mrshifty

OK, so I'm pulling into my driveway after a 10 min car ride to Blockbuster and right when I turn off the car and get out, I see steam coming out from under the hood. I pop the hood and see steam coming from behind the engine (between the engine and the firewall). I figured opening the radiator cap would relieve the pressure and let all the fluid into the reserve as opposed the ground. So I use a towel and loosen the cap, the hissing subsides and fluid goes into the reserve. So I put the car into neutral (it's a 5spd), take off the parking brake and roll it backwards and sure enough there is coolant on the driveway. This means that it was a coolant hose and that I guess it blew off. (Although I was not driving hard or anything). Could I get some thoughts on this? Maybe how much it will replace or what happened or what part is it that did this and if I should be having a panic attack or not? What should I do? Please help!
BTW, I have a 5spd 93 SC300.

Nomis

Welcome to the forums - wish it could have been under better circumstances. It sounds like it could one of two hoses that feed the heater core that are located at the rear of the engine and go into the fire wall.

mrshifty

I can see that the steam came from the place in between the engine and the firewall. I see that there are no leaks directly at the radiator. What is the best way for me to check the hoses that connect to the heater core? Thank you so much for the quick and helpful repsonse.

Nomis

First - it's probably best to wait for the engine to cool a little bit - I wasn't going to say anthing at first but you really shouldn't have removed the radiator cap when the engine is still hot - it could have blown hot steam and boiling water into your face - not good. Okay paternal warning aside - if you can't visually see the split in the hose, then make sure you have enough water in your radiator - again when cool - if its a little low - top it off. This may sound crazy but you're going to have to start the car and let it come up to pressure - to find the leak at this point. With the engine running in a well ventilated area, stand close to the vehicle ready to turn off the engine if things get out of control. Most likely its a small leak and you'll be able to spot it once the cooling system is up to pressure. Of course - there are only two heater core lines back there - an inlet and a return (at least on my SC4), so either way - you're probably better off replacing both of the hoses at the same time - lest the other hose blow a few weeks down the road - cars have a quirky way of being like that sometimes. On the bright side, at least you were only 10 mins from home and not on some long road trip when it blew - be thankful of that.

mrshifty

Cool thanks.
And if it makes you feel better, I took the cap off after the car was off and used a towel folded over a couple times to loosen the radiator cap.
But thanks again for the help.

Nomis

No problem. Let us know how it turns out.