Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 23:24:46 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Subject: Re: Purging Cooling System of Air
In-Reply-To: <003301c400d0$fe08e590$d9032a45@ttower17def>
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If you ran the engine for any length of time with the front bumper off
the ground by 4 feet, you will also get the honor of overhauling the
transmission and possibly doing engine damage due to the oil flooding
into the rear cylinders. The water pump will not lift that high. If all
is well, the 2.1 cooling system will self bleed with little assistance
and things this extreme are not needed. I would not drill a hole in the
t-stat as the massive capacity of the radiator will prevent the engine
from warming properly with even a small hole. The factory t-stat even
uses a rubber gasket on the disc to make sure it seals tight. The
aftermarket stats do not work as well in cold weather. There is a valve
on the top of the t-stat housing to get the return loop primed.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of vanagon
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 10:38 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Purging Cooling System of Air
Well, I really appreciate all who have responded and are responding to
my initial question about this topic. Great minds think alike. Please
reference the Bently book to 19.16 Filling the cooling system.
I believe that it is easy to miss-interpret the way this procedure
reads. Where it says to "raise vehicle approx. 40 cm (15 3/4 in.) at
front under cross-member with floor jack and wooden support or
equivalent" I think some folks tend to think this is only a height of
15 3/4 at the cross member. I believe "raise vehicle" means to LIFT IT
THAT MUCH. or it would read "raise vehicle TO.......at the cross member.
I am not sure some of us realize how high in the air this puts your
Vanagon. It is so high that the bumper ends up almost 4 feet off the
ground! My jackstands are all the way at there ends and then some placed
under the front jack ports on both sides. Putting the front wheels on a
curb ain't even close! not by a mile! nor is just saying to do it
level and it will be okay, its not ! . The factory recommends this
steep angle because the hoses leaving the engine go down before they go
level and it has a LONG way to go to get to the Radiator. I sincerely
doubt they would recommend such a steep angle with little regard.
I am thinking of using a large plastic (new) Hudson type sprayer so I
can put the pre-mix into the sprayer tank and pressurize the top of the
fluid. This makes kind of a large version of what a Power Brake Bleeder
is. Hudson sprayers pull from the bottom of the tank so if you keep it
topped up you will never put air in the system. then I can use an old
cap with the spring valve removed to connect to the system. As long as
one can get past the thermostat I should be able to make good progress.
But I will definitely have the vehicle raised to the prescribed height
in the front as the factory says.
By getting more fluid in the system, without having to start the engine
it will make things much easier, because until the fluid can circulate
well, it overheats, and the steam pressure pumps your new fluid back out
all over you, your engine, your hot exhaust, even while the darn thing
is revving along at 2200 rpms with the front 4 feet off the ground. It
will splash back out of the tank. You will definitely find yourself
asking if you are having fun yet.
Please keep the suggestions coming, there are allot of creative minds
out there and well all need a better way to do this.
If the Hudson sprayer idea works I will follow up.
My other idea is to run the water pump from an electric motor with a fan
belt or similar, again, to get more fluid in before running the engine.
I also considered drilling a small 1/8 hole in the metal of the
thermostat because I notice it seals absolutely shut. This would allow
you to do a slow fill past it.
Whatdoyathinkofthat
Cheers,
Doug
