Volkswagen: replacing thermostat housing water\outlet?, jetta gl, head gasket

Question
hi I have a wv Jetta GL 1991 that has an overheating & leaking problem {female by the way}I never let it get all the way hot only 1\2 way on the gage,Had it looked at the rear? side of the motor housing is cracked & leaking.Had just had a new water pump put on it along with a timing chain.worked for two days trying everything to rig it to get from Dallas to Little Rock vw parts places closed ran around to junk yards all dayNeedless to say I did not fix it.the hose that is coming out of housing goes thru to firewall[dash] I do not know where the thermostat is located ither? as I started & unscrewed the bowl lid water bowl water did shoot out of it.When i get the part & replce it Which when I took it off it had no gasket only inside the housing it was gone bad.to no advail could i find another one.Can you give me any clue to getting this puppy fixed as I will be making another trip there soon.it only has about 76000 miles on it.Good little car.Also transmission mounts & motor mounts are broke Can I still drive it Teenager had it for about 2 months Explains Hey? Thanks Kay

Answer
what size engine is it? 1600 / 1800 / 1600 td / 1900 td? this is important as it alters where things are fitted. also with engine mounts broken, i would advise replacing them as it is a safety issue. if it is petrol, the thermostat should be on the bottom of the water pump at the front of the engine (the bottom radiator hose connects to the thermostat housing cover) it is held on by two 10mm bolts, remove these and it should easily be removed (be advised do not do this when the car is "warmed up", only when it is cold (not being started or driven) so as to avoid being scalded. Also, does the heater blow warm in the car? if you start the car with the expansion bottle cap removed and bottle full, make sure it does not kepp blowing bubbles as this would indicate the head gasket mey be blown). Please check the above queries and get back to me if it blows bubbles or heater does not blow warm / hot.