1980 Fiat Spider over heating

[JudyAllen]

I am a first timer owner of a 1980 Spider. I wish to have help sorting out my little cars overheating problem.

[SunnySideUp]

There's several items that can cause overheating. Most typical is the cooling system having a leak somewhere and getting air into the system AND/OR the system hasn't been properly "burped." It can also be a failed coolant sensor which would cause the fan not to operate. Could also be a bad fan motor. You may want to get a compression test to see if the cylinder head has warped or if the head gasket is blown. Bottom line is that there could be several causes and several things to fix. Start with the simple things first and progress to the more difficult. The issue will depend on how well the previous owner took care of the Spider and maintained it. The repairs shouldn't be too horrible even if you need to have the head reworked or replaced (folks here on the forum may have good ones ready to install and reasonably priced, too!). It would be a good thing to replace the timing belt unless you've got documentation showing that it was recently done.

Do you plan on doing the work yourself? Do you have a mechanic? Finding a good mechanic could be a chore depending on where you live. If you can't find a mechanic who is knowledgeable with Fiats, one who knows Alfa Romeos or the British cars (Triumph, Aston Martin, Jaguar) may be able to do the work. If you're in one of the metro areas (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angels, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, etc.) you can pretty much find a really good Fiat mechanic. Just ask around! If you plan to do the work yourself, don't be afraid! Folks here on the forum are VERY helpful and can walk you through just about anything with your Spider.

Welcome aboard and let us know how it goes!

[narfire]

Hi there and welcome.
As mentioned there could be several issues but agian do the simple thing first.
Have the front of the car as high as you can make it...drive onto ramps on a hill, jack and block up the front for example.
Take the rad cap off and push all the heater controls forward.
Start the car and after perhaps 5-7 minutes it should be warm enough and you might see "burps" of air comming out of the rad. When all the air is out, look in the top of the rad and hopefully you will see the coolant flowing. Now you have coolant flowing,thermostat is now open, the temp sensor (lower rad,driver side) will read the hot water and when the gauge reads around 190 or so the fan should kick on. All is good then, or should be.
If the fan does not kick on, I'd check the conections and then perhaps direct wire power to make sure the fan works.
The temp sensor could be pooched also.
Good luck, where do you hang the hat, perhaps there might be a member here nearby.
Chris

[4uall]

This has always worked for me, by myself with no ramps, incline or raising of the car needed.

http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... on#p126761

[eman2112]

First read all the articles here about burping the cooling system. Then do the drill the vent hole in the thermostat frame. Next go and fill the radiator to the max with a new cap. Fill the coolant through the coolant tee plug on the front of the head with a funnel. Install a tee in the heater hose at the rear of the engine to complete the filling process. This is the highest point of the engine cooling system. Let the car run for 2 fan cycles or 3 to get the air out the system. Let it cool off enough to open the coolant tee on the heater line tee and SLOWLY REMOVE THE PLUG OR CAP TO RELIEVE THE SYSTEM PRESSURE at the heater bleed plug. Then fill through the coolant tee of the heater line. Adequate burping of the cooling system is important to solve over heating problems.