Larry, the trouble may have two possibilities I would check out first.
Air bubble and/or stuck thermostat. I would bet the latter. It may be
the pump, but I would check the first two items first.

Put in a new 'stat, then bleed the system. That would be the first place
to start.

I drove my '85 GL for 100,000 plus miles with the needle on or slightly
above the light and never had a lick of trouble, then one day on a long
trip the pump died with no warning. The seal on the pump failed big time
and dumped my coolant in just a few moments.

Good Luck.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL driver

AAG - Larry Word wrote:

>My vanagon has stopped pumping water?  All water lines appear hot in engine compartment, lukewarn under-car, etc. with my front heater having no heat and the radiator cool on all sides?  I have brief moments of heat in my front area and at those times my temp. appears "better".
>    -What would make my water pump not pump?  It's still intact.....
>    -Could an air bubble in my system cause this or would that work itself out enough to insure that I had alittle water to the front of my radiator.
>    -Would a water Vanagon system needing bleeding be enough to have my water pump not pump?  if so, would this likely burn up my older style water pump (1.9l) ?
>    -Stuck shut thermostat is my guess...but is that all I need to concern myself w/ at this time?
>    -My temp. rises quickly and stays above water level light on dash.
>    -At what point to you cause "damage" to these vanagon engines?  Over the years, I have driven a good distance "slightly above that water level light on dask) while trying to figure out best approach to fix my engine.  This is a new  issue I am trying to get handle on and avoid major issue by not handling.....
>
>Thanks for any and all insights.....
>
>Larry
>Georgia
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