be delivred with Capt`s car and I guess Capt will have them shipped to me. Dunno,..
Uhm I am confused here, when my car was not delivered, he shipped parts to you? Were there suppose to be more parts? I did not get any extra parts with my car, in fact, I have a list I am getting ready to send FOY of parts that are MIssing from my car. (he is aware of the missing parts, he forgot to grab the stuff when the car left the shop and we talked about it last night, I just need to make up a proper list and send it to him)
If there are parts you need to get from him, and can make arrangements, I can pick them up from his place.
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
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07:44 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 37671 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
Uhm I am confused here, when my car was not delivered, he shipped parts to you? Were there suppose to be more parts? I did not get any extra parts with my car, in fact, I have a list I am getting ready to send FOY of parts that are MIssing from my car. (he is aware of the missing parts, he forgot to grab the stuff when the car left the shop and we talked about it last night, I just need to make up a proper list and send it to him)
If there are parts you need to get from him, and can make arrangements, I can pick them up from his place.
*sigh* he called me a few days ago. He said he was going to put my 3800 swap kit in your car and give you cash to ship it to me from within Canada. Guess something happened again... and again he did not take the time to give me a heads up....
So before I blow a gasket over here. any news on your engine? did you give it a good once over?
I've got your parts together Capt and the dogbone that is on that motor is the wrong one, that is the old one that came with the Cadillac. I took it off to get to the back end of the motor and got them mixed up as the new one is sitting right here
If I'm not mistake that one is literally in half on the inside, you should be able to tell by grabbing the rubber
[This message has been edited by FriendOfYours (edited 01-28-2013).]
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07:56 PM
Purple86GT Member
Posts: 1592 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Mar 2012
I've got your parts together Capt and the dogbone that is on that motor is the wrong one, that is the old one that came with the Cadillac. I took it off to get to the back end of the motor and got them mixed up as the new one is sitting right here
So just curious.. What happened to the swap kit you were supposed to give Capt so he can ship to me?
You asked me to not flip out and to contact you first if there is a problem. So.. I'm calmly asking for an explanation. I also sent you a pm and a text to your cel..
[This message has been edited by Purple86GT (edited 01-28-2013).]
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