Coolant spraying out under front of intake

[shaguar_red]

A little history. My 98 3.8 A4 Firebird I just changed the upper and lower intake gaskets 2weeks ago. Today at lunch, its 87 degrees out, and my temp gauge shoots up past 210 and keeps climbing, so i pull over and pop the hood. Coolant is spraying out from under the throttlebody, i couldnt tell if it was coming from the lower intake, the lil nipple under there, or the waterpump. Would it Spray out from behind the water pump or from the lower intake? Im thinking for it to spray it would be the little nipple under there. Whats weird is when I reassembled everything I checked that nipple/elbow and it seemed fine. I even added a little RTV on the end of it before I put it back together. What do you guys think? I dunno how Im even going to be able to tell where its coming from. I hate to get the car hot again just to find the leak. I would have sat and messed with it this afternoon, but I had to get back to work.

To change that elbow do I have to take the intake off?

[davidlb512]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

I've heard of those 90* plastic elbows cracking easily after they've been messed with. They under the throttle body I believe. I don't have a 3.8, just going off of things I've heard.

[dmw319]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

clean it all off and let the car cool down 100%. then start the car, pop the hood, and poke around till you find where the leak is coming from. its gotta be a seal or gasket or something cracked (like an elbow or hose) somewhere. should be relatively easy to find.

might also help to take the air baffles/intake off to find it easier.

[catdaddy]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

I just changed out the belt tensioner on my '01 3.8 about 2 months ago. Per Davidlb512's comment, those 90* elbows get very brittle.

If that is where the water is coming from...it would appear to come from under the T'body. It can be changed by just removing the belt tensioner.

good luck...be sure to get two new elbows if that's what you are thinking of doing.

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

I was looking at Autozone dot com and it has a heater hose fitting made by dorman. Im going to pick it up after work. The website picture only shows one elbow, but in the description it says there are two. For 4bucks you cant really beat that. I hope to god thats all it is. I dont want to have to do that intake gasket again.

[Blizzard242]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

I don't even remember what I was working on at the time but one of mine broke too. I got a replacement at autozone that did come with 2 in the pack.

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

ok awesome that makes me feel better. I was worried it'd only have one in the pack and Id have to wait for a dealer part or something. :D

[Blizzard242]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

Yeah it's not even a behind the shelf part. If you do find out that it's those elbows I'd suggest you show them what you need rather than trying to explain it to them. I've not had much luck with an autozone employee away from their computer screen.

[techsan23]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

ok awesome that makes me feel better. I was worried it'd only have one in the pack and Id have to wait for a dealer part or something. :D

You can usually find them in the HELP! section at autozone. Im pretty sure they 2 fit different year models, and you will only use one. After you remove the belt and tensioner you unbolt the aluminum thing that the 2 heater hoses plumb into and wiggle it out. There is an O-ring to replace that you will see when you pull it out. You may be able to use an O-ring off of the extra elbow if its the same size. I would put a little silicone on it to be sure it seals. I want to say the alternator will need to come off too, but Im sure you'll figure it out.

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

How many bolts hold the tensioner on? I counted 3. ONe of them also holds the altenator. Am I missing something? I cant get the tensioner off. Do I need to pry on it?

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

I got it! LOL Damn I just needed a lil elbow grease.:slap: :rock:

OK another question. What is this? I found it inside the hole where the tensioner is press fitted in. Looks like a broken piece of some sort or a hardened gasket??
Ive attached 3 pics.2 of the mystery piece next to the hole where I found it and one of it next to my broken elbow.

[vanbibber]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

looks like a gasket

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

looks like a gasket

It almost looks like pieces of a plastic pipe.

And where did this oring come from?? Its huge and came out of the lower intake where the elbow goes in. I didnt put it back together lastnight because I wanted to make sure I wasnt missing anything before I did. Everything seemed pretty easy, but these weird random pieces have me stumped.

[T-Mill]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

Those little plastic rings that came out of the holes are just parts of the plastic elbows that broke off. The groove that the O-ring fits into is a point of weakness and they almost always break there... same thing happened on both engines I've disassembled. Make sure that there isn't any more pieces of that plastic elbow that broke off inside. As for the new plastic elbows, some cars use two, some cars use one. I'm not sure what the cutoff for the years is, but on one, the tensioner had a piece on it that replaced one of the plastic elbows. Both versions have the plastic elbow under the TB.

[shaguar_red]

Re: Coolant spraying out under front of intake

. As for the new plastic elbows, some cars use two, some cars use one. I'm not sure what the cutoff for the years is, but on one, the tensioner had a piece on it that replaced one of the plastic elbows. Both versions have the plastic elbow under the TB.

OOHHH ok. I get what youre saying. Someone must have replaced the tensioner on my car then, and when they did, they left pieces of the OLD plastic elbow in side that hole. Atleast that's what it looks like anyways.