quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: I hate this formula. it stopped overheating with 0 explanation with 0 extra parts. I litterally went like an idiot "I wonder if it maybe it only overheats at speed and low rpm" and stuck my foot to the floor for a 45 minute drive and it didn't overheat once. did a massive 5 foot flame out the pipes so that's...concerning.. but drove it to work again since I had a slow day ahead and it was fine. I did do the "proper bleed procedure" of opening the Heater and letting it circulate through the system before popping the thermostat and cap out to see how much the pump was pushing at 1100 rpm idle which wasn't alot? like barely an inch above the housing so maybe my autozone water pump just completely sucks and is spinning on its press fit shaft when there's a temp differential which is generally when it overheats. like only 60°f will cause this behavior but 90 won't anymore. I mean my s10 did a similar thing so it's entirely possible

What are you saying? 5 foot' flames out the pipes? Foot to the floor for 45 minuets? You removed the T-Stat cap with a (hot) engine?

So ... is this an "intermittent" cooling problem? And how long has it been going on?

Has anyone ever seen an intermittent cooling problem? ( Not just seasonal or unusual conditions.)

Your slipping pump shaft theory is backwards. Heat makes parts expand. The shaft and the impeller would get hot together and would get tighter.

Have you checked the radiator cap yet? All we know about it is that it's "... the crappy lever style ..."

If you really "hate" your 88 Formula, I'm sure there are lot of us who will gladly take it off your hands. Fireballs and all.

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: What are you saying? 5 foot' flames out the pipes? Foot to the floor for 45 minuets? You removed the T-Stat cap with a (hot) engine? So ... is this an "intermittent" cooling problem? And how long has it been going on? Has anyone ever seen an intermittent cooling problem? ( Not just seasonal or unusual conditions.) Your slipping pump shaft theory is backwards. Heat makes parts expand. The shaft and the impeller would get hot together and would get tighter. Have you checked the radiator cap yet? All we know about it is that it's "... the crappy lever style ..." If you really "hate" your 88 Formula, I'm sure there are lot of us who will gladly take it off your hands. Fireballs and all.

mostly joking when I say I hate it. its a fast fun drive when it works
and yes I've checked every square inch of this cooling system now and have spent 300 dollars on parts and tests that tell me it should be working entirely fine and seems to be now but my gauge sure doesn't move anymore.
and yeah I removed the cap on a hot engine. you just vent the pressure at the radiator and use long tools to keep your face away from any openings incase it flash steams. you never had to replace a water pump or anything on the side of the road before?
yeah the backfires are huge and have been getting worse. thinking my 02 sensor is bad again but it still starts like garbage (cranks for 5 seconds and sputtering after 2) but I can actually drive it again and that 45 minute test drive was to a local mountain pass to thrash the car on since lots of cold glacier water and completely empty roads late at night mean a breakdown is not a huge deal

Hi

OK, you're a serious hard core car guy alright. Yeah, I've done a good bit of side of the road work. I grew up with British Sports Cars.

I'm beginning to think your problem is more about those fireballs than the cooling system. And possibly always was.
How big and how often are they? Really. What are you doing when they happen? Detail. You need to link cause and effect on a time line.

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: Hi OK, you're a serious hard core car guy alright. Yeah, I've done a good bit of side of the road work. I grew up with British Sports Cars. I'm beginning to think your problem is more about those fireballs than the cooling system. And possibly always was. How big and how often are they? Really. What are you doing when they happen? Detail. You need to link cause and effect on a time line.

since I got the car its always backfired upon decel. been getting more violent lately as the fuel economy tanks (the 5 foot long one is an outlier though. I was getting over 20 mpg at the time) so I couldn't tell you. I did get it to stop when I wrapped jbweld exhaust weld on my y pipe to manifold connections with the entire down pipe removed so I think it's the y pipe disintegrating. I finally got the coated one from the fiero store (back ordered for over 2 months) so everything but the manifolds are new now. not sure if I put the manifolds on the wrong sides though...also not sure if it makes a difference
I'm usually at 3k letting the engine do a majority of the braking like a semi mixing in the brakes as needed but if I'm flooring it (driving like a jackass) then I'm usually damn near 5k after a downshift heavily on the brakes getting them around 450 degrees during this time but never going much above 550
and yeah I gotta be hard-core no one thinks a 20 year old is capable of what i do, I own a 69 toronado that's getting a rwd swap and drove a 6 speed 2013 mustang gt350 3 states home after not driving a manual for 5 years and so far the best driving experience has been the 88 down a mountain pass chasing my time I did in a 95 gtp (120 mph 4 wheel drifts with no handbrake on that lq1 equipped fwd pile) so generally if I'm on the forum ive tried my best and couldn't find anything

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: since I got the car its always backfired upon decel. been getting more violent lately as the fuel economy tanks (the 5 foot long one is an outlier though. I was getting over 20 mpg at the time) so I couldn't tell you. I did get it to stop when I wrapped jbweld exhaust weld on my y pipe to manifold connections with the entire down pipe removed so I think it's the y pipe disintegrating. I finally got the coated one from the fiero store (back ordered for over 2 months) so everything but the manifolds are new now. not sure if I put the manifolds on the wrong sides though...also not sure if it makes a difference I'm usually at 3k letting the engine do a majority of the braking like a semi mixing in the brakes as needed but if I'm flooring it (driving like a jackass) then I'm usually damn near 5k after a downshift heavily on the brakes getting them around 450 degrees during this time but never going much above 550 and yeah I gotta be hard-core no one thinks a 20 year old is capable of what i do, I own a 69 toronado that's getting a rwd swap and drove a 6 speed 2013 mustang gt350 3 states home after not driving a manual for 5 years and so far the best driving experience has been the 88 down a mountain pass chasing my time I did in a 95 gtp (120 mph 4 wheel drifts with no handbrake on that lq1 equipped fwd pile) so generally if I'm on the forum ive tried my best and couldn't find anything

I tried what your talking about on two 2.8 Fiero's. What I get is that sweet rhythmic down shift sound. Really nice. No backfire or fireballs. There is a lot written on the subject and it seems to point to an exhaust leak being a common cause. Fuel management is another.

If you had to JB weld the manifolds to the Y pipe, then you did have a leak. The manifolds are different, you can't put them on wrong. As I understand it, you have a complete new exhaust system. Are you still backfiring? (Just for the record, in case anyone jumps on it, "backfire " is "back" through the intake.)

You have temp sensors on your brakes?

Yeah, you're a young hard core car guy. There are a lot of mistakes you haven't made yet. The big one is trying to do way more than you can. Young car guys think they can do do anything. Getting past that one early will benefit you big time.

So .... it the cooling system working?

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: I tried what your talking about on two 2.8 Fiero's. What I get is that sweet rhythmic down shift sound. Really nice. No backfire or fireballs. There is a lot written on the subject and it seems to point to an exhaust leak being a common cause. Fuel management is another. If you had to JB weld the manifolds to the Y pipe, then you did have a leak. The manifolds are different, you can't put them on wrong. As I understand it, you have a complete new exhaust system. Are you still backfiring? (Just for the record, in case anyone jumps on it, "backfire " is "back" through the intake.) You have temp sensors on your brakes? Yeah, you're a young hard core car guy. There are a lot of mistakes you haven't made yet. The big one is trying to do way more than you can. Young car guys think they can do do anything. Getting past that one early will benefit you big time. So .... it the cooling system working?

I figured it was a fuel system issue or something dumb but I'm still not 100 percent and trying to do things right on this formula is litterally 30x harder than just doing it my way. I'm unsure if the cold injector is causing issues at this point but I do know the y pipe flanges are a oval so they definitely weren't sealing. a fiero store y pipe has fixed that though. Definitely annoyed at them for telling me the full system I ordered would come with every bolt and peice of hardware and I was waiting extra time for that and all that showed up was 4 crappy exhaust clamps. like 1/4 inch bolts basically so I'm pretty annoyed that for 1k and 3 weeks of waiting I got litteral garbage that I had already replaced from oriellys exhaust section for 20 bucks.
I use a temp gun to verify the brake Temps to try my best not to get them over 600 degrees during spirited drives which makes the 4 speed v6 a massive advantage because the ratios are perfect for engine braking. haven't tested the back firing though. missing some y pipe hardware and I missed ace hardware today for time reasons
honestly not sure if it is or not because I'm still waiting on a new temp sensor from rock auto because turns out I ordered the right one and they sent me the one for the ecm instead.
already reached that point btw. that 99 f250 got a full top end rebuild in 3 days and I had to do it twice because the parts I got were faulty and jumped time. then after I fixed it I had to drive 500 miles and got to see the awesome power of a 5.4l almost stalling up hills because the computer is dying buuuut that's what ford made the 7.3l power stroke for so as soon as I find a cheap one (probably gonna pick up 4 or 5 for some various projects I have) I'll have a truck that can move 15k if I need it to. and yes stop it because it's getting massive brakes shoved on

[This message has been edited by cartercarbaficionado (edited 07-24-2024).]

For what it's worth, I think you should probably replace your thermostat housing if what I'm reading is correct... I have one if you want it. I don't really know how else you'd be crushing stats unless the housing itself was FUBAR. Other than that, you need the air dam, it's incredibly important. I was chasing an intermittent overheat at speed for the longest time when I first got my car and it wasn't until I threw the dam back on that my temps were under control at highway speed. Around town and at lights, I'd turn my fan on using the AC button and that would fix the faulty fan switch, but on the highway (anywhere over 45mph) I was cooking regardless of whether the fan was on or not. If you're still losing coolant, I'd recommend maybe getting rid of the throttle body coolant lines and just looping the outlets on the therm housing with whatever rubber hose fits. I had what I thought was a bad head gasket if you look waaaaaaaaay back in my post history. Turns out my throttle body gasket was shot and was causing both high idle and coolant burn.

Also, I'm 22, my Fiero was my very first project car at 17. Since getting more experience and fully restoring an 84 El Camino and currently restoring a 67 Caprice, I've learned that whatever you know about cars basically has to go out the window because the Fiero is a stupid, stupid car. Very few things other than how an engine works apply to this car. It's better to heed the advice of the fellas here that have been in the **** with these cars for longer than either of us have been alive because while sometimes kinda mean about it, they're usually right. I wouldn't be racing my Fiero now if it weren't for them.

P.S. Stop loading the parts cannon, for the sake of your wallet.

Hi

I find it entertaining to listen to "kids" talk about cars and I'm sure you'll get a kick looking back at yourself from the future.

Tell you what; design an entire car, even with a factory behind you, then talk about stupid design.

quote Originally posted by Additivewalnut: For what it's worth, I think you should probably replace your thermostat housing if what I'm reading is correct... I have one if you want it. I don't really know how else you'd be crushing stats unless the housing itself was FUBAR. Other than that, you need the air dam, it's incredibly important. I was chasing an intermittent overheat at speed for the longest time when I first got my car and it wasn't until I threw the dam back on that my temps were under control at highway speed. Around town and at lights, I'd turn my fan on using the AC button and that would fix the faulty fan switch, but on the highway (anywhere over 45mph) I was cooking regardless of whether the fan was on or not. If you're still losing coolant, I'd recommend maybe getting rid of the throttle body coolant lines and just looping the outlets on the therm housing with whatever rubber hose fits. I had what I thought was a bad head gasket if you look waaaaaaaaay back in my post history. Turns out my throttle body gasket was shot and was causing both high idle and coolant burn. Also, I'm 22, my Fiero was my very first project car at 17. Since getting more experience and fully restoring an 84 El Camino and currently restoring a 67 Caprice, I've learned that whatever you know about cars basically has to go out the window because the Fiero is a stupid, stupid car. Very few things other than how an engine works apply to this car. It's better to heed the advice of the fellas here that have been in the **** with these cars for longer than either of us have been alive because while sometimes kinda mean about it, they're usually right. I wouldn't be racing my Fiero now if it weren't for them. P.S. Stop loading the parts cannon, for the sake of your wallet.

I need the entire air dam assembly for an aero front for an 88. I'm fairly sure it has a different mounting to the front subframe but I might be wrong. would love to have the air dam though. Still trying to find a coupe front for it for reasons
it has only crushed the 2 autozone thermostats but every other one has been completely fine so I'm guessing the strap was way way too thin and didmt get fully seated In the seal groove.
also it did stop overheating and consuming coolant so I'm putting my autozone pump and rest of the cooling system gaskets on the suspect list for the intermittent issue

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: idk man the fiero is designed weird for a rear mid engined car. gm just didn't let pontiac have the freedom they needed to make a reliable corvette killer that could survive the lacking maintenance that was becoming commonplace at the time. it was just supposed to work and that caused issues

I think the early design is brilliant on a budget but it's not a sports car. It wasn't intended to be. It was a "proof of concept" project about interchangeable pre-painted plastic body panels. Apparently the designers did have some freedom. An affordable mid engine 2 seater commuter car while we're at it? Why not go for it. Just don't put the Chevy name on it. It's a production prototype. Pontiac is where GM tried interesting stuff.

The 88 is a completely different animal. The chassis is the real thing. The 88 Fiero Formula is a true sports car.
I like the conspiracy theory; that the Corvette guys at GM "accidently" found an 89 Fiero prototype parked on the proving grounds and took it for a ride.
What .. ? no 89 Fiero? Just a fun theory.

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: Hi I find it entertaining to listen to "kids" talk about cars and I'm sure you'll get a kick looking back at yourself from the future. Tell you what; design an entire car, even with a factory behind you, then talk about stupid design.

Hey, I never said I could do it better than the coked up engineers of the 80s. Having worked on cars from the 60s, all the way up to modern day, I can say comfortably that the Fiero (and every other 80s car, frankly) is just weirdly designed and not really built for the every man to fix on. There's a weird trend that started in the 80s of making the engine bay small and the engine *just* big enough to make taking the valve covers off almost impossible with the engine in the car.

The Fiero (at least 84-87) is in your own words, "A proof of concept car." It drives like one, and working on it really shows that concept. Things like opening the decklid when it's wet dumps water directly on the exhaust manifold and cracks it, the unventilated hood becoming causing front end lift anywhere past 75, the parts bin suspension that has rear hubs and sealed bearings and front rotor/hub combos with older style tapered bearings, no rear sway bar, manual steering, rubber cradle bushings, a vent for the battery that just dumps water all over it + a vent that dumps water on top of the air cleaner assembly and eventually rusts it out, 84's 4 cylinder catching fire because they put too shallow of an oil pan on and didn't change the length of the dipstick. It just feels like 1st gen cars weren't built with the idea that it would still be around 40 years later, yknow?

Plus, I understand it's an old car with not a TON of aftermarket support but like good lord. I feel as though it's a bad sign when the upgrades for this car involve brakes from a Grand Am, master cylinders from Chevy Blazers, headlight motors from a Firebird, the perfect engine for this chassis being a Buick V6, etc. This car could've been so much better using ONLY parts that already existed from other cars that were available at the same time as the Fiero.

The 84-87 Fieros are not perfect cars and I don't think it's possible to make them perfect. A sad reality that I live in as I dump thousands of dollars into this thing to still get beat by a stock Miata. I've never had the privilege to drive an 88, I really want to, and I'm sure a 3800 88 would be on par if not better than any sports car of the 80s or 90s, possibly even the early 2000s. But 1st gen Fieros are JUNK. Very fun, very unique junk, but junk in comparison.

quote Originally posted by Additivewalnut: ...currently restoring a 67 Caprice

PM sent.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 07-26-2024).]

quote Originally posted by Additivewalnut: Hey, I never said I could do it better than the coked up engineers of the 80s. Having worked on cars from the 60s, all the way up to modern day, I can say comfortably that the Fiero (and every other 80s car, frankly) is just weirdly designed and not really built for the every man to fix on. There's a weird trend that started in the 80s of making the engine bay small and the engine *just* big enough to make taking the valve covers off almost impossible with the engine in the car. The Fiero (at least 84-87) is in your own words, "A proof of concept car." It drives like one, and working on it really shows that concept. Things like opening the decklid when it's wet dumps water directly on the exhaust manifold and cracks it, the unventilated hood becoming causing front end lift anywhere past 75, the parts bin suspension that has rear hubs and sealed bearings and front rotor/hub combos with older style tapered bearings, no rear sway bar, manual steering, rubber cradle bushings, a vent for the battery that just dumps water all over it + a vent that dumps water on top of the air cleaner assembly and eventually rusts it out, 84's 4 cylinder catching fire because they put too shallow of an oil pan on and didn't change the length of the dipstick. It just feels like 1st gen cars weren't built with the idea that it would still be around 40 years later, yknow? Plus, I understand it's an old car with not a TON of aftermarket support but like good lord. I feel as though it's a bad sign when the upgrades for this car involve brakes from a Grand Am, master cylinders from Chevy Blazers, headlight motors from a Firebird, the perfect engine for this chassis being a Buick V6, etc. This car could've been so much better using ONLY parts that already existed from other cars that were available at the same time as the Fiero. The 84-87 Fieros are not perfect cars and I don't think it's possible to make them perfect. A sad reality that I live in as I dump thousands of dollars into this thing to still get beat by a stock Miata. I've never had the privilege to drive an 88, I really want to, and I'm sure a 3800 88 would be on par if not better than any sports car of the 80s or 90s, possibly even the early 2000s. But 1st gen Fieros are JUNK. Very fun, very unique junk, but junk in comparison.

Yes, I know what your saying. What I'm saying is that, you have no idea what goes on in a design department. My viewpoint is this. In my last career as a design consultant, I was the guy who got called to the conference room to face several worried faces and thick, dog-eared folders on the table. I did have an advantage because I was the outsider unburdened by the established thinking bogging down progress on a project, but I got to see the nasty inside of "corporate" design. It's actually difficult to imagine the issues facing a brand new car. Just because your the head of design backed by an enthusiastic, talented team of car people and a vast parts bin, doesn't mean you get to do what you want. I think they did a remarkable job considering they worked for GM. If their goal was to build a Corvette killer, it would have been easy and they where well on the way with the 88 chassis. Make no mistake, the 88 chassis is a completely new design from the early cars. I'm amazed that a lot of Fiero people still don't know that.

I think it's sad that early engine problems and no chance in competition doomed what could have been an actual American Sports Car. The Fiero died only 4 years after birth. I'm sure there were some painful tears shed over that tragedy.

I think the best way to look at the Fiero is as a "kit Car". The 88 chassis is the perfect platform to start with if you want to build a serious mid engine car. Yes it's GM with all the clumsy overstuffed "American consumer appeal" but the Designers dream is defiantly in it. The overstuffed clumsy part is easy to remove.

I agree about the pre-88. Don't waste your time and money. Again, brilliant on a budget but not at all a sports car. If your looking to beat a Miata, buy an old lotus, or a Miata. (A Miata is a Japanese Lotus Elan.) Or ... start with a 88 base coupe and make it's designers proud.

Hi

This thread was originally about overheating. Looking back at it I think I see the story.

New car with multiple unknown problems. A enthusiastic young car guy jumps in with both feet and goes for the most difficult solution before going through a diagnostic procedure. He gets stuck on one possible problem not knowing if that's actually it. Most likely the real problem was in the T-Stat housing or the radiator cap all along.
That's step one in the Diagnostic procedure outlined in the "book".

As I said earlier, problem solving is a process. It's a skill absolutely necessary for an auto technician. Especially if you "rescue" old cars for fun or for profit.

So is the cooling problem finally solved?

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: Hi This thread was originally about overheating. Looking back at it I think I see the story. New car with multiple unknown problems. A enthusiastic young car guy jumps in with both feet and goes for the most difficult solution before going through a diagnostic procedure. He gets stuck on one possible problem not knowing if that's actually it. Most likely the real problem was in the T-Stat housing or the radiator cap all along. That's step one in the Diagnostic procedure outlined in the "book". As I said earlier, problem solving is a process. It's a skill absolutely necessary for an auto technician. Especially if you "rescue" old cars for fun or for profit. So is the cooling problem finally solved?

vehicle is currently rendered inoperable due to the new exhaust snapping all the y pipe bolts and breaking the egr tube during a drive. looks like it was doing fine but a noise got louder from lthe pulley of the water pump so the crappy autozone water pump bearing is dead. so as this noise has finally had its source identified I can say for certain that every new part that has been bought has been dead or failing withing 500 miles of installation.
this rumbling/crunchy noise was blamed on the alternator originally btw since that had been charging at over 16 volts for a bit no matter what we did and the fix was drenching it in lubricant around the brush area and smacking it with a wrench.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: vehicle is currently rendered inoperable due to the new exhaust snapping all the y pipe bolts and breaking the egr tube during a drive. looks like it was doing fine but a noise got louder from lthe pulley of the water pump so the crappy autozone water pump bearing is dead. so as this noise has finally had its source identified I can say for certain that every new part that has been bought has been dead or failing withing 500 miles of installation. this rumbling/crunchy noise was blamed on the alternator originally btw since that had been charging at over 16 volts for a bit no matter what we did and the fix was drenching it in lubricant around the brush area and smacking it with a wrench.

So ... the new exhaust snapped all the Y-pipe bolts? The exhaust did that ? How?
Water pump bearing failure; is the belt to tight?
Did you get a stethoscope yet? It's really good at "feeling" bearing issues even at the very early stages of failure.

Why does every part you buy fail? Are you the only one installing the new parts?

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: So ... the new exhaust snapped all the Y-pipe bolts? The exhaust did that ? How? Water pump bearing failure; is the belt to tight? Did you get a stethoscope yet? It's really good at "feeling" bearing issues even at the very early stages of failure. Why does every part you buy fail? Are you the only one installing the new parts?

not sure. it was the original y pipe bolts other than a brand new grade 13 I put in to replace a previously snapped one (snapped upon removal) I'm assuming the ocelot exhaust fitting like absolute garbage is to blame and was putting extra stress on the downpipe area.
belt is actually quite loose. the maximum adjustment for the alternator is barely enough to keep it from slipping and squealing just a little water on it causes it to absolutely scream so it's fine trust me.
don't need a stethoscope to hear the wster pump bearing grind when just opening the decklid is enough to hear it. spun by hand after removing the belt is enough to feel it crunch..
and yeah? if I'm following the manual and the headgaskets and manifolds plus the suspension and entire new radiator (right after I got the car it sprung a leak so a new old stock one was in order) so I'm pretty darn sure it's not my fault st this point.
especially since the wster pump on my 95 gtp and blazer (installed around the same time and serpentine with auto tensioners) have also failed or started to fail around this time I have reason to believe it's the parts I'm buying since it's all duralast garbage

it might be fixed?.. the Guage still doesn't work at all but at least it doesn't shut itself off after driving for 20 minutes.
I'm pretty sure it's the water pump since it shut up and stopped groaning so I'll be replacing it with a fiero store one.
also a friend bought a purple 88 formula that needs suspension and a water pump but otherwise won't overheat so if I put a pump in and it starts overheating I'll know the real issues I'm facing. it's a car put together by someone who's done quite a few 4.9 swaps so It's coming from a good place

[This message has been edited by cartercarbaficionado (edited 08-07-2024).]

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: it might be fixed?.. the Guage still doesn't work at all but at least it doesn't shut itself off after driving for 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure it's the water pump since it shut up and stopped groaning so I'll be replacing it with a fiero store one. also a friend bought a purple 88 formula that needs suspension and a water pump but otherwise won't overheat so if I put a pump in and it starts overheating I'll know the real issues I'm facing. it's a car put together by someone who's done quite a few 4.9 swaps so It's coming from a good place

The gauge doesn't work but doesn't shut off after 20 minutes? And then it gets really weird. What are you saying.

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: The gauge doesn't work but doesn't shut off after 20 minutes? And then it gets really weird. What are you saying.

I'm saying the gauge is broken and it's no longer shutting off from the heat but still gets hot.
I'm pretty sure jts the pump and now have a similar car to test it on

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: The gauge doesn't work but doesn't shut off after 20 minutes? And then it gets really weird. What are you saying.

What he is saying is that Tangerine Nightmare is HAUNTED!! It's already seeking its next victim. That poor purple Fiero.

quote Originally posted by Jason88Notchie: What he is saying is that Tangerine Nightmare is HAUNTED!! It's already seeking its next victim. That poor purple Fiero.

Now I finaly get it! Carter is a live ghost who haunts unsuspecting Fierros. Fortunately Yellow is on the opposite coast.
But .... ut oh. ghosts go anywhere. Actually ... I'm noticing some interesting minor issues .....

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: Now I finaly get it! Carter is a live ghost who haunts unsuspecting Fierros. Fortunately Yellow is on the opposite coast. But .... ut oh. ghosts go anywhere. Actually ... I'm noticing some interesting minor issues .....

No. It's the car. Not Carter. Carter is as much of a victim as any other unsuspecting mark. The car is using Carter for its diabolical mission...eat as many Fieros as possible. It needs to feed. And Carter is the perfect mark. I think it's starting to possess him!!

quote Originally posted by Jason88Notchie: No. It's the car. Not Carter. Carter is as much of a victim as any other unsuspecting mark. The car is using Carter for its diabolical mission...eat as many Fieros as possible. It needs to feed. And Carter is the perfect mark. I think it's starting to possess him!!

That sounds like a plausible theory. If it feeds, then it must grow and logically, reproduce.
How does it reproduce? Is it contagious? Are there any symptoms of early infection?

ya know what. both of you can go somewhere else. rude as heck and always unhelpful.
this is a forum. not a competition of who can make the most users leave.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: ya know what. both of you can go somewhere else. rude as heck and always unhelpful. this is a forum. not a competition of who can make the most users leave.

I sincerely apologize Carter, but you are just too much fun not to goof with. You make me smile and that's a good thing.

It's hard to help with your style of car work but I will keep trying.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: ya know what. both of you can go somewhere else. rude as heck and always unhelpful. this is a forum. not a competition of who can make the most users leave.

Carter, I meant no offense. Just adding some humor to your "interesting" issues with that car.

quote Originally posted by Additivewalnut: ...the unventilated hood becoming causing front end lift anywhere past 75

This I don't really understand. At 120+ miles an hour, my 87 Fiero SE / V6 (aero style) was rock solid on the road. Matter of fact, the car felt more planted when it was pegged at 120 miles an hour than it did at 60.

I also never had any issues with my headlights either... but I know that's a common problem. My Fiero's suspension wasn't modified at the time, pretty stock.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: ya know what. both of you can go somewhere else. rude as heck and always unhelpful. this is a forum. not a competition of who can make the most users leave.

Carter, please don't leave. You're not the only one who finds the old man exceptionally annoying. You'll get your Fiero running awesome, and we'll help you.

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 08-09-2024).]

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Carter, please don't leave. You're not the only one who finds the old man exceptionally annoying. You'll get your Fiero running awesome, and we'll help you.

oh no I'm not leaving. just wanted them to leave for a bit since sometimes I just can't do jokes. this week being one of them (been swamped with work and dragging dead cars out of ditches like my buddies 95 gtp that decided to hit a guard rail at 60 mph after it blew out a steer tire and dug into the asphalt. luckily hes ok and the car made it out with just a messed up front bumperl) just a super long week honestly.
I think I got most of the issues with the cooling system figured out but I'm fairly sure that the water pump (less than a year old) is having a slipping impeller which would make sense considering to make it not leak I had to rtv with an entire tube around it. says alot about the quality of that autozone part that didn't even come with the timing cover clamp. I will be making one for the other 88 formula to do its water pump and rebuilding its alternator and suspension. it'll get its own post in a few weeks unless the deal falls through

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: This I don't really understand. At 120+ miles an hour, my 87 Fiero SE / V6 (aero style) was rock solid on the road. Matter of fact, the car felt more planted when it was pegged at 120 miles an hour than it did at 60. I also never had any issues with my headlights either... but I know that's a common problem. My Fiero's suspension wasn't modified at the time, pretty stock.

I'm with you there man, I do 130 Mph fairly regularly as there is a stretch on my local road that allows that and not once has the car felt like it was lifting, never has my headlight doors popped up. Perhaps i need to increase the PCM's speed limiter.....

Last year me and a fellow PFF member let our L67's run, when we stopped he asked how fast we went, I replied ' I pussied out and put a 130MPH limiter on mine '. Nether of us felt out of control, his wife was calm.

I am wondering if bad alignments are the cause of people finding their Fiero's 'light', 'lifting' at speed?

[This message has been edited by jelly2m8 (edited 08-10-2024).]

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Carter, please don't leave. You're not the only one who finds the old man exceptionally annoying. You'll get your Fiero running awesome, and we'll help you.

It's interesting that you find me annoying.
Do you find Carter to be as much fun as I do? He says things in a amusing way. He has a fascinating sense of humor.
Because he's young and inexperienced and hasn't yet learned the intricacies of problem solving, that's where I try to help.
If you find that annoying, it says something about you.

Carter, please don't give up. I like your enthusiasm.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: I think I got most of the issues with the cooling system figured out but I'm fairly sure that the water pump (less than a year old) is having a slipping impeller which would make sense considering to make it not leak I had to rtv with an entire tube around it. says alot about the quality of that autozone part that didn't even come with the timing cover clamp. I will be making one for the other 88 formula to do its water pump and rebuilding its alternator and suspension. it'll get its own post in a few weeks unless the deal falls through

I can't remember if this was discussed earlier, but do you know by chance if that water pump has a plastic impeller? There were several "performance" water pumps for the V6 that were sold in the late 90s that ended up destroying many engines. Holley even sold a water pump back in the day, billed it as a performance waterpump, and the impeller would break free from the shaft, causing the entire thing to overheat like crazy.

quote Originally posted by Yellow-88: It's interesting that you find me annoying. Do you find Carter to be as much fun as I do? He says things in a amusing way. He has a fascinating sense of humor. Because he's young and inexperienced and hasn't yet learned the intricacies of problem solving, that's where I try to help. If you find that annoying, it says something about you.

Respectfully, you approach every conversation as though you're playing nationals, only to find out that quite often you're only at the local JV level. Case in point, you've come into several conversations talking about being an engineer and a research scientist, making the assumption that others are not. The preponderance of the people who routinely post on this site are very accomplished with advanced degrees, including PhDs, quite a few of them millionaires. This attitude wouldn't be an issue, and no one would care, but there's an air of condescension that comes with your constantly addressing everyone as "young and inexperienced" ... compared to you. It doesn't bother me personally, but I'm constantly rolling my eyes whenever I see you consistently address everyone as young and inexperienced. Where I work, one of the young and inexperienced people on my team is a foremost lead on Knowledge Graphs and Graph Neural Network development. The kid is barely 20, and operates with the professionalism and wisdom of someone with 20+ years of experience in artificial intelligence. Being older does not automatically give you license to constantly address everyone under the age of 60 as "young and inexperienced." You are not the highlander.

To that point, I don't want you to leave either. You have a lot of experience in suspension design and geometry that adds value to many discussions here... as I'm sure in other aspects as well. I just ask, as a fellow forum member, that you try to humble yourself... we are not all hanging on your next word.

quote Originally posted by jelly2m8:I'm with you there man, I do 130 Mph fairly regularly as there is a stretch on my local road that allows that and not once has the car felt like it was lifting, never has my headlight doors popped up. Perhaps i need to increase the PCM's speed limiter..... Last year me and a fellow PFF member let our L67's run, when we stopped he asked how fast we went, I replied ' I pussied out and put a 130MPH limiter on mine '. Nether of us felt out of control, his wife was calm. I am wondering if bad alignments are the cause of people finding their Fiero's 'light', 'lifting' at speed?

Yeah, this is the second time I've heard this, but like you, I've never experienced it before in any Fiero. I was starting to think if I was fooling myself. But yeah... the faster I would go, the more planted the suspension would get. It would be downright rigid... almost like the wedge-shape of the car was compressing the car down to the road (as in, 1979 Lotus John Player Special / F1 style). My Fiero was in good repair, no rust, and had all the rubber flaps as well.

Didn't mean to start a **** show Carter. I thought I'd toss out a funny screen play on your situation. Just trying to keep things on the light side. I thought you'd find it funny too since it's so outrageous. But it is what it is. CAN'T WE ALL GET ALONG?? sniff sniff.

And my screen play write up is based on a true story. Tangerine Nightmare is effing HAUNTED!

Now let's try to solve your little problem. Without harming anymore Fieros.

quote Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado: oh no I'm not leaving. just wanted them to leave for a bit since sometimes I just can't do jokes. this week being one of them (been swamped with work and dragging dead cars out of ditches like my buddies 95 gtp that decided to hit a guard rail at 60 mph after it blew out a steer tire and dug into the asphalt. luckily hes ok and the car made it out with just a messed up front bumperl) just a super long week honestly. I think I got most of the issues with the cooling system figured out but I'm fairly sure that the water pump (less than a year old) is having a slipping impeller which would make sense considering to make it not leak I had to rtv with an entire tube around it. says alot about the quality of that autozone part that didn't even come with the timing cover clamp. I will be making one for the other 88 formula to do its water pump and rebuilding its alternator and suspension. it'll get its own post in a few weeks unless the deal falls through

A slipping impeller doesn't cause a leak, just poor circulation.
Where was the leak? An entire tube of RTV?
What is a timing cover clamp?

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Yeah, this is the second time I've heard this, but like you, I've never experienced it before in any Fiero. I was starting to think if I was fooling myself. But yeah... the faster I would go, the more planted the suspension would get. It would be downright rigid... almost like the wedge-shape of the car was compressing the car down to the road (as in, 1979 Lotus John Player Special / F1 style). My Fiero was in good repair, no rust, and had all the rubber flaps as well.

excuse the mis quote here. won't let me select the right section of text for some reason.
anyways no its no a plastic one just a really Chinesium duralast model. last duralast I put in a car decided to launch its pulley off and into the radiator on my blazer so I'm not too trusting of the brand but it's what I could get at the time
and yeah the aero front is actually really stable st over 140 mph. I've had this 88 screaming down the highway trying to make it to a friend who rolled their focus and got there before the ambulance was able to from a few towns over. Definitely need to get more comfortable sliding the rear out once I get my other working