Before I went on vacation, I replaced the clutch, heater hoses and the large rubber radiator hose that crosses over the transaxle and connects to the thermostat housing. Typically I disconnect this hose (and the one to the coolant distributor) at the plastic lines to drain the system since this is the lowest point in the cooling system. I refilled the system by opening the radiator bleeder and the valve on top of the thermostat and filling the system through the coolant reservoir in the engine compartment. I didn't run the motor while filling, I found that squeezing the hose from the right cylinder head to the coolant distributor forced most of the air out through the reservoir opening. The top of the coolant reservoir and the radiator bleeder were at the same height since I had the rear of the van raised to remove the transmission. I closed everything up, filled the overflow tank, lowered the van and took it for a test drive. The engine warmed up and the temp gauge stayed where it usually is, on to just above the led. I did no other bleeding of the cooling system and added no more coolant on my 3,000+ mile trip last week. I did notice that my coolant gauge was consistently below the LED once I got north of the Mason-Dixon line. I have the 80 degree thermostat and fan switch installed but typically in Florida, it is always at or above the LED when at operating temperature. Thanks,
Tim Hannink Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition Winter Park, Florida http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/ http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink Vanagon Album |
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