You are correct.  I was satisfied with repeatedly filling and draining the
radiator with clear water as a way to flush it.  (Filling through the tee
via whatever circuitous path the water takes to fill the radiator, and
draining out the crankcase drain.)  I admit this is not as good actually
flushing water through the radiator backwards.

Edward

At 12/8/01 06:59 PM, you wrote:
>You should be getting water out of each of those locations when you open
>them up with your current setup. But getting water out of the radiator
>bleeder doesn't mean that you have flushed the radiator.
>
>The radiator loop starts at the coolant distributor, goes through one main
>cooling hose to the radiator, through the radiator, back through the other
>main cooling hose ending at the thermostat housing.  Before the engine
>reaches operating temperature, the thermostat is closed and there is no
>coolant flow through the radiator loop. In order to flush out the radiator
>loop completely, both ends of the loop need to be open, so the thermostat
>needs to be open..Once you start adding cool water to the system via the
>"T", you are in effect doing the job of the radiator - providing cooling to
>the motor. The thermostat will close, coolant flow through the radiator loop
>will stop and your radiator loop doesn't get flushed.
>
>If  you open the radiator bleed screw, you have now provided a path for
>water to flow partially through the radiator loop. You've opened the
>radiator loop in the middle and now the water goes from the coolant
>distributor, through one of the main cooling hoses, into the radiator and
>out the bleeder valve. All of the flushing water will never flow through the
>loop even if the thermostat is open now, because some of it is going out the
>bleeder valve.
>
>I would love to see more discussion on the list about this. Maybe I am
>completely out in left field, so I welcome any and all responses. I was
>disappointed in the lack of response to this thread considering the
>importance of maintaining the Vanagon's much maligned cooling system
>properly.
>
>Tim Hannink
>Goldibox - 1987 Westfalia Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
>Winter Park, Florida
>http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Edward Maglott" <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
>To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2001 5:48 PM
>Subject: Re: Cooling system tip and involved question
>
>
> > I put the prestone flush-n-fill Tee in the heater hose near the sliding
> > door (this is also near the fuel pump).  I chose that place mainly for
> > convenience, and because it seemed to serve the same purpose as putting it
> > up front in the same heater hose.  I flushed cold water into there with
>the
> > engine running and can tell you that I had water gushing out the radiator
> > bleeder, and the rear heater bleeder, the thermostat bleeder and the 1
> > crankcase drain I could get open, and the fill cap on the expansion
> > tank.  I just kept flushing after I drained and disposed of properly the
> > bulk of the coolant.  I would run the engine, not run the engine, close
>the
> > crankcase drain and fill and drain the engine multiple times, etc.
> > Edward