Guest Richard D Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 My 90 coupe has developed a coolant leak on the passenger side of the car. Not huge but a puddle under the car after an hour drive. It is running down the passenger side frame rail then dripping out. I checked the hoses that run from behind the P/S steering pump to the firewall and they seem dry, it is hard to feel around the bottom hose where it connects to the firewall. The carpet is dry, no sign of coolant inside the car. The water pump was changed about 3,500 miles ago and I can not see any wet spots around it. Is there an easy way to replace the hoses to the firewall or are they going to fight me all the way. Are the firewall fittings the actual copper core? I do not want to dent or cause any damage if they are thin copper. When I was going through the service records I could not find an invoice for new hoses.Many Thank'sRichard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Sometimes it is best to just slice the old hose off. This puts minimum load on the fitting. I take it you checked the resovoir hose from the radiator cap ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Don't forget the short bypass hose from the intake manifold to the top of the front cover at the water pump area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wally888 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Don't forget the short bypass hose from the intake manifold to the top of the front cover at the water pump area. Thanks, probably where my leak is! I've been kinda searching for some time, car is used little in winter but I had to replace anti-freeze in an empty radiator. Is dripping from front of tranny and I checked all known hoses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 2 seater may have hit the nail on the head. Somewhere in the early '90s, they switched over to plastic nipples for the bypass hose (under the alternator), and thse plastic nipples crack with age. New ones are metal. It could also be the water pump. I know, I know; you replaced it awhile back, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Did you take a look at the frost plugs?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Don;t overlook the coolant tube from the throttle body to the intake manifold. That is right over the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnemac Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 All the small leak/weeps I have encountered have have been remedied with the addition of the radiator leak stopper additives. Both liquid and metallic pellets seem to work equally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 True, if you add enough radiator sealer, the leak will stop. May not get any cooling but it won't leak.When my new GS was delivered from Buick, it began overheating immediately despite HD cooling. Dealer found so much sealer in the radiator that it was clogged. Buick sent a replacement radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NEMO Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 If you want to see if it is the heater core, remove hoses and run them together,by pass the core. Now if it is no longer leaking it the core. It could be the hose connection, where it clamps to pipes of the heater core, leaking along the side into the heater box. Check for this when you do the by pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Telco Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 If it's the heater core, then there should be a film on the glass and a sweetish smell inside the vehicle. The heater core is directly in the airflow, so there's no way around an antifreeze smell being inside the cabin even if it is all running out the AC water vent. On the little pellets, it's a good idea to crush them before putting them in the radiator. I've heard of the pellets not dissolving and being found stopping up the radiator. Whether that's an urban legend or not, still a good idea to crush it down to help it dissolve and disperse. The pellets do work great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Thank's to all for the advice. There is no film on the inside of the windows and a very slight whiff of coolant every once in awhile. It will go up on the lift today and confirm if it is coming from the A/C condesate drain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 One of my Fieros gives a whiff every now and again but has not used any coolant in a year. The human nose can pick up antifreze and gasoline (aromatic hydrocarbons) in single digit parts per million. If there were a coolant leak in the passenger compartment and was around a 50-50 mix, your nose would know.Incidently you have to be very careful about antifreeze leaks around animals - they will try to drink it and it is extremely toxic to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Harris Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 My metal connector tubes from the block to the heater hose is rotted away and has a hole right at the connection to the heater hose. The return metal connector is poor contition. Going to the dealer tomorrow to get new connector pipes. If anybody has changed these before do they have a GM part number I could take with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Harris Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 (edited) Dealer Parts department looked the parts up... 25532906.....24500180 Discontinued...not available in Canada... JB Weld and a screw, hope it seals.. Edited September 26, 2016 by Tim Harris More info (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Not surprised. Virtually nothing save for consumables like filters and brake pads or things like alternators are still available through the dealer parts counter. I've found the same problem (lack of parts starting 6 or 7 years ago (shortly after I got into the Reatta) and realized that long term ownership of these cars was going to require me to start finding parts cars to tear down and stockpile many things that will be difficult to find otherwise. Since this iteration of the 3800 has been discontinued for nearly 25 years, expect many engine parts (as your coolant pipes) to be difficult to source from here on. GM simply has no incentive to support these parts any longer, so we are left to our own resourcefulness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now