hey guys, ive noticed the hose coming off the top of the ats is blocked off with a little bolt on my car??? does this hose lead to the overflow bottle?

Im asking because i have a feeling this blocked off bolt is the reason why i think my heater hoses and heater core have recently blown, The cooling system is running too much pressure and is blowing things.

Next time someone goes for a drive car can they pop the bonnet after and feel how tight the top radiator hose is? I think its weird that mine feels pretty tight. How does the stock cooling system release excess pressure?

 

Yes it does. It allows for coolant expansion and when the pressure builds, the cap on the AST releases it to the overflow tank through that hose.

I would bet that is why you are seeing thing explode, as there is nowhere for the coolant to go and it just keeps building pressure. You will see pressure in the system, up to whatever the AST cap holds, probably 13 lbs; so yes your radiator hose should feel tight.

When and why was this bolt added? Do you realize that the pressure the system is building can be detrimental for the coolant o-rings as well?