Peter,

I think the bleeder opens a valve that allows coolant to pass internally
between the top and bottom coolant hoses.  The coolant does not actually
escape the system.

Otherwise I've been driving for the last year and a half with an improperly
bled cooling system.

Chris,

'85 Westy

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Peter Krogh
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 3:40 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Bleeder valve Function?

Hello list,
In my seemingly never-ending quest to diagnose/repair cooling system, I have
onew more question.

Does the bleeder valve in the engine compartment bleed coolant when open?  I
wonder if mine is working.  When I bleed system, with valve screwed all the
way counter-clockwise (the vlave screws back about 1/4 inch), I never get
coolant out the hole.  Does this mean that it is not actually bleeding the
air in the system?

TIA,
Peter