Hi John,

I did my last engine swap with the tail of the bus raised. My driveway
also has a slope to it, so the back of the bus was easily 15" or more
higher than the front end.

When I was finished the engine swap, I filled the coolant tanks and
opened the thermostat bleeder valve until coolant ran out. Then I filled
it a bit more to top off the pressure tank and overflow. Then I reversed
the vehicle and put the front up on the ramps and I didn't get any air
out of the rad whatsoever when I bled the system. I suspect that keeping
the rear end raised let all the bubbles flow backwards to exit so the
rad didn't collect any.

I have the stock cooling system setup in my 87; it's designed to
self-purge anyhow, as long as there's sufficient coolant in the system...

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario Canada
1973/74/79 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop
www.busesofthecorn.com
www.pottsfamily.ca

John Rodgers wrote:
> The mechanic who worked on my 88 GL when I first got it, was a real "Old
> Timer" with Volkswagens - including Vanagons of all stripes. He never
> once did the Bentley bleeding procedure. Instead. he jacked the back end
> of the van way up and ran the engine up to speed with the pressure cap
> on the expansion tank off. I never had any problems with the cooling
> system or the heaters, so I guess it worked.
>
> --
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com\
--