Coolant leak - which hose is it?

Hi all,

I have a 94 GT 3.1 auto tranny (with 209K on the ticker - all original!) and its developed a small coolant leak in the upper hose at the back of the engine near the firewall. Its one of the 2 hoses that have the covering that makes them appear to be braided hose. I have the means to change it myself (ramps, floor jack, jack stands, etc) but I can't find what part # or hose this particular one is to determine if the local parts stores have it in stock before I start running all over town to locate a replacement.

Does anyone know which hose I'm referring to and if so, do you happen to know what part number/description I should be looking for on the advance auto / autozone / pep boys, et al. websites?

I don't have alternative means of transportation available, so I wanted to get this fixed ASAP before I end up with a total hose blowout.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to bump this up...I really don't have any other means of transport and was hoping to get some sort of a reply...

At least somewhere I can look to get what I need (a website or something). I went to the GMPartsDirect catalog and couldn't find a thing. THey only had the hoses that attach directly to the radiator or the bypass hose.

Please help, I need to get this fixed ASAP!!!

Thanks to anyone who can help me out here!

Maybe this can help *Unapproved link removed by moderator*

i found alot of oem parts and part numbers here http://www.rockauto.com/

Here is another sight with oem part numbers http://www.pontiacpartstore.com/pontiac-grand-am-parts.html

Hi all,

I have a 94 GT 3.1 auto tranny (with 209K on the ticker - all original!) and its developed a small coolant leak in the upper hose at the back of the engine near the firewall. Its one of the 2 hoses that have the covering that makes them appear to be braided hose. I have the means to change it myself (ramps, floor jack, jack stands, etc) but I can't find what part # or hose this particular one is to determine if the local parts stores have it in stock before I start running all over town to locate a replacement.

Does anyone know which hose I'm referring to and if so, do you happen to know what part number/description I should be looking for on the advance auto / autozone / pep boys, et al. websites?

I don't have alternative means of transportation available, so I wanted to get this fixed ASAP before I end up with a total hose blowout.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Those would be heater hoses and can be bought at almost any auto parts store.


PS- mtnhutt, please remove the link to GAGT ....

I thought they were the heater hoses at first as well...but the heater hoses run on the driver's side of the engine compartment, firewall side. These are on the passenger's side firewall side. They appear to come from the fender well and I can't see where they connect to anything (it almost looks as though they just stop halfway across the back of the engine compartment.

One of them feels like it has a metal core with a foam/rubber cover. Both have sheaths that make them appear as though they were braided hose. Also, they are significantly larger than the heater hoses.

I can't figure out how to add a picture to this post or I would show you which hose I'm referring to.

Please help me figure out what hose I need! I really need to get my car back on the road.

thier can only be the EGR tube, the heater hoses and maybe the power steering hose(s) in between the engine and firewall.
The heater core is in the central area...

Are you sure it is coolant? Try to determine which hose it is the best you can and remove or pull back the braided covering to find the leak. Has your low coolant light or check engine light came on? Is the reservoir/overflow tank below level? Are the lines you're describing also foam padded with metal underneath? How did you discover the leak? I don't want to undermine your intelligence but is it possible it could be the AC (Air Conditioner) lines which run near the area you are describing simply sweating? Answer these questions and you may find your problem or hopefully lack of. Good luck...:licka:

I discovered the leak at work on Monday by a lovely smelling little green trail running out from under my car. I followed it back and could see antifreeze dripping off the exhaust and skidplate at the back of the engine. I checked and filled up the reservoir and when I got home I was able to see a drip off the lines I'm describing. I don't know where else it could be coming from, because nothing else in the back is wet. Am I missing something that may be causing coolant to accumulate on and drip from this hose?

The one hose of the pair that doesn't seem to be leaking is foam covered metal, but I can't get at the other one...I will try to determine more about it after work today..

To try to put some perspective as to their location, they emerge from the fender area near and run alongside the serpentine system and then take a hard right and go under the steering rack. With all the shrouding, covering on them they appear to be approx 1 - 1 1/2 inch lines...

The low coolant light hasn't come on, nor has the check engine light, and unless the A/C lines sweat green...

Not to worry about doug2060 about undermining anything...I've changed enough heater cores in my vehicles over the years (particularly in my Fiero) to know anti-freeze vs. water
:banghead: :banghead:

You know, its amazing what you can discover when you can actually easily access the underside of a vehicle (easy access being a matter of opinion).

I was able to get my car up on ramps and slide under to get a better look at the hoses in the back and near as I can tell it is the heater hose (the one with the "U" molded into it). Its wet just outside where the heater core neck would stop in the hose and the underside of the steering rack is soaked with coolant.

It was building up on the rack and then dripping down onto the A/C line covers. This was then dripping down on to the skidplate and exhaust and onto the ground. (yeah I know, most of you didn't need this much detail).

I do have another question however...

Do any of you have any tips for changing this hose without losing most of my coolant? Or is massive coolant loss only an issue if it were pressurized?

Any ideas would be great!!!!

Thanks everyone so much for you help thus far and for any tips going forward!

You found it! You may want to go ahead and just drain the entire system and replace with fresh. It wouldn't hurt to go ahead and change the thermostat too since it's relatively inexpensive but it's not necessary (Preventive Maintenance). Just remove the hose now and take it to your local auto parts store and have them cut you a piece the exact same length and replace it. Good luck! Make sure to let the air out!

well, I thought that the heater hose was the culprit. Turns out it looks like its the heater core. I replace both heater hoses and the therm, refilled the system and fired it up...after a few minutes it began leaking again!

I left the reservoir cap off while warming up to allow the air to escape (it wasn't leaking during warm up so I thought I had it licked). Within a minute or two of replacing the cap it began leaking again.

Since I'm up on ramps and have the rear wheels chocked I left it running and crawled back under to take a look (yeah I know not the safest thing to be doing) and found the coolant dripping from behind the heat sheild for the downpipe. Since the only thing there is the heater core - that's got to be the problem.

At least I'll have an entirely new system (water pump replace 6 mos ago, radiator 3 mos (side tank split open), rad hoses w/ rad replacement, heater hoses and therm today - heater core today as well).

Hey, it never hurts to put new hoses and such on a car with nearly 210K on the odo.

Any tips for heater core removal, or is it just going to be a case of disassembling the bulk of the interior to get at it?

it is a pita to replace the heater core, though not as bad as some other cars.

If you have a console that needs removed.
The cover over the HC has many screws, ones at the bottom are almost impossible to get to because thier so close to the floor.

:sorry: I couldnt find any helpful pics...
But I'm sure one of other members with a simular year of GA can help with any details I might have forgotten.

Also I forgot that on the older model ga's you have to remove the AC coils so that would need drained before removing the lines.