Anyone have problems with The Fiero Store shift cables?

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:40 pm

My maroon 88GT 3.4 DOHC has been really hard to shift ever since I got it, and the DOHC made it all the worse. My friend and I ignored the problem, and it resulted in one fubar Getrag. So while we are replacing the transmission, we are also putting in a modified 3.4 DOHC crate engine, replacing the entire suspension, and more.

He purchased new adjustable cables from The Fiero Store. I just now saw the thread on Old Europe, where the guy has had two sets fail almost immediately after install. Has anyone else had these problems?

He also got new ball joints, poly bushings, and every other driveline component minus shocks/springs (We are dropping it) from The Fiero Store. Any issues with these parts?

Thanks!

Nashco · Post by **Nashco** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:45 pm

I can't speak to Fiero Store's cables. I got one from Rodney years ago that has been flawless. I just put it into my second Fiero that I got with a sticky select cable. Meanwhile, I've been lubing up the one I pulled. I had a hell of a time figuring out a good way to get lube in there, but over the last few weeks it's come back to life. I think I have lubed it 5 times or so and worked the lube around each time, should be good to go for at least a while now, we'll see. I'd read people say you can't bring them back to life in the past, so I didn't have any expectations, but it turns out they didn't try very hard. I was just using WD-40.

Bryce

Shaun41178(2) · Post by **Shaun41178(2)** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:59 pm

I got mine from rodney. Just fine. I ruined one select cable after installing the turbo as I didnt' use enough heat wrap and it melted being too close to the downpipe. Its double wrapped now like a herpes infested penis and have had no problems with rodneys cables.

get rodneys

THE PUNISHER · Post by **THE PUNISHER** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:37 pm

+ 1 rodneys cables

BUT.. they will shift like shit if not adjusted...

I have his cables and ultra short shifter , its too notchy for my liking so I am gonna swap it for a cut down stocker, not as fast , but a nicer feel.

MstangsBware · Post by **MstangsBware** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:01 am

Alot of the problem you read about with the Getrag cables are from humna error. The select cable gets ran the wrong way and gets put to close to the y-pipe. This of course melts the inner sleeve onto the cable which results in problems.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:13 pm

Recently, I made a thread on another site about the Fiero Store quality. Apparently, they buy most of their stuff from China. It is cheap crap that does not work even right out of the box. Unfortunately, some items have to be bought through them since parts are scarce for these cars. Another member bought their ball joints, hit a pothole, and the threads stripped out, the nut came off, and his suspension dropped. Basically due to a cheap part made in China. He could have been killed at a high speed. Their stainless steel brake lines wear out in less than a year. I bought their new outer dew wipes that were such a bargain at $80.00 per pair. When I got them, they were already bent because they use cheap aluminum, not steel, for the support strips and the rubber was only vinyl. Everything that Rodney Dickman uses is American made.

MstangsBware · Post by **MstangsBware** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:38 pm

drumwzrd wrote: Everything that Rodney Dickman uses is American made.

Wrong--All his suspension parts are from Taiwan. Last time I checked Taiwan was not in the US. Most all the parts you buy for the Fiero are going to be made outside the US. Also you cant always judge a product on what others say. There is always human error when installing a part but that never comes out when the failure is brought up.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:58 pm

MstangsBware wrote:
drumwzrd wrote: Everything that Rodney Dickman uses is American made.
Wrong--All his suspension parts are from Taiwan. Last time I checked Taiwan was not in the US. Most all the parts you buy for the Fiero are going to be made outside the US. Also you cant always judge a product on what others say. There is always human error when installing a part but that never comes out when the failure is brought up.

Oh.....I only buy some of his specialty tools...and yes, I'll never understand why people don't admit when they screw up. It just confuses other people more.

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:09 am

I'll trust a 30 year old manufacturing technician in china before I trust a 30 year old manufacturing technician in the States.

After all, the chinese tech's been doing it since he was 4.

Boscolingus · Post by **Boscolingus** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:02 pm

Mach10 wrote:I'll trust a 30 year old manufacturing technician in china before I trust a 30 year old manufacturing technician in the States.

After all, the chinese tech's been doing it since he was 4.

HAHA, so true...

In the past at WCF I had always used Rodney's cables for replacement units when a customer's car had needed one. The prices of Rodney's cables put his at a premium over the Fiero Store, not to mention compared to OEM from the dealership ( one quote once was $500 range ). The only issue I ever had after sxeveral cables from Rodnet was a select cable on a 4 speed Muncie.

After exhaustive wrenching on Mike Morris' car it was founf that the internal liner was binding on the cable, something I may have done when I might have bent the cable a little bit too far on itself, but was the only answer I could come up with.

Many years later Chris at WCF managed to find a builder and supplier for these cables. The manufacturer's experiences mainly lie in the marine industry but Chris sent off 1 of each manual cable for the Fiero ( 8 total ) and had some prototypes made up.

There were some dimension issues at first but they have been great since. As far as price comparison I believe they are on par with Rodney's as they could possibly be made by the same supplier.

I myself left the shop long before Chris was offering the cables so I do not have personal experience installing them, however just know that WCF offers them so it's comforting to know that there are 3 suppliers for an item that once was OEM / dealership only

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:40 am

Uh, not to state the obvious, but AAP currently has them all available as well. Priced from $80 to $120, made in Israel, Limited Lifetime Warranty. (Roughly means they replace once for ANY reason, any time frame, then it's 90 day free replacement.) I've been using the select cable for about 20 months with no issues, the shift cable broke on me after 15 months, no problems with the second one (yet).

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:56 pm

Link to AAP? I haven't seen those before.

I'm using a WCF cable and I like it.

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:08 pm

Just went on the website.... AAP uses Partsamerica for their online shopping. The parts available online and through the stores are not always the same, or the same price. Here's a link to their online list for the 87V6 cables.. the prices are cheaper than they are in store, also different brands. That being said, I know they are available through the store-to-store system they have; I've had the website take my money before, only to send me an apology e-mail and refund later.
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList ... hift+Cable

jelly2m81 · Post by **jelly2m81** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:17 pm

Someone mentioned FS balljoints.

I have a customers 88 here, he had bought all 4 balljoints from TFS. After reading that forum of the worst tech on the planet he decided he didn't trust TFS balljoints so he ordered 4 balljoints from RD.

So today I'm finishing refurbishing the control arms and for shits and giggles I layed all 8 balljoints out.
I'll be fucked if I can see a difference between the FS and RD balljoints. Other than a different box, it's the same joint's in the same sealed bags with the same looking hardware.

I installed a set of Rodneys shift cables in the car, sure they look decent, It just iks me he uses those cheap looking ball ends and doesn't have grommets for them.

As far as buddys nut stripping off the balljoint after hitting a bump, that's more likely the retard fucked up the install.
I put FS balljoints in my 88 last month and 2 days later I wacked a crater hard enough it broke the recline mechanism in my seat, my balljoint's didn't fall apart.

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:55 pm

Uh, again, am I retarded or why wouldn't you just buy a Moog or TRW ball joint from a national chain? Federal Mogul currently has in production (under both of these names) lifetime warranty versions of every ball joint and tie rod on the fiero except for the rear inner toe link rods (the rest are shared with the chevette and t1000 hence some demand).

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:54 pm

I bought Fierostore ball joints for an 88 a few years ago. They failed within 5,000 miles. I then bought Rodney's ball joints. They were noticeably different. They did not wear out before I wrecked my car 15,000 or 20,000 miles later.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:58 pm

lucky80 wrote:Just went on the website.... AAP uses Partsamerica for their online shopping. The parts available online and through the stores are not always the same, or the same price. Here's a link to their online list for the 87V6 cables.. the prices are cheaper than they are in store, also different brands. That being said, I know they are available through the store-to-store system they have; I've had the website take my money before, only to send me an apology e-mail and refund later.
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList ... hift+Cable

Pioneer Products is the brand name. I can't find anything about them. I wonder who owns them...
If you look them up for an 88 Fiero it shows Motormite/Dorman cables, but doesn't list all the ones it does for the 87, even though they are the same. Hmm..

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:21 pm

When I worked at AAP we sold pioneer for motor mounts and harmonic balancers, in 2.5 years I never had any of either come back defective (that wasn't obviously installer error), so I know they make quality products; no experience with their shift cables though. The ones I bought through the main AAP warehouse are from a company called TruTorque; they make cables, clutch hydraulics, and brake hydraulics. Their products seem to be a little hit and miss, not really any issues with cables, more like less popular parts are very failure prone (although this is most likely an issue of seals rotting away on the shelf before someone finally buys the part).

As far as the listing differences, I found lots of crap like that in their system, and very unfriendly attitudes from the support center every time I sent in a discrepancy ticket.