Ronnie

Barney, I don't know if you are serious or not about the 2" spacers but in the '60 and '70s I saw a lot of Volkswagens sitting on the side of the road due to people using wheel spacers and adapters to make it possible for them to use custom wheels made for Fords and Chevys. Spacing the wheel too far away from the hub puts too much stress on wheel bearings and lug bolts. The wheel being moved away from the hub works like a lever to vertically stress the wheel bearing causing it to overheat. Also addition stress is placed on the lug bolt. Another problem is if any slack gets in the setup, shearing forces on the lug bolts are created between the wheel and the adapter. Most wheel adapters due not have a step that goes inside the wheel like the hub has to eliminate shearing stress on the lug bolts. Our Reattas may have enough redundant strength built into the design of the hub/bearings/lugs that any of the above would not matter, but I doubt it. Just something to keep in mind when using thick adapters.

I rebuilt both headlight actuators on the '88 Formula that I had. It was one of the first things that I did when I purchased it so it has been a while ago. I have not rebuilt my Reatta actuators but from what I have read they are similar if not identical in operation. One difference that I have observed is that the door appears to be attached to the headlight on the Reatta but on the Fiero it was attached to the hood and pushed open by the headlight assembly. Internally the Fiero had 3 plastic dowels about 1/2" diameter X approx. 1/2" long that fit inside a clutch type device. They are what go bad and let the headlight fall down. It was not a hard job but you had to work in a limited about of space to remove the assembly. If you have done your Reatta headlights you shouldn't have any problems with the Fiero. BTW, I have a GM "Parts and Illustration Catalog" for the Fiero. It is not the same as a service manual but in some ways is a lot more useful as it shows a detailed break down of all the parts of the Fiero with part numbers. They are getting hard to find. The one I have is like new. If you are interested give me a PM

This discussion on loss of braking power due to loss of boost might be a real good reason for upgrading to larger brakes. (discussed in another thread) With larger, upgraded brakes, you would have more stopping power (when boost was lost) and make stopping in that situation much safer. BTW, before I installed a new brake accumulator, which was completely shot, my car still stopped just fine. IF the pump had gone out with a bad accumulator that would be a different story. Maybe even a scary story.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I have an 86 that needs restoring and I am looking for a source of good cheap parts. </div></div> I had a Fiero Formula for six years before buying my Reatta. If you don't already know, The Fiero Factory website, and the links you will find there, is the best place on the Internet to start looking for new and used Fiero parts, getting repair work done, and finding information about your Fiero. Ed Parks and his wife, the owners, live and breath Fieros. Good people to deal with.

I'm kicking around the idea of striping my Reatta. Give me you opinions about a Reatta with stripes. Should they be a different color? Maybe black, silver or gold? Stripes would be on hood and trunk. Then I'm planning to add a rear spoiler similar to the '98 Mustang.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's not so much that my Idle is off, It's that when I'm running along at almost any speed and I take my foot off of the gas , or let up on it, <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">My idle stays high. It drops down some, but not like it does with my other Buicks. Has anyone had this experience, and how can I fix it?</span></span> Jon... </div></div> Have you already forgotten what you said in your original post? Maybe some of the "EVERYTHING is NEW!" is causing the problem.

An initial high idle speed that slowly comes down is usually caused by a vacuum leak. Especially if followed by a rough idle. That is what I would look for if I had the symptoms you describe.

Could you post photos of what the 17" Mustang wheels look like on your car? BTW, what model is the Mustang they came off of? Thanks.

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread about the brakes. I was just anxious to be able to take advantage of the updated brakes. I'll try to avoid doing that in the future.

Thanks for the info Reattaron. What do I need to watch out for at the J-yard. Bent rims, chrome flaking or something that I normally would not think of?

Anyone know of any great looking 16" wheels that can be found in the bone yard that will fit the Reatta at a reasonable price? I wouldn't mind going with 16" wheels if all this upgrading works out well. It sure would be nice to see a step by step writeup of how to do the upgrade correctly and exactly what parts to use.

I doubt the Teves master cylinder knows much more about what goes on at the wheels than whether the hub has locked up. I can't imagine a scenario in which the caliper/rotor set up could affect the anti-lock system. A larger piston (or pistons) will require more fluid from the master cylinder to move the brake pad a given distance when compared to the stock piston. That would result in more pumping to get the pads seated against the rotors the first time. After the pads are seated against the rotors and then released, it might require <span style="text-decoration: underline">extra travel</span> of the master cylinder piston (and brake pedal) to apply the brakes the next time they are used. If that is the case, the result would be powerful brakes with a long brake travel that would not have a very desirable "feel" to them. I have experienced that in large trucks that have air brakes. You mash the brake pedal down to a certain point where the slack is taken up in the brake system and then they stand you on your head. It is only noticeable when the truck is empty due to the trucks ability to slide the wheels at will. When the truck is loaded you don't notice it because the truck needs the additional power just to stop. My point is, too much stopping power is not a good thing at the expense of good brake reaction and feel. just my $.02

The right side has two vertically aligned tabs (similar to the ones that hold the insturment panel bezel in place) that are spring loaded. They will let go if you can pull straight out on the right side. I made a tool to help pull straight out that amounts to a screw driver with about 1/4 inch of the tip bent at a 90 degree angle that allows me to hook it behind the panel on the right side of the CRT then pull straight out. Be careful to hook the plastic panel and not just the aluminum cover over the outside.

Any ideas on how to get the panel off? Thanks!

If I find the door lock wires, my next hurdle will be to find out how and where I will find the wires I need to disable the factory security system. Once you lock the doors with the power lock button and shut the door the security system stays armed until you unlock the car with the KEY to disarm it. Using the power unlock button will NOT disarm the factory security system. The keyless entry kit that I have has the wiring needed to disarm the factory security system. It's just a matter of finding the correct wires inside the car to connect to. Thanks for all the help so far!

Hi cor69692289, Welcome to the forum! I have a harmonic balancer that is in great condition. I bought a new one because I had a noise at the front of the engine. People here on the forum thought it was the harmonic balancer. It turned out to be the AC clutch making the noise. PM me if you are interested.

CHAS1, I appreciate the offer but, as stated previously, I already have a keyless entry kit. I also have a wiring diagram that came with the kit, that shows what each wire coming from the unit does. I just don't know where to find the wires on the Reatta that I need to connect to. What I really need is a Reatta wiring diagram that shows where each wire runs inside the car.

Thanks for the buying advice. I appreciate it. But I already have the keyless system. Besides that I take a lot of pride in being able to say I did it myself. I purchased my Reatta because I am retired and wanted something to tinker with in my spare time. I have a lot more time than I do money so doing it myself when I can makes good economic sense for me.

Thanks for the information. That will give me a place to start looking. If any other details come to mind, they would be appreciated. I see from your profile that you are a military man. I want to personally thank you for everything that you do for our country. People like you make it possible for us to enjoy the freedom that we have here in the USA. I want you to know that I appreciate it.

Thanks Vincent for pointing that out. I guess I should revise my post to say the following: I want to install a keyless entry system on my '88 model but I don't know where to start or where to look for the wires needed to connect it. Is there a central location where I can find all the wires needed? Has anyone done this before that could offer some help? It would be appreciated. Thanks.

Did all the '88 models have the same wiring harness or was the harness different for models that had keyless entry from the factory? I want to install a keyless entry system on my '88 model but I don't know where to start or where to look for the wires needed to connect it. Is there a central location where I can find all the wires needed? Has anyone done this before that could offer some help? It would be appreciated. Thanks!

Order a new O-ring at the same time. I believe the part # is #25528383 but check.

From: GMPartsDirect.com 1 - #25528382 Accumulator - $104.84 Shipping: $23.65 ORDER TOTAL: $131.19 Expensive shipping but overall good price. Best one I could find.

I'm not out of possibilities yet. Does the car smoke any when the detonation occurs? OR does your transmission shift harder than normal? I had an old Ford once that would detonate really bad sometimes. When it did it would blow out a puff of smoke at the same time. It only would do it when the car was hot. The car had a good engine that otherwise never smoked. The problem turned out to be a the modulator valve on the transmission. The diaphragm in it was broken and allowed transmission fluid to flow into the vacuum hose and into the intake manifold. When the engine was under acceleration it would suck some of the transmission fluid through the vacuum hose attached to the modulator valve and try to burn it. When it did it would detonate really bad and blow out smoke because it was trying to burn transmission fluid. On cars like the Reatta that have Catalytic Converters there may not be so much smoke. Look in the vacuum line that is connected to the modulator valve to see if there is transmission fluid present. If there is, change the modulator valve.

The FSM shows the fuse block is powered by a red wire that goes to a fusible link. It could be the fusible link that is bad but I doubt it. They are usually good OR bad and do not start working again after a period of time. It is something to check first. Then check the red wire at the fuse block to see if it has power on it. If it has power the problem is inside the fuse block. If it has no power, you will have to trace the red wire back to the fusible link to find a loose connection.