Fiero spitting out COOLANT
Printed From: West Coast Fieros
Category: Technical Topics Forum
Forum Name: Technical Questions and Discussions
Forum Description: Got a technical question about your fiero? ask it here.
URL: http://www.westcoastfieros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2557
Printed Date: 23 November 2024 at 6:14am
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Topic: Fiero spitting out COOLANT
Posted By: InfernoFiero
Subject: Fiero spitting out COOLANT
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 2:02pm
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Hello, I was driving my Fiero two days ago, and I actually dipped into the 4 rpm (fast acceleration) and my car is the 1986 4 cyl version. It was overheating, I pulled over and when I opened the hood of the car I could see the coolant spraying out of the coolant cap. I fortunately pulled over near a mechanic shop, and with just the visual inspection the mechanic concluded that nothing was damaged with the coolant, and all the coolant leak was from the coolant cap. When I opened the hood I observed the coolant was at maximum level, but by the time the mechanic came it was below low. Anyways, I topped off with the coolant I bought from the mechanic, and it was good to go. Now, today, I was driving on the North Shore hill, stuck in traffic, and my car strangely was overheating AGAIN. I could hear sounds from the front of the car that sounded like "WHIR WHIR WHIR", and I could instantaneously feel it was coolant related. I pulled over once again and I noticed that the coolant was dripping from the cap, and the coolant level was at maximum, and by waiting 10 mins more the coolant was gone to below minimum. Can anyone give me a rough or even a vague idea of why this is happening? I always check my engine oil and coolant level on a regular basis, and I know no coolant pipe has broke! I am sorry if I am burden to this forum with such silly Fiero questions!!! Thanks in ADVANCE! |
Replies:
Posted By: Dawg
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 6:49pm
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Hello. On this Forum there are no silly Fiero questions. It sounds like your fan is not working. Some cars have a heat switch on the motor and some fans are controlled by the computer. I would check to make sure the electric fan actually functions then if it's ok, then find why it's not getting power. The Dawg ------------- You dream it up....I'll make it |
Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 7:16pm
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I don't know what kind of fan I have.
If my fan has the heat switch I would best check it out by turning on my car's A/C! "http://www.calgaryfieros.com/OSGdocs/coolant-fan.html" But how would I check my fan performance if it is the electric one? Thank you! |
Posted By: Colby
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 7:58pm
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I had similar issues with my 86 Duke. If I sat in traffic for too long car would get really hot before the fan turned on and sometimes the coolant would boil out of the reservoir. I bought Rodney Dickman's lower temp http://rodneydickman.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=88 - fan switch and http://rodneydickman.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=87 - thermostat and haven't had any issues since. And of course you should verify that your fan is actually coming on when you reach temps that high. ------------- 88 Formula 5 speed |
Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 9:02pm
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Hello,
Thanks for your responses! So, I turned on the air condition for my car for maximum heat, and my fan was working! So I can acknowledge the fan works! Should I get this part then (http://rodneydickman.com/catalog/product_info.php? cPath=21&products_id=235)? It says its for 84-86 L4 Fiero but I have no idea what L4 means... |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 9:20pm
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So you know your fan works. I suspect the overheating is not a fan issue at all. Do you know how to properly "burp" the Fiero's cooling system?
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InfernoFiero wrote:Posted By: Dawg
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 9:37pm
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What you need to do is let the car idle in the driveway with the front hood open. Watch the heat gauge as it goes up and up. Listen for the fan coming on or keep an eye out for it. Make note when it happens. Make sure your air conditioning is off. We want it to come on because the car is getting too hot not because the air conditioning is on. The Dickman lower temp switch usually ends up masking the real problem and making your car run way too cold. This will give you bad gas mileage and will eventually start overheating later once the real problem gets bad enough. If your fan ends up coming on at the right time then you might just need to "burp" the coolant system. The Dawg ------------- You dream it up....I'll make it |
Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 9:50pm
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Is this a good guide on burping the coolant system
(http://www.calgaryfieros.com/OSGdocs/cooling- system.html)Patrick? Before I do that though, I will double check the fan by doing what Dawg suggested! |
Posted By: Colby
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 2:22am
Yes, I agree, it's not necessarily the way to solve a problem with your cooling system. As for the downsides, in my duke at least, the car runs at the same temperature as always and my gas mileage is the same as far as I can tell (I check every tank). Do the V6's need to run warmer or is it possible my car has always run a bit too cold? ------------- 88 Formula 5 speed |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 11:21am
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On the V6 I recommend running the stock fan switch and a 180 thermostat. Running temp on a V6 is usually a tic below the 105 mark (middle) of the gauge. In traffic long enough mine will creep up to about 108 then the fan comes on and drops it way down quickly. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 12:19pm
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Funny, on my '86 GT (automatic), after many different combinations tried, I decided on the exact opposite. I settled for Dickman's 210° on and 200° off fan switch and the factory 195° thermostat. Overheating was never a problem with this thermostat/fan switch pairing. I now have the same combination with my '84 duke and it works great.
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Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 12:24pm
Posted By: ARTIC-1
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 4:31pm
I have the same problem with my 87/stock 2.8.could be a Vaccume leek or water pump isnt moveing coolant quickly vary fast,if i rev it up a bit,over 2000 it cools off real quick.the Eng temp moves to fast,up an down,poor flow,over volume.so i found this an thinking of giving it a try. ------------- SNOW MAN 87-GT/AUTO-2.8_ WHITE 88-TTop/ Duke-2.5. RED |
Posted By: Dawg
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 12:53am
Your water pump is buggered my friend. Loosen your alternator belt and try and wiggle the pump pulley. If it moves at all, it needs to be replaced.
------------- You dream it up....I'll make it |
Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 7:31pm
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Does a 1984 Fiero have a thermostat? I can't find it, and
it seems to me that online part store sells thermostats for Fiero from 1985 and above. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 7:42pm
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If you can't find it, it probably doesn't have one installed. It's (supposed to be) in the same place as with every '84-'88 Fiero... under the coolant fill cap on the engine.
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 7:54pm
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Patrick, could my Fiero be spitting out coolant because I
don't have this part? |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 7:56pm
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I suspect it's the other way around. Someone probably removed the thermostat because it was spitting out coolant (overheating). However, that's not the solution. Did you ever "burp" the system as we advised?
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 7:58pm
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No, I haven't. I was about do it right now, until I
realized I didn't have a thermostat. Can I go on with the procedure of burping the coolant system and just ignore the directions in regards to the thermostat etc. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 8:00pm
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Sure, but don't keep driving it without a thermostat as your engine will never heat up properly (which will kill your gas mileage and it's hard on the engine).
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 9:51pm
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I found the thermostat. I didn't know this was in the
back... I think I know where the thermostat cap is too now... but I don't where the radiator opening IN the back is. I don't have a Fiero Manual, and I know I couldn't hold out without one for so long. My apologies, hopefully I will find a manual soon! |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 10:09pm
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As I said in my PM response to you, go to the http://www.captfiero.com/paperbased - Paper Based Archives , specifically http://www.captfiero.com/paperbased/Tech%20Sheets/ - Here and you should find all the info you need.
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 31 July 2011 at 7:53pm
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Hello,
This post is from a while ago, but I did manage to hopefully burp the coolant system. My car overheated again though today while I was doing some driving, I always check my temp gauge, and it slowly creeped above 220, and I managed to pull over at around 230 to see if the fan is running, and to my surprise IT wasn't. The temp was going higher and higher and nothing happened with the fan. Does this narrow down to the fact that my fan sensor is broken, and I can get a replacement sensor from the Rodney Dickmans store to fix this once and for all? |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 31 July 2011 at 8:02pm
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Works for me.
This is based on the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that there is nothing else wrong with your Fiero.
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Posted By: Dawg
Date Posted: 31 July 2011 at 9:21pm
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Make sure the fan itself is ok before buying the fan switch. One way to do this is by taking the plug off the switch and shorting the contact to ground (engine). If you do that, the fan should turn on. Ignition switch has to be on. Dawg ------------- You dream it up....I'll make it |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 31 July 2011 at 10:56pm
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Damien, I believe he said the fan works, but I'm not 100% sure!
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 2:19am
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My fan works when I put the a/c on to full blast, is
that a good indication in itself? |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 9:37am
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I don't believe "full blast" is necessary. So I'm curious... when your Fiero appears to be overheating, why don't you activate the rad fan by turning on the a/c then? That's not the solution to your engine cooling issues, but it should at least prevent coolant from puking out of the reservoir (unless there are additional problems).
As long as you're moving forward, no fan is required to maintain proper coolant temperatures. You still have the air deflector under the front of your Fiero, don't you? If your Fiero is actually overheating (and it's not just a faulty gauge/sender), then either you haven't burped the cooling system properly, your water pump is faulty (loose impeller), or there's a restriction to the coolant flow (crushed pipes, plugged rad), etc. One of our club members (who shall remain nameless) used to have a problem with his Fiero overheating worse when his fan came on, and only while he was driving. It would cool down fine when he stopped. Turns out he had wired the fan in backwards and the fan was trying to push air forward through the rad the same time as air was naturally trying to flow back through the rad. The end result was that there was no air flow through the rad (when the fan was running while the car was moving). Took him awhile to figure out the problem! True story.
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 12:33pm
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My car was overheating shortly after exiting lions gate
bridge and while being stuck in downtown traffic (stop and little go). I think it was the lack of movement that lead to my car overheating. I just found more info on this air deflector, and I'll check if my car has that though. I'll burp the coolant system one more time too. So as long as any Fiero is moving forward the fan doesn't come on as there is no need, or are you just theorizing that the fan is simply not needed when going forward? |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 12:37pm
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It's not just a "theory".
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 4:13pm
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On a seperate note, I can't open my thermostat cap. I am
trying very hard and it just won't budge. Any special tricks? |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 6:16pm
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How'd you get it off when you burped the coolant system?
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 6:22pm
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I opened it without any hassle the first time, just simply
screwing it off! |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 6:26pm
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Well, it's not corroded on then. Just use something like a wet rag to give your hands a bit more grip. You could also use a large pipe wrench, but you gotta be careful. You don't want to deform the cap or especially the neck.
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Posted By: Dawg
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 9:03pm
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Ummm, they don't just screw off. You have to push fairly hard while turning till you get the lid past the locking tabs. The Dawg ------------- You dream it up....I'll make it |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 9:14pm
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Do you actually push your thermostat cap down while turning? I never have. I'm aware of the locking tabs you're referring to, but I find if I just turn the cap without cocking it off to one side or another that it'll "click" past the tabs and continue to turn to come off. Having said that, yes, I do push down on a rad cap when turning to remove it.
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Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 11:13pm
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It just dawned on me that perhaps the first time you took off the thermostat cap that possibly it wasn't turned all the way on and therefore had not clicked past the tabs that Damien (Dawg) was referring to. If that's the case, and if you twisted it all the way on when you replaced it, that might explain why it seems more difficult this time around to remove.
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Posted By: InfernoFiero
Date Posted: 06 August 2011 at 3:15pm
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I believe I have burped the coolant system.
After repeating step 4 and 5 twice, I turn on the engine for 30 seconds, and see that the coolant has gone down just a tiny bit in the thermostat opening... Should I assume that I have removed almost most of the air out of the system because in the burping instructions it mentions that after briefly turning on the car that I should top up the thermostat opening. |