Dan,
Get a little pump siphon and take the excess out of the overflow tank. That
way you're right there to see when the proper level is reached.

John Meeks
Top of Lower Michigan
91 Westfalia MultiVan

     -----Original Message-----
     From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
     Of Dan Haydon
     Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 4:38 PM
     To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
     Subject: Re: 91 GL running hot all of the sudden

     I should have scripted this message better. Sorry for the
     confusion, but the
     act of adding the coolant by my wife was knee-jerk and only bloated the
     resevior; I've held steady coolant levels all summer long,
     although now I
     need to drain out the excess.

     Since the low speed fan never kicked in as the needle
     approached the led I
     think it's the fan switch. I'm going to try the test Ken Wilford has
     outlined (How-To Test your fan setup) and hopefully the
     overheating is only
     a fan thing!.

     Thanks,
     Dan Haydon

     ----- Original Message -----
     From: "John Rodgers" <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
     To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
     Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 2:22 PM
     Subject: Re: 91 GL running hot all of the sudden

     > You have a leak!!!!
     >
     > Also, the cooling system is connected to the AC so the
     radiator cooling
     > fan will come on  when the AC is turned on. Also, the Idle stabilizer
     > system will kick up the idle rpm with the AC on to handle
     the added load
     > created by the AC being "ON" and so the engine won't stall at idle
     > speeds such as at stop lights, etc. That increase in idle rpm needs
     > additional cooling in hot weather. Thus the radiator cooling
     fan kicks in.
     >
     > Regards,
     >
     > John Rodgers
     > 88 GL Driver
     >
     > Dan Haydon wrote:
     >
     > >Hi,
     > >
     > >Just a few days ago my wife tells me that the van has been
     "running hot",
     and that she's been driving with the heater on to keep the
     needle from going
     too high. So I started it up yesterday and it heated up pretty
     fast....as it
     approached the led it moved above it and the fan never turned
     on. I turned
     on the AC and the high speed fan kicked in.
     > >
     > >I'm thinking maybe thermostat or temp senders. Is there a
     way to check
     for blockage of coolant flow?
     > >
     > >Also, when she was out on the road she emptied a bottle of
     water in the
     resevoir, so I need to drain and add more coolant. Is there a
     bleeder valve
     somewhere?
     > >
     > >Thanks for any direction on this one guys.
     > >
     > >Dan Haydon
     > >
     > >
     > >