Date:         Tue, 2 Mar 2004 19:17:38 -0600
Reply-To:     "Warren.K.Lail-1" <wlail@OU.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Warren.K.Lail-1" <wlail@OU.EDU>
Subject:      system bleed update
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi all,

I found the Darrell Boehler bleeding method mentioned by Gerald Masar.  Has anyone else tried this?

>> The following setup using a bike tire pump seems to over come some of the problems that can develop when flushing, or replacing coolant in the cooling system on our water cooled vans. It seems that the coolant pump sometimes gets air locked, it has happened to me and this past weekend it happened to Steve, it is very scary and our heads can get hot in a hurry. The following is easy and has worked well for me. I use this instead of the 2k rpm bentley procedure. You can do the whole process with the engine off, it makes coolant changing so easy we can all do it every year and quite possibly our precious heads will last a bit longer. Take an old bike tire pump and chop off the hose near the end that you would normally attach to the inner tube. If you are lucky this hose will be the proper size to attach to the coolant cap connector on the left coolant expansion tank. This cap normally has a hose on it that goes over to the right tank. The hose on my bike pump split after a f
ew uses and I replaced it with some 7mm fi hose that I had sitting around. If you fill the left tank with coolant you should get coolant into the engine and many of the lower hoses, sometimes it trickles down slowly. Now with the left tank full use the bike pump, 2-3 pumps will probably be enough to force the coolant up the long hoses and into the radiator, you will see the coolant level in the left tank lower as it fills the radiator. So with some pressure on the system loosen the bleeder screw and the air will be purged from the radiator being replaced by the coolant from the left tank. If you are alone just tighten the bleeder screw a bit and refill the left tank and repeat the process again. Once coolant comes out the bleeder screw, if the front of the van is raised, most all the air is out of the system. You will probably want to check the bleeder screw for air again after running the engine a bit to be sure there is none left in the system. Any time you want to check fo
r air in the system or check for leaks just use the pump and put a little pressure on the system. This setup has been simple and flawless for me. Just keep in mind that the tire pump is capable of delivering 80 psi and our beloved vans use 10-15 psi in the cooling system, so just a few strokes on the pump will be enough.

Darrell Boehler Makanda Illinois <<

Warren Lail
88 Westy "Billy Bones"
87 GL