Help ID Coolant Leak! Please.
Joined: Sep 2005
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Re: Help ID Coolant Leak! Please.
First, that radiator cap has GOT TO GO.
Second, you don't "check" heater core hoses; you just change em out. Especially when they're all bulged out and obviously wasted like the one you circled. Not a lot of doubt that it needs a new one of those.
Take care of those 2 OBVIOUS issues, then go to the car wash and clean up all that rust and other funk from the un-maintained cooling system so we can ACTUALLY SEE what's going on besides a bunch of stuff that's been drenched in old nasty rusty funky disgusting coolant for the last 10 years or so, and we can help you take the nest step. If a next step is even necessary at that point (quite likely won't be).
And change your coolant, and put a proper anti-freeze mixture in it.
Second, you don't "check" heater core hoses; you just change em out. Especially when they're all bulged out and obviously wasted like the one you circled. Not a lot of doubt that it needs a new one of those.
Take care of those 2 OBVIOUS issues, then go to the car wash and clean up all that rust and other funk from the un-maintained cooling system so we can ACTUALLY SEE what's going on besides a bunch of stuff that's been drenched in old nasty rusty funky disgusting coolant for the last 10 years or so, and we can help you take the nest step. If a next step is even necessary at that point (quite likely won't be).
And change your coolant, and put a proper anti-freeze mixture in it.
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Joined: May 2011
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Re: Help ID Coolant Leak! Please.
First, that radiator cap has GOT TO GO.
Second, you don't "check" heater core hoses; you just change em out. Especially when they're all bulged out and obviously wasted like the one you circled. Not a lot of doubt that it needs a new one of those.
Take care of those 2 OBVIOUS issues, then go to the car wash and clean up all that rust and other funk from the un-maintained cooling system so we can ACTUALLY SEE what's going on besides a bunch of stuff that's been drenched in old nasty rusty funky disgusting coolant for the last 10 years or so, and we can help you take the nest step. If a next step is even necessary at that point (quite likely won't be).
And change your coolant, and put a proper anti-freeze mixture in it.
Second, you don't "check" heater core hoses; you just change em out. Especially when they're all bulged out and obviously wasted like the one you circled. Not a lot of doubt that it needs a new one of those.
Take care of those 2 OBVIOUS issues, then go to the car wash and clean up all that rust and other funk from the un-maintained cooling system so we can ACTUALLY SEE what's going on besides a bunch of stuff that's been drenched in old nasty rusty funky disgusting coolant for the last 10 years or so, and we can help you take the nest step. If a next step is even necessary at that point (quite likely won't be).
And change your coolant, and put a proper anti-freeze mixture in it.
I just bought that radiator cap at Napa a couple of weeks ago should I buy a specific brand, or just get one without the relieve valve. As far as the coolant the previous owner was running dex-cool without replacing anything. I flushed out the system a few times, replaced the water pump, and I am running a 50/50 mix of the green ethylene glycol. The upper heater core hose to the throttle body has been replaced, I'll replace the short bottom hose, and the rubber section of the return line tomorrow.
I'll clean it up and see if I can get a good pic of the area behind the block where it's leaking from. The short connecting hose coming out of the heater core connects to the hard line section of the coolant return line. Is it just a junction or some sort of valve?
Last edited by R/T-Z28; May 20, 2013 at 09:22 PM.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 27,919
Likes: 2,449
Car: Yes
Engine: Usually
Transmission: Sometimes
Axle/Gears: Behind me somewhere
Re: Help ID Coolant Leak! Please.
When one of the rad cap type that has the valve fails, almost invariably, the part that fails, is the relief valve. Just one of those ideas that seems good at the time but has no real purpose to begin with and only leads to extra unnecessary trouble.
If the coolant is fresh, then all that other funk has been accumulating there for a LONG time. It shows just an overall state of neglect. If you just recently got this car, I'd suggest thoroughly going over all of the "regular maintenance" type stuff, because it's probably overdue; fluids, brakes, rubber parts like sway bar links, shocks/struts, etc.
The heater hose is the one with the blue arrow about an inch OD that goes from the heater core to the radiator. It looks in bad shape at the rad end; probably not much better at the other.
A trip to the quarter car wash, with a coupla cans of engine degreaser, would do wonders for making it easier to see what's going on, as well as making it less unpleasant to work on.
The hard line is involved with the oil warmer if your car has that, and the throttle body heat source. Your car might possibly also have the heater control valve, I don't know for sure what year they started using that.
If the coolant is fresh, then all that other funk has been accumulating there for a LONG time. It shows just an overall state of neglect. If you just recently got this car, I'd suggest thoroughly going over all of the "regular maintenance" type stuff, because it's probably overdue; fluids, brakes, rubber parts like sway bar links, shocks/struts, etc.
The heater hose is the one with the blue arrow about an inch OD that goes from the heater core to the radiator. It looks in bad shape at the rad end; probably not much better at the other.
A trip to the quarter car wash, with a coupla cans of engine degreaser, would do wonders for making it easier to see what's going on, as well as making it less unpleasant to work on.
The hard line is involved with the oil warmer if your car has that, and the throttle body heat source. Your car might possibly also have the heater control valve, I don't know for sure what year they started using that.
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