Leo,

On Digijet vans the thermostat housing and all the connections in that area are real suspect as well.  If not the expansion tank, take a look adjacent there at where the cover over the thermostat bolts to its housing, where the housing bolts to the water pump (that gasket really tends to leak if not a new honest VW style gasket with foam core and graffoil sides) the o-ring on the cross pipe at that location into the thermostat housing and the other gasket from thermostat housing to the pipe stub that goes to the head.  I count at LEAST 11 joints all in that immediate vicinity between gaskets, hose connections, and O-rings, not even counting the water pump O-ring or connections to the expansion tank.  And the weep hole on the water pump in the bizzare chance the belt was WAY to tight or you had a defective pump.

Don't sweat the heads so much yet, there are a lot of places to drip round there,  I will give the late vans a credit for a somewhat better design in this area.  If I had to make a guess though, I'll guess the housing to water pump gasket or the O-ring on the thermostat itself as its cover deforms and both those locations are clamped by long spindly 6mm bolts and both surfaces tend to warp.

John
janderson@iolinc.net

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