I wonder if any of you gurus out there can help me out.

A couple of weeks ago I had my 1987 Westy in for servicing.  I always take
it to a mechanic I really trust.  He�s a VW specialist and works on lots of
them.  He�s been working on my Westy since I originally owned it � for about
4 years now.  

In the course of this service, he replaced the thermostat housing, which had
cracked.  Then he noticed that the temperature gauge on the dash board was
continuously reading at the top of the scale.  It has never done this before
� I know because I�m an inveterate temperature gauge watcher, having burned
out an engine on a Chevy once because of a faulty cooling system.

Thinking something else must have been malfunctioning, he bled the system,
replaced the gauge (twice), replaced the temperature sensor, changed the
vibrator, and checked all the wiring.  He worked on the vehicle for about
1.5 days at no charge, since this malfunction started as a result of his
replacing the thermostat housing � and he still can�t fix it.  The fan is
cycling OK, and the engine isn�t overheating � they have checked it
repeatedly at all points with infrared sensors.

This week he got in a new temperature gauge and tried replacing it once
more, but to no avail.  It still reads constantly at the top of the scale
(hot, that is).  So for the time being he has disconnected the gauge.  He
assures me that it�s safe to drive, and that I can�t burn out the engine
even if it did overheat, because the radiator cap is designed to blow at 15
PSI.  I�ve been driving it myself without problems, and I notice the fan
kicks in at the times it typically has in the past � mostly when idling or
driving slowly in traffic.

But I�d prefer to have a working temperature gauge, so I�m wondering if
anyone else out there has ever encountered a problem like this, and if so,
how did you resolve it?  Please reply to me by p-mail if you have any
suggestions.

Thanks, Katherine (and Vanita)