You say your temp gauge LED has been blinking "for YEARS". You also say
that "coolant hose blew....Vanagon overheated...cooked my head gasket".
It's no wonder.

One of the fundamental functions of that LED is to warn you that the
coolant level is low, such as in the case where a hose has blown and the
cooling system is emptying as you drive down the road. If yours has been
giving false alarms for years you must have learned to ignore it and
drive on. You should fix it or pay someone else to or you run the risk
of killing another engine because of a minor failure.

The low coolant level warning system is not that complicated. It can and
should be made to work. If you would like help in doing so let me know.

Your other symptoms sound like major air in the cooling system. This can
be from several causes some more expensive than others. Bleed the system
first and make sure it is completely filled with 50/50 coolant mix.

Mark

kevin obrien wrote:
>
> Hello All:
>
> Short history...
> Last December a coolant hose blew....Vanagon
> overheated...cooked my head gasket. Head Gasket and
> Heads redone over the winter. Vanagon has had a
> persistant overheating problem for months....I thought
> it was a bad expansion tank bottle...replaced it and
> the cap...and the hose to the overflow bottle. Put in
> 80 degree thermostat.
> Van ran fine on flats...overheated on long, steep
> hills. Mechanic found distibuter was hanging
> up...screwing up timing. Replaced distributer with a
> spare.
> Van ran fine...temp needle below or just above red
> blinking light..depending on hills, outside temp,
> etc.(By the way...I replaced the sending unit on top
> of the expansion tank...and red light continues to
> blink...it has done this for YEARS!!!)
>
> Then went up REALLY LONG, STEEP Hill...overheated
> again.
>
> Now...here is another oddity. My front fan/blower
> doesn't work. I've been using the rear blower/heater
> to pull heat off the engine when she gets hot. When I
> do this the vent by my right foot (above accelerator)
> blows cold....but will suddenly start blowing hot
> air...and the engine temp will drop. Then it will blow
> cold again.
>
> Tonight I came up a 5 mile hill....needle climbed to
> 3/4 and oil buzzer went off (it has been doing this
> intermitantly as well)
>
> Anybody got an idea as to what the hell is going on???
>
> kevindobrien@yahoo.com
>
> _