Hello I have a 1994 Honda civic..vtec..and today i went to crank the car up and heard like a sizzling noise on the passenger side of the car...then smelled fluid..its a yellowish fluid...i then went and popped the hood and followed the sizzling sound to a gourment on the passenger side firewall right southeast to the battery...i moved the the foam around to the sides after removing the gourmet and sure enough that's where the fluid is leaking and the yellowish stuff is coming out..i see its a busted hose...now i know its near the ac unit...but what the hell hose is that ? can this be fixed or no "sigh"


I included pics so please feel free to give me some insight if you have any..

thanks for looking and for the help

 

This is from your A/C evaporator. It's just a drain hose for water. If it's busted I'm suspecting it was blocked. Depending on what's wrong you might need a new evap ... or just a new drain tube. Well, you need to figure out why the hose 'blew' in the first place.

 

Not my knowledge does the evap drain tube run through that opening. That yellow fluid does pop a question though.

 

Yellow fluid is concerning, yes. Might not be water, I suppose. OP, was the liquid watery or oily? Smelled of anything in particular? Does A/C work? Hard to know in winter I suppose.

 

well turns out the fluid was coolant...and it was a hose from the heater core...damn quoted 800 dollar for installing new heater core from a master honda/acura tech... "sigh" just keeps better and better

 

You can do it yourself for a LOT cheaper than that.

 

Yeah, you can do it for the cost of a replacement heater core + two hoses + your time. We're talking maybe $100 now. Well, provided you have a place to work that isn't bloody cold.

 

ok that sounds good..but here is my problem..i dont know where to start to get the dash off..i mean i got an idea but is there somewhere that can guide me on how to do this ? to take the dash off completely ?

 

Buy/borrow/download a factory service manual for your car. They're easy to find, and will have a COMPLETE procedure for heater core replacement.

 

^ Agreed. This also sounds like a job for ........ https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/faqs-frequently-asked-tech-questions-1998336/ !!!!

 

Yep, there are a few articles in there that quite clearly go over how to remove a dash.

 

Are you sure the fluid is coolant and not refrigerant and A/C oil? The evaporator is nearest the grommet hole and there's no heater hoses behind the grommet hole.

 

It's not so much hard as it is time consuming and finicky lots of things to unclip etc, I recently removed my integra dash to rip all that stuff out and even then it was a pain. elbow sockets, extensions, low profile ratchet and small hands are almost a must. good luck

 

If he thinks its coolant than he should check the coolant reservoir or radiator and confirm that they are a match. If not than he has other issues. Also the heator has pipes protruding through the firewall and into the engine bay he should see some sort of stain by the firewall from the engine bay side.

If indeed he needs to change the heater hoses please be cautious as you can bend the pipes and cause much more headache. Not easy bending pipes back properly from a tight spot, I know from working on my moms camry.

 

Are you sure it's coolant and not UV dye for your A/C system?

If it is coolant and you do in fact need a new heater core, I can speak from experience that pulling the EG dash is not that hard. I recently just replaced my heater core because I didn't want to have to go back in and do it if the old on busted. New heater core was 37 dollars from rockauto.com and hoses are cheap. Probably can be done for under 50 bucks honestly. Won't have to worry about it for another 15-20 years lol.

 

^ Yeah, basically: **** that other guy and his $800 estimate. He can get bent. Time to pony up a few bucks and DIY it.

 

Hey, I was wrong about which hole that is -- it is NOT for the A/C drain. It is just a hole in the firewall to put accessory wiring through... eg., for fog lights, bumper pole, corner sensors, etc. Therefore, OP's problem isn't A/C-related... sorry for the confusion.

 

Also in the meantime until you get it fixed (if heater core) you can bypass the heater core itself by looping the hoses. Not exactly recommended but at least you can still get back on the road until you have the time/money to fix. (wont have a heater during that meantime)

Need to figure out if the heater core was just too old and corroded or if the cooling system built up too much pressure and caused it to blow at the weakest part of cooling system. (pressure test the cooling system to pinpoint your leak)

 

I have a brand new heater core that I would part with. I don't run any heat in my drag car, so no use for it. PM if you're interested.

Pulling the dash is easy once you know what to all remove. I've done it in the dark within 15 minutes.