No this isn't an obscenity, but this is what works for me to get the 
radiator in the Vanagon to fill up at all, much less bleed.

I followed all the draining instructions in the FAQ, no problem, have my 
flush "T" installed in the heater hose (I hope you didn't expect me to 
cut the plastic one, besides, the "T" was not of sufficient diameter to 
use on the large one anyway. I flushed both sides of the thermostat by 
alternately removing the hoses attached to the engine block.

Ready to fill.  My driveway is on a sufficient incline, with the help of 
ramps to pull the front wheels up on ramps and let the down incline take 
care of the rest, I would say this was about 18 inches, maybe.  
Supposeldly more than sufficient.  I got almost a gallon in then it 
started to backflow, I go to the front to loosen the bleeder valve (front 
meaning radiator) and nothing, no hiss, no bubbly liquid, no non bubbly 
liquid.  The coolant is not flowing to the radiator from the engine, not 
at 1,000 RPM, not at 2,500 RPM, not with the rear bleeder valve open or 
closed.

Meanwhile, my engine is getting hot, there isn't any coolant in the front 
for the fan switch to even trip.  I notice a small amount of white smoke 
(steam?) coming from the tailpipe when I restart.

At this point I call Victor (on the list with an '84 Vanagon, I believe) 
and he tells me his mechanic does this with the front heading down.  So I 
try this, amazingly enough, this works, I get coolant at the radiator, 
bubbly coolant at the bleeder screw, I bleed 'till clear, refill plastic 
expansion tank (nothing in overflow yet--what is that thing for, anyway) 
and fill the rest of the system up.  I got most of two gallons of Sierra 
in, I'm assuming there was at least 2 gallons of water in the system.

If any of you can get this procedure to work with the front end up in the 
air, I want to see it.  I just hope I didn't fry the head gaskets in my 
'85 trying it the right way, first.-- 

_______________________________________________________________________________
Donald Baxter              dbax@netcom.com         Atlanta, Georgia USA
________________________________                   404.874.3292

'85 Vanagon GL