I am Roger Hudson, 20 years old, and my Mom left me a 1986 pontiac fiero GT v6 automatic when she passed away. I am finally looking to get it road-worthy. I have already put 1000$ into the car, replacing fuel pump, and a few other things to get it running. now i have a long list of todo's from a mechanic who i feel i should not have taken it to now... He knows nothing about these cars.
I need somebody who knows what they are doing, in the GTA, to help me get my car on the road. this is the work order from the mechanic i brought it to: 1 broken LR stud Wipers LL BJ 2 right side markers out LF side marker light out, lense broken Parking brake, cables broken, shoes subject to inspection Front pads, rotors, slide bushings, rear pads,rotors, calipers, subject to inspection LF LB worn out several exhaust leaks tires no horn no washers and everything he did not see, as he did not take it for a road test because the brakes were too bad apparently...]
there also may be a transmission issue... the gear shift will change into reverse, but sometime the gears of the car itself wont, and it will stay in neutral or go into drive...
I have been told by different people to scrap it, sell for everything i can get, and buy a new car. But i really like the fiero.
Please, if you know anyone who can help me get my car on the road. let me know. 647 339 2084 is my telephone number. or email me at the email address provided.
Well, the exhaust could be just pipes, but most likely it is the manifolds. You may get lucky and just replace them without braking any bolts, worse case, you have to pull the heads. As for the transmission. Did you check the fluid level? Otherwise, you will have to budget for a used or rebuilt one.
Welcome! There are quite a few Canadians on the forum, someone should be able to recommend a shop, or help out. Those Items dont seem so bad, the trans is most concerning but could just be linkages? Alot fo Fieros brake calipers seem to need replacing or rebuilding after sitting too long. The car must run decent. I think you have the right idea not going to a "regular" mechanic.
Any pics of it?
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 07-25-2013).]
I checked the transmission fluid level. extrememly low, and it hasnt been running in 10 years, so even though the fluid looks and smells good I will be changing the fluid today sometime.
I should have mentioned it in my first post if i didnt already, but it had been sitting for quite some time... in an underground garage storage lot... 10 years.
I checked the transmission fluid level. extrememly low, and it hasnt been running in 10 years, so even though the fluid looks and smells good I will be changing the fluid today sometime.
I should have mentioned it in my first post if i didnt already, but it had been sitting for quite some time... in an underground garage storage lot... 10 years.
Oh it isnt running well yet...but enough to try and put in gear so it must idle. Yep for sure get a local FIero guru to come check it out if you can. Yep low fluid can cause shift issues. SO when they did the fuel pump you must have all new fuel in there now I would guess.
Oh it isnt running well yet...but enough to try and put in gear so it must idle. Yep for sure get a local FIero guru to come check it out if you can. Yep low fluid can cause shift issues. SO when they did the fuel pump you must have all new fuel in there now I would guess.
Yes it idles really well, and I can take it out for a slow cruise around the parking lot of the mechanics, but nothing over 10 km/h, because the brakes were too seized for a road test. I am having somebody come over today to take a look at it. Do you think it is worth it to fix if it is just the safety needing to be done and not the transmission?
Well, you are asking a Fiero guy, so yep its worth fixing
I would post pics here of the outside, inside, and engine bay for us to see.
Look at the rest of the car, is this a car you want, do you need to have paint or interior done too? Is it rusty bad under the trunk carpet in the corners? Above the rear tires in teh wheel well there is another area of metal that can show rust, Those are indicators of rust elseware many times.(but I have seen cars flaking rust there that were solid where it counts.) Though if the 10 year storage was damp you may just have surface rust. I do think it is worth fixing the brakes and test driving for sure.
Example of the trunk area:
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 07-25-2013).]
I will go check for the rust right now. I am finding it difficult to upload pictures here as well... tried dragging from my computer, but did not work, and there are no options to post pictures... thanks for the help.
Easiest is to use something like Photobucket.com then post a link to the pic. But dont ever delete the account or the pics disappear from where you had linked them. The forum also has something called PIP to use for pics... https://www.fiero.nl/pip.html.
Get a CAA Premium membership then call John/Yanni at World Car in Toronto....416-467-6377....Woodbine Avenue south of O'Connor...take the DVP to Don Mills S....turn left on O'Connor and then south on Woodbine...#1202 I think....He knows Fieros like the back of his hand, has great pricing and is a great guy too. Tell him Paul with the Yellow 308 kit sent you.
Also, to post pics here on the forum, use this site....http://tinypic.com/
[This message has been edited by I FAR I (edited 07-25-2013).]
In my experience you can take it to another shop and get a different list of repairs. Ask around to see what shops might be less picky. However your list doesn't sound out of the ordinary. Don't know what your mechanical experience is but it's all fairly easy, ball joints would be the most difficult. I'm in Ottawa, so not much help to you. Here is a link to the governments official list of what they are supposed to inspect in Ontario.
http://s1286.photobucket.com/ those are some pics ive taken. let me know anywhere else you want pics of. the rear tire wheel well doesn't have any rust that i can see I am topping up the transmission fluid now
http://s1286.photobucket.com/ those are some pics ive taken. let me know anywhere else you want pics of. the rear tire wheel well doesn't have any rust that i can see I am topping up the transmission fluid now
I'm just getting the default photobucket page. Make sure your bucket is public, and then view your bucket and try to copy paste the link from the browser.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 07-25-2013).]
Just top off the tranny fluid, with the engine running and in park. Don't worry about getting the tranny hot, as you would have to drive it, and I wouldn't recommend that, at this point. That will get you close enough for testing. Oh, keep an eye out for fluid leaking on the floor after filling the tranny.
First thing to do before you start spending money is look for frame rot. Pull the fender liners and inspect the frame. If it's diminishing and you can't afford to repair the structure there's no point in spending any more money anywhere else on the car.
If the structure is good then your list doesn't seem that bad. What's the mileage on the car? Did I miss it?
10 years of sitting can be just as bad on a car as 10 years of hard abuse. Parts rot, seize and dry out from not being used. This is almost certainly what happened to your brakes - seized up from lack of use.
Wipers and side marker lights are a non issue. You can do those in the parking lot of Canadian Tire if you have to. The side marker lenses just unscrew with two torx screws and you can change the bulb yourself. If the broken lense fails a safety inspection you can likely find one on the board here in the classifieds. I have a spare front bumper lense but not the side marker lense.
LR stud - I'm assuming he's talking wheel stud? Not terribly difficult to change - I did mine with my hub still on the car. Maybe not the greatest idea but I got it to work. The stud itself is cheap from any parts store.
The ball joint being bad is plausable - only way to tell is via inspection. I've never changed one so can't comment.
Parking brake cables are probably seized from not being used - I had the same issue (along witha seized caliper). Can't remember if I ordered mine locally or from Rockauto but I was able to get all 3. It was a bit of a pain but will be required for safety. It took me an afternoon to replace the cables with it being my first time. Running the new cables isn't so bad - in my opinion getting the old ones out is the tougher half of the job.
Your brakes are seized up from lack of use and at a minimum need serviced. He's saying your front calipers are ok but they will need a complete servicing. Doing the front rotors means you're also doing the wheel bearings.
The rear brakes will likely be similar to the front condition wise. The caliper setup with the e-brake can be a bit finnacky. My car was similar to yours in that one rear caliper was seized and needed replaced, the other was serviceable. My car was driven very little in the last 10 years before I bought it and I had to service all of the calipers, replace one, do the rear rotors and pads and new pads on the front.
Do you have the same ball joint listed as being bad twice? Or is it front and rear lowers are both bad?
Tires - grab a good used set 205/65/15 or 215/65/15 just to get you on the road for now. I did the same, I didn't keep the staggered size I'm running 215's on all 4 corners now and don't mind it one bit.
Hard to comment on the exhaust leaks.
Horn should be half-way easy to diagnose - washers too. It could be as simple as the pump or as tricky as the switch or a fault in the wiring. Either way both items are needed for safety.
Do you have any experience working on cars yourself? If you do you could at least try and do the brakes, ebrake, bulbs, horn, lights and washers on your own to save some money.
Check RockAuto.com if you need parts. I find they're cheaper for most things if you order a couple of things at once from one shipping location even including the cost of shipping and taxes.
Sorry, I don't know any shops in Mississauga that I can recommend to you.
First thing to do before you start spending money is look for frame rot. Pull the fender liners and inspect the frame. If it's diminishing and you can't afford to repair the structure there's no point in spending any more money anywhere else on the car.
If the structure is good then your list doesn't seem that bad. What's the mileage on the car? Did I miss it?
10 years of sitting can be just as bad on a car as 10 years of hard abuse. Parts rot, seize and dry out from not being used. This is almost certainly what happened to your brakes - seized up from lack of use.
Wipers and side marker lights are a non issue. You can do those in the parking lot of Canadian Tire if you have to. The side marker lenses just unscrew with two torx screws and you can change the bulb yourself. If the broken lense fails a safety inspection you can likely find one on the board here in the classifieds. I have a spare front bumper lense but not the side marker lense.
LR stud - I'm assuming he's talking wheel stud? Not terribly difficult to change - I did mine with my hub still on the car. Maybe not the greatest idea but I got it to work. The stud itself is cheap from any parts store.
The ball joint being bad is plausable - only way to tell is via inspection. I've never changed one so can't comment.
Parking brake cables are probably seized from not being used - I had the same issue (along witha seized caliper). Can't remember if I ordered mine locally or from Rockauto but I was able to get all 3. It was a bit of a pain but will be required for safety. It took me an afternoon to replace the cables with it being my first time. Running the new cables isn't so bad - in my opinion getting the old ones out is the tougher half of the job.
Your brakes are seized up from lack of use and at a minimum need serviced. He's saying your front calipers are ok but they will need a complete servicing. Doing the front rotors means you're also doing the wheel bearings.
The rear brakes will likely be similar to the front condition wise. The caliper setup with the e-brake can be a bit finnacky. My car was similar to yours in that one rear caliper was seized and needed replaced, the other was serviceable. My car was driven very little in the last 10 years before I bought it and I had to service all of the calipers, replace one, do the rear rotors and pads and new pads on the front.
Do you have the same ball joint listed as being bad twice? Or is it front and rear lowers are both bad?
Tires - grab a good used set 205/65/15 or 215/65/15 just to get you on the road for now. I did the same, I didn't keep the staggered size I'm running 215's on all 4 corners now and don't mind it one bit.
Hard to comment on the exhaust leaks.
Horn should be half-way easy to diagnose - washers too. It could be as simple as the pump or as tricky as the switch or a fault in the wiring. Either way both items are needed for safety.
Do you have any experience working on cars yourself? If you do you could at least try and do the brakes, ebrake, bulbs, horn, lights and washers on your own to save some money.
Check RockAuto.com if you need parts. I find they're cheaper for most things if you order a couple of things at once from one shipping location even including the cost of shipping and taxes.
Sorry, I don't know any shops in Mississauga that I can recommend to you.
Frame is solid, nothing is rusted very badly. 120 000km on the car,
the front and rear lower left ball joints are both bad,
I dont have any experience working on cars, but it's something I'd like to do myself so I have the knowledge for when things go wrong down the road..
I just let the fiero idle, small amounts of smoke were coming out of the tube where the dipstick was in, and the dipstick was dry after checking several times.
I would just fill up the tranny. Don't bother servicing it, as it may just be a waste of time. You have low fluid, that indicates you have a leak. Fill it up, see where the leak is and see if drives/shifts fine.
I believe the yellow sticker is the 'recall work completed' sticker. My 86 has one too but they were nice enough to put it under the trunk lid, not on the intake.
The things the mechanic listed are pretty reasonable. If he wanted to rip you off or discourage you he could have said all your ball joints were bad. Instead he was very specific. I agree with the others that the exhaust leaks are probably from the manifold, a very common problem. Rebuilding or replacing much of the brake system is probably going to be necessary, inspection or not. It's not likely to be cheap or easy, but everything is pretty easy to get and not outrageous in expense or complexity. I would go ahead and get the mechanic to do the other things and give you an estimate on the brakes.
If you want to bring the car by and do most of the work your self I can give you a hand or show you how to do things, for needed parts I might even have some or all of what you need from cars I have stripped or parts removed for engine swaps and brake and suspension upgrades. Dan
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DARN Cars now open with Over 30 years wiring experience between cars and trade as an avionics technician in both Canadian Air Force and civilian aviation. Over 25 years experience building and modifying cars. Over 10 years of full Fiero engine swaps and harnesses building and still going.
If you want to bring the car by and do most of the work your self I can give you a hand or show you how to do things, for needed parts I might even have some or all of what you need from cars I have stripped or parts removed for engine swaps and brake and suspension upgrades. Dan
Dan, great offer. Better than mine.
Do you still do swaps? I am not in the market right now, but my 88 has almost 200k on the stock v6, so I am thinking in the next few years to put something newer/faster in there.
I am Roger Hudson, 20 years old, and my Mom left me a 1986 pontiac fiero GT v6 automatic when she passed away. I am finally looking to get it road-worthy. I have already put 1000$ into the car, replacing fuel pump, and a few other things to get it running. now i have a long list of todo's from a mechanic who i feel i should not have taken it to now... He knows nothing about these cars.
I need somebody who knows what they are doing, in the GTA, to help me get my car on the road. this is the work order from the mechanic i brought it to: 1 broken LR stud Wipers LL BJ 2 right side markers out LF side marker light out, lense broken Parking brake, cables broken, shoes subject to inspection Front pads, rotors, slide bushings, rear pads,rotors, calipers, subject to inspection LF LB worn out several exhaust leaks tires no horn no washers and everything he did not see, as he did not take it for a road test because the brakes were too bad apparently...]
there also may be a transmission issue... the gear shift will change into reverse, but sometime the gears of the car itself wont, and it will stay in neutral or go into drive...
I have been told by different people to scrap it, sell for everything i can get, and buy a new car. But i really like the fiero.
Please, if you know anyone who can help me get my car on the road. let me know. 647 339 2084 is my telephone number. or email me at the email address provided.
Consider yourself lucky. First time i took my fiero to a regular mechanic he quoted me all new bushings, balljoints, steering rack and pinion, 4 new calipers. 4 wheel alignment, ect. Turns out only thing wrong was a ebrake cable, and wheel bearing.
Transmission fluid being topped up made a big difference. Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, when I work out of town I have no internet access.
I got a few random things to start working by diconnecting and reconnecting wires. I got the horn and windshield washers to work. I found out I need a piece of plastic that holds the tube carrying washer fluid into it's proper place.
The fan at the front of the car, and the trunk blower do not work... I believe it is because of a broken temperature gauge or something, as I was reading in the manual that the fans activate once the engine reaches a certain temperature (255farenheit). But due to the temp-gauge being broken or not working properly the fans on;y come on when the AC is activated... which leads me to the next thing>>>
there is a leak on the driver's side of the door which appears to be transmission fluid, It only leaks when the fan is running (and I can only get the fan to work when the AC is runnning). So when I run the AC, fluid is pouring out from underneath. The lines look like they pinched in 2 places.
Still doing swaps and such just at a slower pace for a bit till my back eases off again. I have had Fieros before that sat for a while and found it was best to remove every connector to check for corrosion and clean them, even found dash bulbs that had corroded sockets that had to be replaced which is why the charge ind bulb is one of the first things I check when ever there is a charging problem with the car. Dan
