1986 Fiero GT
2.8 V6
250000 kilometers (Canada model)
Manual transmission
Problem: Lack of power & rough shifting all gears.
1. Fuel injectors have been cleaned via direct line to fuel rail by mechanic.
2. Firing order has been confirmed to be correct.
3. Spark plug & wires are new.
4. Distributer is new.
5. Air filter is clean.
6. The engine does rev when in park or neutral.
7. Idle is somewhat smooth.
Disclosure:
1. Catalytic converter is plugged. To what percent I really don?t know.
History:
I purchased the car several weeks ago for $500.00. At the time it ran (mostly idling.) But it would start and move. Once the fuel injectors were cleaned it ran better, but still no power. By running better I mean that I could drive it 100Km/Hr. It took a minute or two to get to that speed. And indeed I did drive it 40Km at that speed with additional fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank. It really didn?t help the performance of the car. I am not sure if I should trust the gas gauge or not, but according to the gauge I burned the two gallons of gas I put in prior to my test run. This seems like a lot of gas for 40Km. Most of the power comes from the first 20% of the gas pedal travel. After that the car (including the RPMs) just seems to plateau out. It feels like dead space the last 80% of the gas pedal trave.
Questions:
This being a car manufactured for the Canada market is it possible that the emissions or some other part of the engine was designed to use Canada parts and someone inadvertently replaced those parts with USA parts?
Can you identify the lines in the picture of what they are and their usage?
What should be look at next?
Earl Laboissonniere
elaboissonniere@yahoo.com
Clarkston, Michigan 48346
"Disclosure:
- Catalytic converter is plugged. To what percent I really don?t know."
Maybe you should find out…
We did pull the exhaust off the engin and it ran a little better, but not much. So I guess I am not sure if it was a plugged catalytic converter or just better air flow with the exhaust disconnected.
You refer to removing the exhaust. Did this include removal of the converter? Just clarifying this a bit.
If the converter is not the problem then you should consider:
Ignition timing retarded way too much.
Worn out engine; run a compression check. There were some engine issues with these cars way back when. I worked for a large multi-line dealer and while I serviced the import makes this dealer was also a Pontiac/GMC dealer.
They used to drag one or two of these cars into the dealership every single week and many of them suffered engine problems; some with only 20k miles on them. The compression test will tell you whether it’s time to fish or cut bait.