Need Help! Radiator Water Leaking through Firewall 72 Chevelle

[spacecrow]

Hello all. The air conditioner no longer works as I can't get freon for it anymore. Lately radiator water and antifreeze is leaking through the firewall onto the floor, not much now but sure it can get worse fast. The a/c is attached to the firewall in front of the glove compartment. Two hoses run from the a/c, one to the block, the other to the water pump. Can I connect a short hose from the block to the water pump, or just block off the holes? I doubt I can ever get the a/c replaced anyway. Do I need to drain the radiator and where to I put the bucket to catch the antifreeze?

It's definitely green antifreeze on the floor. I got down and looked and it's comming through the firewall through plates accros the firewall, not a hole. Also no carpet so no carpet to soak.Thanks for any replys.

[kevinande]

Your heater core is leaking. Yes you can bypass the heater core with a short hose. The trade off is you will not have cabin heat for the winter. You can also purchase a new core, they are relatively cheap. I dont know the level of difficulty with that vehicle, but generally that era of vehicles were relatively simple to do the type of repair. Todays cars are complete PIA to change this same part.

This has nothing to do with A/C system. If you are referring to the limited availability of R12 refridgerant, then you can use R134a as an alternative. Just make sure there are no leaks. The molecules in R134a are smaller than R12 and will exploit the smallest of places to escape. It does not cool as well as R12, you can remedy this with a larger condenser. You can still get R12, but it requires a licensed technician to fill your system, and you will pay through the nose for it.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by spacecrow

Hello all. The air conditioner no longer works as I can't get freon for it anymore. Lately radiator water and antifreeze is leaking through the firewall onto the floor, not much now but sure it can get worse fast. The a/c is attached to the firewall in front of the glove compartment. Two hoses run from the a/c, one to the block, the other to the water pump. Can I connect a short hose from the block to the water pump, or just block off the holes? I doubt I can ever get the a/c replaced anyway. Do I need to drain the radiator and where to I put the bucket to catch the antifreeze?

It's definitely green antifreeze on the floor. I got down and looked and it's comming through the firewall through plates accros the firewall, not a hole. Also no carpet so no carpet to soak.Thanks for any replys.

replace the heater core . you should be able to locate one. not that hard to do on these vehicles.

make sure you use 65 % coolant and only use distilled water. this will reduce corrosion and scale . this would be the time to replace thermostat,cap and at least the upper radiator hose . perhaps the heater hoses .

to bypass you get a connector at the parts store . this allows you to connect the hoses together. since each one is a different size