Coolant Leak Between T Body and EGR spacer

[gpguy]

Hello. I have a bit of a dillema with my 1989 GM with 302. Yesterday I went uptown and and smelled antifreeze. So I pulled over and found the drivers side valve cover covered with coolant. Level was ok so I went home and spent some time trying to find the leak. The coolant was sitting on the lip of the drivers side valve cover (near the rear) and dripping onto the exhaust manifold. I cleaned it off and couldn't find anything leaking. I came here and started reading horror stories about rear intake manifold gasket leaks and frost plugs that let go. The 2 coolant hoses to the egr body spacer are in good shape. So nothing was leaking now(of course everything was warm and was expanded).


Fast forward to this morning. I started the car before going to work (-20 C) and everything was dry. It warmed up a bit and I revved it up. Coolant was dripping between the throttle body and EGR spacer!! It was running over the valve cover, running down the lip and heading for the exhaust manifold. I thought I would check the bolts. The top 2 were snug but when I went to check the lower front it turned easily. I didn`t hardly turn it and the nut and a 1/2 inch of the stud came out. WTF!! The end of the stud was ALL rusty with only a tiny sliver that was shiny so I guess it was broken off for awhile. I`ve owned the car for 8 years and a friend had it for 3 years before that so I know the throttle body was never off.

So anyway what do I do? I ordered the 2 gaskets at a local auto parts store. The stud is unavailable from ford as well as the auto parts store. Im guess I can use a bolt and make one. I asume it is metric.

So I guess what I am wondering is it as easy as removing the 3 remaining nuts and sliding off the throttle body and egr spacer? ( am hoping there is enough of the broken stud to grab onto with a vice grip). Cleaning it up well and reinstalling the egr spacer and throttle body with new gaskets??
I have started soaking the remaining nuts with PB BLaster.

What would happen if I just removed the 2 coolant lines and plumbed them together?. I really don't want to do that but would the throttle body or EGR ice up? We don't have any vehicle inspection requirements here.
I line in Northern Alberta, Canada so it can get mighty cold (-40). I also wonder if there is a possibility of a lean condition with the broken stud allowing a poor seal? I also hope that no coolant has leaked INTO the throttle body while I was screwing around, but I didn't run it very long or hard.

I know this is long winded but I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thx.

[Pirate]

What would happen if I just removed the 2 coolant lines and plumbed them together?.

Here's a hint:

[pantera77]

Here's a hint:

That means nothing bad would happen.

[gadget73]

Mine has been disconnected for years, but the weather here isn't nearly as cold. That system serves as a warmer to keep the throttle blade from icing up. Up there in the frozen north, it may be more critical. You can drill the broken stud out and replace it with a bolt. The stud is only there for assembly convenience. Its not actually critical that it be a stud.

[Tiggie]

I also wonder if there is a possibility of a lean condition with the broken stud allowing a poor seal? I also hope that no coolant has leaked INTO the throttle body while I was screwing around, but I didn't run it very long or hard.

I know this is long winded but I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thx.

-40 is cold. I would certainly try to get it to work.

If the broken stud was allowing a leak of outside air in, it would be a vacuum leak - and probably sucking in the antifreeze you saw pouring out. Vacuum leaks cause these cars to run rich and funky rather lean typically.

I once replaced the intake gaskets on a friend's '89 CV and somehow got the MAP sensor hose and one of the EGR cooler hoses mixed up. Started the car and it ran... somehow. But after I reversed the lines, the car was fine. So even if it did leak much into the engine on your car, it shouldn't hurt it. Maybe a little extra steam on start up.

[gpguy]

Thanks Gadget.

Am I correct then assuming the throttle body & egr spacer will slide off the studs? Only 1/2 inch of stud came withe the nut so I assume there will be a fair bit of stud to grip. Ive never had much luck drilling shit out. I would hope pb blaster soaking/tapping/maybe a little heat/ patiance would allow me to eaze the busted stud out if the tb & egr slide off.

[Lincolnmania]

they are a bitch to get apart....especially if it has been leaking coolant for a while.....lots of pb blaster and some heat and a hammer are required

[pantera77]

Everything should come slight right off but it may be a little corroded/stuck on. On all of my stuff the nuts usually come off while the studs stay stuck in the plenum.

[gpguy]

Thanks so much you guys.

Actually I was outside just now and I hooked the 2 coolant lines together. I also put a bead of silicone gasket slop along where the leak was. I am hoping this will stop any chance of a vaccuum leak. Its not supposed to be brutally cold for awhile.
This way I can at least drive it around town and get to work. My garage is unheated so a permanent repair will have to wait. Its not supposed to be brutally cold for awhile.

I do have another vehicle on standby but I really hate driving it.

Thanks again.

[Pirate]

Thanks so much you guys.

Actually I was outside just now and I hooked the 2 coolant lines together. I also put a bead of silicone gasket slop along where the leak was. I am hoping this will stop any chance of a vaccuum leak. Its not supposed to be brutally cold for awhile.
This way I can at least drive it around town and get to work. My garage is unheated so a permanent repair will have to wait. Its not supposed to be brutally cold for awhile.

I do have another vehicle on standby but I really hate driving it.

Thanks again.

Before you go....
I wonder if it might be that either the TB or the EGR spacer might have corroded to the point it's begun to leak....and if it's too big of a pain the rear to pull it off, and get the broken stud out, it might be easier to simply find a replacement upper intake, if not toss an High Output upper on there while you're at it....

Good luck. Broken studs on upper intakes only killed 320,000 people last year, so your odds of fixing it without having an extremity blown off is around 1 in 2.

[gpguy]

Well it warmed up today to -2 so I repaired the godamn thing right. I replaced the gaskets and the studs with new bolts. It actually came apart not bad for probably not being apart for 21 years!! The tbody gets nice and toasty now.
It was -35 here for a couple days but I didn't notice any problem with no coolant to the tbody. Although I was only driving around town with low speed/revs

Thanks Again.