So as most of you are aware I had an issue with my car overheating a couple months ago. The issue was resolved, but what WASN'T resolved was WHAT CAUSED IT???

A week before my car started to overheat on my way to work one morning I had had a coolant change done by a mechanic here at my work. The parts department at Honda told me all I needed was one gallon of their Type 2 pre-diluted coolant. But when the mechanic finished pouring in the bottle the system was still not full so he started adding water. Quite a bit of water....about half a gallon at least.

He did the whole process rather quickly. A little too quickly and it had me concerned. I don't even think he waited for the thermostat to kick on before closing the radiator cap and sending me on my way.

So I'm thinking that he may not have bled out all the air pockets from the system.

So when my LOWER radiator hose somehow came undone I was wondering what caused it exactly?? The people here at the dealership were defending their mechanic saying that it was something else and that the overheating would have occured right away if the coolant change was done incorrectly.

So what do you guys think. Any mechanics out there know exactly what would cause my lower radiator hose to come disconnected a week after a coolant change and cause the car to overheat??

 

I would recommend to do a pressure test first to make sure there are no leaks in the system. If you have a blown head gasket, the pressure can blow off your radiator hose. Then make sure that your thermostat is opening properly as well and your radiator is flowing properly.

 

It sounds like you might be right about air pockets. Or there might not be enough coolant/water in the system. When performing a coolant change the old fashioned way, you should let the engine reach normal operating temperature and top off the over-flow reservoir before sending it on it's way. The way I and alot of other techs I know do it is with a kit that creates vacuum in the system and then uses that vacuum to suck the proper amount of coolant into the system without creating air pockets. Next coolant change you do should be done that way....you'll have no problems. The lower hose popping off was probably due to excessive system pressure from your engine overheating because of the lack of coolant.