Thermostat connector blew off

[SillySonic]

I just changed the water pump and filled it with coolant. I let my daughter drive 2-3 times and it overheated. I attempted to add coolant and noticed the thermostat housing blew off. Is this an issue from me not bleeding the system or stuck thermostat? From what I can tell it blew off before it overheated. (Of course my 17 year old daughter had no clue it blew off).


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[skurtov]

Pictures help.

 

[BigLee]

So the thermostat housing itself blew off of the water pump,
or the hose blew off of the thermostat?
You said "connector" in the title, so just trying to clarify.

 

[gnonne]

If everything was put together correctly and it blew off, you have way to much pressure in the cooling system.

Maybe you got a bad pump which caused overheating and increased pressure, or maybe the head gasket is toast and allowed combustion pressure into the cooling system.

 

[SillySonic]

So the thermostat housing itself blew off of the water pump,
or the hose blew off of the thermostat?
You said "connector" in the title, so just trying to clarify.

The hose that connects to the thermostat housing has a connector that popped off. I will post a picture of the hose.

The car ran two previous days but for only one mile. So the car never had time to heat up.

The third day she took it farther and that day it popped off. The next day it overheated likely due to the car having no coolant.


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[BigLee]

Ok.
It may be the hose wasnt fully seated until the wire clip clicked into place, or possibly the clip wasnt installed on the hose connector properly, or maybe the clip is bent or otherwise damaged, preventing it from retaining the hose adequately.
Look around the groove on the thermostat housing to make sure theres no damage that might prevent proper retention.

 

[sdgdf]

The hose that connects to the thermostat housing has a connector that popped off. I will post a picture of the hose.

The car ran two previous days but for only one mile. So the car never had time to heat up.

The third day she took it farther and that day it popped off. The next day it overheated likely due to the car having no coolant.


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Those connectors are similar to the ones for the heater core. They're hard to get on right. The wire clip can seat correctly without the connector in the correct position to actually tighten down. Usually it takes a couple tries before you get the feel for it.

 

[gnonne]

Yes, I had some trouble when I had to replace the O-rings insde the heater core connectors on my wife's 1.8L sedan. They are hard to get on correctly.

I'd pull the wire retainer most of the way out (don't lose it!), then put a bunch of vaseline inside the connector, make sure it is seated, then push the wire clamp back into place. Give it a good "pull" to test it.

 

[SillySonic]

Thanks!! I am thinking that the connector was just not on tight enough. The old thermostat housing was warped a little. Maybe, that led to the connector not seating on correctly. I drove it up to temperature today and all was fine.

 

[SillySonic]

Those connectors are similar to the ones for the heater core. They're hard to get on right. The wire clip can seat correctly without the connector in the correct position to actually tighten down. Usually it takes a couple tries before you get the feel for it.

Thanks sdgdf for pointing me in the right direction. If you lived in Minnesota I would buy you lunch!