Possible Leak from heater pipe. 1981 FI

[Batmanbat4]

Hello,

I was driving my car this morning and after it began to warm up there was a lot of steam rising out of the hood. After taking it back home I noticed that there was a rapid drip right below where the heater pipe on the side that it connects to the firewall. After letting the car cool down the leak stopped and only restarted once I let it heat back up again. From what I've seen on this forum this is a common leak point and it is best to just replace the pipe. I was going to purchase the Stainless steel pipe from autoricambi. Is there anything else that I would need during the replacement of this pipe? And what is the procedure for doing so, would I need to remove the exhaust manifold?

Thanks

[TX82FIAT]

I'm not exactly sure what piece of pipe based on your description. Is it the short heater pipe that extends through the firewall that is routed to the heater or is it the firewall end of the L shaped pipe that connects to the water pump and runs back towards the firewall. You can replace the long L pipe under the manifold without removing the manifold for sure. The long pipe normally leaks at the dog ear end that connects to the water pump. Sound like you are at the other end. Since it leaks when pressurized, are you sure it is not one of the hoses that connects the pipes. I've had to use baby powder in the past to find the exact source of the leak because pressurized coolant tends to travel giving false positives for the source of the leak. It is also odd that the pipe itself would leak within the body of the pipe as most leaks develop at connection points and hoses. If the pipe is leaking at the firewall end, you might be able to cut the end of the pipe and extend new hose.