I ended up buying some of the dremmel polishing kits and it took about 1.5hrs to get the old gasket off and prep the block. Got it all back together and didn't see any leaks yet.

Started to bleed the system, as I emptied all the fluid, and thought I would open the plastic screw located on the hose that goes across the radiator shroud. Well...the head of the screw broke off while loosening it. Turned the engine off and looks like I need a new hose.

Good news, the pump has been replaced and not seeing any leaks.
Bad news, need to go buy a new hose

 

Took new hose off and the back end of the plastic screw was not there. It is floating around in the cooling system now

 

Damn.

I just got the aluminum Tee delivered to my house from Canada. I will post some photos tomorrow.

 

I found another piece of plastic floating around last night. Still didn't track down the back half of the plastic screw. I am very tempted to say F it and button up the cooling system. I figure "if" the plastic screw causes any damage, it is just another opportunity for me to spend some quality time with Tricky Dick.

 

Its certainly a tricky task attempting to recover piece of plastic from the cooling hoses. Where did the other pieces surface at? If you think about it, there is like 20 yards of passage. Is it possible for anything to make into the radiator, or will the factory thermostat prevent that from happening?

 

Looks pretty good. My first impression was that the T outer diameter was too small, I'm guessing they did their due diligence but have not checked the fit.

 

The other piece came from the "t", it was a circular white plastic disc that looked as if it had been in the system for a while. Upon further dialog with a coworker, I think I am going to be ok with the plastic screw piece rolling around as my assumption is that it went to the drivers side of the radiator and will get stuck in the radiator as it will not be able to pass through the fins.

 

Abran,

Let us know how it works when you install it. I've been watching it on eBay and it looks pretty d@mned solid. Just rebuilt my entire cooling system and I'd like to make it bulletproof as can be. In my mind, this removes a big weakness from the system.

 

Update - Everything is all put back together. Ran the engine for about 20 minutes let it cool down, topped off the coolant, and ran it for another 20 minutes and no leaks!!

I am going to call this project closed (for now)

 

Ah you got'er done did ya?? Did you refer to the proper air-purging procedure in the Workshop Manual?? Did you install your w/p gasket dry or slathered in RTV sealant? Next time, you can smear a little grease on the pipes & connections before you attach a coolant hose so that it won't get stuck over time and become a pain in the **** to remove in the future. What's another one.. Loctite on the WP bolts? There is only 16-ft/lb torque so they could loosen up from vibration/shock. Proper bleed on the coolant system, let us know if you went by the specs. Do you have a coolant temp gauge??