Evilokc

1991 fire bird 305 tbi 700r4 all stock. a few weeks ago I noticed that the temp gauge would go up to about 230 from its normal 200 but would then drop back down. its gotten worse. the temp would run up to the 260 mark but would suddenly drop back to 185-200. I replaced the thermostat today thinking this was my issue. it didn't help. my next guess was the water pump and I wasn't too happy about that. I started checking everything and noticed my coolant was a little low. I filled the radiator and started the car. the water pump was flowing just fine-whew. I did notice that there was a leak under the car when I filled the radiator. I jacked it up and it seems like its the lower radiator hose. I'm going to try and tighten it before I replace it. I ran the car for about 20 minutes filling the rad as it got low and it didn't get hot. so I'm hoping I'm all over this. the only other thing I noticed was that the fan didn't come on even at 215 degrees. I'm going to look and see what temp its supposed to come on.

brettr81

You're low on antifreeze. When the temp suddenly jumps up and back down, it's usually low coolant. Replace the hose, they don't last forever, and when they burst when you are driving, it could toast your engine. The hoses are pretty cheap and easy.

Tootie Pang

iTrader: (2)

Could be your fan activation.

Evilokc

replaced the lower hose. decided it was a good time to flush the system. filled the fluid and took the car out. decided I needed to try and heat the car up so I squealed around the first corner. burned the tires from the stop sign. drifted around another corner. man these cars are fun to drive. the car never heated up with my heavy foot early on and then my regular driving for about a half hour. I'm going to call it corrected. I think I'm going to add a cherry bomb though. its pretty quiet and I think it deserves a little growl. I looked it up and the factory fan is set to come on at 220 degrees. its working fine.

jay123

I run cherry bomb glasspacks and straightpipes on mine. sounds awesome. Go for it.

Evilokc

the lower hose DIDNT fix it. I was still leaking fluid from some where. turned out it was the weep hole on the back of the water pump. picked up a new one. this was the easiest water pump ive ever replaced. belt, lower hose, 4 bolts, remove pulley and put on new pump, reverse. took it for a 45 minute run around the highways (about 65 miles) and it never got over 210. I will double check the fluid level tomorrow but it was nice to run the car without fear of over heating.

Evilokc

alright this is interesting. the leak behind the water pump is gone. that issue was easy enough to fix but it seems to have caused another worse problem. I went to the gym and noticed it was still leaking. I was upset. by the time I got out of the gym there was quite a puddle. by the time I got home it was gushing in my driveway. worse than it was before by far. I looked and saw a stream of flowing fluid coming down further back than the water pump and then found a freeze plug (right behind the motor mount) gushing a fat stream of fluid. this is NOT where it was leaking before. I believe the car heating up several times ruined the freeze plug. if it were a regular plug I would probably replace it myself but its RIGHT BEHIND THE MOTOR MOUNT! I think the motor mount will have to be removed in order to access it I called and asked what it would cost to have it replaced but they said the computer said it required extra work so they wont quote without seeing the car. I'm going to limp it the 2.8 miles to be seen. he said a normal would be $52 labor. I'm guessing this ones going to be between $150 and $200 but what ya gonna do? anyone had the freeze plug behind the driver side mount replaced? what did it cost?

brettr81

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...eeze-plug.html

Freeze plugs rust from the inside out, that's why you should only mix your antifreeze with distilled water. I'm pretty sure my water would destroy freeze plugs.

brettr81

I'd put a jack with a 2x6 on it under the oil pan, pull the mount, and by a cheap piece of some flat iron, a step drill bit, drill holes in the metal to match where your motor mount attaches, and then use that to get the freeze plug in there.

Now, depending upon how easy your bolts come off, and everything else, you could get this done within an hour or two, but things never going the way they should on a 25+ year old car, expect it to take an evening.

Evilokc

Im not getting a good visual of the set up your describing. I get the jacking up the motor and removing the motor mount but how does the flat iron and drill come in?

Evilokc

I followed the link that brettr81 provided and now understand the makeshift tool. I think I'm going to make that and do this myself this weekend. i need to go get the core plug set and a small pieced of metal to make the tool. i will try and take " good pictures" to post a how to for future thirdgen-ers who have to deal with this stupid core plug.

Evilokc

took it to a shop to get an estimate on the freeze plug. they guy said the front plug behind the motor mount on each side was leaking. then he said the radiator was also leaking.. so he wrote me an estimate for a radiator repair, two freeze plugs, and a coolant flush. $915! so I asked about the radiator which is news to me. I asked if that was to weld it or if they used a sealant. he said " no you cant use a sealant, and you cant weld it because its plastic." i asked about the freeze plugs. why is there so many hours of labor on these? he said it takes an hour to remove a motor mount. i said you jack up the motor and remove the four bolts? he said " yes but there's the mounting plate too" i asked how many bolts are on that? he said look the book says it takes 1 hour to remove each side so that's the quote. I'm going to check a few other places but i cant spend $900 on a car i paid $1500 for. if i were going to do that i would swap out the 150,000 mile 305 for a built 350. I'm not totally against paying $300 to have 2 freeze plugs replaced but i feel like that place was trying to screw me so i wont be getting it done there. the radiator which they quoted at $280 is some thing i can change myself and can probably find cheaper. they quoted 3 hours labor to install a radiator.

Evilokc

took it to an AAMCO transmission shop. they are doing an estimate now. he said his computer lists each motor mount removal as 30 min not 1 hour. if everything goes as he says it will cost be about $149 to replace the freeze plugs. I will be ecstatic with that. wont know until tomorrow though. i found new replacement radiators online for less than $100 if I actually need one. I told the guy beforehand that the motor had been sprayed by the hose when filled it.

Evilokc

of course that didn't work out. the technician wants to remove the motor completely to do the two freeze plugs. so that's still $900. ****. i really like this car too. the technician did say that the motor in it wasn't really worth it. he suggested a swap. lame. I'm not swapping the motor. I wouldn't mind doing that in the future but I have a hot rod project and I cant/ don't want two vehicles in pieces. I called the first shop back and got the manager and told him I would like JUST the core plugs that I hadn't expected any of the other things and didn't have the money. he said if I wasn't going to change the radiator they wont flush it so that's another $130 off. so it should be under $200 for the two plugs I'm dropping it off in an hour. we will see how this goes

Evilokc

I dropped it off and asked the guy one more time what the total would be abd he said $182.00 and that it will be done tomorrow. fingers crossed

brettr81

If it's the $182 that's the route I would have gone too. Sometimes paying a little isn't worth the headache, sore back/neck, and busted knuckles.

Evilokc

Yes i dropped it off wed to be fixed. They called and its done. Now i have that fear tthat when i get there its going to be $900!

Dabesiv

iTrader: (1)

I hate to break it to you but these cars will find a way to squeeze out your money in the best of ways. As Brettr81 said, almost nothing is as simple as fix it and done. Usually fixing one thing causes an issue with two more things. I would highly recommend getting your hands on a repair manual or shop book and learn to do everything yourself. I have saved thousands once I started doing most work myself, and learned even more about the cars than I could have any other way. Best of luck!

Evilokc

I have an old hot rod pick up so I am painfully aware that older cars cost . I have a Chilton repair manual. once I got the $900 estimate I was planning to do the repair myself I just didn't WANT to so when I got the $182 estimate I was all over it. I have always done the majority of the maintenance and repair on my cars. this incident has sparked my interest in doing a motor swap of some sort. it was never my plan to do anything like that with this car but it may be something I look into in the next year or so.

Evilokc

went to pick it up today and I was right. the price of $182 was no where in sight. the guy said it would be $430. I asked why they weren't honoring the price they quoted me and asked to speak to the man that gave me the quote. turn out he is the OWNER but is currently out of town. I left the car and will go back Monday to speak with the owner. I'm sure it will cost me more than the $182 but if I can talk him down into the high $200s to low $300s I will be happy.

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

And the soap opera begins...........

brettr81

I really hate it when they pull that crap. We quoted you this, if it was able to be done in this time, it was but we are charging you 2-3 times that. Some shops are good at sticking to their word. It seems like the shop manager is over zealous. Hopefully the owner will set him straight. Every time you screw over a customer, you lose not just them, but other potential customers. Every time you work with a customer, you will usually gain another.

Evilokc

went back and spoke to the owner who admitted he read the estimate incorrectly but honored the price he quoted me. $186 out the door. that being said I drove it home and parked it to take shakes to lunch. as we pulled out in her car I noticed it was leaking. they said the radiator was leaking when they looked at it and that's possible. honestly the radiator and rear core lugs are all that's left! I will look this evening nd see what the deal is.

phasevariance

If your car has working AC, changing out the radiator gets a little more complicated.

Evilokc

oh? why is that?

brettr81

How so? A/C doesn't go to radiator. The most time consuming part of changing a radiator is the draining and refilling the fluids. Half hour job tops to get it in and out, as long as the fittings on the trans cooler lines don't strip out on you.

Ghettobird52

Wait sorry, why did you bring it to the shop to replace the freeze plugs...? Just get up there with an extractor socket, hammer it on, and pull it off (for driver side that is, passenger side is even easier), buy a new one when replacing, or just screw the old one one with the extractor socket...?

This is what i did just 2 months ago for a full coolant flush and its a 30 min job...? maybe im confused

Evilokc

you did the core plugs behind the motor mounts easily?

brettr81

Is it all good now?

Evilokc

ive only driven it about 25 miles since I got it back. its been nice and ive been on the bike. seems to be working well though. no high temps and I'm not seeing any leaks.

Ghettobird52

Yes, car was on rhino ramps easy job. Motor mounts arent even in the way...? Hardest part was picking all the gunk out so the coolant could actually drain fast.

maroe624

Check to see if you still have your airdam on there. Dam "dam" causes a whole lot of overheating if its not on there.

Evilokc

been driving the car today and Its fine. looks like I can move on to the next emergency.

Evilokc

drove 40 miles to work with no issues.

Evilokc

okay issue. the shop told me the radiator was leaking. I hadn't noticed it. the radiator IS leaking now. I drive 40 miles to work. this morning to drove to work when I went to leave I checked the fluid. I knew it would be a little low. It was down about 5 inches in the radiator. I filled it up and drove home. its on my list to replace the radiator. I'm pretty sick of the coolant leaks. at least its not immobile. being able to drive it makes this just as annoying but more tolerable.

Evilokc

ive been looking around and it seems an oem replacement radiator can be had for about $100 from most auto parts stores. I guess that should be done sooner than later. as it is now I'm filling the radiator when I leave for work and then filling it up again before I leave the parking lot to come home.

dlinger

iTrader: (4)

When we replaced our radiator, I tried a I think a Murray that I got at O'Reilly. Could not get it modified to fit without cutting for drain. Purchased a replacement from local radiator shop that was a direct fit.

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

What about RockAuto?

Do you see an actual external leak? Hopefully, you don't have a blown head gasket.

Evilokc

yes I can see the leak. its where the plastic tank connects. its definitely the radiator. I would rather purchase one I can see instead of one off line if I have that choice. I want a direct fit too. its a stock car and I don't want to modify parts to fit.