[Vwdiesel] Hole In Thermostat ?

[Gavrik Peterson]

>I've never drilled a hole in one and with cold winters, don't like the 
>idea.  If you don't have cold winters, no loss.

While we definitely don't have cold winters here in Seattle, I am not
sure that I understand this part.  How does the severity of the winter
effect the importance of having a bleed hole?

>Otherwise just be sure to fill the engine through the upper hose, then
>connect and finish through the reservoir.

By this you mean disconnecting the upper radiator hose at the radiator
and filling the system through this hose.  Is that right?

I spent some time contemplating my cooling system and tried to imagine
what would happen if I poured the coolant into the expansion tank.  It
looks like the problem arises because there is no easy route for the
displaced air to escape.

So when you use the upper radiator hose method, the coolant enters the
flange on the head and flows down through the other hose to the water
pump.  The displaced air can then flow up through the head and exit
through the same flange and hose.  Is this correct?

Now what about the radiator?  Because the thermostat has been closed,
none of the coolant has entered the radiator.  If the upper radiator
hose is reconnected and more coolant is added to the expansion tank,
how does the air in the radiator escape?

This Rabbit rebuild job has impressed on me how much basic stuff I
still have to learn about these machines.  Perhaps I need to apply
myself more.  My excuse is that I only have a single Rabbit diesel
which has been very reliable.  Because of this I don't work on it
frequently enough.  Got to move out of this apartment and get some
land so I can start accumulating them.


Gavrik Peterson