Git your cooling on...

Stayed up 'till two last night, and my van's cooling system is FINALY working properly, at least for now. Replaced the old thermostat, which was busted clean in half, and the associated gasket had turned to a gooey pulp, not really looking much like a gasket at all anymore, so the repair was needed. The fix was a mess, cuz my radiator has no draincock, so it's lower hose had to be pulled, resulting in no good way to drain in a organized way. Fluid everywhere; sucky cleanup. But anyhow, that problem is fixed. Now I have to figure out what is grinding/clunking when shifting into gear, and sometimes when I start/stop. Scarey. I don't think it's the motor/transmission mounts, so it could be something internal. Yikes. Gotta buy a new vehicle. Hopefully this one can limp for awhile, but if not, I have my Surly, and it doesn't hate me like my van does. More later...