1985 gt overheating is it worth buying for 400

[USMC85gt]

hi today i found a 1985 gt forsale 400 bucks couldnt belive it problem is its over heating what could it be the water pump has been changed my guess is a thermostat i could not remove the cap when i went to see the car today but i bought a new thermostat just in case thats it thought id get a second opinion first plz help me out any advice is good advice

 

[my04gt]

first see when was the last time the coolant was flashed or refilled. you have to do the coolant different the other cars. that would be one of the leading cause to over heating. check for blown head gasket and like you said water pump thermostat. start with the cheapest and easiest first

 

[USMC85gt]

the car is running fine the motor looks good not leaking any thing either so i think the head gasket is good i know that u need to "burp" the cooling system whats the easyest way to do that?

 

[Oreif]

The easiest way is to fill a Fiero is to raise the rear of the car on ramps or jack stands.
Remove the rear cap and thermostat. Then LOOSEN the front radiator cap until it leaks just coolant. Then continue to fill from the rear. Once full put cap on and start the engine for about 10-15 seconds. Then remove cap. If low, repeat from the beginning. If it's still full, install thermostat and cap.

Aside from low coolant, Other causes of heating problems could be the coolant tubes that run under the car. If a shop mechanic wasn't paying attention they could easily dent or crush on of the tubes. The radiator could be clogged.

Since you are not sure what the problem may be, I would first inspect the cooling tubes. If they are good I would back-flush the radiator then drain the system. Filling a dry system is the same procedure as above, Just leave the front radiator cap off and fill from the rear until the front overflows. Cap the front and continue filling.

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[USMC85gt]

hey guys thanks alot i went and bought her today i burped the system and drover her home with only one trouble the brakes caught fire!!!!! pulled over let em cool down and no problems since. now ive got alot of work on my hands right now my biggest concern is the lights inside wont turn off the dome light just stays on with both doors shut so i have the back passenger side motor panel off so i can disconect the battery when i park it what would cause this i tryed haveing me and a buddy push both sensors on the doors in on each side but they remained lit is thes a fuse or were should i start to troubleshoot this. i just want the car to be a good running car untill i get back from an upcoming deployment then i will restore it

 

[Oreif]

The brake problem, if it was the rear brake, is the caliper piston is dirty or the emergency brake system is corroded.

As for the dome light being on, Change the fuse for the cig lighter and check other fuses.
GM uses a "floating" ground for it's electrical system. Chances are you have a blown fuse and the dome light is being back fed a path to ground.

The fuse panel is on the left side of the dash. There are two clips on the sides that when released you can tilt the fuse panel down so you don't have to crawl under the dash to check them.

 

[USMC85gt]

Hey man that fixed it thanks. now im trying to tackle my big problem of having no turn signals I am sure its the bulbs im going to change those this weekend but my steering wheel wobbles around ive never worked on steering coulums but i hear there a pain in the butt. seems like its just what the steering wheel is conected to the rest of the coulum is good do i need to replace the whole thing im trying to fiix this car and a small budjet other wise i would have replaced the whole thing

 

[Oreif]

The steering wheel wobble is usually the at the U-joint of the tilt steering. It is kind of a pain to get to as you need to dis-assemble the column from the steering wheel down to the joint. Most of the time it is just loose bolts. If you do it, Get some lock-tite red and put it on the bolts when you tighten them.

You can download the 1986 Factory service manual here:
http://www.fieronews.net/fusion/downloads.php?cat_id=13

While yours is a 1985, The steering columns are the same for all years.
This way you can see what needs to be removed (and how to remove it) to repair it.

Also if your directional signal problem happens to be the switch in the column, You can check it out and replace it if needed.

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[USMC85gt]

thanks for all the help guys I am a noob to the fourms but this realy helped me out

 

[USMC85gt]

well today the clutch went out in my 85 how hard of a job is this to do and whats the best deal on a clutch?

 

[Dr. Sievers]

well today the clutch went out in my 85 how hard of a job is this to do and whats the best deal on a clutch?

An annoying job. On that 1-5 scale it's a 3. Annoying time consuming and not too bad cost wise. Well your going to pay about half of what you paid for the car but well worth it to get it back on the road.