Can anyone help me diagnose this: My '87 Vanagon smells like gas in the
rear and lately is behaving as if one of the cylinders is not firing or
something - it idles at about 400 and the power output is very
unpredictable, sometimes I get it and sometimes I don't.
Also, I have had a chronic blinking red thermostat for the past few
years, which starts blinking immediately upon starting the car; I've
taken it to a shop about 4 times (for the red blinking light), and each
time they replace something and charge me $200 and it works fine for 2
weeks, and then starts blinking again.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Rian Mullins