AHA! Found the coolant leak. Tip for others.

[cnc]

After chasing a coolant leak on a EA82 93 Loyale for weeks, it turned out to be two things.

 

One; the little rubber line that goes from the thermostat body to the base of the throttle-body had a bulge and a little hole. Is this the "hose from Hell" I hear speak of??

 

Two; the intake manifold gaskets were both loose. Now that seemed strange to me, since I just installed them a couple of months ago. I think the problem is related to the use of the OEM extra thick gaskets that are specified for there. I originally put in cheap, thin aftermarket gaskets and water poured out of it before I could even start the engine. Pulled the thin ones out and installed thick ones. The problem appears to be that the intake manifold spans such a long distance that it's almost impossible to get the gasket surfaces parallel. Hence, the extra thick gasket. That worked at first, but it apparently relaxed, being a super thick gasket. I found one bolt on each side to be totally loose and another to be half tight. I think the take-away knowledge on this is to retorque those thick gaskets after a month or some appropriate time. Ok, wrenches of the Universe! Chime in!

Edited October 5, 2010 by cnc

[GeneralDisorder]

I have never had a single problem with OEM gaskets, properly prepped surfaces (soft wire wheel), chased block threads, wire wheeled bolts, and 12 Ft/lbs of torque. I have never had one come loose or leak when done right the first time.

Back when I knew no better - I had multiple failures of Fel-Pro and other cardboard junk gaskets from the aftermarket suppliers. I haven't bought a set of those in years.

 

GD

[Ricearu]

no the horrible hose you speak of is under the manifold to the block. and is about 10" long. the manifold must be removed (at least for the average fat fingered american mechanic.) If you have ninja fingers/hands, you can do it. MAYBE. :lol:

[cnc]

The first gaskets I used were from the lowball gasket people on ebay. $34 for a complete set. They forgot (???) the little rubber gaskets that insert into the head gasket and the rest of the gaskets looked to be punched out of a cereal box. I bought a set of fat intake gaskets from Carquest and they were almost 1/8" thick. Been running the car for a couple of days and have not lost any water, at all. Woo hoo! Is that 'hose from Hell' something that I should just replace? 93 EA82, 180k miles, smile on face.

[Ricearu]

it's a good idea to replace or at least inspect it. you can see it under the intake to the left side of the power steering pump, if you are looking from the front (technically the right side of the car). I replaced mine when I resealed the motor, along with the short throttle body elbow.

[swampbrat]

My horrible hose from block to intake only leaked while you revved the motor. I took off the intake but I think I could have got it with long needle nose pliers. It was a spring clamp on that hidden end.

[Ricearu]

you are lucky, mine was a screw clamp (the epic ones) and it was rusted so I had to break it with needle nose pliers. Lucky for me, this was a "new" engine and I needed to swap my intake over anyways.

[Ricearu]

This is a public service announcement brought to you by the people that name problem crap in cars.

 

I hereby officially dub this hose

 

THE EA LEAK HOSE

 

That is all.