'92 Suburban Coolant Leak

[natenkiki2004]

Hey everyone. First off, I'm new to this forum. I did a google search and this one looked like a good place to ask Also, just to get this out there, I'm not mechanically inclined. I can read a manual, look at parts and follow instructions but not much more than that.

Off to the problem! Our burby has several problems but, due to money issues, we're waiting until the end of next month to have repairs done. Unfortunately, one of the problems got a little worse the other day. After a trip into town, we noticed a dark puddle under the burby so I put a container under it and sure enough our coolant leak got worse. It had been leaking for a while, having to add a pinch to the reservoir maybe once a month or two. Now, with the bucket under the leak spot, there's about a half-gallon in about a day of sitting. I crawled and looked around and it looks like it's coming from the end of the lower hose. A few days ago I looked and the hoses are bulging where they connect so I added it to the list of repairs to be done.

Being about a month away from repairs, we need to use our vehicle in the mean time for about 3 trips into town (~20 miles one way). We have a Chiltons repair/maintainence guide and I looked it up and doing a radiator flush and hose replace doesn't seem too hard. I do have a few issues and questions though, but first pictures:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/burby/DSC04822.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/burby/DSC04824.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/burby/DSC04829.JPG

The last picture is from the top, the first two were taken from underneath the vehicle. Now, remember that I'm not mechanically inclined so the following questions may seem inexperienced...

Is that for sure a leak in the hose at the connector?
If I were to tighten down the screw-clamp would that slow/stop the leak or would it damage the hose more and perhaps make it leak more?
Napa is a little over a mile away, I would have to drive there so would tightening the screw-clamp help limp it there and back home?

If I do the repairs, I may as well flush the system, would the following steps be appropriate?
Drain the system, remove hoses, replace hoses, fill with drained fluid, add a can/bottle of flush, idle engine, let engine cool, drain completely, fill with 50/50 mix, idle engine, top off.
Am I missing something? Would it be bad to fill the system with the 1st drained fluid in order to perform the flush?

Lastly, how do I deal with the flushed fluid? Is there a place that takes it? Our local recycling center takes oil but not antifreeze.

Any help is appreciated and I can provide more information/pictures if necessary. Thanks!

 

[natenkiki2004]

Hey everyone. First off, I'm new to this forum. I did a google search and this one looked like a good place to ask Also, just to get this out there, I'm not mechanically inclined. I can read a manual, look at parts and follow instructions but not much more than that.

Off to the problem! Our burby has several problems but, due to money issues, we're waiting until the end of next month to have repairs done. Unfortunately, one of the problems got a little worse the other day. After a trip into town, we noticed a dark puddle under the burby so I put a container under it and sure enough our coolant leak got worse. It had been leaking for a while, having to add a pinch to the reservoir maybe once a month or two. Now, with the bucket under the leak spot, there's about a half-gallon in about a day of sitting. I crawled and looked around and it looks like it's coming from the end of the lower hose. A few days ago I looked and the hoses are bulging where they connect so I added it to the list of repairs to be done.

Being about a month away from repairs, we need to use our vehicle in the mean time for about 3 trips into town (~20 miles one way). We have a Chiltons repair/maintainence guide and I looked it up and doing a radiator flush and hose replace doesn't seem too hard. I do have a few issues and questions though, but first pictures:

The last picture is from the top, the first two were taken from underneath the vehicle. Now, remember that I'm not mechanically inclined so the following questions may seem inexperienced...

Is that for sure a leak in the hose at the connector?
If I were to tighten down the screw-clamp would that slow/stop the leak or would it damage the hose more and perhaps make it leak more?
Napa is a little over a mile away, I would have to drive there so would tightening the screw-clamp help limp it there and back home?

If I do the repairs, I may as well flush the system, would the following steps be appropriate?
Drain the system, remove hoses, replace hoses, fill with drained fluid, add a can/bottle of flush, idle engine, let engine cool, drain completely, fill with 50/50 mix, idle engine, top off.
Am I missing something? Would it be bad to fill the system with the 1st drained fluid in order to perform the flush?

Lastly, how do I deal with the flushed fluid? Is there a place that takes it? Our local recycling center takes oil but not antifreeze.

Any help is appreciated and I can provide more information/pictures if necessary. Thanks!

 

[natenkiki2004]

Hmmm... pictures mess up. I'll figure out a way to add them.

*EDIT*
I think they're added