coolant hose routing diagram

[mike56]

ok fellas---i hope my child's hospitalization didn't make anyone mad when i didn't get back in a timely manner about a previous part i was looking for,but i have truly been living from hospitals for months---
BUT turned out it wasn't the switch after all tho in the end although i still would have bought the turn signal switch if available--but an intermittant faulty tail light socket of all things.--
Anyhow--i have an issue at the moment-drove 160 miles last night smelling every 20 miles or so an odd odor i couldn't identify---and i thought i knew the smell of coolant burning for pete's sake!Car ran cool...tonight i picked my little girl up down the road a little ways and smelt it plain as the low coolant light came on.---the small hose running to the firewall(to the heater core i would assume?) below the two wrapped lines on the passenger side is disconnected and draining coolant----but i cannot --at least tonight locate the corresponding connection on the motor or the manifold.
The hose is hanging limp from the firewall-...but it is disconnected and must have popped fully off tonight on me.So far the car doesn't seem harmed-but i cannot locate a diagram as to where that hose goes to.hopefully tomorrow i can in the light of day.But if anyone knows and has a picture or can guide me i would appreciate it.the car is the 1994 3100 base model .

[mike56]

i quick follow-up---once i do get this hose issue fixed and coolant back in the car --how will i know if i hurt the heads ?-Because with the coolant low --the gauge running normal temp on the dash may not have been telling me the truth for all i know , at this point , since it was likely too low at some point to be sensed by the sensor.

[DTMAce]

How long of a line are we talking about? If its a short one that is located below those lines, its probably the heater core drain tube. If so, the heater core is leaking.

Otherwise, you would have bled your coolant out much faster than that and would not have driven it that far if you broke off one of the coolant bypass lines, and especially the heater core lines which are bigger. 10-15 miles and you would have been overheating as your coolant pumped out of the system. I'm betting the core has let go, or the plastic inlet lines did.

[mike56]

approximately 6 inches max--a short little guy---which is why i am beside myself as to why even with little light i could not at least feel where it goes lol

[mike56]

the line connected at the firewall ---if that helps any---it is just dangling there facing the motor and drained out.--I am thinking that like you say the worst happened fast and within the 1 mile round/trip i made last night.
it is the small line ,but like i say -just facing the motor as if it has popped off or something.--the core may be gone--Are you saying that that line doesn't actually connect anywhere on it's other end?
i have no clue at this point.--if it is the core ,that i can find a way to deal with..i was worried i may have done damage...But laying in bed it occurred to me that until the coolant actually tripped the low coolant light on ,if it had had been heating up the guage should have shown it.I hope i am correct in that line of thought.

[mike56]

by the way thanks for helping me here DTMAce

[mike56]

after doing some more research -i think you are correct my friend....now if i didn't overheat the danged thing i will be a happy though somewhat lighter in the wallet man./again--thanks a lot .

[DTMAce]

No, you won't have hurt the engine, that should be fine. The temp on your gauge is connected to the rear head of a V6 or the back of a Quad. As long as it didn't spike for a long period really hot, you didn't hurt anything. The low coolant light comes on only when the reservoir goes dry. You would still have plenty of coolant in the system though.

You have two choices.

1: Bypass the heater core, by disconnecting the hoses that go to it at the firewall. They will have removable pinch clamps. (they are not the cooling lines for the A/C, those cannot be easily removed) Then you will need to connect the two lines together.

2: Pull apart the lower dash and replace the heater core. They are cheap, but not easy to work on. There is a how-to guide on here someplace though, just do a search for heater core removal.

But yeah, the length of the tube sounds about right. They put that in there to drain moisture from condensation (for the A/C) and to drain coolant in the event of a heater core failure. Prevents liquid from actually getting into the car, and the carpeting, etc.

Good luck!

[mike56]

thanks--and one more question---i am being told that the drain tube is connected to an easy to break plastic fitting that is part of a drip pan not physically part of the core--is that correct ? and if so--other than a dealer or a boneyard is there anyplace to purchase one if it should break?
yeah i have done the old bypass by connecting hoses thing on other vehicles but don't want to at the moment as it still in the low 50's here.lol -it's amazing how much easier it used to be on the large rear wheel drive cars with room between motor and firewall--or maybe i just don't bend like i used to.haven't looked at heater core in years lololol

[DTMAce]

I suppose its easy to break, but I never had a problem when I replaced the heater core in the Z. Took me 2 or 3 hours, had to take out the passenger seat, (so I had room) then pull the lower panels off, etc etc. Really wasn't that bad. I doubt you will have an issue with the drain piece. Just don't force stuff while taking it apart, that is how things can be broken.

[mike56]

boy don't i know that--learned not to force things years ago---but--i always have to consider my usual luck lololol--thanks again my friend.