I finally pulled the thermostat housing and starter off my VR. My starter drags when hot, so I wanted to clean out the brushes, etc. Plus, I had a SLIGHT coolant leak out of one end of the elbow. I can't say it was a fun job. I realized the RH head pipe was in my way so I tried to remove it; couldn't get it out of the collector, but it did move forward enough to work around it. Well, you know how these things go. But nothing got broken, I have some factory parts in shipping and matched up all the o-rings at a bearing shop.
I just bought a NAPA 156 T-stat as recommended by y'all. Mine was working OK, but while I'm in there... Somebody (forget who) said to be sure to ask for the "heavy duty" version. I did and the guy tried a couple ways of cross-referencing it, but it ended up that the number 156 only refers to one t-stat - there is no heavy duty. Did most of you just get the plain ol' 156? Also, I can't get it out of the housing - the rubber gasket is stuck pretty tight in there. Any suggestions?
The starter has a bearing in the back by the brushes. Does it come off the shaft for cleaning and lubing? It's not really that dirty in the starter, I don't think cleaning is going to solve the hot-cranking problem. How much are those fat battery cables?
Jeremy