I got a bright idea about my front brake bleeders. I was afraid to put too much pressure on them when I was bleeding the GT's brakes after I swapped the rear calipers. I was afraid they were fused and I didn't want to break them off. I took a 5-day vacation with the family and we didn't take the GT so I came up with this: I sprayed the bleeders with PB Blaster then wrapped them with unrolled cotton balls. Then I used rubber bands to hold the cotton in place. Then I soaked the cotton with more PB Blaster and let it sit like that while I was gone. When I got home, the rubber bands had broken and fallen off but the cotton was still in place. I'll see if I can turn them and let you know.
I broke a bleeder once, from now on I get freeze off by CRC I think? They have it at autozone. I spray it directly on the bleeder for around a minute and a half on each side. It freezes the bleeder and threads, cracking anything that is seized, and then the lubricant works its way in. It has done unbelievable things for me before. If they still feel kinda stuck after that (which they shouldn't, you can repeat a few times) Then heat it up first with a torch and then freeze with the freeze off and repeat. I got out a stuck and broken off bleeder that way that I had drilled into and used an easy out on that I had welded to a socket.
I broke a bleeder once, from now on I get freeze off by CRC I think? They have it at autozone. I spray it directly on the bleeder for around a minute and a half on each side. It freezes the bleeder and threads, cracking anything that is seized, and then the lubricant works its way in. It has done unbelievable things for me before. If they still feel kinda stuck after that (which they shouldn't, you can repeat a few times) Then heat it up first with a torch and then freeze with the freeze off and repeat. I got out a stuck and broken off bleeder that way that I had drilled into and used an easy out on that I had welded to a socket.
I added another ground strap from the engine to the space frame. I got it at Napa. It's about 10 inches long and was about $14. I think it is a good looking piece. I'm hoping it will aid the electrical system. I don't have any particular problems but a smoother idle when cold wouldn't hurt my feelings.
I attached it to the 10mm bolt that is used by the little wire on the negative battery lead. On the other end, I used the bolt that holds the fat wire loom bracket. I put the strap between the engine and the bracket and between the frame and the wire. It was a little longer than I wanted but I just routed it behind the wire loom and the Oil Pressure Sending Unit and it worked out very nicely. It is not going to bother the serpentine belt, the AC belt, the battery cables or the plastic battery shield thing. I like it!
I also added a little white grease to the steering shaft where it goes through the firewall. The plastic weather seal thing was dry and rubbing against it as it turned. It took me a while to figure out where that rubbing noise was coming from. All better now.
I noticed that the bushings in my dog bone were no longer centered.
I decided to remove it and push them back to where they were supposed to be. This is what I found when I got it out! Both bushings were extremely cracked and disformed!
This is how I got the dog bone bolts out and back in again. I tried with my floor jack to begin with but that didn't seem to work very well. That's when I came up with this!
I attached a ratchet strap from the intake to the trunk latch. Clicky-clicky and ta-da! Worked like a charm. Bolts just slid right out and right back in again through the dog bone that I stole from my Formula parts car.
Now I'm wondering if the dog bone was that bad, I wonder if the other mounts are garbage, too? I'm sure they are still original. This car has 64K miles on it.
Update: the dog bone swap has greatly helped the clunk I was getting when putting the car in gear or changing from reverse to drive/ drive to reverse. If you have this trouble, you might have a bad dog bone. Check it out.
As of this moment, this is the first Fiero I've had where EVERYTHING worked as designed. This is my fifth Fiero overall. Every light, every gauge, every option that was ordered with the car works the way it is supposed to. It feels like Christmas!
I decided to check the lower three engine mounts on the GT. I changed them out and the two holding the trans were garbage. The engine one wasn't bad at all. I chucked it anyway. I learned the hard way that the trunk-side mount cannot be installed last if you have an auto trans. Instead use a scrap piece of 1x2 wood in the place of the engine mount while changing the trunk-side mount. Do the engine mount last. That was very frustrating. I would save you that pain!
I also changed the PCV valve. The old one was really stuck to the tube. I was afraid I would damage the tube getting it out but I don't think I did.
Looks good Jonathan! Where did this one come from, and how is the fit & finish on it?
Robert
I got it in the Mall from the GT Trunk Seal guy. I think it looks pretty good. To be honest, I don't know how it could be better. It fits very snuggly and it stays where you put it. Not only that, it keeps rain out of the trunk! LOL
Got any interest in rounding up the local boys for a meet and greet? Seems like everyone all around us is busy making plans while we sit here looking at our computers.
We all know how shy these little cars are. If you brag on them too much, they have a breakdown. I guess I was guilty. My engine had a catastrophic failure. Thread here: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/130334.html
I'm in the process of swapping engines. Everybody likes pics so here's a few:
When I bleed them the first time I remove them completely and ether put one wrap of Teflon tape around the bleeder threads or never seize. then I never have that problem again, as far as the bleeder screws seizing.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
As I was tearing this engine down to get the wiring harness, etc, I realized that I used one of the water pump bolts for the ground strap. That was not my brightest moment. I'll use a bolt that isn't related to a gasket when I move it onto the 87.
I have all the bugs and codes either eliminated or identified and isolated. Everything that can be fixed with the engine in the car has been. The only things left are the leaking rear main seal and the leaking exhaust manifold gaskets. I'll pull this engine again on the 15th and fix those things. Hopefully everything will come out and go back in easily and everything will still work correctly.
In other news, I adjusted my front caster. Thread: "Caster / Castor Adjustment or Front End Lift / Hood"
The car feels like it handles much better now and the steering feels good and firm and solid. The car is much more stable on the interstate. Best $28 I've ever spent on a car.
I pulled the engine and did the work. I got it all back together. I still have some fine tuning to do.
In other news, I have decided to make the '85 a foul weather car. I want to put big tires on it to give it more ground clearance, put a brush guard on the front, and make the rear like a truck flat bed with wooden slats. I might sculpt a Jeep/Hummer tribute front bumper for it. I also noticed that Held makes wide track suspension components:
If I don't like the limitations of the factory parts, I may turn to them for an upgrade. Pisa offers a body lift package that goes along with their Jalapeno kit but it does not raise the front crossmember or the cradle. I will not be using that kit for that reason.
Even after working on the speedometer wiring while the engine was out of the car, it still was not working correctly. I started a thread about the problem and finally got it fixed. Read about it here:
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