In the following the for those who care the bleeder valves referred to for a
Vanagon with a manual transmission are as follows:

early 83.5 bleeder  Part # 025 121 421A
84/85 sideways "H" large diameter bleeder   Part # 025 121 082

Can the coolant bleeder from the 84 and 85 1.9 liter be retrofitted to an
83.5 1.9 liter?
Has anyone done this?

Here's the deal to the best of my knowledge. The 83.5 water cooled Vanagons
up to chassis number 25DO87511 have a different coolant hose set up than
those with later chassis numbers. This includes the hoses to the expansion
tank from the water pump and from the crossover pipe and the large diameter
feed and return hoses to the radiator that sweep across the front of the
engine compartment from left to right then head up front under the bus to the
radiator (front is front). In the early 83.5 the feed and return hoses are
NOT split to allow the sideways "H" shaped coolant bleeder as on 84 and 85.
Instead the large diameter coolant hoses have smaller, say 3/8 or so, hoses
that are molded into the larger diameter hoses. Those 3/8 hoses then feed
into a small bleeder valve which is small enough to fit in a cigarette pack
and has a total of three small nipples found only on the early 83.5. That
early 83.5 Bleeder is no longer available from the VW dealer--it is
"obsolete."

Now what to do when your early 83.5 bleeder breaks and no replacement is
available. And bear in mind merely replacing it with a used one, if by the
grace of God you could find one, is asking for trouble should it fail while
on the road and again the part is still not available as one listee reported
to me. (I called 25 wrecking yards and was on the road for 6 hours visiting
several with no luck finding a used early 83.5 Bleeder. That should drive up
the price if you have one--but I'll pay!!! I'm on vacation!)

Does the 84/85 bleeder have a 3/8 nipple for a hose to connect the lower
large diameter Feed hose to the crossover pipe as with the 83.5 bleeder?

SO...can the large diameter hose be cut, the sideways "H" bleeder (as seen in
84/85 1.9 liters) inserted, and VIOLA, problem solved? The larger bleeder,
this so called 84/85 sideways "H" bleeder is readily available for $36 from
Bus Depot and about $49 from the VW dealer.

The questions:

Does the later model "H" bleeder serve the same function as the earlier
bleeder? The early model bleeder is open during refilling of coolant to let
coolant flow from both the upper return and the lower feed hose into the
crossover pipe that then leads to the expansion tank. I assume this helps
purge air from the system. When closed it allows only coolant from the lower
feed hose to enter the crossover pipe through a 3/8 hose. Why? I don't know.
You have to be German to understand.

But naturally I don't want to go cutting into my large expensive feed and
return coolant hoses to find I've screwed everything up forever. Because I'm
running out of money, patience, and vacation days. I'm already a week and a
half into my vacation which I have spent in lying in my parent's driveway.

Any information, ideas, and especially comment from someone who has dealt
with this problem will be greatly, sincerely, truely, and happily appreciated.

Thanks
Jeff
83.5 Westy
formerly of NYC, heading to LA, stuck in NJ.