HELP!!!

[Oval311]

i was out driving my 87 fiero today when i noticed it was starting to overheat. i pulled over to investigate and noticed that there was coolant leaking sowhere from the front end of the car and even in the cabin. i recently replaced the thermostat and drove it around fine for a couple of weeks before this happened. someone please help!!

[RobsFieros]

Sounds like your heater core let go after 22 years or it could be a heater hose going to the heater core.

[Fierofool]

If it's in the front compartment and also inside the cabin, like Rob says, it could simply be a hose leaking at the point where it connects to the heater core.  There is usually enough hose that you can cut off about 1 inch and still have enough to reconnect without replacing the entire hose. 

If it's the heater core, you will have to remove the right front speaker to access some of the screws that hold the cover onto the heater plenum.  The remainder can be accessed from beneath the dash with a little bit of contortion.  When replacing the heater core, be sure to tell them if your car is A/C equipped or non A/C.

If you can't or don't want to tackle the job yourself, tells us where you're located.  There may be a Fiero mechanic nearby.

Welcome!

[Oval311]

i forgot to mention it's a GT. does that make a difference?

[Fierofool]

No, it doesn't make a difference.  The front end of the heater hose system is the same on all.  The only thing that makes a difference is whether or not it has air conditioning.

Again, where are you located?

[Oval311]

im in atlanta, georgia in the midtown area

[Fierofool]

The closest club member mechanic is in Douglasville, out I-20 West.  Why don't you come out to the meeting Saturday and you can meet him.  Get that car ready for the RFTH the following Saturday.

[Oval311]

well i would but the fiero is my only mode of transportation right now. so until i can get that fixed i won't be going anywhere.

[Fierofool]

If you'd like to come to the meeting, take MARTA rail out to the Doraville station.  Be there by 12:30 and I'll pick you up and take you back after the meeting.  In the meantime, see if you can narrow down where the leak is coming from.

[GMguy1987]

I almost had the same problem with my 87GT. I was out in OKC for my job training for 6 weeks when mine started leaking and my fiero was my only transportation. Since I couldn't afford a heater core nor had the proper tools to repair it I simply went to the local parts store and got a package of hose clamps and little plastic elbow pipe and just connected the two hoses together bypassing my heater core. Got me home just fine!

[Oval311]

today i removed the heater core and inspected the hoses. the hoses look fine, but is there a way i can test the heater core to see if that's the problem for sure? the day it overheated i turned on the heater to try to take some of the heat away from the engine to drive it home and massive amounts of coolant started leaking into the cabin. maybe that would indicate heater core failure? i'm not sure. what do ya'll think?

by the way my car is equipped with a/c but it is not currently working.

[TopNotch]

It sure sounds like the heater core to me. Bypass it like GMguy1987 said, and you should be good to go until Winter.

[Fierofool]

Heater cores often weep coolant for a while before they leak enough to be detected.  Usually the coolant will crystalize in the area of the leak.  Do you have any indications on the heater core?  You can test it by laying the core down flat and filling it through one of the tubes.  If you can't see the leak, put down 4 or 5 paper towels and let the core sit on it overnight.  It should show up with a wet spot if there's a leak.

[Oval311]

installed the new heater core and bled the cooling system. so far it's running good, but i had a couple of other questions. first what is the RFTH and second i have a radiator fan that runs all the time any ideas on what could be causing this and what i should check first?

[TopNotch]

RFTH is Run For The Hills, an annual event hosted by the Georgia Fiero Club. Basically, what we do is take our Fieros on some twisty roads, to enjoy what they do best -- corner like they're on rails. You can read the details of this year's run here, and you're welcome to come along.

Does your car have AC, and do you use it? Your radiator fan will run all the time while it's on. Otherwise, it's controlled by a temperature switch on the engine, or in the case of a 1987 or 1988 4-cylinder Fiero, by the ECM. If it runs all the time with the AC off, the previous owner of your car may have installed a lower temperature switch, or even a bypass manual switch. Are there any unmarked switches on or under the dash?