Towed to shop. On lift, after plastic shield removed, I pulled the hose back from the thermostat housing. Spring steel U-shaped retaining clip was on the hose mating coupler but in the fully retracted position.
I look everything over, nothing broken, bent or unusual looking on either end. I pushed the hose clip back down into "operational" position and pushed it back onto the thermo housing receiver. Nice solid click, no leaks post idling, driving and laying into the throttle for several sustained passages post warm up.
First thought is someone drained cooling system there and did not put it back on properly but it's been functioning for a few years like this before failure.
Thoughts?
