Nice work Ad! Started up great and sounds really good man. strange the coolant didnt get past the thermostat. Just wondering if its the right coolant? I always have to use the blue stuff in my old bangers (apparently you cant mix them either) but I dont know a ton about that stuff though tbh. Also, I've seen a few people lightly tap the Stat housing with a hammer to nudge it open when warm which might help. Are you going to do the welding yourself?
thanks for the comment! I did research and it seems i need the G12 (pink) coolant for the van, so hoping it is right lol But having done a bit more research it appears the thermostat works differently on the van, letting cooler water back into the engine, as opposed to letting hot water out. So the pipe I was feeling was the return pipe and should be cooler. (maybe someone will correct me if i'm wrong) as for the welding... nope... not got any welding skills at all! lol Have hopefully found someone to do it thats not too far away, will find out in a week or 2 about that.
