Many Fiero owners perform maintenance on
their cars themselves. The biggest
problem many of us face is not having the proper tools or work environment for
performing the work. Also, due to the
increasing age of our Fieros, the simplest maintenance job isn’t always easily
performed. When we encounter a problem,
solving the problem is as big of a job as performing the maintenance in the
first place. Ron Dittmer encountered
just such a problem when he attempted to replace the coolant.
Due to our Fieros having a mid-engine
placement with the radiator in the front of the car, it is necessary to move
the coolant from the radiator at the front to the engine near the rear. This task is accomplished by using two
coolant pipes that run along the rocker panels of the car. These pipes are equipped with drains,
located at the rear of each pipe immediately in front of the rear tires, which
have metal plugs with outside threads and an interior hex-head for use with an
Allen wrench. While attempting to
remove one of the plugs, Ron stripped the hex-head. In order to remove the plug, a hole was drilled partially into
the head (but not completely through the plug, to prevent introducing metal
shavings into the coolant system). An
“easy-out” tool was used to extract the plug.
“Easy-out” tools are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased at any
store with a good selection of tools.
Replacement plugs are available at plumbing
supply stores and auto parts stores.
The plugs are available in various materials and plugs with the interior
hex-head for Allen wrenches are available as well as projecting hex-heads for
use with standard sockets. Ron
installed a brass plug with the projecting head.
It should be noted that you do not need to
remove the coolant pipe drain plugs to drain the coolant from your Fiero. You can completely drain and flush the
coolant system using the petcock located on the radiator. The petcock is located at the left lower
corner on the back side of the radiator.
Be aware that when draining the coolant from the radiator petcock, the
coolant will spill onto the air dam of your Fiero if some sort of funnel isn’t
used to direct the coolant from the valve to a container.
Enjoying Quiet Sunny Days
I love sunroofs in cars. For the majority of the time I’ve owned my
Fiero, I’ve used the sunroof in either the closed position or removed and
stowed. I never use it in the popped up
position as was intended by the designers.
The reason is that in the popped up position, it rattles. I’ve decided that the reason was the
tolerance between the metal horizontal pins connected to the glass and the
U-shaped retainers that these pins fit into.
I came to the decision because when driving with the roof open, I can
eliminate the rattling by applying a slight amount of pressure to the latching
mechanism.
In an attempt to stop the noise, I’ve tried
coatings, grommets, and shrink tubing applied to these pins. Coatings do not stick or wear off and it is
impossible to apply the correct amount.
Grommets wear out quickly and shrink tubing won’t stay in place. I finally gave up on trying to find a
solution.
While looking through hard copies of
information that Paul Vargyas pulled from the Internet, I found a solution
suggested by NIFE Member Ron Dittmer.
Apparently the sunroof on Ron’s car also rattled and would slam shut
when negotiating a bump in the road.
Ron suggests the following two solutions, assuming of course that the
roof hasn’t been damaged and that the plastic seats at the front of the sunroof
are in place.
First, unfasten the two Phillips screws in
the roof behind the latch to remove the metal cover. Two hex nuts will be visible once the cover is removed. Tighten but don’t over-tighten these two hex
nuts. This will eliminate some or all
of the rattling.
The second solution is to replace the latch
that is connected to the rear edge at the midpoint of the glass. These pieces may still be available from
Pontiac and should cost about $15.
Tricks of the Trade
Have you ever had the need to remove the
wiper arms of your Fiero, possibly to replace the windshield or remove the
plastic screen below the windshield?
There is a trick to making wiper arm removal easy. Lift the wiper arm away from the windshield
until the little holes in the arm near the base, aligns with the little holes
in the base. Insert a small nail
through the holes so that it passes through both the arm and the base. This will keep the arm suspended above the
windshield. Gently rock the arm back
and forth while exerting a small amount of pressure away from the
windshield. This careful movement of
the arm will allow you to remove the wiper arms without using tools that could
mark the paint or damage the plastic piece at the base of the windshield and
without dismantling the wiper arm assembly.
(Source: Ron Dittmer)