I found antifreeze on the passenger side floor mat so of course its the dreaded heater core, now the shop wants $450 to replace it so i have to start saving up, any ways in the mean time i was going to bypass the hoses when i realized they were two different sizes so what i did was go to the hardware store and bought two different size bolts and stuck'em down in the hoses and put the stock clamps around it.. They dont leak so i figured this was a good alternative to having a pool of anitfreeze messing up my carpet and the fumes choking me, will my method work until i can replace the damn thing

 

You would be further ahead to just spend $30 on a heater core, and a weekend changing it out on your own. Its a pain in the ***, but its not impossible, or a bad place to start working on your car.

Your plug job might work, but may want to run two hoses together with a union so that the fluid can flow thru freely.

 

So what i did is ok for now, or will this cause an overheating problem. Also what can i use to join the two different hoses sizes together for flow

 

Plus, $400 dollars is an insane price...I got mine done for $200 CANADIAN, and had I known what an easy job it was (just time-consuming), I would of done it myself......tryin' to take Drew's advice....

 

still waiting for a answear.....

 

Come on guys u haven't failed me yet..........

 

In theory, there's no reason why it shouldn't work for a WHILE...but it's not something you should put off because you can, and may not last as long as you'd like. I'd leave it as you've got it set up for NOW, but as Drew said buy the part yourself, buy a Hay...er......well, a car repair manual of your choosing, and take a weekend to do it. Much better then saving money ($450!!) and having to not only wait before it's done, but losing cash and a valuable learning experience in the process. It's not hard, but you do have to rip up the entire dash, basically, to easily access the proper area...in fact, I'm pretty sure there's a tech article on how to do it. It's basically remove tubes, remove dash screws/pads/all that crap....enough so you can get the the module. Then remove the cover, replace the core.....poof! Replaced! But seriously, DON'T put it off!:lala: Hope I helped at least a little bit.

 

Don't worry about looping the hoses together. One hose size is 5/8", the other is 3.4". Just use 3/4" hose, and tighten the hell out of the clamp.

Know what I did? I didn't want to bother with those f'ing "question mark shaped" hoses by the firewall. I threw out the metal heater hose lines that run from the water pump to the back of the motor, and replaced them with lengths of heater hose. The system's much easier to get at now. Plus, those steel lines looked awful... I've got that "fake stainless steel braid" hose covers on all my hoses.

So you could bypass the system at the front of the car.

Good idea, though, on using bolts to block off the hoses. I don't see it hurting anything badly. I mean, you -are- stopping coolant flow from going thru that part of the system, but it'd be okay for a little bit.

 

I noticed while i was driving the engine temp needle would almost reach 260 then suddenly shoot down to 180, is that normal?

 

Well, it's normal when airflow isn't going over your radiator, and I assume you're going by the factory gauge, which is probably inaccurate. Fan kicks on at 230, and would drop the temp to the level that your thermostat is (160, 180, or 195)... but if you're driving the car forward, air is constantly going over the radiator, and your temp shouldn't get near 230.