My '88 Fiero - The Never-Ending Saga

[GTRS Fiero]

Yes, the guide.  I'd have liked a roller chain.  My understanding is that the guide helps prevent chain noise and slap.

On my truck, I was told that, if the timing chain went out, the engine would self-destruct.

[Fierofool]

Generally, the aluminum head engines are interference engines, meaning that if the valves don't close at the proper time, they try to defy a law of physics and occupy the same space as part of the piston.  A Fiero engine in it's stock form isn't an interference engine.  Probably the worse damage you can incur should a chain break is that it will destroy the timing chain cover. 

[GTRS Fiero]

Who programs the 7730 ECUs best?  $240 used to be good for a year to get it right, but apparently now it's a charge each time.

[GTRS Fiero]

Hmmm.  I hope the chains aren't damaging the rockers.

[GTRS Fiero]

How long do the cat and muffler last?

[Fierofool]

I don't think a specific time can be assigned to them.  My first 85GT converter gave it up at somewhere around 160K.  The second 85GT didn't even make 100K.  My 87GT converter was still good when I removed it.  I think at about 130K, maybe earlier.  The Duke is at 176K.  All but the first 85GT had/have the original mufflers. 

[GTRS Fiero]

On my '86 SE, the cat was bad at 139K.  I cut it open, and was showered with parts.  It would've made one heck of a grenade.

My '88 is at 56K.  I dunno if the cat was bad or not, but it will be replaced.

[Roger]

The car is old enough in most states to no longer require the cat. After burning out 2 I put in a 'test tube'. After 10 years my testing is not yet completed. A lot of numbers to crunch what with the various conditions and all.

[GTRS Fiero]

These are pics of an engine that was for sale a while back.  I really liked how clean it looked.  Not so much the orangepeel texture on the intake.









I hope mine turns out as clean.

[GTRS Fiero]

Here's my rusty gas tank, with the new pulsator, fuel pump, sending unit, lock ring, and seal.  The TFS kit.



I'm interested to see what issues, if any, it will have.  I suspect the sending unit will need to be adjusted for depth.  It did plug right up.

[GTRS Fiero]

Thanks to TopNotch, I've moved all the images to this site, and fixed the links.

[GTRS Fiero]

Looks very nice. The next thing you should do is pull that accursed steel water plug (all of them) and replace them with brass plugs. The ONLY plug that needs to be steel is the cam plug.

I wasn't able to catch the water plugs in time.  What happens, now?

[GTRS Fiero]

All the fuel hoses that TFS sells have been put in place of the originals.  I hope that included the ones that rupture, but suspect I missed a few.

I can't wait to see how the new fuel sender works.

Radiator hoses are ordered, and the crossover coolant tube will be replaced.

[GTRS Fiero]

Last Fall, I was driving my Fiero home from work, when I happened to look in the mirror and see smoke coming out the right decklid vent.  It was hot out, so I had the AC on.  I had to wait through the stoplight, but then pulled over at the fire dept nearby.  The smoke seemed to be coming from the area of the AC compressor.  I turned off the AC, and the smoke stopped, although the air was still cold.

I drove my Fiero with the AC off, and all else seemed to be OK.  I was told that I probably had the black death.  I was disgusted, and parked it for a month or so.  Knowing the work I planned to do, I decided to live with it.  So I drove it to Davenport, Iowa.  That wasn't bad.  Then, I drove it to San Antonie, TX.  THAT was HOT!

We'll see how bad things are.

[GTRS Fiero]

This is the look I was going for with my headlights:


I opted not to go with the halos, or the full-time low beams: