The reason you jack up the front of = the van is to allow air bubbles to slither forward in the plumbing that runs under = the van and to accumulate in the radiator, where you bleed them out with the = bleedscrew on top of the radiator. If the van is maintained as level, you = will not be bleeding the rear heater box and could get an air bubble in the line = which may not let coolant past.

-----Original = Message-----
From: John P. Flaherty <jflaherty@PIVOT.NET>
To:= vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM&g= t;
Date: Monday, March 01, 1999 3:27 PM
Subject: a different = way to bleed cooling system

A little Yankee ingenuity. I haven't tried it, = but is seems like it should work. If were to take a 3 foot length of = radiator hose and clamp it to the expansion tank where the pressure cap goes, my = fill point would then be the highest point in the van. I should, without = jacking up the front end, be able to open the bleeder, fill until coolant = runs out, close the bleeder and be done. I don't imagine I'm the first to = think of this, so I assume there's a reason it won't work, but I can't figure = out what it is. Would have tried it, but was almost done bleeding the conventional way when I thought of it. Can someone explain why it = will or won't work?