Hey All! Happy New Year to you all in advance.

To those who don't already know, I recently bought a "new" '86SE auto w/ a V6 a couple of weeks ago to replace the '88 coupe that I lost in Hurricane Katrina. The car runs great and everything seems to be fine with it. When I went to pick it up, we drove it back from Athens, GA (about an hour or so away from where I'm staying in Greensboro, Ga) with no problems. Highway speeds were smooth and the car responded well--good acceleration and everything.

About a week and a half ago we drove the car to Macon, GA (another hour trip each way) with no problems along the way. (Highway speeds of 70-75mph most of the way.) We got back and parked the car and the next day I noticed a wet spot (signifying a leak of some sort) under the engine compartment. I didn't have a chance to check it out until today, but when I felt the ground the liquid seemed kind of oily, so I'm guessing it might be an oil leak of some kind. (duh)

The engine itself is very clean. No signs of leaks or dirt anywhere. It's not the original engine that came in the car and only has about 6K miles on it. (rebuild)

When I checked the fluids tonight, I'm a quart low on oil, but the transmission fluid is clean and filled okay. There's still no leaks inside the engine compartment and I don't have any smoking or burning that would indicate an oil leak against anything hot.

So I have two questions:

1) What kind of engine oil should I use? The cap says 5W 30, but I think there might be something different that I'm supposed to use because of the time of year.

2) The guy I bought it from didn't drive it alot anymore, aside from the trip to the store in Athens (about 25-30 min each way). Someone had mentioned to me that if a car hadn't been driven for awhile that you might expect some leaks as the fluids pressurized appropriately once you started driving it longer distances and for increased periods of time. Is that so and could that be the reason for the leak that I found?

BTW---Here's a pic of the car (as if you haven't seen it enough already):

Thanks in advance for all your help (and your patience). I know this might be a simple question....but as you may recall, I was just starting to know my way around an engine with my 4cyl automatic before it was flooded in Katrina. Now I have to start all over again learning about a V6.

--Tress

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I may not know alot about cars...but I make a Fiero look good!

"The Hottie" --drowned by Hurricane Katrina but not forgotten: "Memories are forever"; The Hottie Diaries: (A Tribute to my little car)
Preface: Babes Do It Better Volume I: Checkup Ups and Downs: It Runs, Sort of Volume II: Engine Adventures Volume III: Declaration of Independence ...to be continued (she will live again)

[This message has been edited by Miss-Tress007 (edited 12-31-2005).]

One area that is prone to leaking on the 2.8 is the distributor "O" ring. If you look at the base of the dist real close and see a wet spot around it, it is sure sign that your leak is there. I'd start there, then work the way to the bottom of the engine. If the valve covers and heads look dry, and you find nothing on the Dist, then go to the bottom. The Oil pan gasket is another area that goes bad over time.

Good luck

hey miss-tress007 just check the little things like the oil-drain plug in the oil pan,and o-ring around the dist,if you can see the gasket around the oil pan .check that area ,glad you got another fiero ,and moved to a safer place,hope its nothing bad ,later keith

might also check the filter and make sure its tight. have you had the oil changed yet? i switched to synthetic 5w-30 and "developed" an oil leak. that's what you get for an extra $3 per quart!

Was the leak greenish in color? Antifreeze will feel oily and it could be antifreeze. Check the coolant level. If the leak was under the passenger side then it could be coolant leak. Glad you are back.
Don

Can you tell us what area the leak is in? Is it on the passenger side /drivers-side, front of the engine or back?

BTW congrads on the new ride....... looks very nice!

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Park the car over some white paper towels or white craft paper, that will tell you what color the leak is and what the fluid is.

The oil to run is 5W30. Going with a higher first number will increase the time it takes to build oil flow through the block and is not recommended since cold starts is where the vast majority of the wear occurs.

JazzMan

Hi, Congrats on the new Fiero.. If you look under the car where the engine and trans meet (bellhousing) you will see a cover plate for your flywheel, more than likely you will see oil on or around that area, it sometimes mixes with a little trans fluild --because the trans pan gasket is right next to it. When you clean that area--keep a eye on it everytime you get ready to drive or after you have driven it, my guess & I don`t want to be the bearer of bad news --ok-- is the real seal is leaking, if it helps any I did a rebuild on a 2.8 last winter and installed a new real seal, it took about 6-9 months to start leaking slowly again, there is some trick on the forum here ----when installing a real seal, ????drill a hole in something back there??? On the brighter side , it won`t hurt anything -----as long as you keep your oil level where it belongs. Hope this helps some......

Thanks guys for all the info. I'm going to add the quart of 5W 30 today.

I haven't checked outside yet to see if there's anymore fluid that leaked out since yesterday. I don't have a jack or anything to raise the car, so my vision underneath is very limited.

I'll try to get it parked over some white paper towels in another spot and see if I can get some more info on the location, color, etc. of the leak and get back to you guys.

Thanks again and Happy New Year!

--Tress

quote Originally posted by Miss-Tress007: Thanks guys for all the info. I'm going to add the quart of 5W 30 today. I haven't checked outside yet to see if there's anymore fluid that leaked out since yesterday. I don't have a jack or anything to raise the car, so my vision underneath is very limited. I'll try to get it parked over some white paper towels in another spot and see if I can get some more info on the location, color, etc. of the leak and get back to you guys. Thanks again and Happy New Year! --Tress

If you can get a large piece of cardboard under the engine area of the car, It would help showing the location of the leak.
slide it under, park over-night or for a couple of hours, slide the cardboard out and compare to drips to the location on the car.

When my '85 needed a new dist. o-ring, the oil was all over the place. It was on the starter, even.

When you're trying to find an oil leak, the O-ring is always the first thing to check on a Fiero, esp. one which has not been yours for very long.

Ed

And tonight I replaced the oil pressure sender which had gone from dripping a couple drops a day to leaving a small puddle under the car yesterday. This is an ugly replacement job on the 2.5. I think the 2.8 uses the same sender, but I don't know where it's screwed in.

quote Originally posted by goldiron: This is an ugly replacement job on the 2.5. I think the 2.8 uses the same sender, but I don't know where it's screwed in.

Oh yeah, especially after it has been leaking awhile. A nice oily and dusty film on everything. Nice easy location to have to reach up or thru to-- whichever way you do it, you are gonna get filthy.

On the 2.8, that sensor is on the end of a tube, kinda over by the battery.

quote Originally posted by Miss-Tress007: It's not the original engine that came in the car and only has about 6K miles on it. (rebuild) --Tress

6K on a rebuild?
Time to check oil pan bolts, valve cover bolts (along the lower sides) and timing cover bolts for tightness.
Some may have vibrated loose.

Okay guys. After it finally dried out from all the rain and I got some time, we snapped pics of the oil leak and the underside of the car. The leak is definitely coming from the rear passenger side. Here are some pics to help with the diagnosis:

Here're pics of the underside of the car in that spot:

--cont--

Looks like it may be comming from the front main bearing seal. Look at the front motor mount and see if it is covered with oil.
Don

I'd check the oil pressure sender before digging into the front bearing. The sender is visible from the top of the engine on the side the battery is on. It is sort of between the battery and the intake manifold. It is prone to leaking. It might be a good idea to check the tube that connects to the sender as well.

Good luck!

[This message has been edited by topcat (edited 01-12-2006).]