Hi Clarence,

Well, Andrew is from a very remote part of Canada so it's quite normal that
he cannot get the parts from his dealer!!! (LOL, Andrew... I am coming
soon, where is my beer)I hope i have the right Andrew, if not, sorry...

Seriously, my dealer had the parts in stock at $15.00 CAD ($10 USD) a few
month ago. I just did cooling replacements hoses last week on an 86GL and I
change the valve, I only had to wait 2 days for my VW dealer to get the
part!!!

I just updated my site for you Clarence, take a look at:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/huotx/front_heater_valve.htm

You will see the location of the valve and cable.

Too loose less coolant you will have to block (with clamp) the heater
cooling hose from inside the van by removing the lower central panel (the
black lower plastic panel under the radio). Also block the same hose from
under the van.
This way the loss of coolant will be minimum. If you have a 90 van, the
system should auto-bleed. A small bleeding could be needed also.

Hope that help.
Regards, Ben