Drain on firewall leaking coolant???
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Drain on firewall leaking coolant???
My '89 F250 5.8L is leaking coolant pretty good from what looks to be a drain on the passenger side firewall on the engine compartment side. My only guess is this is coming from the heater core. Would that be a fair assessment?? Would it be strange for the heater core to go bad now when I'm not running the heat? That's probably a dumb question but figured I'd ask anyway. I watched a couple videos on YouTube but didn't see the drain like mine has. They were working on 89's like mine. Below is a picture of the drain. Is this just some sort of overflow drain so in case the heater core does leak it won't leak into the cab?
Cross-Country
Joined: Nov 2015
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My guess is it is a condensate drain for the AC. If your heater core developed a leak you would see the signs come out of there. I have a 90 and my core went as I was driving it home for Christmas and I could small it and if fogged up my windows bad.
pedant
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: EXTREME southwest CT
The heater core in these trucks is always a bypass loop of the thermostat.
In other words, it does not matter if the heat is on or not, coolant & pressure are always there.
The easiest temporary fix is to join the two ends with a 1/2" copper slip coupling, or loop one of the heater hoses back to where the other leaves the engine.
You'll lose a lot less coolant with the first method.
In other words, it does not matter if the heat is on or not, coolant & pressure are always there.
The easiest temporary fix is to join the two ends with a 1/2" copper slip coupling, or loop one of the heater hoses back to where the other leaves the engine.
You'll lose a lot less coolant with the first method.
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Yeah it doesn't look all that bad to change it out. If I do I'll probably just get the Motorcraft one as opposed to the $30 Chinese version. A lot of reviews say they leak within 6 mos to 2 years. I drove the truck 2 more times and there is no more coolant leaking out of there. I estimate I only lost a few ounces. It seemed to stop as quick as it started. I would think it would have leaked again.
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madpogue
1994.5 - 1997 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel
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Dec 17, 2008 01:40 PM
