I was just browsing through the ETKA illustrations, hoping to jar my
memory as to which miscellaneous parts I still need to replace, when I
ran across illustration 150-50 (model:T2,Year:90,MG:9,SG:65). It's an
"additional water pump", and it's electric. Now it says it's for
models JX and KY which are the diesels, so this certainly doesn't mean
that nutcase mechanic was right when he said the wasserboxers have
"inherent cooling fluid movement problems"; but it certainly goes to
show that there's practically no item so crazy that VW didn't make one
as a Vanagon/Transporter option.

Still can't figure out what the "tachograph" is for (illustration 149-10). 

> I have a friend who has a 85 GL, and is having heating up problems in
> slow / in town traffic.
> ...
> His mechanic told him that Vanagon's have an inherant cooling fluid
> movement problem, and he is going to add an electric auxillary water
> pump  in line         ( somewhere ) in the coolant tubes to move the H2O
> more efficiantly to the radiator.
> 
> I told him to get in the Van, turn the key, and get it the heck outa
> there.
> 
> I now there is a bunch of stuff I haven't seen or heard of in this life.
> But this seems really too wild even for me.
> 
> Anybody heard / seen of anything so crazy?
>