04' Impala 9C1 (3.8L) - Coolant Leak when ac/heat engaged.
- Thread starter kswo
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After reading your comment I went out a double checked the elbows on the tensioner assy, dry as a bone. Even while running the ac I don't see any fluid coming off the front elbow, but I can't really see the back one- all I know is they are both dry. I replaced these plastic piece of shits not too long ago, probably a few months.
Do you think it would be best to take the tensioner off and physically inspect the elbows or do you think it could be something else?
EDIT: My friend seems to think it may be the heater core or line going to the heater core, if the heater core is leaking then would I smell/see it in the cabin?
if the area is fairly clean and not oily just douse the areas with talc/baby powder and look for the trail
dep on the miles your prob due for a buncha regasketing/maint items as the leak your describing ive seen caused by coolant elbows to lower intake gaskets, dex kills everything. hell i bet it looks like shit in the radiator
dep on the miles your prob due for a buncha regasketing/maint items as the leak your describing ive seen caused by coolant elbows to lower intake gaskets, dex kills everything. hell i bet it looks like shit in the radiator
Sure enough, it was the o-rings. I spent a lot of time looking at other areas since the elbows were not cracked... ugh. Thank you everyone for the advice. So glad I got this bastard fixed, now I can take her up to Michigan next weekend for Electric Forest!
if the area is fairly clean and not oily just douse the areas with talc/baby powder and look for the trail
dep on the miles your prob due for a buncha regasketing/maint items as the leak your describing ive seen caused by coolant elbows to lower intake gaskets, dex kills everything. hell i bet it looks like shit in the radiator
The amount of debris that came out when draining the coolant was alarming. Fuck dexcool. Replaced with the yellow shit awhile ago but I still see the shit DexGM sludge. Going to do a full flush soon.
So what you're saying is that if there is a presence of sludge then the innards of the radiator have deteriorated to the point where it needs to be completely replaced? In that case, does that also mean replacing every hose?
Rage. Fuckin' rage.
I will never buy another GM car in my life.
what im saying is while you are more than likely due for hoses, you might as well do it all in one lick and save $ in the long run...stick the system flush crap in there, run it for a week or so, pull T stat and flush with a hose engine running, backflush heater core with garden hose, dont really need to replace heater core hoses but its not a bad idea as it gets close to 10 years old or more.
you replace the radiator, sometimes with a 1st gen 3.4L dohc radiator if you want the thicker radiator...but make sure to get a 95 regal 3800 lower hose for the angled lower neck.
replace T stat and upper hose (lookup the earlier 3.1/3.8 upper hose you might like the routing better dep on your intake and for some the turbo setup.
and if your over 75k its also time to go ahead and do the water pump.
fill it with green and youll just need to drain and refill with new green once every year or two for the rest of its life
you replace the radiator, sometimes with a 1st gen 3.4L dohc radiator if you want the thicker radiator...but make sure to get a 95 regal 3800 lower hose for the angled lower neck.
replace T stat and upper hose (lookup the earlier 3.1/3.8 upper hose you might like the routing better dep on your intake and for some the turbo setup.
and if your over 75k its also time to go ahead and do the water pump.
fill it with green and youll just need to drain and refill with new green once every year or two for the rest of its life
Awesome, thank you for the write up- you guys are very nice on here :]
Would you say a novice mechanic could tackle the rad replacement? I really don't have the money for someone else to do it. I don't mind wrenching.
(Also, would I need any crazy tools other than typical garage gear?)
youll have no problem doing it...hell after the 13mm and 15mm fasteners for the dogbone mounts... i think all you need is a 10mm socket and a 3inch extension with some channellock pliers and a screwdriver to pull the radiator
the most anoying thing is gonna be the small round wire E clips on the upper and lower trans cooler lines...all you need is a pick or a safetypin with the nose bent at a 90*
two retainers at the upper corners hold the radiator in place so after you remove the fans, pop them off and you may have to pop a small clamp at the bottom that holds the trans cooler lines to the rad.
you should have no problem...make sure to check that you can see through your ac condensor or go over the surface carefully with a shop vac...dont bend fins but def suck any debris that typically gets caught between the two.
if you have oem exhaust manifolds you'll have tons of room
if your gonna go ahead and do the lower rad hose dont bother with the rad side spring clamp, just cut the hose at the WP side or remove that spring clamp and pull the rad with the hose attached.
if you have a hard time removing the lower trans cooler clip/fitting just leave it till you get the rad partway out
have fun
Regards, James
the most anoying thing is gonna be the small round wire E clips on the upper and lower trans cooler lines...all you need is a pick or a safetypin with the nose bent at a 90*
two retainers at the upper corners hold the radiator in place so after you remove the fans, pop them off and you may have to pop a small clamp at the bottom that holds the trans cooler lines to the rad.
you should have no problem...make sure to check that you can see through your ac condensor or go over the surface carefully with a shop vac...dont bend fins but def suck any debris that typically gets caught between the two.
if you have oem exhaust manifolds you'll have tons of room
if your gonna go ahead and do the lower rad hose dont bother with the rad side spring clamp, just cut the hose at the WP side or remove that spring clamp and pull the rad with the hose attached.
if you have a hard time removing the lower trans cooler clip/fitting just leave it till you get the rad partway out
have fun
Regards, James
They make a tool for those so they are not so bad. I know mine has saved me many times.
if i made a tool... that made Kevin less of a tool....he would still be a tool...
so ill say it again...spring clamps fuckin suck...
...and while im at it those fucking quick connects on everything nowadays suck....so do those shrink bands...but at least you can easily cut those off and replace with a real clamp
so ill say it again...spring clamps fuckin suck...
...and while im at it those fucking quick connects on everything nowadays suck....so do those shrink bands...but at least you can easily cut those off and replace with a real clamp
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