uh oh.....got a coolant leak....where do you think it is leaking?

[firstgear]

got the new bolt on knock off wheels on the car and have to say I really like them...but when I went back to the shop that was putting them on for me they pointed out what looked to be a coolant leak that was on my passenger side sie pipes in the front....when looking at the car, it appeared that the coolant was on the bottom of the frame rail dripping....you can see in the picture where the coolant had dripped onto the driveway.....I looked in the engine area and didn't see any hoses that were leaking or had coolant dripping from them.....does this mena what I think it means....the heater coil has a leak some where in the firewall......is that a fair assumption and if it is....what can I do in the short term and the long term?

The two hoses that go into the firewall is it possible to just tie them together and avoid the heater core for now? I would rather not have to fuss with that at this point since I have a number of shows I want to go to over the next several weeks and really don't want to spend the money right now getting it fixed...might be a better winter project to tear into rather than right now when so much other stuff is going on.....thoughts? comments? ideas?

I will post better pictures of the knock offs once I get them double checked for tightness and sort out this leak.......

 

[youwish2bme]

Sure it didn't just push a little coolant because it was extremely hot today where you live? The over flow could be positioned so it flows directly onto the pipe and then is running down it to where it's falling on the ground?? Dave..

 

[61 Silver]

Check where the hoses connect to the heater core at the firewall. Some times they will leak at the connection.



Ray

 

[firstgear]

Sure it didn't just push a little coolant because it was extremely hot today where you live? The over flow could be positioned so it flows directly onto the pipe and then is running down it to where it's falling on the ground?? Dave..

The overflow tank is the football round tank on the side of the inner fender right? That hose runs down the side of the car in the engine compartment about in the middle of the fender....we lokoed at that and there was no fluid dripping out of that....not sure where you live, but in northern Ohio today it was actually a great day....about 82 degrees with really not much humidty...very nice day.....I was watching the temperature gage in the car (and only god knows how accurate that really is) but it never really even got up to 180 degrees.....

 

[firstgear]

Check where the hoses connect to the heater core at the firewall. Some times they will leak at the connection.



Ray

I looked at the two hoses that make the connection and there was no sign of fluid running down the firewall...I was hoping that was the case...that would have been an easier fix as compared to what I am afraid it might be.......

 

[firstgear]

took another picture of the overflow tank and the hoses....I checked the carpet in the car....lets just say I couldn't tell....it wasn't wet to the touch...I was trying to imagine that it was wet, but I couldn't pull my hand away with really any mositure on it...here is a shot of the inside.....

on the bottom of the frame the leakage is to the far left of here, almost right under the a-pillar or so......

 

[youwish2bme]

Why take the heater core out of the loop if you don't know if that is the cause. Lets find the cause before jumping to the heater core.... Start the car up and see where you see coolant leaking from. Dave.

 

[firstgear]

Why take the heater core out of the loop if you don't know if that is the cause. Lets find the cause before jumping to the heater core.... Start the car up and see where you see coolant leaking from. Dave.

thats the problem...I can't see where it is coming from...all the hoses in the engine bay are dry at all connecting points and the only thing that is collecting coolant is on the bottom of the car...the front of the passenger side frame rail.....it is a number of drips on it, an area about 4" in diameter is wet and then there are the drip areas.....I don't see any hoses in the area that are dripping and the over flow tank hose does not have any drips on it....I need X-ray vision so I could see behind that carpet and into the firewall.....if it isn't coming from the heater area, I am not sure where it is coming from...that was the idea I came up with...if I bypass the heater area and the leak goes away....then it must be in the heater area, if I bypass and it doesn't go away...then it really is someplace else....this reminds me of an electrical ground...I hate electrical ground problems too....can't see the D#%N place it is faulting out always.....grrrr....

 

[firstgear]

ok...I did a bubba....I admit it....I took the hose that was going into the heater core, disconnected it and put it in the 3 way fitting near the base of the overflow tank...had to cut the short hose that was on the heater coil to the overflow tank as it didn't want to come off....and then reattched that shorter hose to the inlet and outlet of the heater core so that nothing would get in there...just in case that isn't the problem area......sigh...I have stooped to a new low....bubba-ism....please forgive me.......

 

[Geek's 65]

First - That isn't a Bubba. That's good ole isolation troubleshooting. Bubba would be when you did it like that, used duct tape to hold the other hose away from the fan belt cause the bracket from the alternator is missing, and tell everyone when they see it that "It wuz alwayz li dat". Now you will see if the leak continues.

Oh and by the way - When I bypassed mine, the bracket was missing from the alternator and one of the hoses did move forward and hit the fan belt. Lasted 10 minutes and started leaking from where it rubbed through. But I replaced the hose rather than duct tape it.

Geek

 

[firstgear]

the "bypass surgery" worked...we took it for a 30 miles spin yesterday and no leaks by the time we got home....nothing puddled under the car....heater cores....hmmm..yuck!

 

[IH2LOSE]

Well For now its bypassed,you wont need your heat for a while. This will give you something to do over the winter.

Nothing like that sweat taste of anti freeze in the cock pip to ruin a day et to g

When you order your new heater core dont forget to get a new seal kit for the heater assembly,and its also a good idea to go over all of the hoses when you have the system drained.

 

[Mike McKown]

I looked at the two hoses that make the connection and there was no sign of fluid running down the firewall...I was hoping that was the case...that would have been an easier fix as compared to what I am afraid it might be.......

If there is no fluid running down the dash panel under the heater hoses, I don't see how your problem could be a heater core leak. Look inside for damp carpets and fog on the inside of your windshield for a core leak.

 

[firstgear]

If there is no fluid running down the dash panel under the heater hoses, I don't see how your problem could be a heater core leak. Look inside for damp carpets and fog on the inside of your windshield for a core leak.

no fog and no damp carpets....I thought that maybe it had found its own little path and made it to the frame rails.....because right about under the A pillar since that was primarily the point where the leakage was occurring.....it would have been a lot easier to fix if there had been a hose with a big ole blister and steam coming out of it.......the leak is stopped for now...so this becomes a winter project.....unless I reall missed something altogether....sigh.....