Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 17:24:30 -0700
Reply-To: Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject: Re: Draining the coolant system... ?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Imagine that, VW with their seemingly endless research and design team puts together a factory service manual procedure for purging the extremely long and complex cooling system of the vanagon.
And you simply turn the vanagon completely around the opposite way they recommend on your hill in your backyard, and behold, figure out an easier and better way to purge all the air out.
Wow! now THAT'S SOME authority!
I cant help to wonder if when you say you did bleed the system according to the manual and got no more air out. Did you actually raise the front of the vehicle the specified 15+ inches at the cross member and do the complete bleed procedure as specified or did you just "wing it" on a hill and do a quick check on the radiator bolt.
hmmmmm, I am thinking with your vast R&D department and the fact that you don't want to give bad advise you must have done a detailed job and did it exactly how its specified?.
Oh, but wait ......perhaps that may have been "just extra work."
I stand behind the Bentley manual procedure and have YET to only see unscientific methods of testing for any authority to dispute what Bentley put together.
I believe one of the HUGE problems with folks and their vanagon engines is they are not being bled properly and recommendations like yours makes folks think any sloping driveway and any notion of a procedure will do. After all "hey there's a hill and I'm gonna try somthin easier" is how I perceive your procedure began, Many of these will leave air trapped in the system and create hot spots. But hey no more air came out right? so it must be completely bled right? WRONG!
I am sincerely looking for a better method or less messy way to fill and bleed the system but will not divert from the angle and procedure vw recommends.
For all reading one idea I believe would improve is use an old coolant cap and a length of hose and a 5 gal plastic jug on a ladder. Any coolant blown back out will go up the hose and into the tank. This will allow use of the factory service manual procedure.
I give you the last word,
But hey, opinions vary.
Doug
----- Original Message -----
From: TJ Hannink
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: Draining the coolant system... ?
Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET> wrote:
You are raising the REAR?__________________________________________________________________
I'm not Zolo, but I'll answer: Yes, I raise the rear of the van, so the top of the coolant reservoir is level with the top of the radiator, opening the heater valve, radiator bleeder and thermostat bypass valve. You can remove the reservoir cap without losing any coolant.
> How did you decide to just blow off the Official Service Manual procedure from Bentley.
__________________________________________________________________
I tried it this way and it worked. I've tried the Bentley way and it kinda works too, but this is a lot easier, especially since I usually have the rear end of the van jacked up already to work on the motor..
> By what authority can you say your procedure works?
___________________________________________________________________
Mine; also I fill my cooling system this way without running the motor and get it completely full.
> How do you know you are getting ALL the air out?
____________________________________________________________________
After I did it the first time, I used the Bentley method and attempted to bleed it but got nothing but coolant out. Now I don't bother and haven't had to add any coolant afterwards the three other times I have done it this way. My van doesn't overheat and I drive it daily in +70F weather.
> Why not follow the Bentley book? Just too difficult to follow? too much hassle?
_____________________________________________________________________
I've found that it isn't necessary when filling the system this way, its just extra work.
Good luck,
TJ Hannink
Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
Winter Park, Florida
http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album
FAVOR website: http://home.earthlink.net/~clubvanagon
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs
