Hello all,

Does anyone have some general information they can point me towards or send
me regarding the issue of air in the cooling system of a Subaru conv. and
the process of bleeding the air?  I�ve had my Subaru Vanagon for less than a
year, and though I�ve heard that Subaru people sometimes have problems with
air in the system, I never experienced it -- until recently. I�ve been
travelling through Mexico, and some 2500 km ago the cap on the expansion
tank seemed to stop working and the engine started overheating. The mechanic
emptied the system, refilled it, and replaced the cap. About 1000 km later,
the overheating started again. The next mechanic said the first must not
have bled the air out very well. He put more water in, bled it on an incline
with the rear higher than the front. All seemed well, and then some 1500 km
later, same problem. So I filled and bled it myself this time, car is
running well for now, but I fear something is being done wrong. I�ve got a
hose attachment on the bleed screw, but how far should I open it? After the
bubbles, when the engine is hot, I get what looks like foamy fluid for a
while, but if I keep bleeding it, I lose a lot of fluid and the overheating
starts again. I haven�t put the proper coolant balance in yet -- could that
be the problem? It seems that air is the problem, and when she overheats,
there�s definitely air in the radiator, but maybe that�s not the primary
problem...? Why are you supposed to elevate the front of the car to bleed?
The fluid doesn�t seem to start circulating through the radiator again until
I elevate the rear end. Yeah, I�m a little confused with it all.

Anyway...any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Joshua
89 Subaru Vanagon