I orginally suspected the strut rod bushings as being the culprit. When replacing them i had the van jacked up from the cross beam. Should i lower it before tightening the strut rod bushings?

 

i put one greasable u joint on the front of the shaft, and a non greasable on the back. also, why tf are universal joints not universal? i had to trust amazon to get the right ones, luckily they fit but are two different parts. is that okay?

 

If they fit and work, you're good. As for "Universal", that refers to the angle. It has universal angles to allow for the rear to move. I always hated working on enclosed driveshafts.

 

Oh, this makes sense. And Knowledge is power. And you guys are full Of useful facts. Thanks!

 

Still never found this noise; but now new problems.So i replaced the thermostat (was rusty as all hell) and temp sensor because my temp gauge barely ever moved. Then the gauge started moving (though not to halfway, ever) . Then a week later, as temps outside dropped, my heat stopped working and my gauge stopped moving. All indications are that the engine never gets up to operating temperature (it physically feels cold even after driving for an hour). Is my heater core clogged or can a brand new thermostat fail open so quickly? My coolant was also rusty again so i drained and refilled, no change in the temp gauge.

 

Was that a safety stat by any chance? If so, those suck. They fail WAY to easily. Even if it wasn't, sounds like the stat has indeed failed.

 

What brand thermostat did you use? If it was a Failsafe, every single one of those I've dealt with failed. Either they were bad when I got it or it failed soon after installation. In one case the next day. Just a basic, stock, 195 unit will work fine and give you, most likely, some heat. If you have other issues like a worn or jumped timing chain, it'll never warm up. However, I'd drop a good thermostat in it and see what happens.

 

that's the one! fail safe my ***. Just glad i dont have to unclog the heater core. Thanks for the info yall.

side note. Anyone know what hose this is i broke? Attatches from the aircleaner to the back of throttle body or intake? pardon my spellings

 

Also, with my heating issue, i was worried my water pump could be at fault. Any quick ways to verify the pump is circulating coolant properly? When i started the car with radiator cap off, there was movement immediatley and the coolant would slowly overflow out the neck (im assuming that is the system trying to build pressure). That is indicative of open thermostat, correct?

 

If you've buttoned everything up, when the engine starts to heat up, you'll notice when the upper hose starts to get warm, then hot as the water circulates. While I have seen eroded impellers inside a water pump when the coolant hasn't been changes in MANY years, usually when they fail, the shaft will start to leak. Either around the shaft or out the weep hole. If you see green staining around the little hole, it's leaking. Otherwise not.

Was the thermostat stuck open?