I finally replaced the rear heater = core in my '90 Carat. (The old one had a very slight leak, and it was dated 1992. It did not have a bleeder screw on it, yet it had the = same name as the new one I got from The Bus Depot.) I guess you only = get a few years out of these things. I noticed that the valve does not = completely close off the coolant flow -- it just slows it down. Now, maybe my = 4 year old will quit complaining about the smell back there!

I also replaced the O rings on the = coolant temperature sensors. I should have drained the pressurized plastic = bottle first, because most of it ended up in my bucket, but some of it ended up = all over me. Now, my only leaks are from the head gaskets! As a = victory celebration and pressure test, I had to drive to the local recycling = center to dispose of my spilled coolant and several gallons of used oil. I = also had this old, dead refrigerator in the carport that was taking up room = because I haven't yet got a trailer hitch on the van to haul it off with. = Then I noticed that with the theater seats flipped up, it fit on its side = perfectly in there. Sometimes we wonder why we own Vanagons -- but it was all = worth it again to see people's faces when I opened the sliding door and = singlehandedly extracted an apartment-sized refrigerator!