Well, I would say that you should check the concentration of your coolant.

If you add pure water, the boiling point may get low enough to easily boil coolant in the heads - thus pressurizing your cooling system.

If the concentration is weak - fix that - then see how things go.

Marshall Ruskin
84 Westy
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Gary Stearns 
  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
  Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2001 6:36 PM
  Subject: Uh-oh, cooling system way pressurized

  Last Wednesday nite my kids and  I drove the 5 hours to Killington, VT to catch the tail of spring skiing (turns out it ain't the tail at all, they are planning to be open well into June!).  At about 11:30 at nite on Rt. 91 North in the woods of Vermont with not another car in sight, the coolant lite starts flashing.  Took the first exit, pulled under a light and opened the engine hatch.  Main coolant tank nearly empty.  Overflow tank, doing just that, in fact squirting out the breather hole on the top. Allowed it to cool, topped the main tank with some water and continued on.  OK for the next 4 days around Vermont.  On the way home today, blink, blink again.  Same drill. Got home and investigated.  Every bleeder burped air or something.  Many hose connections were weeping as if under way too much pressure.  The engine is a rebuild with about 20k on it, but I'm thinking that I must be looking at combustion pressure getting into the cooling system; ie: failing head gaskets.  Tell me I'm wrong; pleeeeese!
  Gary

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