What year of Van are you dealing with?
 
> Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2010 13:11:49 -0500
> From: rylincoln@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: vanagon bleeding
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> *Saved this for friday to just vent a little after years of hearing how hard
> it is to bleed a vanagon cooling system....*
> 
> <soapbox>
> I don't get the sound of dread everyone has in bleeding the cooling system
> on a Vanagon. I used to believe this too, after hearing so many vw
> "mechanics" talk about how hard it was and "oh it takes hours and requires
> jacking up the front and 2 people plus you have to do it while riding
> a unicycle over Vaseline covered cement yada yada. I mean no offense, just
> seems like it's thought to be more difficult than it really is. I don't
> even jack up the front.
> 
> After a recent engine replacement I filled up with coolant/distilled water
> 50/50 as much as it'll take using a plastic pipe fashioned from my shop vac
> attachments stuck in the top of the coolant reservoir under the decklid,
> this get's the hydraulic head at the rear above the top of the radiator at
> the front.
> 
> Warm up till tstat opens then crack the bleeder valve on the radiator until
> fluid comes out and no bubbles, i let it run a minute or so and keep topping
> up fluid at the rear.
> 
> The system is self bleeding after that with that ring around the engine
> compartment lid, bubbles will rise up there into the expansion tank and be
> gone, bubbles trapped in the radiator are let out when opening the bleeder
> valve at the radiator.
> 
> This all took me < 30 minutes.
> 
> I've never had an overheating problem even while running my newly
> refurbished A/C in 99F weather. *knocks on wood* maybe i'm just lucky thus
> far
> </soapbox>
> 
> peace,
> -Ry