Both sides snap together with plastic 'fingers' much like a quick connect garden hose connector. Logic would say that should be able to be disconnected but my efforts have been unsuccessful up to the point of fearing breaking the plastic.

 

The RH Norma connector has a locking collar which is slid forward to unlock the connector. In theory.
In practice, mine had become brittle with the heat and I ended up breaking it. Hence the splicing in of a length of heater hose using two connectors from the hardware store. I used water pump gasket cement on the mating surfaces. Works fine.

 

The left side comes apart easlily, with a 90 deg twist. The left side is the problem. I'm concerned about breaking it.

Does the piece of metal that comes off the engine have a plastic connector on the end?

The good news is the part are supposed to be in today and the dealer gave me the plastic fitting for the left side since they sold me the wrong part to begin with. With any luck the car will be back together tonight.

 

IIRC, there is just a little lip on the end of the metal section of piping.

 

Finally got all the parts today. Too bad it was to late to do anything about it.

 

Finally after fighting parts and time I got the new part in.

I quit fighting the NORMA connector and just took my rotozip to the plastic connector. Cleaned up the bare pipe and the new connector slipped right on.

No Runs, No Drips,

NO HEAT.

Not sure what is causing the no heat. I partially disconnected the heater solenoid valve just to make it easier to work in the tight area. I think I got everything reconnected correctly. I will verify it tonight though.

Any other ideas on what the problem could be?

 

Did you bleed the system completely?

I'm sure you'll find a how-to somewhere on this forum.

Good luck!


David

 

I wasn't able to find a specific procedure for bleading the system but this is what I did:

I cut off a long plastic funnel and used a rubber bushing to seal it to the fill tank.

I filled the system allowing it to drain the column of coolant down out of the funnel.

Once I had coolant dripping out of the overflow bottle I started the engine.

Turned the heat onto the highest setting with the fan on high speed.

Warmed the engine until the thermostat opened, all the while keeping an eye on the coolant level in the fill tank. I did have to add maybe another pint or so after the engine was warm.

I then pulled the funnel, replaced the cap on the fill tank and drove the car for a few miles to ensure the coolant was good and warm and circulating throughout the system.

I didn't really notice notice at that point that there was no heat. I was just happy that the coolant leak was fixed.

The next morning when it was 22 deg outside and I was driving into work was when I noticed there was no heat.

There is vibration from the heater pump and all of the electrical connections to the solenoid valve are made and correct.

I think I may have connected to output of the pump incorrectly to the solenoid valve and the pump in pushing against the check valve in the heater hose.

Can anybody post a diagram or a picture of the solenoid valve?

 

I hope that this helps.

 

Thanks to the diagram Dan provided I was able to figure out I made a dumb mistake and connected two hoses incorrectly.
Swapped them and we now have heat.

Thanks Dan

 

You are welcome. This is what the forum is for.

Dan