Dennis,
While he did not make a profit on the original engine, he did charge me $1350
to pull the heads and reinstall, and said he was charging so much because "if
there's a problem next time, then it's MY problem."

He gave the van back to me with the EXACT same problem after the head R&R,
then kept it for an additional  month before giving it back to me saying that
there was nothing wrong with it.  I spent at least $400 subsequently at other
shops trying to fix the problem, but no dice.

I feel that there is at least a very good chance that my
air-in-cooling-system problem is related to the heads/gaskets.  That makes it
likely to be his problem as well.

If it turns out that it is a crack in the head that the original rebuilder
(twice) failed to find, then obviously I will ask the rebuilder to pay for at
least part of the repairs.  If the problem is a gasket/head installation
problem, then the problem belongs to the installer.

The rebuilder, the installer, and I are in general agreement that the above
division of responsibility is reasonable.  It remains to be seen if :
1.  The problem can be actually identified
2.  the responsible party is willing to take responsibility for their work.

Hopefully we will be able to pinpoint the problem to one head, since it is a
very slow acumulation of air into the cooling system. I am assuming it is not
both heads that are giving the problem.

Tests that I will suggest
1. Hydrocarbons in the coolant.
2. Pressure test the cooling system overnight
3. Leakdown test.
4.  I have also passed on the suggestion that the water pump may have a bad
shaft seal, and could be introducing air into the cooling system.  However,
NO ONE has been able to confirm that this has ever happened to a vanagon, and
I have taken a very close look at that seal, and can see no signs of any
leakage out.

Thanks for everyone's help.
Peter

In a message dated 4/20/02 3:03:58 PM, dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET writes:

<< Did the installer also supply and make a profit on the engine? If not,
than he is only responsible for his actual work. If his work was not
defective, than the engine problem should not be his.

Dennis
 >>