I have an 86 Trooper that I have been putting a fair amount of work and money into so it's a keeper, but recently I got a really bad coolant leak that appears to be coming out of a fitting of some sort at the rear of the motor. At first I thought it was from the heater core since the fluid was running down the firewall, but upon closer inspection I am finding some hose guides and fittings right at the rear of the motor, pinched between the motor and the firewall (bad design in my opinion). It is no big deal for the motor to shift a bit and temporarily pinch a rubber hose, but there is a metal fitting back there that some of the hoses appear to be attached to, and something is failing on the metal fitting. It is very hard to reach and I would like to bypass it if possible. What am I dealing with here? Some sort of coolant line running to the transmission? None of the engine diagrams I have for the 2.3l 4CLY seem to show a coolant fitting or passage at the rear of the motor, just above the bell housing, but it is there in my trooper, and leaking.

 

I have downloaded what is supposedly the factory repair manual, have the Haynes book, NONE seem to detail a coolant line running around the back of the engine or a coolant line or bracket that is attached to the transmission bell housing. I can only explore this thing by feel and it is pretty dirty in there. I regularly power wash under the hood but don't reach back around the transmission much. I can power wash this again and get some pictures, but it perplexes me. Any possibility of this being part of the smog system? Can it get bypassed somehow?

 

broad view of the area (rear of engine)

Close up of where the fluid comes out (the metal pipe)

 

I cut part of the firewall insulation to get a better look at the hoses going to the heater core, here you see no leakage or problems.

 

sounds like the heater pipe that runs behind the head and connects to a hose leading to the intake.