I take out the spare tire and the pan that holds it.
Disconnect one of the hoses above and let out all the water.  Put a bent
hose on the plastic pipe that will point down into a bucket, then I go to
the back and blow into the system where the cap goes, to get out all the
coolant there is.  I can take off the other hose too and let out whatever
there is.  All this is done with the heater knobs on to have the heater
cores' coolant out as well.  It is a pity that the design is not letting one
to unbolt the plugs uder the cylinder heads because the cover plates are in
the way.  Taking them off is a troublesome exercise.
Once I think all the coolant is out, I would flush it with the garden hose.
I may fill the radiator on one hose and hold the other closed until the
pressure is up enough to make it spit out faster, to unlock some reluctant
deposits inside.
Then I close the system and fill it with water and run the engine until the
thermostat opens up again.  I let all the water out.  Fill again, run it,
let out again.  By now I can see if it is clean enough.

Now I fill in the phosphate free coolant that I have prepared 50-50 or just
put one in and fill in as much water and do it until it is full.
Open the bleeding bolt on the radiator.
I put a very short screwdriver on the gas pedal, propped against the brake
pedal's bottom to have the rev high enough to get the water up to the top of
the radiator to push the air out.  Keep on filling the system with the
diluted coolant until I can say that there is no air in there anymore.  Then
close the bleeding bolt on the radiator and fill the container to the top
and put the cap on and take the short screw driver out.  Fill the reserve to
the rim, connect it's hose to the system and stop the engine if it has
already had the thermostat open and let all the areas be filled with the
coolant.
I have to wait until it cools down well enough to see some coolant be sucked
into the system and fill the reservoire again to the rim.  It can take
hours.  I don't expect to repeat this more than twice.
Well, that's it.
I am fortunate to have a very big slope next to my place and use it to have
the back of the car high enough that the top of the radiator is higher than
the top of the pressurised container where that blue cap goes onto.
One should check for leaks or dripps at the connections though when the
pressure is up in the system.
I have not had any visible success using the air-bleeding knob on the top of
the raidiator.  I never have seen anything come out there.
I hope, I was helpful.
Zoltan

Start the engine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shannon Mitchell" <vanagonman@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, May 07, 2004 6:43 AM
Subject: Draining the coolant system... ?

> Hello..
>
> I have a 91 Vanagon that is in need of a coolant flush and or a new
> radiator.  I found the instructions on how to bleed the coolant system on
> Ben T's web site ( Nice site Ben! ) but it does not explain how to flush
and
> drain the system?  Any one out there have these instructions?  I have a
> blinking coolant light and a radiator that has a lot of "cold spots" so I
am
> trying to flush out the system and see if I can clean out the radiator and
> stop the light from blinking.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions would be great..
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Shannon
> 91 Vanagon
>