Bleeding the 1.9L's Cooling System
From VanagonWiki
The factory method can be found in Bentley's pages 19.16 - 19.17. Vanagon owners have developed their own methods, too. For example:
- TJ Hannink's "Contrarian (easy) Method" can be found on John Meeks' Vanagonauts' site on this page. Note that the 1.9l engine's cooling system does not have a bleeder valve on the thermostat, as the referenced article states. Instead, you'll find a little valve at the front (front is front) of the engine compartment where four large black cooling hoses come together at an H-shaped fixtures. Turning this valve counter-clockwise opens it. Nothing will come out, it somehow joins the upper and lower hoses together for some mysterious reason. Anyone how knows what this thing does is heartily invited to edit this article.
- Get a piece of hard tubing that is slightly smaller than the I.D. of the radiator air bleed bolt hole. Available in the Northwest at True Value Hardware or other sources. Bend it into an S-shape. Attach a funnel type device and pour some coolant into the device with the hard tubing inside the treaded hole where the air bleed screw sits.. The S-curve in the hard tubing between the funnel and the end of the tubing will support the funnel device. I do this when the motor is off, usually after driving my van and with the nose up a bit. It would probably be smart to turn on your heaters as you approach your 'bleeding-site"... Pour about a cup of coolant into the funnel and watch the air come bubbling out of the rad. Repeat. When you get a solid stream of liquid, you are done (for this time)..I do this drill a few times, until I get no more bubbling when I add coolant. I keep my dorky-device in the van for road emergencies and I usually do a "pre-trip" air-bleed procedure. Takes me about 2 mins to remove/bleed/replace (Don Hanson, Oct 20 2007, Vanagon list).
