Real Fiero Tech

What kind of results will you get from an emissions test on a car with the EGR disabled in the chip?

I don't see any bubbling or hear any hissing... but I do see oil leaking out. It's happening very slowly.

What caused the compressor to go bad?

It's a 2000 Grand Pricks compressor mated to a 3800SC in my Fiero. The AC works well when it holds a charge, but the compressor is leaking some oil from one of the "plugs" (it kinda looks like a freeze plug in the bottom/side of the compressor body). The system won't hold a charge for more...

What's the correct torque spec for the 3 mounting bolts on an aftermarket 88 upper ball joint? Haynes manual shows this to be 28 ft/lbs, but I broke one of the bolts long before my torque wrench hit 28 ft/lbs.

It's a Fiero Store ball joint, if that makes any difference.

Oh, so you've both taken this pulley off before, eh? You know exactly the issue with the odd ball bolt size, and the fact that you can't readily get the correct puller/bolts for this? I'm sure you're both SAE certified mechanics and have never run into any sort of problem. You two can go fuck yourse...

1/4" fine worked perfectly! No impact needed on the puller. Just a few easy ratchet turns and it came off. Thanks Jinxmutt! BEGIN RANT ABOUT GM: Why on God's great earth did GM have to use some odd-ball size for this pulley? They couldn't just use normal size holes that work with the normal bol...

no shit. how do you attach the pulley puller to the pulley? there are no threaded holes to screw the bolts into.

It's a series II 3800 supercharged, if it matters.

The pulley has 3 slots that go into it. And there are smaller holes in those 3 slots, but the holes don't appear to be threaded. How are you supposed to remove the pulley if you can't attach anything to it? Has no one else had trouble with this? There's almost no information on how do this on the in...

How do you remove the fucking pulley from the engine? I got the huge bolt that holds the pulley to the crankshaft out, but the fucking pulley won't come off. There are NO threaded holes to screw the pulley puller bolts into. What gives on this? I'm at wit's end with this piece of shit.

Does anyone know the ALDL data speed from the 4.9 ECM? Is it 8192 or 160 baud?

Hi, I need the plastic shroud/casing/tube that goes around the steering shaft. It's kind of cream colored and mounts to the front firewall and go outward, surrounding the steering shaft down to the steering rack. Gotta be from an 88. I don't think any one ever needs one of these, but I do. If you've...

eBay owns 25% (at least they did in 2004) of craigslist.

Here's a picture of the steering intermediate shaft. The one on bottom is the one off my Formula. Never seen one with that rubber "absorber" before. http://www.fiero.net/jim/steeringshaft1.jpg Close up: http://www.fiero.net/jim/steeringshaft2.jpg Is this an odd ball or only used on certain...

I had someone hold the column and there's no play in it, even though the 9-3 wheel check reveals some movement. For S&Gs, I tried the left wheel too and found that it has at least as much movement as the right. On a hunch, I decided to check the mechanism between the bottom of the column and the...

I picked up a "Saginaw tie rod tool" and the inner tie rod was a breeze to take off. Got the plastic bushing removed from the end of the rack and replaced it with Rodney's replacement. Unfortunately, there's still play in the right wheel. Enough that you can feel it when the tire is on. Ap...

The ball-and-socket end of the inner tie rod has edges bent in where it attaches to the rack. Do I need to somehow straighten these out, or will the twisting force take care of that?

OK, what's the trick to getting 88 inner tie rods off? Special tools to make the job easy? I don't want to remove the rack from the car.

Ideally I'd like to reuse the inner tie rod too. I just need to replace the 88 rack bushing.

I know this has been discussed time and time again. Is there any difference between a coupe steering rack and one off a Formula/GT?

Looking at Rodney Dickman's 88 steering rack rebuilding parts page, it looks like there are only a few replaceable (or wearable??) parts in the 88 rack.

Are the wear items really just the inner tie-rods and that passenger side bushing? Does nothing else wear out in these racks?