Cracked air-con(?) hose - can I still drive it?

[91 V-Spec]

I didn't even get to the motorway this morning, when steam started to curl around the edges of my bonnet. It smelt sweet like antifreeze, which I thought odd, because the engine was barely warm. Couldn't be the radiator surely?

A quick inspection revealed fluid dripping onto the exhaust from one of the black hoses leading into the firewall, which I assume are for the air-con/heater. That made sense because I been trying to blast the fog off the windscreen with the heater (not aircon though).

I played it safe, driving home and taking the bus, but was that necessary? Can I still drive it if I don't use the heater? And why did I smell anti-freeze, doesn't the air-con use a different fluid?

I have yet to confirm the hose itself is blown, the leak could be from elsewhere, but assuming it is, anyone got one lying around? I need the car this weekend!

[ham]

The black hoses are the heater hoses. Need to fix before driving. The metal pipe at bottom of your photo is one of the aircon pipes.

[Euen]

As Ham said.

If you cannot get one from your local Mazda dealer, you should be able to get away with a short length of appropriately sized heater hose from REPCO until you can get the proper hose.

[sprsta]

just watch its not the heater core leaking and running down the hose also

[KSCRIM]

The heater hoses carry coolant all the time. It is critical that coolant flow is there to maintain correct cooling for the rear of the engine. The tubes from the heater core are very thin so undo the clamps, slide them back and cut the hose carefully to split the end of the hose to remove it. DO NOT USE PLIERS ON THIS END OF THE HOSE!!!
There is a guide here http://www.miata.net/garage/ about it.
Look in the Engine and drivetrain section, select cooling, then select cooling system troubleshooting. About 1/2 way down is the bit about replacing the hoses.
If you want to bypass the heater you MUST connect the two pipes on the rear of the engine together with a short loop of hose.

[aidwano]

Ya I split that hose 1 lap in on a trackday last weekend and cooked my motor.. Definately need fixing

[91 V-Spec]

Thanks everybody!

I found a couple pinholes exactly where expected, and have a temporary heater hose installed while I wait for the correct one from Mazda.

We've drained, flushed, and refilled the thing with the correct ratio of anti-freeze, but strangely the heater doesn't work now? The coolant is running around the whole system just fine, but seemingly not through the heater, so its blowing cold air even with the engine at normal running temperature. A blockage maybe? The old water was pretty rusty, but no flakes or anything.
UPDATE: never mind, Dad just figured it out, we had the car parked nose down, so all the air in the system had risen to the heater LOL. Turned it round and she's heating great! Ya live, ya learn! Now off to top it up again...