have an over heating problem

when i first got this 1992 4cyl cavilier, it did not overheat, now it has started, i noticed that the fluid level was very low, so i started to replace, but i realized that it was going thru, so i started looking and noticed a nipple coming from a firewall area just leaking like fountain, so i figured heater core hose!!???!!! well i got it up in the air, cause it was located under and to the back, of course, and low and behold i see that are three nipples coming from the firewall, now i'm confused, two coming directly out of the heater core, the foot and half over there's this lonely nipple just sitting there, but where does it go????????? i followed the rest of the cooling system and all the other hoses seem to be connected, a friend of mine mentioned that it might have been plugged and the plug has come loose, but if that's the case, i wondering where should be going to......i have a hayne's manual (useless), diagrams are for the physic, but i was wondering if someone knew of this situation, and or where to find diagrams of hoses and where are suppose to go to, wouldn't think that this would be a difficult task, but as ususal, what should be a simple job, turns out to be trouble-shooting nightmare, if some could help, please........you know, if i were given a diagram and instr, i believe i could build or fix just about anything, but alot times things don't seem to exisit........ :confused:

we were looking at this situation again and we're wondering if there is no air conditioning condenser, shouldn't there be a hose coming off the firewall to that situaiton, if the condenser is not present, then couldn't u just bypass the nipple by plugging it????????

now i have someone telling me that this an condensation overflow tube for the air conditioning, but i don't have ac, so they're telling me that i should consider the heater core bad, since its running out of this overflow tube because of a hole in the heater core, now i see quite a few ppl's have looked but no answer's, pls give me hand folks, really confused....................... :confused:

I'm willing to bet that your problem that you are having is a heater core problem, the easiest way to know that you are having a heater core problem is that you can smell coolant when the heater is on also you may see alittle bit of glazing on the inside of your glass inside the car. If you are refering to the nipple that is to the bottom left of the car as you are looking at the engine on the firewall, which is next to your intake into your heater core (the warm and the cool). From my previous experiences you have a cracked heater core which is leaking out of the drain hose so it doesn't leak into your car. Good Luck and change it.

The two hoses coming out of the heater core can be blocked off or coupled together, they run in a separate loop, so it won't hurt the coolant flow. The other "nipple" you see is the 90 degree elbow that comes out of the heater box, it's there to allow the leaking coolant to exit through the firewall intsead of into your floorboard. I have blown my FOURTH heater core in a row! I believe it's my radiator's fault for being clogged all to hell. What sucks about having to bypass the core is that you can't run the heat to keep the engine cool. If after you bypass the core, fill it up with water, it still gets hot (near 3/4) you may want to remove your thermostat as it restricts the flow. Changing the core isn't nearly as hard as some cars. Do a search here for "heater core" I put detailed instructions on a thread somewhere here. But I would wait 'til fall to replace as you won't need it in the summer. Mine always seem to go in the spring.