whenever i turn my heat on in my car the hose that connects the firewall to right behind the thermostat leaks...so i went to the junkyard today and found one in pretty good condition.(no holes) so i picked it up. Im just wondering do i have to drain the coolant to replace this hose? and if so do i have to drain the coolant from the block and the radiator.....whats the easiest way to do this?

thanks

 

put a pan under the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator. and let it all go out, done. replace hose and fill again

y didnt you just buy a section of hose from your local parts store?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridvteceg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">y didnt you just buy a section of hose from your local parts store?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Agreed, radiator hoses aren't exactly expensive, in fact I like to reference them as pretty cheap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dc231 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Agreed, radiator hoses aren't exactly expensive, in fact I like to reference them as pretty cheap.</TD></TR></TABLE>
its a heater hose

 

Those aren't expensive either. But do as you wish, if it works, then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Personally, I would just put a drain pan under the car, where the heater hose is located. Take off one end of the heater hose and let the coolant run into the drain pan. When the coolant stops flowing, replace the hose and top off the radiator. Some of the coolant may have gotten on the engine but just rinse it off with some the water hose.

You could drain the entire system before you replace the heater hose, but I don't think it's necessary. Also, get a new hose. You dont want to find out a month later that the used hose has suddenly balloned or cracked and you have to do the job again.

Alin

 

ok thanks a lot im gonna do it tomm...what is the best way to get the side thats connects to the fire wall off...cutting it ?....because i dont want to bend that copper looking pipe it connects to

 

use some channel lock pliers and be really gentle etc.

 

Slit the hose with a razor blade and peel it off. It's much safer. The firewall heater hose nipples are too fragile to be squeezing and grinding on them with slip-joint or channel-lock pliers.

Don't reuse the snap-ring hose clamp. Switch to a worm gear type, but don't overtighen. Get it firm, but don't crush it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IN VTEC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Slit the hose with a razor blade and peel it off. It's much safer. The firewall heater hose nipples are too fragile to be squeezing and grinding on them with slip-joint or channel-lock pliers.

Don't reuse the snap-ring hose clamp. Switch to a worm gear type, but don't overtighen. Get it firm, but don't crush it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree here the heater hose nipples are too fragile to be using the slip-joint pliers. just cut it with the razor blade and get the worm gear type clamp and be done with it. btw I would never use a used heater from the junkyard when you can get a low cost one from autozone, pep boys, kragen, etc.... just my .02

 

One trick to get that hose off is to use an small allen key and vise grips. Loosen the hose clamp and slide it down the hose. Grip the long end of the allen key with the vise grips and insert the short end inside the hose between the hose and nipple. Now you can slide the allen key around to break the hose loose. After you've gone amlomost completely around the inside of the hose, grab it with your hand and twist, then pull it off, it will slide right off.

I hope this makes sense to you. It's kind of hard to describe in words. Wish I had a picture to show you.

Alin

 

It's a good idea if we were talking about another hose in another location with room to work. The intake manifold, limited working space around the hose, and lack of leverage make using the razor blade and peeling it off much easier.

 

ok well thanks to your replies it turned out to be a pretty easy job....but im not 100% sure that i replaced the faulty hose. I took it off and examined it but i couldn't see any signs of any holes...so my next question is , right above the hose on my b16a is the iacv ....this has a hose that goes in to the bottom of it.does coolant flow through this hose?, because i reached under the iacv to feel for any coolant and noticed the clamp on it wasnt even hard for me to compress with my fingers so i slid it onto the fitting as best as i could but couldn't tell if coolant flows through it

thanks a lot you guys

 

Yes. That line feeds coolant to the IACV and FITV/TB. It comes from the main water pipe on the back of the block.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IN VTEC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes. That line feeds coolant to the IACV and FITV/TB. It comes from the main water pipe on the back of the block.</TD></TR></TABLE>


interesting....i think thats probably what it is....ill get a new clamp tomm, would it be a good idea to switch over to a hose clamp instead of the one that on there now,which you have to squeeze the clamps together and slide it off? And can u just pull that hose off when the car is cold and keep it elevated to keep coolant from flowing out?

 

Pull the hose off and put your thumb over the end of it. It'll keep the atmospheric pressure from displacing the coolant. Altho, the IACV is probably the highest spot in the cooling system and you might not need to worry about it.

You might wanna solicit some help in plugging the line while the other person works, or you can try to find a cork or something to plug it.

 

the hose like wraps around the throttlebody and goes in under the throttlebody

 

well i changed the hose that goes from the iacv to under the throttle body...that was the prob..no more leaks!!!

thanks aLot for all your guys help especially IN VTEC