Okay, i just got an 85 GT. right away i put a new water pump, alternater, and TCC solenoid in it. there is a leak in the exhaust pipe where water drips down from the trunk and back windshield. the first time i drove it to work i heard the belt squeel for about 1 sec, and then stoped. with the new belt and all i thought maybe it just had to wear in, so i tightend it back up and it stoped for a while. now once again every time i start it the belt squeels. The overflow for coolent goes from full cold to full hot, never any more or less.
i took the car on a 3 hr drive today. i noticed that the back windshield and seats were getting hot so i stoped and checked it out. it seemed to be hot but the radiator was not hot at all, warm but not hot. i took the thermostat out in hopes that was the problem. it didnt change anything. my temp guage startes out cold and works its way up to 160, and never any hotter then that. my oil guage startes out around 60 and as it warms up it drops to 40 and stays there. if i make a left turn the oil guage drops to 0 and then comes back up to 40. im not sure if i should trust my guages or not. at 60mph im at about 2800 rpm's. when i slow down i smell trany fluid burning, or maybe its just trany fluid.
now i know the back windshield gets hot but how hot should it get. mine right in the middle is almost too hot to thouch. what temp do fiero's run at? any idea about the trany smell? could the heat and belt be both from the leak blowing exhaust all over everything? im just worried about my car, and maybe thats the problem. any advice.

quote Originally posted by ClifLR: Okay, i just got an 85 GT. right away i put a new water pump, alternater, and TCC solenoid in it. there is a leak in the exhaust pipe where water drips down from the trunk and back windshield. the first time i drove it to work i heard the belt squeel for about 1 sec, and then stoped. with the new belt and all i thought maybe it just had to wear in, so i tightend it back up and it stoped for a while. now once again every time i start it the belt squeels. The overflow for coolent goes from full cold to full hot, never any more or less. i took the car on a 3 hr drive today. i noticed that the back windshield and seats were getting hot so i stoped and checked it out. it seemed to be hot but the radiator was not hot at all, warm but not hot. i took the thermostat out in hopes that was the problem. it didnt change anything. my temp guage startes out cold and works its way up to 160, and never any hotter then that. my oil guage startes out around 60 and as it warms up it drops to 40 and stays there. if i make a left turn the oil guage drops to 0 and then comes back up to 40. im not sure if i should trust my guages or not. at 60mph im at about 2800 rpm's. when i slow down i smell trany fluid burning, or maybe its just trany fluid. now i know the back windshield gets hot but how hot should it get. mine right in the middle is almost too hot to thouch. what temp do fiero's run at? any idea about the trany smell? could the heat and belt be both from the leak blowing exhaust all over everything? im just worried about my car, and maybe thats the problem. any advice.

Get the car up on 4 jackstands. Inspect the coolant tubes that run on either side of the car for kinks. Also make sure you do not have any coolant leaks from the bolts in the waterpump (a couple go in to waterjackets in the block and must be coated with sealant). Check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge, the left turn problem may be the pick up is loose, you will have to take the pan off for that.

If you smell tranny fluid, check the rubber tranny cooler lines on the drivers side, they may be leaking. The belt squealing may be a bad belt or a fluid leak causing it to squeal. Get it up on 4 jackstands, a good light and check it from front to back.....Paul

The exhaust leak must be fixed, it can burn wires and lots of nasty things, it's a pain to get off. I drop the cradle, 'cause it's easier for me. You can drop it in 3 hours, fix the leak and have it back in the same day (one weekend at most).

[This message has been edited by Paul Prince (edited 05-23-2005).]

What would be some sure signs that my car is over heating? even as hot as it got, or i thought it got, i still drove it 100+ miles. would it have quite on me if something was wrong? another thing i dont have four jack stands, and work i do must be done with one jack, just about any size socket, and a sharp knife. told the wife i would only put so much into my car, so the rest is up to me.

If you are going under your car without jackstands and your wife doesn't care... she must have take out a sizable life insurance policy on you. Go spend the 40 or less dollars and get at least two jack stands from autozone or something... we aren't talking about breaking the bank... remember the Fiero weighs almost a ton and a half... you gonna catch it if it falls? NEVER get under a car with just a hydraulic jack... or the stupid OEM screw jack.

If your car were over heating you would probably see it on the temp gauge or the temp dummy light would come on. You would also loose power as the engine started to sieze if you let it get that far...

But the fact that it is only going to about 160 on the gauge tells me its not over heating and the gauge is working. So... if you are getting a hot firewall and you know you have an exhaust leak... fix the exhaust leak and see if that fixes the firewall problem.

[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 05-23-2005).]

The exhast leak can dump a lot of hot gas between the engine and the firewall.

Paul is right, fix the leak and you will probably see the back window running cooler than it is.

They do get very warm, but not to hot to touch.

I would have thought that a car would run more about 195 or 200 then 160. i guess i just dont much about fiero's. well thank you for the input, ill do as much of what you sugest that i can and let you know how it goes.

quote Originally posted by ClifLR: I would have thought that a car would run more about 195 or 200 then 160. i guess i just dont much about fiero's. well thank you for the input, ill do as much of what you sugest that i can and let you know how it goes.

Does your wife wear a seatbelt? Do you have locks on your doors? Do you have a smoke detector? You must have a minimum of safety to work on ANY car. No flame intended, but, tell her you need the stands to change HER oil. Please do not compromise safety......Paul

[This message has been edited by Paul Prince (edited 05-23-2005).]