So my Fiero died... (Page 7/12)
RWDPLZ AUG 09, 12:57 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Two clamps at each end of hose?

My '86 GT has been stored for years, and to be honest I haven't even looked under the decklid for ages... but i drove that GT for a couple of years after splicing in a length of hose, and it never leaked at all. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket?



Yep, 4 clamps, the section that runs under the driver's door rusted out at college, drove it home to fix it at the start of summer break.
Cliff Pennock AUG 09, 04:47 AM

quote
Originally posted by Fie Ro:

Remove that nipple thing, it is pointing the wrong way already, you probably can find a 90 degree elbow with the same threadsize and a hose adapter at a normal hardwarestore.



That is in fact what I had been looking for yesterday on the interwebs for hours at end. But I couldn't really find anything. Problem is, I'm not sure what it's called. Slangtule? Slangpilaar? Slangnippel?

I then went to the Karwei - they also had nothing. I'll try Gamma today. And who knows, maybe PartsPoint (formerly Brezan) has something...
Cliff Pennock AUG 09, 05:13 AM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

1. again, need solder bumps etc so rubber won't slide off.



I was actually thinking of putting the hose on all the way to the bottom bend so it can't slide off. That also gives me some room to use two or even more clamps. Like this:




quote
2. just bent the trans line back some so rubber has a bigger radius to bend.



Yes, that's probably what I'll end up doing if I can't find a bent nipple.


quote
4. Look like the fan "body" edge will fit under w/ some effort w/o distortion when done. If fan "body" won't clear, If you cut/grind the rad frame only cut bare minimum to fix that problem. Or use spacers on the mounting screw points.



Last night I thought of another problem. I don't think I can even screw it in anymore. With the old radiator, there was room between the top of the radiator and the bracket since it had the rubber pads between them. Now that space is gone and the screws will now actually screw into the radiator? I''m not sure since I haven't checked it yet, but if that is the case, I need to think of another way to put the fan in place.
css9450 AUG 09, 08:57 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:


but what I got was this:



It did come with "adapters" so you can put a hose on it:






I am most concerned by this sudden new style of fittings instead of the OEM style like the car came with. I wonder if they'll all be coming like this form now on? This new type of fitting seems like a hack solution to a problem that never existed. I tend to think these things are all made in the same factory in China and regardless if you get it from the Fiero Store, Autozone, Summit Racing or Ali Express they are all the same item just in a different box.

I bought the Champion 3-row aluminum radiator last year and fortunately it still had the original style connections so my existing lines didn't need to be hacked up.
theogre AUG 09, 11:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:
Last night I thought of another problem. I don't think I can even screw it in anymore. With the old radiator, there was room between the top of the radiator and the bracket since it had the rubber pads between them. Now that space is gone and the screws will now actually screw into the radiator? I''m not sure since I haven't checked it yet, but if that is the case, I need to think of another way to put the fan in place.

top & bottom frames on the radiator has notches/holes that should clear the screws for the fan.

Look at mounting holes and see they align w/ those. If needed use a "WD40" can straw or anything fairly soft & flexible and careful poke the mounting holes.

Long hose plan maybe ok. if the gap is short more so. And If "floating" section have nowhere to go.

If 2 sections of hard line can touch or nearly so then compression fitting is better for a given joint. The fitting has a "stop" in the middle and depending on exact fitting type/design the Gap between stops in them can be near 0 to 2+cm. So make sure all parts fit before tightening anything.
But I won't use them on rad fitting even if you trim the hose barb off because of vibration can make Al tube to work lose in the metal olive. ("they" make Plastic olives for normal plumbing for plastic and other very soft tubing but is not rated for oil coolant etc.)
Cliff Pennock AUG 09, 04:46 PM
It's alive!

I ended up using a fuel hose because the parts store didn't have hoses for transmission oil. But I needed the car back at my place so I can more easily work on it. I've read on many places that you can't use fuel hoses as a (partial) replacement for a transmission line, but mainly because it can't handle pressure over 30psi. Now I might be wrong but I think the pressure in the transmission lines in the Fiero is waaaaay less than that. So for now I see this as a temporary fix until I can find the proper hoses. [b]Unless y'all thing the fuel hose is fine?[b]

Anyways, this is how the top is connected:



And at first I had the bottom like this:



But when ran the engine, that was leaking transmission fluid. Turned out the top clamp wasn't actually over the transmission line, so I moved it further back and it stopped leaking.

I do have what looks like a very, very small leak at the top outlet coolant hose. But just really a few drops. I tightened the clamp but it still leaks. But again just a few drops, nothing serious. I think the hose is just old and needs to be replaced. I will scour the internet for new hoses. But yeah, it's alive again!
Cliff Pennock AUG 09, 04:51 PM
All that said, this did not fix the temperature swing problem... It still rises to in the red, then drops to normal operating temp in seconds. It does this a while until temperature stabilizes...
theogre AUG 09, 11:28 PM
The bends above should be ok.

Fuel line can fail for trans oil. Change it soon.
Amazon and others have SAE j1532 hose.

Note: SAE j1532 hose can not be used as Fuel hose as Hates Ethanol and other gas additives. Remember Have cleaners etc built into fuel before selling it or store additives can have Alcohol and other things "eating" trans hose and many others.

"Pegging" problem can be crush/bent pipes, crap in whatever, etc.
T-stat maybe iffy too.
https://web.archive.org/web...cast.net/~fierocave/ coolant section.
Patrick AUG 10, 12:01 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:

All that said, this did not fix the temperature swing problem... It still rises to in the red, then drops to normal operating temp in seconds. It does this a while until temperature stabilizes...



How well did you burp the system?

The Ogre will say that the Fiero coolant system will eventually burp itself, and that manually doing so after refilling the radiator isn't necessary.

So I tried an experiment.

I've always thoroughly burped the coolant system (using This method) in any of my Fieros after doing any work on their cooling systems. I've never experienced coolant temperature swings after doing so. However, after repairing a coolant leak in my Formula, as reported in This thread, I purposely did not burp the system. I simply topped off the coolant at the thermostat housing, ran the engine for half a minute, topped it off again, ran it for another half a minute, topped it off again. I made sure the coolant reservoir was also filled to the proper level.

I should also mention that I had not drained the system. It was down about two litres/quarts when all was said and done.

The first few times I drove my Formula after the leak repair, my engine was experiencing wild temperature fluctuations. During one of the first few short trips, the temp gauge was creeping closer to the red, but strangely enough, my 210° fan switch was still not activating. I finally turned on the fan manually (by using the A/C control) when I was stopped at an extended red light. The temp gauge quickly dropped to where it normally resides. These wild swings in temperature continued until I had driven the car about ten times.

I will never not burp the system again after re-filling with coolant. I respect what The Ogre has to say, but I definitely do not agree with his stance stating that burping is unnecessary. It is my experience that burping the system after re-filling with coolant totally eliminates any wild temperature swings. This of course is dependent on the rest of the cooling system being in good condition.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-10-2023).]

Cliff Pennock AUG 10, 04:42 AM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

Amazon and others have SAE j1532 hose.



Will check out Amazon.


quote
T-stat maybe iffy too.



I've already replaced the t-stat - no change...


quote
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Patrick:

How well did you burp the system?



First filled overflow tank to "Min" level.

Fill it to the top at the t-stat housing, open radiator cap until all air is out, top it off at t-stat housing.

Repeat until level no longer drops at t-stat housing. Start engine, let it run for a few minutes, then repeat all steps.

This is how I've always done it. I still haven't checked for crushed pipes yet since I will have to jack up the car for that.

BTW, the new radiator does cool a lot better than the old radiator.