Thanks for the warm welcome! And, I found the instructions on flushing the fluid using the searchbar! thanks for that. I did see one thing, it says to use a water hose to flush it out and to replace the thermostat. do I HAVE to replace the thermostat already, or could i wait it out a bit longer?

also, i wanted to give a bit of an update on the leak. so I found EXACTLY where its leaking from but im not sure if its normal. heres a video i took earlier today.