Well I dove into my cooling system some more and am finding out the fruits of using dexcool. When I took off the manifold inlet pipe I didn't find any sign of a gasket between it and the manifold... is there supposed to be one? I obviously had a leak from there.

 

Found the gasket. It was caked in a layer of dexcool. Its hard as a rock.

 

There should be an o-ring on each tube.
Put a little vaseline around each one before installing them, that'll help prevent them from being pinched or cut.

 

Looks groody

 

Bought both o-rings. $10 on ebay... err7202 is the one for the manifold pipe and err6434 is for the heater core pipe (for future readers) should be here this week. I recieved the black britpart tstat from ebay (lucky8) today and tested it. Opens right at 180 deg.

 

 

 

Many drivers/mechanics use OAT based coolants on old cars and trucks that contain brass, copper or solder joints. This is really bad news as the OAT attacks these elements and finally dissolves them. On old cars and trucks ONLY use the old fashioned BLUE coolant if you suspect there is copper, brass or soldered components in the cooling system. Unfortunately the old fashioned BLUE coolant requires changing annually but it was designed for these vehicles.

The ideal cut off date is pre 1998 and post 1998 but check the components first. Ideally use the manufacturers recommended anti freeze.

Read this below:

Help & Advice | Which antifreeze should you use for your car?