Today, while on the highway my mom, how was following me, called me and said something was leaking. I pulled over and realized it was coolant. We were almost to our destination so I grabbed some water and extra coolant from the gas station and headed out. I was paying close attention to my gauges and they weren't going up. The heat gauge stayed just below the the middle range. The heat however stopped working. I could turn it on and get a good blast of heat for about 3 minutes before the cooler air came. I added more water after we stopped and after a short time away, I came back and there was a small puddle. Nothing too extreme but there none the less. Before the journey back I added more water and after about 40 miles of normal driving with some lights and stop signs, I made it home. The car NEVER overheated and I didn't have to stop anywhere in between. I'm not sure what's going on. I'm thinking maybe the heater core or possibly just a hose. The leak "seems" to be passenger side since that's where the puddle is. Any ideas would be GREAT!! Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to DF
Pressure ck the cooling system, you may have a water pump leaking. Its on the passenger side on the van.

 

Hi and Thanks for the welcome.

So how do I ck pressure and what am I looking for?? Sorry if that's a PITA question. I had a new water pump put in at the dealership about 2 yrs. ago.

 

You'll need a pressure tester to build up pressure in the cooling sytem at the radiator. and then look and see where the coolant is leaking from.

 

Thanks, I'll check back in tomorrow.

 

So I took the advice and my dad came over to help check the pressure. After getting the van on ramps and looking, he said it's the metal heater tube that runs to the rear of the van. There's a small pinhole leak in at least one spot(could possibly be two but we couldn't really tell if it was the first leak just running along the line or not) when the tube bends to run under the van to the back. I'm afraid to call about repairs!! Is there some way to replace that with a rubber hose. It seems like that might be cheaper than new metal tubbing?!?!?!?!

 

yep, rear heater tubes have failed. they can be a PITA to replace. Average person looking at 3-5hrs if you don't have a hoist. takes me about 1.5 hrs to change. you can go ghetto cheap and use rubber hose. not me, I'll always fix it the right way with new tubes the whole assembly is under $100.

 

Some of the tube fall under a recall, i check for your year of van and doesn't show any recall. But i would ck with your local dealer for any recalls or prices on the coolant tubes.

 

I, too, have the pinholes in the rear coolant tubes. Hadda be towed yesterday. Pumped ALL the coolant out of system. Of course I was out of town. Ours is a 1999 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L.
They certainly do look like a PITA to change. Can't even SEE where they go. Does engine have to be pulled?
Where can I find a recall list to see if ours is listed.
Thanks...
...bob...
Nashville, Ya'll

 

Hey Bob in Nashville, I can tell you that yours is not covered, sorry. I can also tell you that replacing those lines is one of the jobs I really hate. When I do them, I pull the intake plenum and the alternator and then work them out. Good luck. I think if I had one of those, I would pay someone else to do it.