96 passport- hole in engine???

I just bought a 1996 Honda Passport from a lady who could not afford the bill at the dealership for work she had done on it. The tranny was in the back end, and there werent any bolts for that. Also, there was a coolant leak. The removed the tranny because they said that the leak was coming from a hole in the block that was behind it. I brought the car to a tranny shop and they were going to install it, but I looked at that "hole" first. It appears to be factory. I went to the dealership and looked through their books and found that it is supposed to be there, but no one knows what it is for. I am really hoping to get this fixed, but I need to figure out the problem. Can anyone help me? The hole is pretty small, like a weep hole. It is up higher on the block, just inside the tranny-mounting spots, inside some of the casting "ribs" on the block. Does anyone know why coolant is leaking from that hole?!?!? No one I talk to does, PLEASE HELP!!!!

- A Newb

Give us some details on your first post.
Engine size?
Auto or manual transmission?
Can you obtain a digital photo of the hole and post it here?

Tom

That's probably where I had my coolant leak. It's a 25 cent freeze plug. I tried for a couple of weeks to find it, but I finally had to take it to a shop where they pressure tested it. $2 in parts but $500 in labor (or something like that) to drop the tranny and access it.

Not surprised the dealer didn't want to help...

http://myspace-224.vo.llnwd.net/01412/42/27/1412867224_l.jpg
http://myspace-661.vo.llnwd.net/01412/16/67/1412867661_l.jpg

there is a pic of the hole, and the other is me pointing to where it is. That image is the back of the engine, where the tranny is mounted. The hole is kinda up high on the block. Also, it is the 3.2 liter v6 and it is an auto tranny. Let me know what you think. THANKS!!!!!!

Well that's not what I expected it to look like. I expected it to be bigger. I just had the shop fix it, so I didn't get a good look at it. Now I'm not so sure...

i think this is going to be one for 2eyefish.

Did a casting plug go there? And fell out, or worse IN?
That photo was hauntingly familiar of a Mazda I owned in 1985. A casting plug - Not a freeze plug - came loose and coolant went everywhere. Overheated the engine (happened on the highway) and $1100 later the engine ran again. Very poorly, was never the same afterward, burned oil, etc. The dealer technician had never heard of it happening before.
Hope this isn't the same scenario. Maybe it's something a whole lot more friendly to the engine.
Tom

Yeah, casting plugs are frequently mistakenly called freeze plugs. Glad you pointed that out. Don't know exactly if my leak was due to a freeze plug or casting plug, but it sure communicated with a coolant passage in the block. From that limited view, it doesn't look like there are any other plugs between the tranny housing and the block?

well what I was waiting to hear was that it is a drain hole for the intake valley. I have heard that these engines have a chronic coolant line leak problem underneath the intake manifold. To test this theory, I dumped a jug of water in the intake valley and a river of coolant flowed out from under the car. I couldn't get under there to look right at the hole while I dumped it, so I am not totally sure. Either that, or it is a freeze plug that popped, and then that's the drain for it. If that's the case, then a freeze plug popped AND I have a really bad coolant leak on top of the engine. I really was hoping that someone would just be like "that hole is a blah blah blah....." and know for certain, so I did not have to go through all the trouble shooting or pay a mechanic to lie to me and charge me WAYYYYY too much. I dont know, keep giving me ideas and I will be sure to post what it was so you all can store it away as an "I know what that is...." thing. Thanks!!!!

To me it looks like you had the right idea. Looks like a weep hole. I thought maybe for the area under the intake, but as I dont know for sure I didnt want to confuse things.

When I had my leak, I fixed the o-ring problem in the external coolant plumbing at the top of the block first. Still leaked at the back of the engine. I took it to the shop and they told me it was no longer leaking up top, that what I'd done up there was fine. They then came up with the freeze plug between the tranny bellhousing and engine. That seemed to fix it. I may not have gotten a full/truthful story. Just some more info to hopefully help you.

This much coolant will pool between the heads without any drips below the engine. The way it was explained to me on this board was that it just spills over the top at the rear of the engine, which seems plausible...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v380/surferfletch/leakgask.jpg

So you had a leak there AND a freeze plug pop??? Or did you have a coolant leak for a while and then the freeze plug all of a sudden went out. There was no coolant leak before this happened. I just kinda find it odd that two problems would present themselves at the same time. I know it is possible, but just unlikely. Do you know where that plug is at? I could take a look at it tomorrow before they put the tranny in. Let me know. Thanks!!!!!

It all happened at the same time. You have me wondering now if they ever really had to drop the trans. That was a pricey repair. And I never did see the hole which was plugged. They just called me to tell me it was fixed after I authorized the repair. I took it to the shop after I fixed the coolant leak up top. I still had coolant dripping below where the tranny meets the block even though I no longer had coolant at the top of the block.

This much coolant will pool between the heads without any drips below the engine. The way it was explained to me on this board was that it just spills over the top at the rear of the engine, which seems plausible...


surferfletch, thanks for the photo.

when you had this leak (up top), were you able to see the pool of coolant when everything was installed ? inotherwords, is it possible to tell just by looking before taking everything apart>?

thanks

//bc

where was the coolant coming from under the car? Did you see that? Did it look like it was coming from behind the tranny? I did not see anything behind the tranny that would be a plug other than that hole, and that is not supposed to be plugged. I just dont know what else could leak from behind the transmission other than that hole.

I had to get a flashlight and really look down in there near the thermostat housing. It's easy to miss if you just glance under the intake.

Let me see if I can find the thread where I first noticed the loss of coolant...

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=469824&highlight=coolant+leak

Here is the original thread...

what a deal you got!
I wish I had not gone a week without getting in here this is one of the funnies things ever yes its just a drain hole so that when those coolant pipe o-rings leak the coolant wont stay on top oof the engine I really nee to come across a deal like that

the dealr that worked on this has a real D/A for a tech
how much did you get it for

Then I must have gotten hosed! Is there no plug back there at all???

yes there are core plugs on the back of the block and on the heads but what he is talking about really sounds like the weep hole at the top of the block

Thanks! I can go back to that mechanic then!

I paid $500 for the car and then $680 after tax to have the tranny put back in. There were a bunch of bolts that they had to re-tap that Honda just cut off, and I had to find bolts at a wrecking yard becuase Honda also lost all of those. If anyone on here ever needs ANYTHING for the passports, this place called Covey's in washington does only mazda and isuzu. They had about 20 passport/rodeos and they ship stuff to anywhere. They pulled a motor and tranny just to give me all the bolts. They labeled them and put them all in baggies and I got some new coolant lines and stuff for $60. So total, I am about $1250 for a PERFECT condition passport. Now all I need to do is tear off the intake and fix that leak. You are sure that's just a drain hole for the intake valley? I am pretty sure too, but as you can see, the Honda techs here are STUPID. Thanks for all the help.

No need to doubt 2eye!