Or so I thought ...
Noise came back! That hellacious hammering, knocking, noise. It did go away with new thermostat, but after a day it returned. The good thing is, the knocking after the engine is shut off is gone. So maybe it did need a new thermostat, but that didnt rid my problem entirely.
You can feel the surging going on and out of the block in the lines that go to the heater core. You can also see the surging on the bottom and top radiator hoses. Water pump is new.
Is there a special bleed procedure? Will a bad surge tank cause the surge/knock Im experiencing? Maybe air getting into the lines? Oil looks OK so I dont suspect head gasket.