New Forum Member Needs Help

[Fierofool]

88MedRedGT is from Jasper and has just joined our forum.  He's in need of someone in his area that can work on his car. 

There was a mechanic who built the engines for Whodeanie that lived in Jasper.  He's the one who salvaged the remains of the Joel Project car and other things from Whodeanie's Customs.  Anyone remember his name or have his contact info? 

88MedRedGT, if you will post your questions here, we might be able to guide you through some things and save you some money.

[88MedRedGT]

Hello, everyone!

I'm in need of a mechanic to work on the clutch on my '88 GT, as I have lost the pedal. Seems to be a hydraulic issue, perhaps my master or slave cylinder is out, but the fluid level in each reservoir is normal, I just don't have any clutch pedal action.

My regular mechanic is in Decatur--and I can't seem to get Hagerty's roadside to ever send anyone out to flatbed the car back to town to be repaired.

Does anyone know a mechanic near us in Jasper that can take a look?

Many thanks!

Todd

[Fierofool]

Todd, let's see if we can do a little troubleshooting.

First, look underneath the dash at the clutch pedal.  Is the master cylinder pushrod still attached?

If no, reattach it with the curl of the pushrod oriented upward.

If yes, while you're under there, pull the carpet and padding back from around where the pushrod passes through the bulkhead.  Is there fluid in there?

If yes, the master cylinder needs replaced.

If no, proceed to the next step.

In the engine bay, is the slave cylinder pushrod still inserted into the clutch release lever?

If no, reinsert it.

If yes, while you're there, slide the dust boot off the end of the slave cylinder and check for fluid in the dust boot.

If yes, the slave cylinder needs to be replaced.

If no, the system may have air in it and needs to be bled.

After performing these checks, report back here of what you find and we'll proceed. 

[88MedRedGT]

Many thanks....I will have a chance to look at it early next week, and will report back once I have had a chance to troubleshoot these items!

I truly appreciate the advice.

Todd

[Raydar]

There was a mechanic who built the engines for Whodeanie that lived in Jasper. 
... Anyone remember his name or have his contact info? 

I spent some time this morning looking through old "whodeanie" threads on PFF, thinking that I might find his name. (Sorry. No luck.)
But I had forgotten the details of what a crap-fest (trying to be polite, here) that Dean's situation turned into. Yikes.

Just occurred to me. Were you thinking of Jeff Ianatello? aka "Pontiac Jeff"? He owns Engineered Performance, in Woodstock.
 I know he worked on some 3800 stuff for Dean. Not sure if he'd be willing to work on a Fiero clutch issue.

Edit - But all the suggestions you gave were a great starting point, and shouldn't be too difficult to chase.

[Fierofool]

I had forgotten about Jeff, but no, his name was Charlie.  He was the 'brother' of Whodeanie's second wife, as he called himself.  He collected all the customer's cars and stuff left behind in Canton when it was about to be foreclosed on and took it to his and his brother's shop in Jasper. 

[88MedRedGT]

Many thanks, everyone.

I am in the process of resolving my issue--and it was in fact the master cylinder. I'm replacing the slave as well......

I truly appreciate the tips and detailed information. She'll be back on the road in no time.

Thanks again!

[Fierofool]

Did you find fluid behind the carpet? 

Some more tips.  When you go to pick up your master cylinder and slave cylinder, get yourself some rubber vacuum port caps.  They're usually on the HELP rack.  They're used for things like capping a vacuum port on a carburetor and they come in assorted sizes on a little plastic tree.  Select the correct size and cap the fluid line at the master cylinder and slave when you disconnect it.  That will help to minimize the amount of air that gets into the system.

As I mentioned before, be sure that the pushrod curl is upward when you put everything back together.  You can do a bench bleed of the new master cylinder when you get it.  Same for the slave.  Best to have fluid in them before hooking them up. 

When you get them installed, you can email me through my profile link and I'll walk you through how to gravity bleed the system without the need for a helper.  If you post here, I may not see it for hours.  An email, I get notice right away. 

Hurry and get it fixed.  We'd like to see you at the October meeting on the 14th. 

[Fierofool]

Hope you have the car back on the road by now.  How about joining us on April 13 for our Run For The Hills Scouting Run?