I have a 92 Blazer s10 Taho edition with an antifreeze leak. I'm not much of a mechanic at all but It's not leaking from the radiator, but is coming out under the fan and pullys more towards the motor Above the big two inch tube coming out of the radiator going into the motor I guess. I put in some stop leak but it did nothing. Anyone have any ideas what that might be? Also my fan for the heat and air wont work unless I unplug a wire under the hood on the passenger side and plug it in again and then if i touch the fan speed it will stop and I'll have to unplug it and plug it in again. It's a purple wire up near the windsheild under the hood passenger side. Thanks for any help.

check the water pump, hoses and connections. sounds like its probably the water pump tho.

sounds like the water pump is about to go

Is the leak from the rad or from the engine.

It's from up near the engine. The radiator is totally dry and the hoses too. but I can't exactly see up where it's leaking from. Thanks for the replys anybody have any idea's about the fan to the ac?

How about a picture of it?

The leaking antifreeze from description screams water pump. The water pump is an easy fix, and replacement pumps are pretty cheap from Autozone or Advance Auto.

The fan thing is a bad ground-the wire you are 'unplugging' is simply a self tapping screw that comes lose. That's an easy fix too, buy another self tap screw (larger than that one) and run it it to the firewall. I have a 1992 with the Tahoe package and had the same problem. :smile:

Cool man. Thanks. What's the firewall? Like I said I'm not real great with cars.

Cool man. Thanks. What's the firewall? Like I said I'm not real great with cars.

That does not mean in your case the water pump is leaking.

Have a mechanic quickly check it our to confirm before you replace it.

The water pump isn't leaking, the coolant is coming out the weep hole, a little hole under the fan spindle. That is a warning that the bearing is failing.

How do you know where it is leaking from without looking at it.

Only way to be sure is to visually examine it.

Cool man. Thanks. What's the firewall? Like I said I'm not real great with cars.

The 'firewall' is the back wall of the engine compartment. The screw is on the upper passenger side of the vehicle.

The easiest way to tell if it's the water pump is look basically. The weep hole is where it would be leaking from, though I don't think it can be seen without pump removal. Simply look down the front of the engine (in front of the block but behind the belt). The large pulley on the very bottom (it's the largest pulley in there) is right below the water pump. If you see drops of antifreeze on it, that's your problem. :) Let the truck sit for a while (overnight really), make sure you have the cooling system full, and wait unitl morning to see. I had to because of the skidplates under the truck, I couldn't see anything from the bottom and the antifreeze just dripped down the skid. If you do get a new pump, buy a new lower and upper radiator hose too. That's preventive maintenance. :)

How do you know where it is leaking from without looking at it.

Only way to be sure is to visually examine it.


99% of the time the bearing will fail before the gasket does and that is why I told him where to look.

That's fine, but he has told us that he is not good with engines so that would lead me to believe that possibly his description of the area where it is leaking may not be accurate.

Without a picture this will be 100% assumption which could lead to a part replacement that didn't need to be replaced in the first place.

I am just being cautious so this guy doesn't needlessly waste money.

First of all, as far as the purple wire goes, it is not the ground, it is the hot wire for the blower. The ground is attached to one of the four mounting screws of the metal housing that the motor is mounted to. That ground wire is black and is attached at the very top of the firewall. NONE of the ground screws just unplug, they are screwed.

The purple wire goes to the accessory relay that is mounted on the top of the heater box housing.

Secondly, that year Blazer is known for a leak on the front of the engine on the drivers side where the intake meets the head. With all the appliances hanging off of the front of the motor and the shroud, it is difficult to spot where it could be coming from unless you have a trained eye and know where to look.

Listen to Blazer LT and also from me, if you are not sure and you have no idea where the firewall is, take it to a mechanic, he should have a trained eye. Be safe.

Good advice.

Leak diagnosis will be free and you will be sure to have the right part changed.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I took it to a service station and for 19 dollars they told me that it was my water pump and wanted $287 dollars to fix it which seems hi to me because the part is $29.99 at auto zone and they said I need a new blower motor which they would do for $130 and again the part was like 25 bucks. I took it home and said no thanks. My Dad can fix the water pump I don't like to bother him but for $200 dollars labor I have a feeling dad's getting the call. Is it really that much in labor to fix one of those? And how hard is replacing the blower motor? Thanks again everybody.

Oh, you are saying that they wanted to replace the fan clutch also?

Or are you talking about the blower motor for the fan inside the cabin for heat?

It's all becoming clearer now.

The blower motor is simple, 15 minute job. The motor should come with a new squirrel cage. Remove the four bolts, unplug the hot wire and pull it out. Reverse procedure.

The water pump, you better get Dad. AND YOU HELP HIM WITH YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN! You never know what you might learn. The next time, you can do it yourself and hell, you will even have satisfaction of learning when you help you Pop!

Hold on, let him comeback and describe clearer what he needs.

I think he is talking about the fan clutch.

No not the clutch fan, the blower motor and the water pump. and for the two of them they wanted like almost $500 bucks when the parts are less than $60. How hard is the water pump repair? Is it major or pretty easy? I'm still letting dad do it but just wondering how hard it will be. I plan on helping the whole time and learning how from him. You guys have been really helpful and I really thank you all. Someone please let me know about the degree of difficulty for the water pump. Thanks again

Blower = Easy
Water Pump = Easy with proper tools.

You will save a lot of money doing this yourself.

Well I replaced the blower motor and it does the same thing and i'm pissed!!! lol if I unplug the purple wire and plug it back in it works until I touch the fan then it stops until I unplug the wire. I guess i'll try that other thing with the firewll or let my dad look at it when he fixes the water pump.

On the '92 there is an accessory relay. You need to check that. If that is good, you need to check the fan switch. I assume you have the switch to high when you try this for the relay only works on high setting. It is very simple to remove the bezel that the switch is mounted to. They do get warm and the plug will melt some. Check it out.

your right. I never noticed but the switch does only work on hi. how do I remove the bezel? Will the switch work then or Will I have to replace the switch and the relay too?

No, do not replace the relay. On the underside of the dash below the bezel you ill find 2 phillips screws. Remove these two screws and the heater control bezel will pull from the bottom and down. BE CAREFUL and pull the control out. If memory serves me correctly, there are 1/4" screws (2) that hold the blower switch in place. A small 1/4" drive ratchet should do the trick. The switch is not all that expensive from GM. I believe it is under $20.

When you pull the connector off, check the contacts. You may have to clean them and tighten them up with a pick or a small screwdriver. Don't be alarmed if the socket looks like it was getting hot, they all look that way. If necessary, GM also sells the plug that you can wire in.

Hope this helps, seems like all of the Blazers with that control end up being replaced. Sometimes they come apart.

Yeah I checked it out and the switch was like half melted, not totally but warped for sure. So if I buy a switch and put it in it should work? The wire harness it plugs into is a little warped too. Should it be ok or should I find that part too? Thanks again for all your help.

Most times, yes, it will work. If it doesn't, try cleaning the contacts on the plug or go to GM and get a new one and splice it in.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the info. I changed the switch and it worked perfectly. So basicly those guys at the shop were going to charge me $60 for a blower motor and $120 for labor and it was really a $10 part that took 10 mins to put in. I hate those losers. Anyway Dad should be over Saturday to put in the water pump. I hope they didn't lie to me about that too! Anyway thanks again.

Ah, now you see why we do this.

i nlove to hear when people learn something and feel good about how much money they have saved.

I see you had Good Luck. Those switches are junk. They have a plastic pin tht holds them together and It has gotten to the point that we have one on hand in the shop at all times.

yeah thanks a lot. Dad came over today and we switched out the water pump and the blazer is working like new. I can't belive they wanted almost $500 bucks for those two things. Anyway at least they didn't lie about the water pump. I really want to thank all of you for your help. I will write next time I need some good advice. -

On my Blazer, I had a leak in the same area as the water pump but, it turnd out to be a small crack in the side of the Rad that was leaking down the side (not in view) and setting under the Water pump in the fan housing...I still replaced the water pump, thermo(went to a 180deg), PVC Valve and the Idol pully while i had the room and was waiting on my Rad to get back from the shop...

Water pumps are cheep and fairly easy to replace..I beleve mine was $13.00

Hope this thread isn't dead yet as my leak is in the exact same vicinity but am not sure it is the pump. My thought was it's coming out the hose itself. If it was the water pump should the system hold water but drain just slowly? I am pouring water in and it is spilling out apparently right where the hose is, errr was ;) , clamped to the engine. This is no slow leak I can't even run the truck as nothing seems to be staying in. Was this truck discussed previously drove to the shop or towed in? Was it holding water/coolant with just a slow drip or more like my leak?

So as I alluded to above I unclamped the hose ( unscrewed the screw on that metal zip thing and it slid down the hose) . Thinking it being the source of the leak I tugged on the hose and it wouldn't budge. The truck is sitting on wheels maybe if I jacked it up I could get more pull on it.

Before I remove such a stubborn hose perhaps I should try the stop leak or some kind of sealant around where the hose is meeting the engine. I felt along the hose and didn't feel any cracks it seemed like it was coming out at where the hose met the engine. Is there something specific I should try to use at the joint to form a better seal?

I need to get the Blazer road ready by November to take the Stang off the road. Having taken the bottom skid plate off under the truck I have a pretty good view from either the top or the bottom. Given my slightly different description of my leak anyone have any advice? How about on getting the hose off if replacing it is what I should try first and getting the new one on. Is there a trick to getting it off and assuring the new one is on completely. I thought about trying to take a hair dryer out there to maybe expand the hose some by applying heat.

I'll take a better look when I can in daylight which is becoming harder and harder to come by with our shorter days and soon the clock going back for DST. I do have a few hours "in the bank" at work so I could take off early sometime this week to give things a good look. The leak looks and feels to be at the engine end of the hose on the side closest to the windshield ( of course it would be the hardest side to see wouldn't it :( ) if that side rules out the pump.

Some of the coolant was splashing down on the belt can the ethynol cause deterioration of the belt at all? Thanks for your help all!

Just replace the hose. No tricks - just unclamp both ends and use a firm grasp, pull and twist motion to break it off the block and radiator. When replacing, be sure to tighten the bands snugly, but not over-tight. Tightening them up TOO much will land you right back at what seems to be your problem now. ;) While you got your skids off, get the lower hose done too. (Do not forget the spring inside the lower hose!) Altogether, a flush, refill and replacement of hoses if you have time allocated to it should not take you more than 2 hours if you have all of your parts and supplies handy. Good luck, work safe - restore your 50/50 mix of coolant to water and be done with it. (BTW, Stop leak agents are trouble in the making. Do not bother with it in these trucks - it will clog and ruin more things than it solves. Don't be lazy! Fix your problems properly before the harsh bite of winter is here.)

Go to your local parts store and buy one of those cheapo extendable mechanic's mirrors. Poke it under the water pump and shine a flashlight in there. There's a little hole on the bottom that's most likely leaking. The engine fan blows around the drips so it's hard to see exactly where they're coming from without the mirror.

Edit - More: To break the stuck hoses free, get a big arsed set of pliers or adjustable wrench, grab the hose just below the fitting, and give a little twist back and forth. If you're certain you're gonna replace the hose, just slit it with a utility knife then twist it free.

Someguy said
To break the stuck hoses free, get a big arsed set of pliers or adjustable wrench, grab the hose just below the fitting, and give a little twist back and forth.
I would be very carefull doing that on the rad side of the hose . I have seen and done 1 twist to many and cracked the neck loose on the rad. CUT IT OFF AND REPLACE WITH NEW HOSE!!!!!!!!

good advice. better safe than sorry.

Thanks for the input all. What a miserable day in Boston today. Rainy and today was the Red Sox parade too guess I'll look for it on the boob tube.

I will try cutting it if it still resists a firm twist/pull. After all it's not like I am going to use it again. Remember the fan isn't going because the truck isn't running. I really hope it is the hose. I don't have either of those "H" manuals on the vehicle and I can think of about 101 better uses for the owner's manual than referencing for repairs. If I replace the lower hose what was the spring? Is it on the inside or outside? It's a part you purchase seperately?

Thanks again all! I'll follow up maybe tomorrow if it'll be drier outside to work.

I have a 92 Blazer s10 Taho edition with an antifreeze leak. I'm not much of a mechanic at all but It's not leaking from the radiator, but is coming out under the fan and pullys more towards the motor Above the big two inch tube coming out of the radiator going into the motor I guess. I put in some stop leak but it did nothing. Anyone have any ideas what that might be? Also my fan for the heat and air wont work unless I unplug a wire under the hood on the passenger side and plug it in again and then if i touch the fan speed it will stop and I'll have to unplug it and plug it in again. It's a purple wire up near the windsheild under the hood passenger side. Thanks for any help.
----------------------------LEAK FIXED-------------
Ok I had the same EXACT problem and being a poor bastard I spent some time looking for the leak,What I found was a loose bolt that holds the waterpump on to the engine block.It was the bottom bolt on the passenger side of the engine water pump. It was very loose and I suspect it is common to the 4.3 engine. After tightening it up (no cost) the leak stopped immediately. So the ?*mechanics*? are probably aware of this easy money problem too. and replacing the water pump would surely also fix it too. I just fixed it about 5 minutes ago after reading some posts on this forum. And I might add that bolt is the easiest one to get to,ya cant see it but not hard to find with a socket wrench.

I used to run a TV shop and we had many "easy money" jobs that looked like BIG trouble to the customer ha ha.

By the way when you get tired of car talk come over to my general purpose forum and play a few games or whatever,I need some good members see at ===> http://n4zdu.net