Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Metal Pipe on Passenger Side (coolant leak)

Hi Everyone,

My 98 GL has is leaking coolant through a visible hole in a metal pipe underneath the passenger side and this pipe runs parallel and above to the cross member. We stuck some epoxy to patch it up, but I haven't tried to run it yet with this repair job too see if will hold.

The metal pipe connects to a rubber hose, and I almost want to just cut the bad portion off and get a new hose and reconnect it. I'm not sure if we can even do that because as with most problems having enough clearance to fix what's gone wrong is always a major pain.

Any ideas whether this is part of the radiator or just some weird metal connecting piece? Has anyone seen anything like this in their Contour?

Thanks,
Tara

I'm pretty sure you are talking about a pipe/hose which goes to the heater core.

From Autozone

"The metal pipe connects to a rubber hose, and I almost want to just cut the bad portion off and get a new hose and reconnect it."
This sounds like a fine idea. Try it and post to let us know the results.

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your reply. We replaced part#(F8RZ 8290 AA) described as a Tube Assembly. The repair actually went better than expected and we completed it today.

By taking off the passenger side front wheel we were able to get good access to the 3 bolts that hold the tube in place. We also had to loosen the serpentine belt to free the tube because it has numerous bends as it's designed to wrap around the lower part of the engine.

When I stopped at the dealer to pick up the new part this morning I snagged a mechanic who happened by. I held the tube up for him to see and asked if he fixed a lot of those. He said ("Oh Yeah, sure have.") so I guess it's happened to others.

I have a picture of the part and a diagram from the dealer's part catalog I can post if anyone else is interested.

Thanks,
Tara