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Here's a couple of pics of the thermostat installation on my M38. The ring around the 'stat had a stamped message indicating which end to point towards the radiator. I didn't check the 'stat before installing it but it seems to be working Ok - I guess that was one step in the assembly where Lady Luck was on my side!

Skyjeep thats how I installed mine, so I'm OK there. This weekend I went to Lowes and bought some PVC fittings to make a coolant flusher. One 1" threaded coupler, a 1/2"x1" threaded bushing and an adapter from 1/2"npt to female hose end. With this set up I could clamp the coupler into either upper or lower hose or the 5/8" hose that goes from the water pump to the head. Flushed back and forth and drained the block and never got even a little crud, so I don't think blocked coolant flow in the engine is my problem. Now I'm back to the leaky radiator being the culprit. Looking around at the jeep parts suppliers it looks like Willys Jeep Parts Specialists has the deal, new USA made radiator assembly for $550. What does our panel of experts say? I didn't see any of our other popular parts sources even having a radiator available. Both my local radiator shops said about $500 for a recore. My thinking is for another $50 might as well just get a whole new assembly.

I would compare the resto to the original for accuracy making sure it not only looks right but also has the same number of core tube rows. Then compare warranty between your recore guy and the repop guy.