I recommend following the Bentley manual instructions - I did it and I'm not a "seasoned" mechanic - the proper procedures will vary depending on the make/model/year of your Westy.  I have an '87 Digifant which is supposed to be self-bleeding, but I still bled the system until I had coolant come out the bleeder screw on the radiator.  Prior to that, however, I emptied out the coolant by taking off the lowest hose and then filled the expansion tank with distilled water until it came out of the lowest hose clear.  One tip - jack your van up at the nose about 4" so that gravity will do some of the work for you.   
  
If any one knows anything regarding thermoswitches I'd love some help - I can't seem to find mine - thought it should be below the bleeder screw but there is nothing there.  Having problems with my fan not coming on until the temp gauge is about 3/4 to 7/8 of the way to the top.
  
Thanks,
MJ  
  
----- Original Message -----
From: Malcolm Stebbins
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 2:44 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Flush & Fill & Fan Switch questions
  
I just watched my mechanic flush my '91 syncro coolant, he went to a lot of work!!!!   I
think that MAYBE  the simplest way would be to remove the thermostat (close up the
housing) and then remove a few return hoses and put a water hose into the reservoir
and let the engine run till the water coming out is clean. Turn off the engine &  let the
system drain, put hoses back on and put in 8 or 9 litres of coolant then top it up with
water as you bleed the system.  I hope someone can tell me why this will NOT work.
I've been wrong before.  Malcolm

On 31 Jul 2002 at 13:57, Warner, Jeff (DSIO-MS) wrote:

> Volks,  what do you think is the simplest, most effective, way to
> repeatedly drain the system?Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com