I've located a coolant leak coming from what appears to be the thermostat gasket. read a couple weeks ago about reusing the old gasket. In this case the truck is new to me and it look like the oranage gasket seal was used as opposed to the original. Anyway, I was going to change out the t-stat and flush the rad this week. Any words of wisdom, tips or tricks would be appreaciated as I'm trying to learn on the fly.

cheers

 

It is a simple 15 minute job. The stock setup really does not have a gasket, just a thick rubber o-ring type assembly.

Clean up whatever they may have goobered on there and put the stock setup back in.

 

If that doesn't work, purchase a new rubber o-ring. Thats whats great about these trucks...rubber re-usable o-ring type gaskets on the thermo and water pump. You don't need or want to use that orange sealant stuff on a cummins.

 

You might want to be careful here. Most people will use that kind of sealant when they screw something up. I think it would be really hard to do on this job, but you never know.
Get a new gasket and thermostat. Gasket is under 5 bux. There is a right and wrong direction to install the gasket. It should have an arrow on it indicating proper direction.
Also, the 10mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing on are kinda soft. Don't use a 12 point socket or wrench go with a 6 point for more contact area.
Brent