Date:         Mon, 15 Mar 1999 15:53:53 -0600
Reply-To:     Fred Younger <fyounger@AMFAM.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Fred Younger <fyounger@AMFAM.COM>
Organization: American Family Insurance
Subject:      Re: Vanagon gasket leaks [2]
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Peak and Havoline also make phosphate free coolants.  They also
mention that fact prominently on the label.  They also make coolant
with phosphates, so don't go by brand name alone.

The label on the Havoline coolant led me to believe that you need to get
all of your old (non-Havoline) coolant out of the system first.  Thus I
bought Prestone.

The bleeding process isn't too bad.  One suggestion to supplement what
the
Bentley manual says -- when you're filling the expansion tank & waiting
for the radiator bleed valve to spit out coolant, don't fill the
expansion
tank right up to the tippy top.  The coolant will surge up & overflow
if you do.  And don't stand right over the expansion tank with your
mouth open!  If the coolant overflows and hits the hot exhaust you'll
get a nice cloud of phosphate free ethylene glycol on your taste buds.
And one more note -- it took quite a few minutes for that radiator bleed
valve to overflow.  The temp gauge read the same as normal driving
temperature and it still took a while -- I almost gave up but eventually
it worked.

Not sure why it would be a two-man task.  Use a two by four to prop
against the gas pedal and schlep back and forth from back to front
to see if that bleed screw is overflowing (or maybe look underneath to
see if it's dripping down?  haven't tried that).

Somebody has posted an alternate method using a bicycle pump to
pressurize the expansion tank.  Check the archives if you're interested.

Dave wrote:
>
> VW sells Autobahn phosphate free coolant (what I use) other mfr's sell
> some also, I believe Prestone sells some, check the label, it should
> explicitly say "Phosphate Free".
>
> Bleeding the system in a Vanagon is a fairly involved task.  I've done
> it myself before, but it is really a 2 man task.  The bently has an
> excellent procedure for bleeding the system, I believe someone posted it
> a while back, it should be in the archives.  The only odd tool /
> difficult part is raising the front of the van some 15" or something
> like that, I used a hydraulic lift last time, a floor jack and a jack
> stand also works well.
>
> David Filcoff                       dave@v-dub.musa.com
> Volkswagens!                      www.251.org
> ------------------------------------------------------
> 87 Vanagon, 88 Fox
> ------------------------------------------------------
> St. Louis / Columbia, MO
> LiMBO - Gateway VW Club - VWoA VW Club -  Missouri Micros
>
> >1. What is an example of a phosphate free coolant?
> >2. Is bleeding the coolant from the 2.1liter Vanagon w/o getting the
> air
> >bubbles a difficult task?