car issues

[fierolover]

Hello!
My husband and I are soon to become members of the fiero club here in GA.  My husband returns from Afghanistan in about 12 days.  I have a 85 fiero gt 4.9 V-8.  My husband has an 88 fiero GT 4.9 V-8 also.  I do know that all my hoses are leaking and needs some tender loving care.  My sunroof also chronically leaks.    I took it to the local mechanic and he did not touch it because of so many issues.  My husband's car needs a good paint job.  I had hoped to find a place (tech school, school or jail mechanic place) to tune up his fiero and paint it before he returned, but no such luck.
   We are fiero lovers and these our our 5th and 6th fieros. 

[TopNotch]

Cool Beans! We look forward to seeing you (and at least one of your Fieros) at our next club meeting.

[Fierofool]

Where are you located?  Our two mechanics generally haven't dealt with the 4.9 swaps, but another member has one and is quite familiar with it.  Maybe he could give you some info on what hoses are needed, or other technical help. 

[Cyb3rw0lf]

A momentary fix for the sunroof leak is to remove the glass, clean the seal off, wipe some petroleum jelly (yes, I know its weird) across the entire seal evenly, put the glass back in, and don't remove it/open it for a day or two. It keeps mine from leaking for a few months until it starts back up again. >..<

[Fierofool]

The sunroof gasket becomes hard and compressed over the years.  The drain holes in the corners also become plugged with debris and road dirt.  Lift up the corners of the seal and look for small drain holes.  Clean them out.  Clean the seal with Simple Green.  It won't harm the rubber or dry it.  Then rub the seal with Mineral Oil Castor Oil to soften it.  It will also cause a slight swelling of the rubber.  Do this about once a month and it will keep it in good condition.  

Another contributing factor to the leaky sunroof is the deterioration of the glass hardware.  A complete restoration kit can be had from the Fiero Store for about $40.  The sunroof gasket is also available, but is no guaranteed cure for the leak.  

[TopNotch]

Since her car is an 85, it's not going to have the drain holes, and that's probably why it's leaking. Read the offical GM document about drilling the drain holes. (Click the blue text.)

[Fierofool]

I corrected my post above about maintaining a sunroof seal.  You should use Castor Oil,  not mineral oil.