Adventures of the $1 Fiero GT!!

[Solo2driver]

Picked up an '87 Pontiac Fiero GT 2.8L V6 this afternoon for the outstanding deal of $1, guy was moving overseas and had to unload the car. Good driver, 212K miles, shifts great. He says the oil was changed "maybe 5K miles ago, I dunno"....hehe. I get underneath, remove the ST filter that was maybe less than finger tight (and the sprayage shows) and put on a larger ValuCraft filter. The crankcase was about a quart low, so I add 1/2 qt of Mobil 1 leftover and 8oz of Chemtool. Idle for 5 minutes, then drain. Pour in remaining 7oz of Chemtool and a full quart of leftover Arctic 10w-40 and let that drip through the pan. Install new ST filter and 4 qts Mobil Delvac 15w-40, replace air filter and PCV, and idle for 5 more minutes (smooooooth). I plan on doing 1-week OCI's with HDEO until the sludge gets down to managable range, then do a few AutoRX treatments and often filter changes. I will try to get a pick on how much SLUDGE and CRAP is in the top of this motor, but it purrs like a kitten and pulls strong. Thoughts? After I am done with the cleaning cycles I will probably just stick to a HDEO, no synthetics unless I throw in a quart of leftover Royal Purple 15w-40, we'll see if the car uses oil or not. All this for $1.00!!!!!!Actually with parts and oil I'm about $20 into it, but I found change in the glovebox and ashtray! Too bad its an automatic, would have been a great $2006 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge car. -JamesW www.DaveTurnerMotorsport.com

 

[SSDude]

I wish I had gotten to the guy before you.

 

[pitzel]

The 2.8 isn't exactly predisposed to sludging. It is entirely possible, if the oil has been changed on a reasonable schedule, that your efforts are complete overkill.

 

[Ross]

Here are my fieros: You did very well. Many parts on that car are worth alot of money. Here is link to the best fiero forum on the net: www.fiero.nl/forum I have bought and sold 6 of these in the past 5 years. Made money on every one of them too.. Good luck, and keep us updated. [ May 27, 2005, 02:54 AM: Message edited by: Ross ]

 

[Ross]

Sorry if I got of topic with my pics... I have used auto-rx in the tansmissions and engines with good results. I was able to get a dripping rear crank seal leak to stop. The car is the first pic will be getting GC 0w-30 in a couple of weeks. The t-top car only has 2,000 miles on it so I am running dino 5w30 and changing it once a year.

 

[BlazerLT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Solo2driver: Picked up an '87 Pontiac Fiero GT 2.8L V6 this afternoon for the outstanding deal of $1, guy was moving overseas and had to unload the car. Good driver, 212K miles, shifts great. He says the oil was changed "maybe 5K miles ago, I dunno"....hehe. I get underneath, remove the ST filter that was maybe less than finger tight (and the sprayage shows) and put on a larger ValuCraft filter. The crankcase was about a quart low, so I add 1/2 qt of Mobil 1 leftover and 8oz of Chemtool. Idle for 5 minutes, then drain. Pour in remaining 7oz of Chemtool and a full quart of leftover Arctic 10w-40 and let that drip through the pan. Install new ST filter and 4 qts Mobil Delvac 15w-40, replace air filter and PCV, and idle for 5 more minutes (smooooooth). I plan on doing 1-week OCI's with HDEO until the sludge gets down to managable range, then do a few AutoRX treatments and often filter changes. I will try to get a pick on how much SLUDGE and CRAP is in the top of this motor, but it purrs like a kitten and pulls strong. Thoughts? After I am done with the cleaning cycles I will probably just stick to a HDEO, no synthetics unless I throw in a quart of leftover Royal Purple 15w-40, we'll see if the car uses oil or not. All this for $1.00!!!!!!Actually with parts and oil I'm about $20 into it, but I found change in the glovebox and ashtray! Too bad its an automatic, would have been a great $2006 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge car. -JamesW www.DaveTurnerMotorsport.com

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Instead of focusing so much on the oil, why don't you do a tuneup?

 

[dkcase]

quote:

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Instead of focusing so much on the oil, why don't you do a tuneup?

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I think he did, but ... Now, where was that link to BobistheTuneUpGuy... ?

 

[Solo2driver]

My focus was on the OIL because.....drumrolll.... I can DIP my FINGER in the SLUDGE and SEDIMENT the exists even right underneath the oil fill cap. Maybe I did not make myself clear in the fact that I could take a baby spoon and shovel out particulate matter from the cylinder heads of this car. The amazing part is that it still runs. Maybe a pic or two will have to more effectively relay my point....anyone have hosting capabilities? I always lose my password on those free sites. -JamesW $1 Fiero GT

 

[Solo2driver]

Pics tonight if I can get to them....almost forgot, yes I did add a few oz's of MMO to the engine...hey, if it blows up who cares right? hehe -JamesW $1 Fiero

 

[Steve S]

Gm really sicks The model you have is a real nice looking car .It was cancelled .I always thought about a Buick Grand National turbo engine in the Fiero. When I was taking automotive classes to keep up with the new tech stuff General motors gave one to the college I was going to. A real nice car ,also cancelled. Along with the Impala ss "rear wheel drive.

 

[wavinwayne]

As Pablo hinted earlier, didn't those Fieros have a bad habit of spontaneously combusting? I remember a recall from the late 80's-early 90's........something about those engines catching on fire. But for $1 car, who cares, right? Just don't park it in the garage......oops I see you already do.

 

[olympic]

The "fire hazard" was only on the early 4 cylinder models, and it wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. I've always wanted an 88GT but they are super rare up here in Canuck land. Only 700 total 88's were sold here. The Fiero was way ahead of it's time but poorly executed. By the time GM finally started to do it right in 88 it was cancelled. If it were still in production today it would probably be GM's flagship car ahead of the vette. The handling was there and got better year by year, it just needed some power to back it up. A couple more years of production would have likely seen the quad 4, DOHC 3.4L or even the s/c 3800 factory installed in the Fiero. Here's a link to some pics of the 89-90 prototype. That is one hot car! http://www.spmicro.com/gallery/album36?page=1

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by olympic: The Fiero was way ahead of it's time but poorly executed. By the time GM finally started to do it right in 88 it was cancelled.

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So which year since 1988 would have been "it's time"?

 

[Solo2driver]

Thanks for the link, looks like I've just found my new paint scheme :-P Car still runs well, it stopped smoking also. Turns out the guy removed the thermostat in an effort to reduce air bubbles in the system, never replaced it, and so the car runs waaaay cool...gotta put it back in to bring the mileage, emissions, and oil temp up. -JamesW $21 Fiero...and counting....haven't put gas in it yet!

 

[Pablo]

Great DEAL!! Wow. My dad couldn't sell his (silver), so he gave it away to charity (no joke). I would have taken it but we are in different parts of the country and I was way busy at the time. Can I make a small joke? Hey buddy your car is on fire! Sorry - after three attempts to fix the fuel leak on my dads - I think the dealer just got lucky.

 

[olympic]

quote:

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Originally posted by XS650:

quote:

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Originally posted by olympic: The Fiero was way ahead of it's time but poorly executed. By the time GM finally started to do it right in 88 it was cancelled.

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So which year since 1988 would have been "it's time"?

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Probably the early to mid 90's when GM had some more potent power plants that it could have used. But it had a bad reputation from the start and GM originally promoted it as an economical commuter car, not a sports car, so sales may never have recovered.

 

[wavinwayne]

quote:

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Originally posted by Solo2driver: My focus was on the OIL because.....drumrolll.... I can DIP my FINGER in the SLUDGE and SEDIMENT the exists even right underneath the oil fill cap. Maybe I did not make myself clear in the fact that I could take a baby spoon and shovel out particulate matter from the cylinder heads of this car. The amazing part is that it still runs. Maybe a pic or two will have to more effectively relay my point....anyone have hosting capabilities? I always lose my password on those free sites. -JamesW $1 Fiero GT

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I'll host & post your pics. e-mail them to: [email protected]

 

[HerkyJim]

HaHa, now you're goin to mess with the sludge. Cars runnin smooth. Maybe sludge ought to stay right where it is and ain't hurtin a thing. Reminds me of the guy who couldn't resist petting that nice puppy dog snoozin' beside the door

 

[Ross]

Olympic, Good post! The hard top 88gt in my post is a Canadian car. Only 423 gt's were exported to Canada in 88, and of those only 53 had the beechwood interior. Now if I could only get used to that KPH thing.. I keep multiplying X .62 in my head. Solo, you really did score big time. Visit that forum sometime, there would be many jealous people there to hear you got one for only $1.00. With that mileage, any chance that the engine has had work done to it before? Enjoy your fiero, and keep us update. This is a real cool story. I would be interested in some some pics too. The 1990 prototype fiero cars will be at the Illinois fiero show this September.

 

[JeepZJ4.0]

quote:

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Originally posted by Solo2driver: Turns out the guy removed the thermostat in an effort to reduce air bubbles in the system, never replaced it, and so the car runs waaaay cool...gotta put it back in to bring the mileage, emissions, and oil temp up. -JamesW $21 Fiero...and counting....haven't put gas in it yet!

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And there lies your sludging problem! When my Jeep's thermostat took a dump, i had it changed the next day. If it wasn't for the Mobil 1, the engine would have probably sludged real bad.