Broken Thermostat's rubber seal may be in engine

[fa28]

Hi, I have a 1995 Ranger supercab 4 cyl. My temperature guage was not working correctly, it barely rose up at all, I replace the temp. sensor a few months back with no change. I always got heat from the heater so I thought it was a electrical malfunction. Today I changed the thermostat, and found the existing stat had a metal side yoke piece broken, and the rubber seal around the stat gone. I didn't notice the rubber missing until I had replaced the new one and all the parts. I have not refilled the antifreeze yet and would like to know the best way to flush out any rubber pieces that might be in the engine, heater core, radiator, or water pump? Tomorrow (dec 21 '13)
may be the last day I have to try and get this fixed due to weather.

 

[Dune Runner]

A few little pieces of rubber wont hurt a thing in the cooling system. Don't sweat it.

 

[fa28]

Thanks for the reply. I flushed out the engine and radiator this morning and put in the anti freeze just before the rain started. Everything is working fine. I had thought I would have chunks of rubber clogging my engine , a friend familiar with auto repairs told me that the water pump would chop the pieces like a blender and thats what seems to have happen. There was tiny black specks in the flushed out solution about the size of ground pepper.
Thanks again for your reply.