Hello, I'm new to working on my vehicle, and am very interested in saving money by doing the work myself. I have a 1997 Chevy Blazer S-10 4WD. I just finished replacing my heater core, but need to connect the heater hoses. It should be simple, but last year I had a mechanic bypass the heater core to stop the coolant from pouring onto the floor of my vehicle, and now I'm not quite sure how to put the new hoses in. I have the hoses, clamps, and I know where they connect to the heater core, but I'm not sure where the hoses connect to the rest of the system.

Any help or pictures would be helpful. Thanks!

 

On my 99 the two heater hoses are different sizes and I assume it's the same on 97's. The larger diameter hose connects to about the middle of your intake manifold on top passenger side of the engine. The smaller hose gets connected to the top of your water pump. You should see a metal pipe of about 5/8" diameter on top of the pump.

 

I went to Lowes (only thing open on the 1st) and got a 3/4 metal (Brass) pipe connector.. yes.. one of the pipes is larger.. maybe 7/8.. the smaller is exactly 3/4.. anyway.. they had a 3/4 connector.. one side was 3/4.. the other side was a little larger.. BUT.. there was the Brass ring in between the two that was MOST important.. I fit the small hose on with no problem.. then put the other end in the big hose and noticed that there was still some room!! Now what? That was the only thing they had that would fit.. (Lowes was busy.. but I still did my repairs in their large parking lot.. away from most traffic) so.. i pressed the other end including the large brass ring that encircled the whole thing into the pipe and it fit perfectly.. clamped both started engine.. felt pipes.. both warm.. no leaks.. drove to get some groceries.. no leaks.. drove a long way home for test purposes.. still no leaks.. no heat.. but no smells/.. no leaks onto carpet and no leaks outside.. so far so good.. now I can replace Heater Core when I get time..

 

I think the 97 uses the same size hoses. My 97 is 600 miles away or I would run out & post a picture, but since I can't do that it really won't make any difference if they are backwards. The water will flow through either way. If your new hoses are preformed as the factory it might make it easier to figure out. But either way you should be OK.

 

I didnt replace the hoses.. I disconnected them from the leaky heater core, and put a brass fitting in between the two.. making a continuous loop