Haven't posted for a while.  Started working on the motor mounts and missed
something when the engine dropped a little.  There is a bleed valve on the
two big coolent hoses which go across the engine compartment.  There is a
little hose that goes from the bleed valve to the pipe towards the rear of
the engine.  The nipple on the bleed has broken on me before and I replaced
the whole assembly.  Further looking at this old assembly seemed to show a
possible way to fix the nipple piece by inserting a small aluminum tube into
the plastic part.  This would allow attaching to the valve assembly with the
same hose as before and it would be stronger and more resistant to
vibration.  Just an idea.  My question is-- Is the bleed valve and
connection hose to the other main pipe really required for proper coolent
system operation?  I am guessing it is not and as long as you have another
way to drain and fill the system, you can do without the bleed valve (which
is prone to breakage due to fibration or stress).  For all of you experts,
is this correct.  If so, I will just plug the hose and valve piece and let
it go (never to break when driving again which lunched my first engine).

William