Date:         Sun, 12 Feb 1995 10:29:11 -0600 (CST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Gerald Skerbitz <gsker@lenti>
Subject:      Re: Bleeding clutch?? Addition and call for volunteers

Re: Bleeding clutch?? Addition and call for volunteers

On Sun, 12 Feb 1995, Tim Smith wrote:
> djohnson@hpvclu.vcd.hp.com on Friday Feb 19, 1995 asked:
> >Anyone care to decribe how "easy" it is to bleed the clutch lines
> >in an '84 Vanagon?  Bently says to pressurize the system (from the
> 
> I've done it on an '85 van and again yesterday on an '87 Syncro. If memory 
> serves, the regular van had to be bled from underneath, since the bleed 

I do mine from the top on my '84.  I loosen the radiator hoses and sort 
of bend them out of the way so I can snake my hand in over the bleed 
screw.  It helps to get underneath to make sure the hose is on tightly.

> way on, then open the screw, maybe a 1/4 turn. Force the plastic tubing over 
> the bleed screw, (keep the wrench in place), and put the other end deep into 
> the pop bottle, wedged somewhere secure. Go up front and pump away smoothly 
> etc. This is a one person deal BTW!

I'd strongly recommend two things.  1. Get yourself one of those one man
bleed kits.  Works great, and then you aren't pulling dirty fluid back in 
from your bottle because it has a one-way valve on it.  2. First thing, 
pull the bleed screw all the way off and make sure it is free of gunk and 
the bleed hole is clear.

Hope that addition helps.  Could someone volunteer to pull all the 
stuff off the archives about this subject and edit it cleanly into a 
FAQ?  We'd all appreciate that.  Also, if someone could edit all the 
posts on bleeding your cooling system and consolidate them into a FAQ, 
that'd be nice too.  Volunteers?

--
Gerry
Gerald Skerbitz <gsker@med.umn.edu> U of MN Med School Admin 6-5379