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Date:         Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:56:47 -0500
Reply-To:     Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Woody's woes/ botched bleeding
Comments: To: Woody Halsey <WHalsey@sya.org>
In-Reply-To:  <B93CEC77BF22AC4BAC3153499966BC53B87E24@sya01.SYA.local>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

dear aspirated

attempting mechanical feats on christmas eve is an exciting way to gather the friends and family around the yule vanagon ... indeed two years ago with a new engine in and several moments of lights and buzzers flashing ... plus a few ..all my coolant on the road moments ... then checked out completely at scotts in medford .. found the o ring on the t hose was failing on my 1.9 turbo diesel ... used right stuff to repair ...with new o ring ...then continued on ... i arrived in oakland oregon and made sure the main tank was full ... reserve was full to line ... and ... began to race up and down the many many hills there until i was running very very hot ... ... then parked on a hill with rear facing down ... let off air until the coolant hissed out ... took a few hours ... for the entire operation ... has run flawlessly since ... ... er all except that nasty moment 10 days ago :)

good luck ... it is solvable .. make sure you have no air leaking in or out (talcum poweder on motor will show leaks ) make sure both tanks are full ... tighten alll clamps and replace those showing signs of wear ... get it up to temperature ... park on ramps or slant ... let air out ... for those who recall the cast iron rads of yor .. this will be old school ... hot water baseboard heaters with cirulating pumps ..old school too ... i dont vanagon ownership for everyone ...but it has always worked for me yours

On Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 4:56 PM, Woody Halsey <WHalsey@sya.org> wrote:

> > Well, I finally found a moment when the sun was still somewhat in the > sky, the temperature was up and my bro-in-law was willing to keep his > foot on the accelerator. Here's what happened. Explanations and > suggestions will be more than welcome! > > 1) Started the engine and drove up onto ramps, raising the nose > about 8". > 2) Opened front and back heaters. > 3) Opened bleeder valve on new radiator; took cap off expansion > tank. > 4) Filled expansion tank with water (it was pretty low). > 5) Noted serious gurgling, burping and splashing from expansion > tank, but only > 6) Minor hissing from the radiator. > 7) Then some coolant escaped from the bleeder valve on the radiator > ... then.... > 8) NOTHING more from the radiator -- no air, no liquid -- while the > expansion tank continued to bubble like a witch's cauldron. > > The heater under the back seat was blowing hot air; the front fan blew > only cold air. I added a total of about two quarts of water. > > After about 15-20 minutes I gave up and invited my brother-in-law in for > a drink by the fire, saying I would not try again until I had received > the combined Wisdom from The List, hoping that maybe the air bubbles > will work their way towards the radiator overnight. > > Some additional facts: > > 1) Mechanic added fresh coolant with the engine raised, not the > nose; so clearly the system is in need of bleeding. > 2) Thermostat, sensors and radiator are all new. > 3) Gauge pegs as soon as the engine is turned on ... but then, > sometimes, goes back to normal readings. This afternoon it ended up > looking pretty normal after intitially pegging and flashing. > 4) Couldn't find the bleeder valve in the engine compartment. I > think it was eliminated years ago for some reason; maybe it broke and > the hoses were just spliced together. > > Merry Christmas to all, and thanks in advance. > > Woody > 83.5 V'gon > Haverhill, MA > > > P.S. Now I am going to mix a cocktail, print out the tree ornament and > try to pry my kids away from the ginger bread house project to help me. >

-- roger w From Proverbs: Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king ... ---------------------------------------------------------- Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/ View the growing list of video work at: http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners and ... older work at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364


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