On our radiators (88 and up) there is a heater hose connected to the passenger side of the radiator. Is that hose the heater supply hose or the heater return hose??

The reason i want to know is when I swapped radiatiors from an older camaro, the radiator doesn't have an inlet for that hose, therefore i want to connect that hose into the main radiator hose with a T connection. But i have to know if i should connect it to the lower hose (connected to the water pump) or the upper hose (the return hose).

Thanks for any help.

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Mods:Hooker Aerochamber 3" exhaust, gutted kitty,
March 2 piece underdrive pullies, smog pump gone,
14x4 K&N, 3.42 gears,
Eibach springs with KYB's all around.
Appearance: Harwood cowl hood, Z-28 wing, painted black(7/20/00)-original color was light blue
*All these mods were made this year
Stock Options:120,000 miles on motor, 5spd, TBI, 305, T-tops
Run a best of 16.7 @85mph before gears

 

Thats is the return.

You should be able to put a fitting in your intake by the thermostat housing.

If it doesn't have a place for a fitting then I would just get the right radiator.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

 

Engineboy is of course right, that is the return, where water that has passed through the heater core and been cooled, loins water that has passed through the radiator and been cooled, on its way to the lower hose which is the return hose to the water pump.

Hooking it to a fitting in the intakewill not work however, because the intake is the hot side of the cooling syste, where the water that has already passed through the blcok is about to go to the upper hose and on to the radiator.

There is a plug is the top of the water pump housing. That is where the cold-side heater hose used to go before they started adding the fitting in the radiator. Take out the plug and put a 3/4" hose nipple in its place and hook your hose there. It is also on the suction, or cold, side of the cooling system.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

RB83L69...oops. Thats right.




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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

 

Engineboy, that's OK... we all let one slip once in a while... if you've ever noticed some of the ones I screw up and miss editing, you'd know I'm sure not immune to it either...

Keep it up, I enjoy your answers, you obviously know what you're doing!!

On a totally other subject that you specialize in, since I have moved to CA, some one of these days I am going to have to get my cars through CA smog testing. Exactly what do I have to do? What exactly has to be on my car? How closely do they look at things like part numbers on stuff? I have gotten about a million different answers, all conflicting. Like do I have to have the actual OE carb on it, or will an 4-barrel do, and do they (whoever "they" are) actually test "accessories" for operation or do they merely have to be present?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

Thanks a lot guys, i'll let you know how it went.

 

RB,
I just went through a battle with the state smog ref down in Chula Vista. They were happy as long as you had OEM or equiv carb/etc, your hose routing was correct and all the emissions parts, including the proper breather, were installed. My AIR pump was not pumping and was making lots of racket (bad shaft brgs) but the smog dude said as long as it was spinning he was happy. I did find out that I had a gutted cat though!

 

RB: As far as in my area (basic program) we just do a visual, functional, and tailpipe.

visual Everything has to be there and hooked up correctly. Must be original or a stock equivelant/replacement with a CARB #.

functional Everything must be in good (and correct) working order. (EGR must work, timing must be right, gas cap must be good, etc.)

Tailpipe this is self explaining.

As far as how hard they look.......it depend on the guy/gal. If you have headers and they don't have a CARB # but they do have AIR tubes hooked up and working, they will probably pass it. Stuff like that.

In an ENHANCED area they do a dyno test (loaded mode) that I'm not familiar with.

I don't know what area Carlsbad is. Come to think of it, where is Carlsbad??

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited January 13, 2001).]

 

It's In N. San Diego Co. between Vista and Encinitas. I actually live in Vista about 5 miles from the coast, right where Carlsbad, Vista and Oceanside meet. I can drive to LA in under an hour or to SD in about 30 min.

What sort of tailpipe tests do they do? I assume that's more than a visual yes-no thing.

My 83 passed in TN easily. There we had no visual, no requirements as to part #s or any such, but it had to pass the OE sniffer specs at idle. I had no problem doing that. I still have the cat and AIR, no EGR, and a Holley 800 carb. No CARB # on that if you will excuse the sick pun.

I have no idea whether Carlsbad would be considered enhanced or not... or whether it's in an enhanced emissions control area, either. What area are you in?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

I'm in a Basic Area.

You are probably in an enhanced area. (not sure though) L.A. is.

Tailpipe is at idle and 2500 RPM.

You will never pass without an EGR and with that Holley. (as far as visual and functional go )

I have heard rumors that the next phaze in smog testing will be NO visual or functional, just tailpipe under load. (on a dyno)

you might want to find a local smog person and see what you need to do.

In my area we are still doing all the tests, I don't know about there.


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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited January 13, 2001).]

 

Ok, back to the topic,

I couldn't find and clogged hole in the water pump where the heater hose used to go in the older cars. So I fabricated my own T out of pvc pipes and installed it in the radiator hose and attached the heater hose to it. Seems to be working pretty good without any leaks except that the heat doesn't work. I don't think its because of that because there is no air blowing out the vents at all. At least i finally got that car running after (its been sitting for 3 months)

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Mods:Hooker Aerochamber 3" exhaust, gutted kitty,
March 2 piece underdrive pullies, smog pump gone,
14x4 K&N, 3.42 gears,
Eibach springs with KYB's all around.
Appearance: Harwood cowl hood, Z-28 wing, painted black(7/20/00)-original color was light blue
*All these mods were made this year
Stock Options:120,000 miles on motor, 5spd, TBI, 305, T-tops
Run a best of 16.7 @85mph before gears

 

yeah the newer water pumps dont have the fitting. i always wondered why there were a few part numbers for the later sbc blocks...thats one reason (i work at a parts store so i look at this **** when i get bored) it sounds like your blower motor either crapped out or blew a fuse, check it out

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350, Comp 262, Edelbrock Performer intake 600 cfm carb and exhaust, headers
-JVC, Eclipse, Pioneer, MTX, Phoenix Gold, Planet Audio

 

When my water pump gave up the ghost, the replacement one I bought from Checker auto parts had the fitting in it. In fact, I had to install the plug they gave me with the pump to block it off.

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89RS w/350 TPI; 69RS/SS w/450 HP 350/Muncie 4-Speed "Too weird to live, too rare to die."

 

RB83L69, you live in an enhanced area. 99% of San Diego is enhanced. You have to live in the far east to get out of it, but most of that area consists of trucks and tractors. They dont do an accessories test. It is just visual, sniffer under load test, gas cap check, and timing check. The visual also depends alot on the person doing it. Some dont care, some are clueless as to what came with what car, and some know it all.

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1989 IROC-Z 5.7L