Update on $100 Fiero

[$100 Fiero]

beforei had some issues and i fixed a few.. :fixed the coolant leak in the head.. it was a intake gasket problem.. refilled transmisson.. it works... better.. barely gear two doesnt like to engage often.. thirds hard to get into.. fourth fine once ur in third.. and now i have a major water pump leak.. i tightened all the bolts down i could see.. but the longer i run the car the more it leaks when i shut it off.. i run the car for a minute or two.. it leaks a little.. i go around the block.. a lot of leaks.. anyone got an idea thats not rediculously hard or expensive for the water pump or the trans

['88 Dread GT]

Most all fixes in a Fiero is hard and/or expensive unfortunately. For the water pump, merely tightening the bolts on it isn't enough and could even be damaging. First you have to find out where on the water pump the coolant is actually leaking from. Does it need a new gasket? Is it coming out of the weep hole at the bottom of the pump (in which you'll need a new pump)? If it's the original pump on a 23 year old car with lots of miles you might as well just change the pump & gasket especially if it's doing that! A new pump at the Fiero store for a 4 cylinder is $47. I changed my V6 pump 2 years ago because the shaft on it was loose and it made a wicked whining noise.

I'm not too adept at 4 spd trannies... But from what I've seen in the service manuals I have sounds like either a bad pressure plate, clutch or selector cables.

=-Dread

['88 Dread GT]

Most all fixes in a Fiero is hard and/or expensive unfortunately. For the water pump, merely tightening the bolts on it isn't enough and could even be damaging. First you have to find out where on the water pump the coolant is actually leaking from. Does it need a new gasket? Is it coming out of the weep hole at the bottom of the pump (in which you'll need a new pump)? If it's the original pump on a 23 year old car with lots of miles you might as well just change the pump & gasket especially if it's doing that! A new pump at the Fiero store for a 4 cylinder is $47. I changed my V6 pump 2 years ago because the shaft on it was loose and it made a wicked whining noise.

I'm not too adept at 4 spd trannies... But from what I've seen in the service manuals I have sounds like either a bad pressure plate, clutch or selector cables.

=-Dread

[fieroboom]

Originally Posted by $100 Fiero

beforei had some issues and i fixed a few.. :fixed the coolant leak in the head.. it was a intake gasket problem.. refilled transmisson.. it works... better.. barely gear two doesnt like to engage often.. thirds hard to get into.. fourth fine once ur in third.. and now i have a major water pump leak.. i tightened all the bolts down i could see.. but the longer i run the car the more it leaks when i shut it off.. i run the car for a minute or two.. it leaks a little.. i go around the block.. a lot of leaks.. anyone got an idea thats not rediculously hard or expensive for the water pump or the trans

If you're still reading this, and still need assistance, the most likely cause of the water pump leaking is the weep hole, as mentioned above. There is a seal over it that breaks when the water pump bearings get too out of whack, thus stopping you with a simple leak rather than shards of a water pump after it completely blows apart. As to the shifting difficulty, that is most likely the clutch line having air in it & needing to be bled. You can bleed it two different ways:
- have a friend pump the pedal several times, then hold it down while you open the bleeder valve on top of the slave cylinder (careful, it's a fountain of DOT3) runaround
- purchase a vaccuum hand pump to place over the nipple of the bleeder valve, pump a little suction, then release, repeat
The bleeder valve is usually either a 13mm or 14mm head. If you bleed 6 or 8 times & it seems to get better, but then gets back to bad again as you drive, you've most likely got a loose/corroding clutch line. It's only a steel line, attaches to the driver's side wheel well in the engine bay, runs under the driver's side all the way up to the master cylinder. If it has any holes in it whatsoever, it WILL suck in air bubbles, which are bad, because air is compressable, and brake fluid isn't, so you don't get the pressure needed to fully disengage the clutch for shifting. Let me know if you need any more info.