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View Full Version : 89 Firebird heater hose burst and engine shut off



Resin
04-01-2024, 07:31 AM
Has anyone ever had experience with rapid loss of coolant and the engine shutting off immediately?
Will the computer kill the engine like that?
I have an 89 Firebird TBI.
The plastic fitting on the diverter valve for the heater core broke completely off.
It did not overheat before hand. Temps were where they normally are.
After a few seconds of billowing steam, it sputtered and died.
I have not attempted to crank it over again yet, but I am worried something else might have gone wrong.
The fitting that broke sprayed coolant toward the front passenger side of the engine bay.

Fast355
04-01-2024, 08:19 AM
Has anyone ever had experience with rapid loss of coolant and the engine shutting off immediately?
Will the computer kill the engine like that?
I have an 89 Firebird TBI.
The plastic fitting on the diverter valve for the heater core broke completely off.
It did not overheat before hand. Temps were where they normally are.
After a few seconds of billowing steam, it sputtered and died.
I have not attempted to crank it over again yet, but I am worried something else might have gone wrong.
The fitting that broke sprayed coolant toward the front passenger side of the engine bay.

Some coolant might have hit the ignition coil. I have experienced both TBI and Vortec coils shoring out in the presence of moisture.

MO LS Noobie
04-01-2024, 09:11 PM
I would add to the list of things to inspect, the inside of the distributor cap. Remove the cap and blow out the distributor with air, then wash the cap and rotor with warm soapy water. The coolant can leave a conductive film on the inside of the distributor cap. If your secondary ignition wires were questionable, now is a good time to replace them.

Resin
04-02-2024, 08:19 PM
19826

Carnage. I got another look at it in the light and realised that it would have been coming out the other way and spraying back toward the distributor and coil. They are both covered in coolant so i would bet thats what it was. I'll clean them off like you suggest. Thank you.