Re the question about the temp. and timing: The temp. gauge needle goes all the way to the right when it boils over so I'm guessing the engine is running at over 220 degrees. This happens very quickly so I shut it down immediately when it starts to go this high. I have a fan on the front of the truck to provide air circulation.
Most of the front clip is off of the truck so no baffles are in place. If I had the clip on I wouldn't be able to get at what I need to very easily to work on it. Also, the fenders were painted not too long ago so I don't want them messed up.
The ball is pretty close to the center of the window in the bellhousing (I can see it wobbling around), but to be honest the engine overheats so fast I don't have much time to adjust the timing once the engine warms up so It's been hard to get it perfect. Once the engine overheats I have to let it cool back down which takes a while before I can take another stab at it. Very frustrating!
I did some block cleaning with my wire and flushing with the garden hose. I did this for an hour alternating between the two, and I probably could have done it for another hour and got stuff to come out. I finally quit and put a new Gates 180 degree thermostat in. I'm trying to decide whether to put another bottle of flush in to try to get at what's left in the block.
