Seriously considering scrapping my car... (Page 2/2)
cliffw FEB 14, 09:48 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:
I'm hoping for just a few days of nice weather so I can better find out what is causing those leaks as they seem the most urgent to repair. I can most likely fix those myself. I'm setting aside some money each month so when summer comes, I hopefully have around $2,000 to spend on repairs I can't do my self. But like I said, I want to know if that will be $2,000 well spent or thrown in the trash.



If you buy a mall crawler soccer mom van, you would likely spend 3 to five hundred a month in car payments.
Give that to your Fiero every month and it will be a better vehicle. Close to brand new, function wise.
Kitskaboodle FEB 14, 01:33 PM
Cliff, is there any possibility you could store your car somewhere near where you live that wouldn’t be too costly? (friends house, commercial garage, etc.)
You could go and work on it as you have time, money, parts fans opportunity. That way, you use not under a pressure / deadline to get it done. And, you can focus on one problem at a time.
Me personally, I would focus on that head gasket issue. To me that’s major engine work and that would be a deal breaker for me. I would check the oil for grey sludge, coolant loss, steam coming out the exhaust pipe and a general loss in power.
Everything else is secondary.
Kit
Cliff Pennock FEB 14, 03:50 PM

quote
Originally posted by Kitskaboodle:

Cliff, is there any possibility you could store your car somewhere near where you live that wouldn’t be too costly? (friends house, commercial garage, etc.)



Unfortunately not. (Houses with) garages aren't really all that common here.


quote
Me personally, I would focus on that head gasket issue.



I'm not 100% sure it has a gasket leak since the oil isn't muddy and I only get white smoke when I start it (it has always done that as far as I remember). But at the last periodic inspection, the mechanic inspecting the car said he could "hear" it has a leak and he saw oil somewhere. Now I trust him since he has been working on Fieros for over 30 years.
Raydar FEB 14, 09:42 PM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:
...
But at the last periodic inspection, the mechanic inspecting the car said he could "hear" it has a leak and he saw oil somewhere. Now I trust him since he has been working on Fieros for over 30 years.



I would be surprised if someone could "hear" - and diagnose - a head gasket leak.
Fieros are infamous for developing cracked exhaust manifolds, which cause a "ticking" noise. That could be what he heard, and is completely unrelated to oil leaking.

They also have some fairly common oil leaks. The worst being the distributor O-ring. When it lets go, the oil runs down the end of the block, just above the transmission bell housing. It gets all over everything, and sometimes can be difficult to trace down.
They can also leak from the valve cover gaskets. Either of these leaks can be fixed in a day.

Also... smoke on startup can have several minor causes.
Most commonly it's just steam, caused by moisture that has condensed inside the exhaust system. The longer it sits, the worse it will be. Usually takes a few minutes to clear up. You will see it worse on cool/cold days. (A blown gasket will do it fairly continuously. And probably worse after the engine is warmed up.)
Occasionally, it's caused by leaky valve stem seals. This is also a fairly common issue with GM cars. It will cause a blue-gray cloud from the exhaust when the engine is started from cold. It usually will clear up in just a few seconds. Most people just ignore it, unless they're doing some other major work inside the engine.

A quick test for a blown head gasket is to start the engine from cold, put the car in gear, and hold the brake. While doing that, step on the gas for a few seconds, and then release. A blown head gasket should immediately pressurize the cooling system, even before the thermostat opens. The hoses will feel hard, when squeezed.
Not guaranteed, but fairly reliable. (When I had a blown head gasket, I could stomp the gas while driving, and immediately blow most of the coolant out, through the overflow/recovery bottle in the front.)

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 02-14-2024).]

82-T/A [At Work] FEB 15, 08:18 AM
Let us know if there's anything we can do Cliff...

If there's a bunch of parts you need... I'm sure we can all pitch in (means free to you), and I'm willing to foot the bill for shipping if people want to send me the parts and then I ship everything to you in one large international box.

Let me know what we can do... don't feel shy or humble about it. You've provided this resource to us for free for over 25 years. I've made a lot of friends on here over the past couple of decades, and am more than happy to give back, as is everyone else.
Cliff Pennock FEB 15, 10:46 AM
Thank you so much for the offer! 😊

But I think it's mostly elbow grease and not so much parts.
82-T/A [At Work] FEB 16, 08:17 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:

Thank you so much for the offer! 😊

But I think it's mostly elbow grease and not so much parts.




We may ***** at eachother in the Politics Forum, but make no mistake, every one of us would jump if you needed us to help you out, so don't hesitate. If there's something you think we can do... it's not a hard ask. You've been providing a free service to us for 25 years... remember that.
Notorio FEB 16, 11:51 PM
Cliff,

There are many good threads on Rust. Here is one example covering space frame rust and what can be done about it.

Rust Repair (The Correct Way)

My Uncle used to be in a club that owned a small airplane. Everyone split the costs and worked out rules for scheduling. Since garages are rare in your area, perhaps there is an auto 'club' you can joint that owns/leases a garage that members can use. Or, perhaps you could start one yourself! I have a feeling that $2K is not going to go very far if you are paying someone to do the work.

John
blackrams FEB 18, 09:24 AM
Everyone has to make this decision at some point regardless of the brand/model of the vehicle. A few years ago I started having similar issues of the three remaining Fieros I had. I've owned 22 different Fieros, all 88s. The decision I made had as much to do with my age and physical ailments as it did with the Fieros. Ultimately, I decided that although the cars were fixable, my knees wouldn't tolerate the effort. So, once I got them road ready again, I let them go. While I still have and ride my three antique Valkyries, the maintenance requirements are insignificant and I have one hell of a time on them. There will come a time they'll move on to someone else also.

So, I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do and thank you for what you've done for this community.

Rams

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 02-18-2024).]