Ok list, I need some help.

I need somebody to tell me the symptoms my poor '85 1.9 WBXer is�suffering from 
are not from a cracked head. Lie to me if you must.

So, to explain. My van (Butternut) has always self-bled her cooling system�very 
quickly, and easily. No fights, no real fussing, just a couple of top-offs after 
a couple of careful hot-and-cold cycles, and Viola! Done. This is from several 
waterpumps, hose replacements, damage repairs, etc. Always bleeds fast, after 
the damage is gone.

The last run we made in beasty was at the end of September, to Busses by the 
Beach Bus Boo, in western Michigan. Lots o' fun. I live in eastern Michigan, so 
the trip is only about 180 miles. No big deal. Done the trip LOTS of times, and 
in much worse weather.

This time, about 5 miles from being home, the heater stops working, and the temp 
gage maxes out. Quickly. And the coolant level light blinks. The weather at the 
time was about mid 50's, in �F. UH-oh. not good. I stop, and the light stops 
blinking, and the gage returns to normal. Huh? Check the tanks, and both are 
full of air. Now, my reservoir tank never has bubbles, after bleeding. So , I 
fill the tanks, and start home again. Cycle repeats. First I have heat, then 
none, and the gage does its dance. It is the old style gage, that maxes out the 
temp needle, if the low-level alert light comes on.

I have tried several times, over the intervening time, to get the bubbles to go 
away, and my heat to return. I completely emptied and refilled the entire 
system, with a pressure flush in between. I even unhooked the belt from the 
water pump, and spun it with an angle grinder, to get things moving around, 
without actually running the engine, and risking further damage. This will 
really only clear the heater cicuit, but that is a big section of the problem, 
all on its own. No joy. 

My thought is that I have cracked a head, into a coolant passage. I do not want 
to do a head if that's not whats wrong, but I do not see any other solutions for 
this problem.

My question is: are there any other likely causes of this? Or am I going to have 
to replace a head?

TIA, and I hope everybody is over their tryptophan overdose...
�Evan Mac Donald 

"...in the absence of facts, myth rushes in, the kudzu of history."
-Stacy Schiff