Date:         Sat, 9 Apr 2011 05:34:54 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: To bleed or not to bleed
In-Reply-To:  <BANLkTikS4f9Ezdn0c2q3ZOaznQAZnYTo_g@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 11:14 PM, craig cowan <phishman068@gmail.com> wrote:

> Find a piece of 1/8'' hose and make the necessary adaptors (using other
> sizes of hose) to attach it to a funnel. Run the engine, then park it on a
> hill, nose up. Take the grill off and take the bleeder screw off completely
> once it cools a bit. Now add your 1/8'' hose and funnel (enough space
> around
> the hose for air to escape) and fill the funnel with coolant. Once it's
> full, install the bolt, drive, and repeat (once cooled). This is my
> favorite
> way of bleeding the system. Easy. It takes time, but it's simple.
> Give it a go Ryan. Build this apparatus and store it in the bus. You will
> use it again.
>
> -Craig
> '87 SUNROOF Syncro
> '85 GL turned WESTY
> BOSTIG in back
>
>    I do the same procedure with the funnel and the hose.

 You mention your van is running noticeably cooler than before you took
coolant out and re-filled?  That IS one of the symptoms of air in the
cooling system.
 At the cost and hassel of re-building a WBX or transplanting in some other
motor, I would error on the safe side.  It takes me all of about 3 minutes
to pop off the grill, remove the bleeder and stick my little (I use a hard
steel brake line mated to the funnel) device in the bleeder hole and pour in
some coolant till a steady stream comes back out.  I did blow a headgasket
once when I was just learning Vanagons (inline VW motor)  running it with
just those symptoms.
   I did a 3000 mile trip with stop leak in that motor, losing coolant and
topping the system each gas stop.  Didn't even make the other gas station
customers angry, I got so fast at doing the 'funnel in the bleed screw'
process.
Don Hanson