I was having issues with the block heater in my 2.5 and after tearing things down due to a blown head gasket I found the heater blown halfway out of its hole! The heater was installed in the frost plug hole on the front of the block right about in the middle. All the retainer/washer/o-ring parts on the internal side of the tightening screw must be loose in the cooling system now. Any ideas on where the pieces might have traveled to, gotten stuck, or where I could open ports or hoses that might be hiding the parts?

Look like This? What is in the block?

I never saw exactly what it looked like before but I'm sure its the same style. All the parts threaded onto that screw in the middle are gone, other than a thin metal plate that must have been the first thing threaded on there. I never heard any chaos in the water pump and I have the head off now, haven't found the pieces in there..

quote Originally posted by smmilke: Any ideas on where the pieces might have traveled to, gotten stuck, or where I could open ports or hoses that might be hiding the parts?

Coolant flows out the thermostat to the radiator, then back to the water pump which pushes it into the engine.
I think the parts would still be in the bottom of the block's passages.

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Is that right on the 2.5's? I was thinking anything that gets loose in the block would go through the water pump and then to the radiator. I'll take another look at the motor and see if I can get an inspection mirror to show me anything laying in the bottom of the block.

quote Originally posted by smmilke: Is that right on the 2.5's? I was thinking anything that gets loose in the block would go through the water pump and then to the radiator.

Water pump always pushes coolant INTO the engine.