Ok, one step closer! I rented a U-Haul and took the car to the exhaust shop today. I brought the muffler, a diagram of a standard Fiero 3800 exhaust for reference, and my Corvette Z06 exhaust tips. They are not sure of the muffler I brought them, he thinks there is one that is identical, but around 3 inches shorter. This would give a little more clearance and room to work. They are going to call me tomorrow with more information when the main warehouse they order from is open.
Ole' Blue all ready to go to the shop on the trailer:
Up on the lift and the tech getting their first look at what needs to be done:
One thing the tech noticed immediately as we rolled the car back into the bay, was how bad the alignment camber was in the back! Changing an engine, transmission, and axles to completely different ones can cause that I hear
I should have the car back tomorrow afternoon, or possibly Monday, depending if their warehouse is open tomorrow or not. They are not sure if they took 4 days off or not for Thanksgiving.
I got the car back today, They custom made everything, wrapped the muffler and pipes, and installed my ZR1 tips. The total exhaust system, with them providing a muffler, all in, $425.
The Magnaflow muffler I had purchased, with it's 3" pipe, I was told was a bit overkill, as well as it would have been a lot louder. I went with a standard Z28 muffler, -vs- the performance one.
I hope to be actually driving the car here soon!
On another note, I miss this thread being in the General Chat. Seems it gets FAR less traffic and posts here in the Construction Zone.....
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 11-28-2016).]
No.......... I can not get it to run. It sputters, pops and dies. I have checked, and re-checked the plug wire routing, as well as mechanic for verification. They are indeed going to the correct cylinders. New wires & plugs (Properly gapped). Fuel pressure holds at 50 PSI.
In a couple weeks I am going to flat-bed the car to a specialized mechanic that I have known for years. His shop specializes in hard to track down problems, and completely custom installs. It is probably going to cost an arm and a leg, but I know that he will get to the bottom of it, and I will finally have a running car. I am just so over this car and all the problems, I just want it finished, and I no longer have an interest in working on it, engine wise.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 12-15-2016).]
WoW, I just finished reading the whole thread. Just WoW. I know exactly how you feel. I had similar problem with my OLD Fiero and finally threw in the towel on my 86 Turbo and started the whole fiasco again with an 88. This time around it's much better. I think you may have a ICM grounding. Do you have a scanner and FP gauge? It was weird how you had to ground the actual starter and not just the block and frame.
I know your so done right now but a few months off and slowly come back to it. Driving the 3800SC is OMG so worth all the agony and frustration if/when you git it running like it is suppose to.
[This message has been edited by nosrac (edited 12-15-2016).]
Bump to hear how this all turned out John! I just read this whole thread as I just moved to the area and am hoping to hear that it all worked out for you.
Wow, I was suprised to get a notice that there was a post to this thread. Since being moved to the construction zone. There seems to be very little traffic in here compared to when the thread was in general chat
I am pretty close to having it running now. I am having some sensor problems. The computer is getting incorrect air intake temperature, and coolant temperature. This is making the engine run like crap, as it is taking those temperatures as accurate, and trying to adjust air flow and fuel to compensate.
Where did you move to in the area? I am in West Palm Beach (It's the WPB part of my scree name actually )
Yes I picked up on that... I guess that's how I found your original build thread when I did the search for WPB
I just moved to Boynton Beach and It is really tough getting used to living in paradise! I am not missing the freezing cold rain of New Jersey right about now!
I am sorry to hear about your sensor issues. Have you replaced the temp sensor? I seem to remember getting a new one for around $30 when we did my swap.
Looked through this whole thread. Very entertaining read for sure. Not sure how well I would have taken to some of your adversities but good on you for making it through them. Good to see you are still chipping away at it.
Yep, there certainly have been some adversities The swap has been 99% complete for a few months now. I have been unable to track down why the engine is fumbling so bad, and I have to feather the throttle constantly to keep her running.
I decided to take it to a local shop, Alternative Automotive, that is VERY good. The entire shop from the 5 mechanics, receptionist and manager are all related. This business has been in their family for 30 years. They specialize in unusual and hard to find problems. I rented a U-Haul trailer, and dropped it off at their shop on Friday after work.
They are closed on the weekends. I did not hear from them today, but I forced myself to not call and bug them, and give them some time to go through it.
I am sure its probably gonna cost an arm and a leg, but I am just done with messing with this car. It has been a 5 year long nightmare, that I just want to end!
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 05-01-2017).]
I can relate to the long road you have been on...BluDrm still is not finished because of other's BS and I started her before your current build. I wish you the best with getting her completed this summer.
Well I hope they don't keep you in suspense too long! I know how hard it can be to try and have patience in a case like this. Your commitment to your project (both financial & emotional) will undoubtedly be an inspiration to many others on this forum! I myself can't wait to get a glimpse of your success when I see you driving that beauty around town someday soon!!!
TXopie I didn't realize you started yours before mine.... So yea then, you know how long a road it has been!
I hope to be driving it around here soon as well! The last Fiero I happened on in South Florida was around 4 years ago, I got along side and realized it was Lou, another Fiero owner in Del Ray beach. Fiero spottings are few and FAR between around here ;(
I called the shop today at 4:30, figuring I had been good by lasting 2 whole work days without calling them. She explained her dad has been backed up, and will not get a chance to really delve into it until tomorrow.
Well I will have to be on the look out for Lou then because Delray isn't very far from me at all! I hope you have gotten some good news/feedback on your car's issue in the meanwhile. We are all still rooting for you John.
I got a call yesterday with an update. The mechanic started tracing the wires for the temperature sensor, as it is reading -38. If it was reading -40, it would be as if the sensor was unplugged, so there is an open circuit/break somewhere.
As he looked at the wire going to the sensor, it is the wrong color compared to the diagrams for an 04' GTP. He went to the ECU and could not find that colored wire at all. He opened the harness close to the sensor and discovered a barrel connector, where it switches from one color to another. So now he is in the process of trying to figure out what wire color they are on one end, and what color they are on the other end.
Having these different wire colors on each end really sucks! I will be paying for their Labor at $110 an hour just to be able to then test the harness
Didn't you buy that harness from someone?? They may know what color config they used.... just an idea.. hope ya get the old girl on the road ASAP... regards
Didn't you buy that harness from someone?? They may know what color config they used.... just an idea.. hope ya get the old girl on the road ASAP... regards
It is a FieroFlyer wiring harness. He offered to look at it, and make any repairs for free. The problem is, the car is at the shop, and the labor cost to take the whole harness all off of the car, and ship it and the computer to Canada, and wait to get it back, and the labor to re-install it all again.... it would probably cost more than the shop just fixing everything.
The harness looks great from the outside. However once you start to take the tape off, it is a jumble of all different wires connected with barrel connectors EVERYWHERE. One would think that running a single wire from the computer to the destination would be the way to do it. Just about all the wires in this harness are cut and spliced back together once the tape and loom is removed.
The mechanic started to take the tape off of the wiring harness, and many of the wires that were attached by barrel crimp connectors, just came out of the connectors. They were not fastened / crimped well, and just the tension of taking the tape off the harness is pulling the wires out of the connectors. Next, he was able to find the yellow wire that is SUPPOSED to go to the temperature sensor, it was somehow routed to the A/C pressure switch.
The 2 wires that are supposed to be connected to the temperature switch are supposed to be yellow and..... damn, cant remember the other color. Anyhow, the yellow is the correct one on the computer end, just that it routed to the A/C pressure switch mid harness.
He is still trying to find where a couple of the other wires from the computer ended up. When he is done, he tells me he will solder and shrink tube the wires correctly.
After taking off the tape and wire loom, he found the yellow wire coming from the computer, meant to go to the temp sensor, it was going to the A/C pressure sensor instead:
Here are couple wires that came out of their barrel connectors when taking the tape off of the harness:
Again, I just can not seem to catch a break on this car! Any other person would purchase a harness, get the engine in, and start it up no problem. Not this F'n car! Brand new wiring harness is all screwed up and wires going to wrong sensors ect.....
AHe says he is not getting correct readings on a few more wires, so he is sure a few other wires are going to the wrong sensors from the computer.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 05-16-2017).]
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