Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 03:47:07 -0700
Reply-To: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject: Re: radiator removal, orange coolant
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Karl and group: As far as having the other person to run the throttle, I
use a short piece of straight grained ash from an old canoe gunwale with an
angle cut on one edge to wedge inbetween the firewqall and the trottle ball
aand can usually get within about 200rpm of what I need to get coolant to
flow. It's still nice to have my wife watch for air in the bleed screw
though. I've still got questions as to when you quit allowing the orange
stuff to run out of the bleeder screw. Is there such a thing as too small
and air bubble? PS Thanks for sending the wiring harness so promptly...now
if only the other two yeah whooz would send what I orderedd, I'd be a little
happier. They'll get to it I'm sure.
Thanks
Max 90GL 123k
-----Original Message-----
From: Karl F. Bloss <bloss@ENTER.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 11:47 AM
Subject: radiator removal, orange coolant
Well, I got a lot of responses that people are using the DexCool stuff, so
I went ahead and got some...4 gallons to be sure I had enough (plus you
always need some extra to put under the back seat).
I also wanted to drop the radiator since Darrell Boehler wanted the AC
condenser, and that's the only way you can get the condenser off. What
better time than when flushing the cooling system anyway.
I won't bore you with the details of my all-day Saturday project, but here
are some highlights for the uninitiated:
* I suggest the Haynes Manual as well as the Bentley for reading up on the
flushing procedure.
* I started off using the flushing technique posted here recently, i.e.
used a funnel and tube to drain off the stuff normally going into the top
of the expansion tank and filling water into the top of the exansion tank
while running at fast idle until clear water came out. One problem I see
with this is that the cold water that I put into the expansion tank and
being sucked in by the water pump never allowed the thermostat to open
completely. This was evidenced by green stuff coming out the radiator
later. I did open the plastic bypass valve on top of the thermostat, but
it didn't seem to make a difference in terms of flushing the radiator.
This flushing did produce lots of crud already, including the remnants of
the sealant that the shop put in without my authorization.
* The radiator is HEAVY, especially when still partially full of liquid
and with the AC condensor still attached. Also, you can't get to one of
the pipe clamps very well until you remove the right side bottom radiator
bracket. When you do disconnect these hoses from the radiator, have
several buckets handy to catch all the coolant. It doesn't all come out
in a nice stream because it splashes on other stuff. Wear leather gloves
if possible...the radiator has sharp edges including the fins. I used 2
jack stands, a floor jack, and some wood to lower it gently. Watch that
you don't snap or crack the hose connections, the fan thermosensor, or the
pins that keep the radiator in place. You need to disconnect the fan
thermosensor and the fan motor leads (ground strap off, of course).
* I put the hose in both the radiator hoses (one at a time) and stopped
when I saw a nice water display in the back of the van. :-)
* Since I had the radiator out, I flushed it both directions and more crud
came out. The bleed hole made a nice geyser.
* Putting the radiator back in was quite a chore, especially since I was
doing it by myself. Again, I suggest jack stands and a floor jack. Wood
pieces keep the jack from damaging the thin aluminum pieces.
* Filling and bleeding is covered extensively elsewhere. It really helps
to have a second person and fortunately for me, my wife came home in time
to step on the gas pedal while I ran from expansion tank to bleed screw
and back.
* This morning the overflow tank was pretty much sucked dry, but the
expansion tank was still full. I'll have to keep an eye out for leaks and
will probably have to bleed one more time.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. I figured it was slightly more on topic
than the "Gerry is ill" topic (the printing is wearing off my 'delete' key
:-).
-Karl
__________________________________
Karl & Kristina Bloss - bloss@enter.net
Trexlertown, PA - '87 Vanagon Weekender "Beverley"
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw
