The tale of a wounded Fiero

Thanks Patrick for telling me where I could find out how
to burp my Fiero. I hope you don't mind if I continue the
PM link on the regular Forum where it might help some
other members.

A little more of the story revealed itself after I picked
up my car at ASC. We headed for home on Powell St.(in the
eastern end of downtown Vancouver) and got about 2 kms
when the car quit right in the middle of rush hour
traffic. After what seemed like an hour(actually only
about 3 minutes)of honking traffic, rude gestures and
lots of yelling, the car started again and we pulled away
to turn left onto a deserted street where the Fiero quit
once more, but this time with lots of noise and what
sounded like three explosions from under the car. The
heat gauge was also pegged at the maximum!

After enjoying the ride home via BCAA, my son came up
with an initial diagnoses of a seized water pump,
(through which all of the coolant had drained)and he will
try to fix it tomorrow. He explained that the explosions
were actually the bearings in the water pump expiring
with a bang.

Does his diagnosis sound reasonable (before I spend
another $85 on a new water pump)or is there another
diagnosis?

BTW: ASC did a fantastic job on my upholstery (sp). They
are real professionals, and they charge reasonable rates.
Their work was the final step in getting my car ready for
collectors plates ... it now looks almost like new, both
inside and out!

Thanks for the info Dawg

We took the car partially apart yesterday afternoon/night
and it looks like the water pump blew up in a big way.
My son (a qualified auto mechanic visiting from Nelson
for a few days) did most of what you suggested and he
says that the engine seems to have survived with little
if any damage. It ran fine with no strange noises when
we started it and he couldn't see any water in the oil,
nor oil in the water. Is it possible that this miracle
may have been because of the Castrol Syntec that I use in
the car!

Oh well, I'll have to wait until my son puts it all
together again with a new water pump and more testing.

We purchased a new water pump from Lordco and after some
difficulty with the bolts etc, we finally got it
installed. However, when we put water into the system to
test it, the water poured out of what seemed to be the
bottom of the pump! We used sealant on all the threads
but we didn't have the equipment (beyond the jack that
came with the car) to lift the car so we could get
underneath.

My son has gone to the Artists For Kids Camp to work for
this week, so I don't have him around to help me. And
when he does get back here, it will only be for a couple
of days. So I want to see if I can better diagnose the
problem for him.

Is it possible that the long coolant pipe from the rad
ruptured as a result of the loud bangs that we heard when
the car quit?

Any other ideas?

Thanks for your time, tips and suggestions.

Directly below the water pump closest to the rear head, is the main frost plug.  From the factory a great number of Fiero's had block heaters installed there, with cheaper rubber O Rings.  If the frost plug / block heater is leaking you will see water exactly where you are talking about.The loud bang/pop you heard could have been the plug popping out.   I replaced mine with a rubber expansion plug and it worked perfect.  The rubber plug is about 10 bucks from Lordco and should outlast the motor.

Folks

I went to Dave's place today and had a look at his problem.

When we added water at the engine filler it immediately poured  out of what turned out to be the water pump gasket area. After removing the new water pump it was quite apparent that the gasket was a bit oversized and had been damaged when it was installed. Lousy looking gasket that without some pre-installation surgery would not fit no matter how much care was used.

Dave ordered a new $ 4 one from Lordco, and we will install it on Friday.

Will that solve the problem or was the water pump defective in the first place? We don't know, but when it is back together again and full of coolant, we will try it again. Hopefully the loss of coolant (that did happen) did not actually damage anything.

Gary Hawthorn

Glad to hear your car's running again, Dave.
I've only replaced my waterpump once on my car so you're good to go for awhile again.