I have had alot of issues with losing coolant at the neck of the radiator where the cap is.

Ive been dealing with coolant loss since I got the car a few months ago.

It doesnt leak on the pavement at all. I can see the coolant on the rubber hose that is right under the cap. The hose is in good condition, no leaking.

It passes the pressure test at the shop but appears to leak while I am driving


The shop I go to says the radiator needs to be replaced preferably with an all aluminum one, the one on there is new but a cheap one from China.

They say its not sealing at the neck of the radiator like it should be

I made sure it does have a non vented cap on there as well.

I am not a mechanical guy at all, so I am the mercy of a shop

any suggestions on aluminum radiators?

[This message has been edited by busa_powered (edited 12-22-2014).]

Does your radiator cap look like this:


or like this:


The one on your radiator should be this one:


The flat cap is for the thermostat housing on the engine.


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ARCHIES JUNK IS FASTER THAN SHAUNNA'S JUNK
12.3 is faster than a 13.2

[This message has been edited by FIEROPHREK (edited 12-22-2014).]

Check the rubber seal on the cap, and make sure the return line to the recovery tank isn't cracked or plugged. If they can pressure test the rad, then it's sealing fine.

They told me they put on what the oem states.

I was told it was non vented but I will check when I get it back

The lever action cap also will NOT work. I always bought Champion aluminum radiators if I could. I had their 2 row replacement in my 413 CI SuperBee and it worked great. If I needed one fast locally, I bought Modine. The ones for my Fiero and one of my C4 vettes were identical...so if it can keep a 350 V8 cool, it should have no problem in any Fiero. All mine easily kept 160* temp no matter how hot it was outside.

I put a Champion in my '85 GT w/3.4 hybrid and it works great.

It could also be that the tube from the neck is cracked, any good rad shop would be able to re-solder it without even removing it from the car.

They told me they put on what the oem states.

I was told it was non vented but I will check when I get it back

If their pressure tester is sealing on the rad, your cap should too.

Depending catalog use... Number listed could be non-vent, vented, or both types. Non-vent is correct.
See my Cave, Radiator Caps

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

Make sure the cap is Not "Touching" the hood rail when the hood is shut. I had that problem after I installed a new radiator, (a matter of about 1/8". had to cut a spot into the rail to relieve the pressure on the cap )

They told me they put on what the oem states.

I was told it was non vented but I will check when I get it back

I also say go with the champion radiator. I have one in my built 3.4 fiero and the temp wont go above 160 until I am stopped for like 30 mins

Here is one on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-R...em2ed2364782&vxp=mtr

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[This message has been edited by tshark (edited 09-08-2018).]

You can have problems using 3 core on 2.5l engine.

Most times the duke doesn't generate heat to make problems on OE rad.

You can use too much radiator for given engine and weather making the issue very hard to predict.
If you cool too much, the engine gets problems cause slow to warm up or act like always trying to warmup. This can hurt MPG and Power.
OE type Tstant will flood the engine w/ cold water. You often get see that happening on temp meter on the dash.
When system is working right using a OE rad and driving in cold to freezing weather the temp will climb fast when Tstat is close. Tstat open and engine temp crashes. Each Cycle can be seconds to a 2-5 minutes depending weather etc.
The giant radiators on big trucks are close off by covers over the grill etc in winter for this reason.

Stant SuperStant helps stabilize engine temp w/ OE rad but adding more cooling area on the rad then that might not help many 2.5 and some others.

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On topic...
Warning: Bad seal of tube cause by weak/damage clamp on either end or Damage to overflow outlet itself often behaves as a bad cap or area on rad meets the cap.
I have Aftermarket rad w/ "flat" area on overflow outlet that fail to seal w/o carefully adjusting small worm screw type clamp. Small size for them makes "flat" area at the screw and when the two areas meet the hose can seal.

They told me they put on what the oem states.

I was told it was non vented but I will check when I get it back

the problem I had with the "cap touching the hood" when it was shut, was with the Champion radiator. it's just a shade taller than stock. check the clearance.