97 SE Coolant 'Q'

[The Right Formula]

I was driving home last evening, and as I was turning onto a street after a stop sign, I heard a gush of water, my cooland light came on, and my windows fogged almost instantly. Temps started climbing, but I was only a mile or so from home and was able to make it to my driveway before the engine seized. I was outside this morning and poured about a gallon of water into my fill tank and sure enough, it poured right out.

Looking under the engine bay, it appears to be coming from the mid-engine rear area. Heater core issue? Passenger side interior is bone dry, FWIW.

Relevant info: 176k+ miles, on-going coolant problem for the past three years (misc hoses changed and fluid topped off every few months), LIM done 10 months ago

[GTP Dad]

Certainly sounds like a heater core issue. The duct work is designed to allow water to flow outside through a drain and not come into the passenger compartment. If it pours out like you say it does then you will need to replace the core. If the engine completely seized you will have other, costly issues to deal with besides the heater core.

[The Right Formula]

Yeah, I started pulling the heat core, but it was too dark to finish so I'll have another go at it tomorrow. I'm sure the engine was only 15 seconds or so away from seizing when I shut her down - good thing I was so close to home!

I'll pull the core and drop a new one in sometime this week.