> Every year before the winter comes, I flush/bleed the cooling system.
> I have done this for the last 70k+ miles since 1987 when the head gasket
> cracked due to overheating. The replacement of head gasket costed me
> a lot. To do the flush/bleed correct is very important.

I am about to attempt changing out my radiator fluid on my 85 Vanagon and 
replacing it with approved VW coolant.  Can anyone offer any guidance as
to the best way to drain/refill the system?  Is it necessary to remove 
the gravel shields, and drain it from the head plugs or is there an 
easier way?  (I don't want to remove the exhaust bolts from my nearly 
striped out head).  Any tricks to properly refilling and bleeding the 
system?  Thanks.

For Jim:

My 85 Vanagon has 165K miles and has had both heads replaced (right side 
at 112K and left side at 135K) due to excessive leaking of coolant from 
the head gasket.  

Other significant problems I have encountered are:

  - notoriously inferior water pumps (replaced at 60K, 64K, 110K, 
    and 137K).  The first replacement at 60K was by a VW dealer using
    an official VW water pump which lasted only a few thousand miles
    before failing and being replaced by the dealer under the parts
    warranty.  Since then I have used third-party rebuilts.  Seems like
    the problem is a poorly designed or undersized bearing that develops
    some wobble, causes the bearing seal to fail, and lets in coolant.
    All the failures are preceeded by seepage of coolant from the 
    bearing weep hole.  Some people attribute improper belt tension
    to causing stress on the bearing.

  - excessive engine vibration problems causing failure of exhaust system
    mounting supports/brackets.  Vibration on the exhaust system is
    severe enough to cause the exhaust pipe mounting bolts/studs to strip
    out of the head.  VW has found this problem so common that they have
    a special stud for dealers to use.  The normal stud is 8mm on both
    ends.  The special stud is 9mm on one end, 8mm on the other, and is a
    bit longer.  This allows you to re-tap the striped head holes for 9mm
    and make a repair without replacing the head.  Also, the studs have a 
    narrow, unthreaded center shaft which (I think) lets them flex a bit
    to absorb some vibration without causing thread damage to the head.

    (I also had one of the two main coolant hoses rupture at the point
    where it enters the engine on the left side.  Parts man at VW said
    it happens all the time due to bad engine vibration.  Didn't really
    appreciate it happening to me, however.  Left me stranded at
    El Segundo and Figueroa in LA - about 1 mile South of where the
    Rodney King riots started just two weeks earlier.)

  - steering rack seal failure at about 135K.  This failure was sudden 
    and catastrophic.  Fluid leaked out about as fast as I poored it in.
    Don't know whether this is a recurring problem, but one VW service 
    manager I talked with seemed to imply it was.

  - air conditioner, port or factory installed.  In name only.  Works 
    great only on cloudy days when it's not hot out.  Everybody,
    including VW has tried to fix it.  It's just undersized and not
    designed to cool anywhere except under the shade in the Black 
    Forest during cool German summers.  Somebody should start a class-
    action suit to get refunds for these things from VW.

  - Lifter noise has been a problem, but so far it is only "cosmetic".
    Really is only bad on start-ups after the car has been sitting
    unused for about 2-3 days.

Other problems - brakes, batteries, tires, etc -  seem to be what I 
would consider normal wear and tear and not excessive.