Cooling system overhaul complete

[Shredicus]

I'll agree with that. I've got a set of needle nose Vice Grips that I also used on several areas, providing I had side access. The only place that I would recommend a worm clamp is on the reservoir hose that connects to the crossover tube behind the motor's driver's side head. For me even with the hose clamp it was frustrating.

I spend a solid hour on that one alone. I was THIS close to just hacking the end of the tube off and sticking a worm clamp on but I finally just pulled the hose from under the brake booster and disconnected it at the bottom of the reservoir.

 

[BlackLS06]

It is funny to see this here today. This week I've been thinking about my belt slap on cold start up and decided to replace the tensioner and idler. This makes me even more confident in my rather simple diagnosis.

It made a big difference on mine.

And it should not need replaced again untill i reach 170K miles. And by then it wont be my daily driver (i dont think).

 

[M4rk]

Thanks TooManyToys, that's quite the list. How about just the ones as per OP?

 

[Shredicus]

Was around $180 for the t stat, housing, water outlet, upper rad. hose and hose attached to upper rad hose. Add a few bucks more if you need gaskets, but I jsut reused the old ones; they were in good shape. Also make sure you get the correct thermostat. Max sent me the wrong one so I had to get the correct one at the stealership
Paid $60 for degas bottle.
Belt was like $20
Add another 35$ for the tensioner linked above and get a little tube of radiator hose grease

I had to borrow the tensioner removal tool from autozone since I dont have a breaker bar