Fiero GT Help
 

I know this thread is in the wrong forum and I hope the mods will forgive me for posting it here but I need some quick advice.
I am going to look at a GT tomorrow morning and need some help with an engine issue. The car is a v-6 with automatic transmission. It idles and revs up in neutral but when you put it in drive it bogs down.
The current owner had a mechanic hook his scanner up to it and the car would rev up, in gear, as long as the scanner was hooked up. The diagnosis was a bad distributor but i am not sure about that.
Also, are there any other things I should look for?

map sensor

Was...
 

there only one trouble code kicked out? I'd be looking at vacuum leaks. Ron

He didn't say anything about a code. That is what puzzles me. They really couldn't find anything. Car just bogs down when put in drive.
Other than the engine problem, is there anything else on the car I should look for?

Take a paper clip or something similar to ground out the diognostic terminals & get whatever trouble codes are stored.
If you're not familliar how to do this, the OBD-I test terminal has three wires (at least GM does): two on one end and one on the other. You jump the two that are adjacent to each other. With the key ON, engine not running, Watch the SES idiot light flash like morse code. All codes are 2 digit numbers: two flashes followed by three flashes = code 23, and so-on. Each particular code sequence will flash three times, then go to the next. When all the stored codes are finished, it will start back at the beginning. Usually code 12 is the first one. That just means there are some codes stored. If it throws out two or three codes and then goes back to 12, you know it has cycled through everything.
Just have a good pen and paper ready.
I think you can Google the list of codes for whatever year/make/model and get the definitions.

I suspect a throttle position switch could also be the culprit.
What year Fiero?

I am not sure of the year but it is a two tone car which eliminates 89 and it's a fastback so it has to be an 86-88.

I only asked because I'm curious.
Worst case senario is worn cam lobes, but I don't think that's common with 2.8 V-6.

If the battery has been disconnected for more than a few minutes, the computer will clear any stored trouble codes. Just so you know.
They'll come back though as soon as the issues start happening again, and SES light comes on.

I'll get some pictures and post them when I can. It's red and silver but the clearcoat is peeling.

My father in law has a red/silver 86 GT 4spd he will be selling this spring. Those are pretty neat cars.

OK...
 

not sure how he determined problem without "flashing" the computor. A code "44" would indicate a lean condition, for instance,and direct you to the issue...hopefully. I would borrow a scanner from any auto parts store. Usually...they will scan it for you. JMHO. Ron

Clear coat? wasn't the fiero all plastic body panels and the skin molded in color?

Sleepy,
I don't know. Anyway, I went to look at the car this morning but the owner wasn't home. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. What is it worth?
And, thanks mods for letting me keep this thread here.

two more

500.00

It's been sitting there a while and the floors may be rotted out. Will need tires, brakes, ect.

He should be paying YOU to take that :gag:

I wonder when the last time it was driven. Did you take note of the expiration date on the license plate?
Also, how long ago the bogging down symptoms? Before he parked it or when he tried to get it going again? Could be just tempermental from sitting for a long time.

Unless he says it had the problem before it was parked, assume for all he knows, the engine bogs down in gear because the tires are stuck to the ground.

I agree with Nixon, $500 and that's if you can drive it. You're doing him a favor if you have haul it away.

I concur 100%. Unless we're talking about super rare numbers matching cars, any car that has been sitting for ages and doesn't run like that is a $500 car.

That is what I had in mind to offer him. I'll let Y'all know what happens Monday evening.
It may look rough but I kinda like it.

I think $500 is overpriced
it needs about everything
you can pick up NICE ones for $3k
and will have far more than that to put it up to that level

I thumped the floors and they seemed to be OK. The grass is grown up around the edge of the car but there is space between the frame and the ground. I am just looking for something to use as a daily driver but would like it to be a Pontiac.
The tag expired in 2007 and it's probably been sitting since then but he has started the car several times and says it idles smoothly. I don't know if it had the bogging problem when he bought it but I think it may have. He actually got the car for parts to use on a Ferrari kit car he is building.
I am going to offer him $500 and see what he says. I'll let Y'all know Monday evening.

I would look at the hose from the throttle plate to the MAF sensor. Sometimes the torque of the engine in gear twists enough to open up a crack in the hose and introduce false air ( vac leak).

Those are neat little cars, there are few around the Chicago area that have had V8 conversions including one with an LS in it.

Cammer,
I appreciate your reply but I am not planning on a restoration. I just want to get it running and drive it to work.
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Well if you DO buy it, there's a place about 5 minutes from me called www.thefierofactory.com. It's in north Alabama (Harvest). Nice kid owns the place-he bought it from the old guy who built the business after working there for several years. He's got several acres full of nothing but Fieros, and will ship used parts. Does a lot of the Cadillac 4.5 V8 conversions, but would probably have anything you need to get 'er going. There's also a pretty informative forum on his site.

I like the Fieros as well, especially the GT's..

Gulliver,
Thanks for the link. I am about 6 hrs south. If I do get the car I may have to make a yard run!

A friend of mine had a fiero gt back in the 90's and that thing handled corners really good. Hope you can get it for a decent price.

I wasn't able to make a deal with the owner. He wanted $850 and I offered him $450. He wouldn't come down any so I told him I would have to pass.
Thanks for all the help and Mods, you can move or delete this post.

FIERO
 

Well at lest there is no rust. LOL.:rolleyes: