 
     |
| First Fiero, now what? (Page 2/2) |
|
Jake_Dragon
|
MAR 14, 01:58 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by Raydar:
Very cool!
One of my favorite Fieros, in one of my favorite Fiero colors.
Welcome to our obsession!
|
|
I know right, this tread is giving me the Fiero itch  or perhaps that's the bushes out back...
|
|
|
|
Vintage-Nut
|
MAR 15, 02:31 PM
|
|
My Two Cents:
If you have the previous owner’s preventive maintenance and service records, follow the Pontiac schedule.
If Not, I suggest flushing the anti-freeze because the Fiero coolant system is harder than most vehicles and it’s inadvertently neglected. Tip: DO NOT OPEN the plastic radiator drain valve! Most people don’t try to open the two drain plugs built into the coolant pipes under the car either. I normally remove the rubber hose next to the right coolant pipe drain plug to drain it. Of course, a new thermostat too….
I also recommend removing the wheels to check all of the brake pads/rotors, especially the rear. Check for pad thickness plus each set are wearing evenly; if not, it is an early sign that you need brake caliper work.
Enjoy,
VN
|
|
|
|
zkhennings
|
MAR 16, 09:17 AM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by Raydar:
It's normal for the Fiero to get very warm (235F) before the radiator fan kicks on. Rodney Dickman sells low temp fan switches.
Also, filling the coolant is... interesting. It has to be topped off from the rear. Preferably with the rear of the car elevated a bit.
|
|
I have always had good luck with pulling the thermostat in the rear, opening the radiator cap at the front, filling at the rear until liquid is coming out of the front rad cap, close rad cap, fill the rest of the way at the rear, run the car with no thermostat and top off as needed, reinstall thermostat.
|
|
|
|
Vintage-Nut
|
MAR 16, 11:18 AM
|
|
I agree that filling new coolant on a Fiero is out of the ordinary of newer vehicles; however the bigger problem is getting out of all the old anti-freeze. Since the flushing coolant ‘hassle’, I think many owners neglect it……
The cooling system fluid capacity of the 2.8L engine is 13.8 quarts, but when draining it, I measure approximately 7 quarts. This means that around 50% of the old anti-freeze is still in the engine block.
Since the engine block drain plugs aren’t accessible, several times of flushing is required; run the engine, cool it down, drain it, fill it up again, and repeat to clear the coolant system.
Obviously, the fully flushed coolant system has 7 quarts of ‘water’ in the engine block so don’t use a 50% anti-freeze/50% water mix. My flushing procedure is to use distilled water on the last two flushes (not ‘tap’ water) and fill the system with ~7 quarts of concentrate (pure/straight) anti-freeze.
VN
|
|
|
|
zkhennings
|
MAR 16, 01:31 PM
|
|
I do think if you are pulling the cradle anyways, you can just undo the rad hoses up front in this position and get the vast majority out. The coolant tubes that run along the rockers do have drain plugs, but they are often frozen.
|
|
|
|
hyperv6
|
MAR 18, 05:59 AM
|
|
The one thing to consider is replace many of the sensors.
My car has only 40k miles but I replaced most of the sensors this year and made a fig difference in how it ran.
It was not bed before but it did make a good improvement. The air control was stuck even at low miles.
|
|
|
|
WKDFIRO
|
MAR 19, 10:31 PM
|
|
|
|
|
