2000 Jetta GLS 2.0 coolant loss.

Hi all,
I have a 00 Jetta 2.0L AT with 74K on it. Recently I went out to leave for work, started the car, and the coolant light came on along with the chime. The car was completely out of coolant; I took it to a trusted mechanic who said he would check the head gasket, and if it wasn't the problem, he suspected the water pump. Since it was time for a t-belt/water pump anyway, I said ok. The head gasket checked fine, however the water pump did not fix it. The leak is pretty severe.
I thouroughly checked it out during a warm spell over the holiday, and found what appears to be a leaking squared-off junction going into the head on the driver's side (looking at the engine bay), with I believe one hose feeding into it from the front, and 3 going off of it, towards the back of the engine. The top of the trans is covered in coolant, as is everything else back and down from there.
I found this on a recent post to this forum:

97 jetta running out of coolant

"i have a 97 jetta and i have to add coolant to it like everyday or it will over heat....can someone please tell me whats going on with my car??


nicole_amber1224
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11-19-2008, 10:27 PM #2
veedubmechanic
VDUBMAN

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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,236 Re: 97 jetta running out of coolant

common issue for leaks on them is the coolant flange on the cylinder head on the driver side of the engine. Look down for any pink or green stuff on the transmission or engine. there not a spendy fix depending on engine 160-250.00"

....Is this possibly what I am dealing with? If so, is that the name of the part, a coolant flange? and how difficult is it to fix? I imagine dealer only parts, but can (should) this be attempted by anyone other than a "certified" mechanic?

Thanks for any helpful suggestions,
automan9482

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OK all,
I got the manual for this thing, it does not tell me anything at all about the coolant outlet flange, other than "remove it" to disassemble the head.....
What am I doing here?? Is there a gasket or something behind this flange that goes bad? Or will tightening it down fix it?
Anybody?

I had the same problem on our Jetta. It was the coolant flange. I bought the part for cheap on eBay and it was pretty simple fix.

yea its the cooling flange, they are pretty common to leak