Okay, thanks for the help. Autozone has the gaskets, I'll pick them up tomorrow.

make sure u let it cool. i made that mistake the first time. i thought it was cool. wrong.

I just did my '95 the other day and here'* what I did:

Someone here on BC mentioned this method to lower the coolant level below the thermostat housing and I thank them for it. Buy a 4-foot length of 3/8" vinyl tubing;(that will work faster than the windshield washer hose I had on hand) remove the radiator cap and snake the hose to the bottom of the radiator. The other end goes in a plastic pan or jug on the ground. Use a big old syringe or vacuum pump or sucker or turkey baster or the like and start a siphon and let it run 'til it stops or your pan is full (a gallon or so). Pull the hose out of the radiator; keep the pan clean and you can put the coolant right back in the engine when you are done. No splash shield removal, no mess, no clamp, no coolant to buy, no busted radiator petcock to repair.

[optional: Before you install your new thermostat, put the rubber gasket on and drill one small 1/16" hole in the thermostat flange to allow air to bleed from the engine to the radiator. Clean up any burrs or shavings. The little hole will make the car warm up slightly slower than without, but will prevent the engine from running without coolant in the upper portion when you drain the radiator and refill to do other work.]

See if you can open the bleeder screw on the gooseneck. If you break it trying to open it, now is the perfect time to replace it. If it opens and closes nornally, you are good to go.

On your Series II NA motor, remove the plastic cover. Remove the nylon pipe from the fuel pressure regulator to the vacuum fitting on the throttle body, then remove both rubber vacuum fittings from the throttle body. This will give you better access to the two 10 mm head bolts that hold the gooseneck down over the thermostat. Undo the bolts and lift out the old 'stat. You don't need to remove the gooseneck from the upper hose unless it is easier to work with the gasket that way. Remove the old paper gasket from both surfaces with a scraper. Don't get the scraps in the engine.

Pour coolant into the engine at the thermostat hole until it is nearly full. With the new rubber gasket on the new drilled 'stat, install it with the copper pellet down into the coolant. Put a new paper gasket on the gooseneck, install it over the 'stat and tighten the bolts to 10 ft-lbs or so.

Put the vacuum fittings and pipes back the way they were. Put the cover back on.

Fill the radiator up to the top, then slowly add 'til coolant from the overflow pipe starts to raise the level in the overflow tank. Put the radiator cap on. Pour the rest of the coolant into the overflow tank.

Start the engine and run it 'til the top hose gets hot, then open the little bleed screw on top of the gooseneck until solid coolant runs out. Close the bleeder. Done.

The extra coolant in the tank will get sucked back into the system after a few expansion cycles.

From experience..I started using the hose trick on the first t stat because the drain is difficult to find...

Works great. Great instructions Bill...thanks

Good write-up, Bill. Should be added to tech articles, IMO.

You technically don't have to add new coolant. At ~$10 a gallon for Dexcool, it can get pricey. And I'm pretty tight with my money..so what the hey?!?

I drain mine into a CLEAN drain pan. Then, when it'* time to refill the radiator I filter the coolant with a pair of my wife'* old panty hose (panty hose work best...better than cheesecloth). Works VERY well and catches all the debris that would otherwise be poured in the radiator.

Good trick.

I drain w/a vac like hose into a clean container. Have not yet seen anything in there to strain. Good idea though.

you never saw my coolant

What is the flange that needs to be drilled? I'm a bit confused about that.

Thanks for the help.

BTW...Bleeder in the gooseneck opens fine.