Truly flushing the cooling system requires some disassembly and/or an awful
lot of water. Keep in mind that as you put water into the system you should
be collecting what comes out and disposing of it properly. There are drains
on the bottom of the heads to help drain the engine. Disconnecting the
radiator hoses up front is the only way to really empty the lines and
radiator. Disconnecting the heater hoses and compressed air to get the stuff
out of there. Avoid the temptation to drive with straight water. Cylinder
wall and stud erosion start quickly without the coolant additives. Test the
system to make sure it is holding pressure when done.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Finn Runyon
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:25 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Oil in Coolant

Thanks everyone who have weighed in on this issue.  So far I have flushed
the cooling system, replaced the oil cooler and a fresh oil change.  I took
it for a test last night late to stress it a bit to see if there would be
new oil migration into the coolant.  The good news is that there seems to be
no oil in the coolant now!  I will flush again today and add distilled water
and coolant.  I think I am only getting about 50% of the coolant out of the
system when I drain it.  Any advice on how to get the maximum amount purged
from the system?

It is running rough on start up.  I also changed the plugs which looked
fowled, but as I bought this bus after the overheat issue, I have no
baseline of how it idled and ran before the incident.  I will be calling on
your wealth of knowledge as I proceed, but want to express my gratitude to
all of you who have helped out on this, and on all the other panicked
situations over the years.  It is good to be back on the list!

Best,
Finn  87 Pooh and 89 Roo