Update, no freaking way is the heater core hose housing coming out with engine in the bay

Getting to the three bolts for the heater core hose housing was relatively easy. Pulling out the housing is impossible with the engine in the bay. The housing hits the fire wall. I even tried loosen the motor mounts and jack up the engine to see if that helps, it did not

Now I’m going to cross my fingers and put the housing back on and hope I didn’t disturb the gasket and it seal back

 

Well everything is back together.

• Heater core hose housing re-torqued down
• New t-stat housing and o-rings installed
• All hoses and clamps re-seated and torque

I’m too chicken shit to add coolant today. I’m going to let sit overnight with no coolant and hopefully that will help the sealing with effect. Add coolant tomorrow and pressure test

I’ll keep off all that cowl stuff (wiper motor, battery and cabin air filter housing) off so when I pressure test I can have a better visual back there

I’ve already decided. If the housing is still leaking, I’m pulling the engine with trans attach. And honestly, it doesn’t have to come out all the way. Just far enough away from the fire wall so the housing can be removed to replace the gasket.

Fingers crossed

 

IME the t stat seals fail more often than heater core housing so I think you made the right choice. But this assumes adequate cooling system maintenance; all bets are off if the car is second hand (or 3rd, 4th, ... hand).

 

I seriously hope so. With me breaking the heater core housing seal, I may have written my own destiny. Who knows, a piece of debris could have gotten between the gasket. Think the worst, hope for the best.

 

And this car has been well maintain since I got it at 140-150,000 miles. At this point I’ve stop keeping a list of all the things I’ve repaired or replace.

 

LOL I still enter my maintenance in My Carfax app, mostly just to keep the receipt in case of warranty replacement. Far too many entries to read through them...most cars will have numerous part failures after about 10 years!

 

Okay, so it looks like I dodge a bullet. Added coolant and pressurized the system for over an hour. No leaks, no drips, nothing.

 

I remember it was a little challenging to purge the cooling system when I did the timing chains. But damn it’s hard to purge the cooling system. Any know trick to purge the system. The temp gauge got hot a couple times, cooling fans running on high, I

 

I thought this one was pretty easy, relative to some older cars where I had to open the cap, etc! Basically, just fill the reservoir, let it drain into the block, top it off, and run the car until the thermostat opens (normal running temp). Then squeeze the upper hose a few times to purge air. The air will got to the reservoir. After the temp drops the coolant level should also drop. Then open the cap and top it off.

I don't know how much experience you have, but in case you are relatively new to this, NEVER open the cap when hot!

 

Well I finally got the cooling system purged last night. Had the front end on ramps, interior temp set to 90 deg and blower motor low speed. The coolant temp got hot again where the radiator fans kicked into high speed. But eventually warm air started coming out the vents and the coolant level dropped in the surge tank.

 

Why do you think I’m posting this link? Found coolant on the garage floor this morning. Fast forward to 16:30 in the video