1998 3rd gen overheating :( help

[Reef]

currently working at a camp in mass, my 98 just started making a strange clicking noise a few days ago. Looking inside the engine compartment I assumed it could be the heat shield thing that surrounds the exhaust manifold (the fake headers) because where that is bolted on, has rusted around the bolts and is a little loose. I added some washers to secure it more flush.

During my test drive the noise was still there , and I noticed the noise only happens when I am in gear, not in park or netural. Now I am not as concerned about the noise because I am overheating like crazy. I did not have the fan going during the test drive to try and figure out the noise, when I noticed the engine start to overheat I turned on the heater to hot, and only cold air blew out. I was only a mile away, so i didn't drive it long while it was overheating, but now I don't know where to start looking. Camp is ending in a week, All my tools are back in maine, and I am supposed to be back in maine by the end of the week.
when i finally got to the parking lot, steam was coming out of the hood. I noticed a small hole where the steam and hot water was coming out of, located on the bottom of the passenger side firewall. The hole looks intentional, but possible missing a hose. Any help would help save my day.
-Paul
[email protected]

 

[Rix]

"out of the firewall" sounds like you have a leak st the heater core.
Lack of coolant=overheat.

 

[Reef]

thanks, i am trying to get some anti-freeze so i can try and diagnose the problem. according to my haynes manual, and reading other overheating posts it could be, thermostat, radiator core blocked or dirty, defective water pump, or my fan. I am trying to use the manual to help diagnose the problem, but I fear even turning the car on. Any advice?
thanks.
-Paul

 

[Rix]

You can use water for the short term, until the leak is found.
Even for a couple weeks would be ok, but not for any long term.

You kinda need to fill the coolant and start tracking down where the leak is.
Thermostat, water pump, bla bla bla isn't going to do any good with no coolant.

Getting to the heater core isn't the easiest thing in the world.
But if you have steam coming from the vent hose in the firewall.... that's where you'd likely want to start looking.

 

[Reef]

added coolant, and ran the car in park, heater on high full fan. engine temp started climbing after 5 minutes into normal operating temp (according to the gauge), no heat coming from the vents just cold air, then i noticed the steam start with my hood open. It was not coming from the firewall hole as i previously thought, it was coming from below where the the coated lines run down the fire wall.
I think form my research these are heater lines, which would make sense with the lack of heat. I am going to do some research on other posts to figure out how to replace them. Thanks for your input rix, and any more comments would be a great help. What part of washington are you from? i grew up and spent 19 years in the fox island/gig harbor area near tacoma.
thanks again for your help and interest.

 

[Rix]

There's a couple small lines that run down the firewall, under the floor, to the rear heater.
These lines will sometimes rust through, or get rubbed by something else that's out of place, etc.
Those lines can leak all your coolant out too.
No heat is because your heater core is either plugged, or doesn't have coolant in it, but air instead. The heater core is nothing more than a small radiator, it has to have coolant in it to work.
If you can follow where the leak is coming from, you can figure out what part to repair/replace to fix it.
Then you have to "bleed" or "burp" the cooling system to get your heat back.

 

[Reef]

thanks for the help, got the rig back up to maine. It was a crack in the rear heater lines. Did the work around with the hose, and is running back like a champ. Going to get into the shop to have a once over done and make sure nothing else is going to happen.
thanks again, you guys saved me.