51% Complete
Aug 22nd, 2007 by C. Alexander Leigh
Removed all the radiator hoses, expansion tank, and the thermostat last night. Matched up all the hoses to the replacements – missing a couple that will be easy to fabricate – and tested the thermostat that was on the vehicle in a pot of boiling water. I had hoped the thermostat wasn’t opening fully or was broken, but that’s not going to be the source of my overheating-under-load problem as it worked fine. Reinstalled the new one anyways – the first part to go back ON the truck since starting this.
Did get some chunky stuff out of the radiator but nothing too elaborate. I didn’t get too good a look but it might have been a couple fragments of the old plastic radiator plug (plastic?!) that had predictably melted itself away last Burning Man. I am still running the brass plug I found at some NAPA-style store, which works fine with a bit of thread tape.