i see. i can handle that with a file i'm sure. thanks again. i hope to get this taken care of within the next few weeks.

ok, a theoretical question here. if the front outlet goes straight to the heater core, what says that water ever has to go to the radiator? it seems to me that the flow to the heater needs to be restricted more than the thermostat at full open so that most water goes through the radiator when the thermostat is full open? i realize now why i see so many debates about what specific routing is best and how so many ideas are wrong. i'm not saying this one is, just asking if there has been any thought about his as it pertains to this re-route plan.

currently the heater core line never goes to the radiator, it goes back to the mixing chamber where the cooler radiator water goes into the water pump. If anything, by moving the heater core "hot" line to the front, you get some of the "cooler" water into the heater core rather than taking the hottest water from the back of the engine.

Now if you are suggesting that no water will ever go through the rear exit, well thats just not going to happen, but you are right you do want the heater core to be smaller than the T-stat...and it is currently.

i see. just the restriction of the smaller input to the heater core is enough to force water through the rear exit.

ok, i am going to keep on here. one more question. does anybody know the fitting sizes on a specific bmw bypass style thermostat? i need to get the hoses all planned out before i dig into this stuff. i like the bmw thermostat idea because it's just going to put exactly the right amount of water where it should/can go.

and, are there any pictures available of a re-route done with a bmw style bypass thermostat? i think i have it pretty well planned out, but i think the hose to the heater will need to be necked down and i want to see how people have done that and which side of the engine people like to run the thermostat on. i figure the intake side, but that's just going to require a long heater hose