Glad to see you made it to your destination. 2 people are more fun when doing the coolant burping, but I made a round wood dowel with a recess in one end to butt up against the ball end of my non cruise control connection on the throttle body and left the other end with stepped notches to prop against the front lip of the engine bay. That way, I can keep the motor at 2-3k and get the filling and bleeding done solo, even if it is a bunch of extra walking.

I think I made it out of an old ash inwale from a canoe repair I did years ago.

DM&FS

At 09:16 AM 4/4/2011, Werner Schink wrote: >Hello Folks, > >Got back to Sacto. Thank you to Rob for suggestions and Rick for coffee, >support and coolant. > >My overheating problem was vapor somewhere in the line. > >Filling the coolant system is typically a 2-person job -- one to add coolant >and the other keep the engine revs at about 2K rpm -- while the relief valve >at the top of the radiator is cracked open and the van is inclined with the >front end up. > >In the evening & early morning I was alone so I improvised -- it worked and >I thought this might be of use to someone else who got stranded like me. >What I did is go to Ace hardware and bought a mini-funnel - about 2 inches >long and quite tiny at the smallest end - and also bought a foot of about >1/4 inch o.d. clear plastic tubing. I snipped off a bit of the end of the >funnel and stuck the tubing onto the funnel. This gave me something I could >slowly pour coolant in and that would slip into the radiator relief valve. >I parked so the van was inclined front up and slowly poured coolant in. It >took a couple of tries to get all the trapped vapor cleared -- filling til >full, running with both heaters open -- then letting the van cool down and >refilling. I'd done this before I got to Rick's and when we went to do it >one more time the radiator was completely full when I cracked the relief >valve. No further problems with overheating. > >So thanks again to Rob and Rick and hope this helps someone else. > >Oh, yes ... take it easy going up the grade from Medford to the Siskiyou >summit if you're towing a second Vanagon. > >Werner