So my Fiero died... (Page 4/12)
Cliff Pennock AUG 04, 01:48 PM
Moving to TD&Q
Cliff Pennock AUG 04, 01:56 PM
I just noticed the text on the bracket is in both French and English strengthening my suspicion that my Fiero originally came from Canada. 😁
theogre AUG 04, 03:59 PM
Yes, OE type will fit right. Al tanks require car mods to fit.

I don't see Filling Port "overflow" tube in above pic's. Where is that? W/o that can't connect to OF Tank and will have big problems.

The trans "cooler" fittings may not need or want any sealer on the threads.
Does "nut" float/move on the small tube?
Show a pic of threaded part of the adapters.

You need SAE J1532 "rubber" hose to make the joints w/ hard sections. Is made for hot auto trans oil. Most others including fuel hose will fail and sooner.

Copper/whatever for lines to trans need some solder bumps etc like adapter has a "flare" section to prevent hose to push/blow off them.
Example: My "bypass tube" for bad heater cores...
Patrick AUG 04, 06:12 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

I don't see Filling Port "overflow" tube in above pic's. Where is that? W/o that can't connect to OF Tank and will have big problems.



Are there radiators made without overflow tubes?

Cliff Pennock AUG 04, 06:14 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

I don't see Filling Port "overflow" tube in above pic's. Where is that? W/o that can't connect to OF Tank and will have big problems.



It's there. It wasn't screwed in yet in those pictures (it was a separate part, I guess to make it easier to place the bracket over it).
RWDPLZ AUG 04, 06:30 PM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:

I just rewatched the above video again and two things I noticed:

1) He has an aftermarket fan
2) His top bracket has square corners



Actually his is correct, yours looks like it came off an early car without A/C, there should be an entire shroud, that may have contributed to the overheating.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17...74&rlsatarget=pla-15 30439037931&abcId=9307249&merchantid=113593259&gclid=CjwKCAjww7KmBhAyEiwA5-PUSpBHCRu06lHXKMdKGMiTEY1ICsstG4ZWz8uJP6EZIlRgfpsdEoHJABoCLZEQAvD_BwE

Interesting bait and switch on the radiator cooling line fittings.
Cliff Pennock AUG 05, 04:33 AM

quote
Originally posted by RWDPLZ:

Actually his is correct, yours looks like it came off an early car without A/C, there should be an entire shroud, that may have contributed to the overheating.



My car never had A/C so that's probably why it's this model.
theogre AUG 05, 04:54 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
Are there radiators made without overflow tubes?

Yes but not for Fiero.

Cliff said not there in pic's because came as separate part.
If didn't say then Fill Port can be made wrong and can be "fix" in a few ways but doesn't matter now.

The "screw in" tube may need sealer.
Is so small try "Teflon" paint sealer for home plumbing that never dries fully.

also look at the cap carefully.
1. Still need a Non Vented Cap so make sure it right type.
2. Carefully compare w/ old cap... New rad may not be same otherwise and finding replacements can be harder.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 08-05-2023).]

sdgdf AUG 05, 04:57 PM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:

BTW, is it normal that a radiator fails so drastically? I mean, the car was leaking coolant somewhere but I was never able to figure out where because I never saw it dripping anywhere. And all of a sudden, it looses 5 quarts in 5 minutes from the radiator (area). The hoses felt dry but it was leaking from that area so I assumed it was the radiator.

But can a radiator fail in such a way that it develops a big hole in minutes?



In my experience on my daily driver, which is a car notorious for having a bad/cheap cooling system, parts will function in a degraded state for a while then when they blow, they blow. Part of that is they're under pressure and heat.

Good to see you're working with the chinese radiator and adapting it to your car. Sounds like you'll be driving it again soon! Hopefully this will also solve the problem of your fluctuating temps. Because its a fatter radiator it should be an upgrade and keep your temps low.

[This message has been edited by sdgdf (edited 08-05-2023).]

Cliff Pennock AUG 05, 07:12 PM
Looking at the picture of my old radiator, I notice something weird. If I look at the bottom transmission line (the one that was apparently broken off because it had a piece of tubing on it), it looks like there's something inside the line:



I wonder what that is? My car is parked about 8 miles from my place so I can't really have a look until I'll work on it again.