I blew the little heater hose today, the small one from the control valve to the firewall. I noticed that there was pressure (coolant squirting out) despite my heater being selected to off. Is this normal or is this indicative of a problem? Thanks.

 

Not sure man. Good luck!

 

That's normal. Both sides of your heater are connected to the cooling system, which operates under pressure. When your heater is turned off, the coolant doesn't flow through the heater core, but it is still under the same pressure as the entire cooling system. So if you blow a hose downstream of the heater shutoff valve, coolant will flow backward and squirt out of the hole.

You should get that fixed ASAP, as otherwise you'll lose all your coolant and ruin your engine.

 

Thanks Murcielago. I'm glad to here its normal. I only lost a pint or so of coolant and I have it parked now until I can get the hose. It hasn't overheated so I don't think it should be a problem at this point. Anyways thanks for the good info. I wasn't sure if both sides of the valve were supposed to be under pressure with the heater off. Now I know! Thanks.