Replacing heater hose on Civic VX
 

I have a coolant leak from my Civic and it is coming from the heater hose that connects from the engine to the heater control valve. I'm planning to install the hose myself since it doesn't seem to be difficult at all, since all it seems to require is to take the distributor off for easier access, but is there anything else I need to do? Will there be lots of coolant gushing out? If so, is there any way to relieve that pressure?

Thanks.

I don't think there's much you can do to prevent the coolant gushing out. Even if you drain the radiator, there still will be some in the engine and heater core. Depending on how old your coolant is, it might be a good time to drain the radiator and replace it with new antifreeze. Don't forget to get the air out of the system.

Okay so I replaced the heater hose which went without a problem, and now I do not have hot air coming out of the vents. In addition, the needle still goes up.

I tried leaving the cap out to see if there's any air left in the system but didn't see any. What else am I doing wrong here?

The reason why I have not drained the radiator is because the car already has new coolant so I'm hesitant on draining it and putting new coolant a few days after getting the thermostat and lower radiator hose replaced.

well if it is new coolant you can drain it into clean milk jugs(any jug with a cap so junk doesnt fall into it) then dump it back in afterwards.

did the car behave normally before the thermostat was replaced?

What you are up against is just that their is air in the cooling system, which needs to be bled off. Their should be a petcock at the top of the head, where the top radiator hose attaches. You need to take a 14 mm wrench, loosen it a 1/4 turn, wait until you get complete liquid, keeping the radiator full, then tighten it down.

Until you bleed the air, it won't warm up properly, the heater won't run properly and if it were summer, you'd probably be boiling over pretty easily.

After you bleed the air out, your heater should work great, the engine should get up to temperature and stay their properly.

I use a 50/50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze. The distilled water makes it so their aren't any mineral deposits in the water chambers or the radiator. It works much, much better than tap water.

I would start the car (from cold) with the rad cap off and let it warm up until the T-stat opens. At that point, the level in the radiator should drop. Keep topping it off until you can't add anymore and then put the rad cap on.

Not getting heat suggests you are low on coolant in the cooling system.

I would also replace the rad cap if it isn't a new one.

Ditto for my opinion.

Same thing I always do.

I've had the steel bleeder valve at the upper hose sieze in the aluminum and then crack the housing, which ruins your day for sure.