I'm doing maintenance on my 12,000 mile Indy Fiero. I've changed the oil on the car using Amzoil Signature Series motor oil, along with a Purolator Boss oil filter. I have used both with great success in the past, and no need to change it.
I have installed a K & N air filter.
I plan on flushing the brake fluid with ATE TYP 200 Dot 4 fluid. Again, it worked great on the rally cars.
I'm wondering about two things. I want to flush the coolant, and have read all of the instructions on how to do it. I'm wondering what antifreeze to use. I have a friend that recommends Mishimoto Liquid Chill antifreeze. I have had people recommend Dex Cool, and Star Brite Star Cool. Any thoughts?
I would also like to change the gearbox oil. I have used Royal Purple in the past, and it has worked well. I have also heard really good things about Syncromesh. Any thoughts?
I'm not going to race the car, or do anything stupid with it. I just want to keep the car as reliable as possible.
12,000 miles is not your problem... 30+ Years is and likely many parts are iffy at best.
Just use Green Long Life coolant from Prestone etc. DEXCOOL and others do not like cars w/ green coolant and doesn't = long life when used in them. Use straight coolant Not 50/50 mix after flushing. See my Cave, Coolant Fill
See my Cave, Brake Fluid and Rear Piston notes Flush rear calipers is hard. Piston design holds a lot of fluid even when compress like installing new pads. So you might install DOT4 or 5.1 and still have very wet fluid... Often wetter then wet boil spec on bottle.
Sorry but K & N and similar air filters are hype garbage and doesn't clean as good as "Paper" Filters. Biggest air flow problem for your engine is the TBI and other parts in the engine, Not the "Paper" filters.
Amzoil made Wet Foam filters like most Briggs & Stratton small engines that clean air but stopped making them years ago. Was not made as BS Hype HP adding filters like K&N et al but just to be a non-disposable filter. New filters are just another knockoff of K&N types.
------------------ 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)
Mine had similar mileage, and I went through and did lot so "maintenance" items.
I like Amsoil, but not sure it is worth the expense on a 92 HP motor. Just my $.02.
I used Ogre's instructions for the coolant, and it worked like a charm . . . mostly. The drain plugs on the pipes were tough, but came out much easier if I warmed the car up and got the coolant to temperature. I also had to use thread tape (which was not my preference) to keep them from weeping.
Assuming you have a manual transmission, you will want Syncromesh for the gearbox. GM Syncromesh is the best, but Pennzoil is cheaper and will do just fine. Most of the Fiero manuals have a fill plug -- I recommend using that versus removing the VSS gear and filling from there. Gunk can enter the transmission when you remove it, plug it's too easy to break or loosen the VSS gear. The gear fell into the transmission on a Fiero I had years ago, so I won't do that again.
Originally posted by theogre: 12,000 miles is not your problem... 30+ Years is and likely many parts are iffy at best. Just use Green Long Life coolant from Prestone etc. DEXCOOL and others do not like cars w/ green coolant and doesn't = long life when used in them. Sorry but K & N and similar air filters are hype garbage and doesn't clean as good as "Paper" Filters. Biggest air flow problem for your engine is the TBI and other parts in the engine, Not the "Paper" filters.
I will agree with all of the above, especially the first item. After 30+ years water/fuel hoses, belts, tires, filters (don't forget the gas filter) and rubber suspension bushings are all suspect. Maybe brake calipers too. I would check them all and replace them as necessary. .
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Fortunately, I have not had to do much as far as hoses, etc. The car was scheduled to have the belts replaced, but they broke that weekend, so it went to the dealership. The only additional cost was having the car towed...
The only thing that I will have to sort is the cruise control. Surprise! I have replaced the stalk with a new Delco unit, and the next step is to check to clutch switch and the break switch. We just received about 8 inches of snow, so it looks like spring...
I normally use Royal Purple, but saw several tests that indicated that Amsoil actually flowed a little better, so I flushed the block with Amsoil engine flush, replaced the filter with a Purolator Boss, and changed the oil. Since my toy cars never see that many miles in a year, I change the oil every two years. Everybody is absolutely correct that there is no need for a synthetic for 92 horsepower, but given the Fiero's history, keeping good oil in the thing is a good thing.
Ogre's recomendation on antifreeze seems fine. I will definitely tell the shop to bring the car up to temperature before they loosen the plugs to break them free. Great advice! I may do Rodney's cooler thermostat at the same time. Currently, the car seems to run at about close to 190 degrees very consistently. I probably don't need it, but since the thermostat has to come out...
From what I have read, Sycromesh seems to be the way to go. I have used Royal Purple gear oil on a couple of cars, Redline in others, but people seem to really have great success with Syncromesh, and seem to like the way their gearboxes shift with them.
The Indy is just going to be a toy car, replacing a 1971 Volvo 164 4-speed. Kind of amazing that the Fiero is a stone compared to Volvo..;
The ultimate goal is to make it as reliable toy as I can make it.
Any syn oil flows better then "Dino" oil because less or no wax to be problems in cold weather. Unless you drive in subfreezing weather the engine won't care what 5w-30 is used.
Most Syn oils are Dino Oil base w/ a lot of extra steps taken from maker. You can thank Castrol for this but is still better then "normal" oils.
Oil change interval is Miles OR Time. Fiero is 7500 mi OR 12 mo. for most owner.
Even if you drive < 1000 mpy, the sump sees gas water etc and worse never gets oil hot enough and long enough to drive them out. This is Why they have a Time limit. Worse, 3000 mi OR 3 mo interval might actually apply here.
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I drive most cars less then ~ 7500 mpy but change oil every year. Just change oil on one last Sunday using Walmart or Amazon Syn oil w/ SN Plus rating.
