At 10:51 PM 10/24/98 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm experiencing the following problem and am not sure what to start
>checking for the solution.
>
>
>I'll be driving along and the red coolant light will start flashing. I'll
>stop and notice that the expansion tank is low on coolant, but the overflow
>tank (behind the license plate) is filled to above the level of the cap.
        I had this problem several times the first year I owned Smoky.  The
first time it was because the rad was half full of gunk.  It had never been
cleaned.  In those days I knew very little about Vanagons so took it to a
good shop in Victoria.  Cost me a hyndred dollars but I learned a lot.
        The second time the problem was caused by leaky head gasket.  My
son's friend is a mechanic and I had him change the head gasket on driver
side.  (The PO had done the other side before I bought the van.) Cost me
around 300 with parts.
        The third time it happened was due to a hairline crack in the
expansion tank.  The replacement cost me around eighty dollars.
        I am getting very good at draining and bleeding the bleeding cooling
system.  That is why I am so interested in a proper bleed fitting for the
radiator and the engine.  I am tired of my driveway getting covered in
coolant in spite of the baby bath I put underneath to catch the stuff.
        I recommend you get a copy of the KEP dissertation on repowering the
Vanagon.  The information, photographs and comments on the cooling system
are truly enlightening.

Earl from Sunny Sooke, B.C.
 At the tip of soon-to-be-overloaded-and-sink Vancouver Island
84 ex-California Westie