For now go buy one of these kits:
http://www.prestone.com/products/print/461?popup=1   I'll be making a copper
version this weekend and I'll email you some photos.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Rocket J Squirrel [mailto:camping.elliott@gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 8:49 AM
To: Stuart MacMillan
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Temp Gauge -- why did this happen?

On 05/08/2012 09:00 PM, Stuart MacMillan wrote:
> I put a flushing tee in the heater hose under the van.  Hook up your
garden
> hose and flush away!  Note:   The plastic tees you buy at your flaps will
> break in a few years, so either plan on changing it once in a while, 
> or make yourself one out of copper pipe.

Details, anyone? I don't normally work on copper pipe but I do have a
propane torch, some acid flux, and some solder, and I'm not afraid to use
them. Even though I normally use the torch to caramalize cr�me br�l�e.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
Bend, Ore.
1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in San
Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.

>
> Also, you can never get all of the water out, so first add undiluted 
> coolant in the proper amount to get 50%, and then fill with water.  
> Here in the northwest we have naturally soft water directly from 
> mountain snow melt, so I don't bother with distilled.
>
> Stuart
> '85 Westy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On 
> Behalf Of Rocket J Squirrel
> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 7:53 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Temp Gauge -- why did this happen?
>
> So we dropped the leaky radiator on my 1.9 and set the hoses to 
> drooling into a bucket. Only a few quarts (litres) came out. The cap 
> was off the expansion tank.
>
> My son suggested starting the engine for a bit to pump out some more 
> coolant. I reckoned it couldn't hurt (watch: I bet I'm wrong) so I 
> started the engine.
>
> Within a few moments the temp gauge started climbing. Obviously the 
> engine, which had been on for fewer than 15 seconds, was overheating.
>
> So what was the gauge reading?
>
> IN OTHER NEWS, I plan to run a couple loads of distilled water to 
> flush out more gunk before we connect the rad and put in coolant.
>
> But if only a gallon or so comes out through passive droolage then 
> that ain't gonna work. So I tried a trick that Zoltan told me about: 
> stuck my air compressor nozzle into the top of the expansion tank, 
> sealed the gap with a shop rag, and blew some air in.
>
> A lot more coolant came out, but not the nearly five gallons my 
> owner's manual says is in the system.
>
> Other than disconnecting hoses from the friggin' water pump which I 
> will /not/ do willingly (the 1.9 doesn't make it easy to get to them), 
> is there something else I can do to get a more complete flush?
>
> The van is parked with the nose slightly elevated. It could be pushed 
> off the ramps to lower the nose if that would help.
>
> Suggestions from anyone other than David Bereil are welcome. He told 
> me to test the new radiator by jamming a screwdriver through the 
> coils. I'm not sure I can trust him any more.
>
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company 
> in San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
>