Done today..
Replaced thermostat housing (pipe doped the plug I was asking about), thermostat, upper radiator hose, those fancy Space Shuttle clamps.. wire wheeled the housing bolts and ground lugs, too.
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Next up, the driver door hinge pins/bushings. They weren't terrible but it was sagging and I had to slam it shut. Even after replacement it sags.. but I don't have to slam it anymore. I cranked the hell out of it with the floor jack and a block of wood and it still doesn't sit even.. there's no slop in the hinge anymore, and I kinda don't want to reef on the hinges to the point I crack the door shell or break the new bushings. BTW I chose some Made in USA bushings and pins (Total Automotive) off ebay for $35 shipped. Sorry to our vendor here that makes some that look really nice, but almost $67 was too much for me on this project. Here's hoping I didn't just spend $35 on some junk, though.
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Would've got that done sooner but stepdaughter stopped by for me to replace
another headlight bulb in her Subaru. FML.. it was about 1.5 years ago I replaced both of them. A couple weeks ago she came over for one that had burned out again. I bought a pair and told her if that one went this quickly, the other wasn't far behind, and I was right. Hey; I'm getting good at these. Didn't even need to jack it up.
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Other little stuff on the C3500, got the tag light fixture in place and working (all exterior lights working now), topped off the radiator and ran the truck until it warmed all the way up, periodically comparing the temp readings around the intake/thermostat housing and the dash gauge, which actually reads pretty close to correct now. Took the truck for a little drive around the neighborhood before it was time to grab some dinner.
Afterwards cut the hose off the old thermostat housing.. WOW this thing is crusty. Certain to be pitted beyond usefulness.
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Finally, unboxed something I've been dreading a little because I know it's a cheap pos.. but I figured I'd take a gamble. For $68, it's a dash cover off amazon that looks exactly like the ones another place is selling for almost double that price. It's got the defrost vent slats included which is nice. The grain/texture is way off and the color probably is too, but for the price? I'll give it a shot. My dash is absolutely destroyed. Might try installing it tomorrow if I get a chance, but it's gonna take a lot of prep work I suspect because my dash looks like broken-up dry lake bed, not even close to flat.
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Richard