In order to replace the belts the cooling system has to be
opened up. It is obviuos the the (jerk) mechanic did not do
the job right and bleed the cooling system. If he was awhere of
how sensetive the Vanagon is to this he would have at least
tried to minimunize the amount of coolent lose. In time the
system will self bleed, dependeing on how much was lost. Keep
an eye on the over flow, an find a new mechanic.

            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler

On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, Vicki Derrer wrote:

> Dear Vanatics,
>         I recently had all three belts replaced on my 85 Westy.  Immediately
> thereafter I noticed the temp gauge would rest comfortably at three-fourths of
> the way to disaster, but it never got higher.  Before the belt replacements,
> it used to at least touch the middle light area, if on the high side.  The
> radiator fan will kick in if (rarely) needed, and no red lights are flashing,
> so I kind of pretended this wasn't happening.  Now I hear squeaking when I
> start the van, especially in the morning in first and second gear.  It's that
> squirrel-chatter type of squeaking which makes me think, "belt" because it
> eventually goes away, and after all it's in the thirties and forties in the
> morning here in the southeast.
>         Two questions: Are these symptoms possibly related (ie, water pump) and is
> this something serious, or can I wait until I get my income tax refund to take
> the old girl back to my mechanic?
>
> Thanks for being there for me,
>
> Vicki
> 85 Westy GL  118k miles and no coolant leaks at the present time
>