I do have one of these installed in my van.  I drive an '86 Westy and last
spring my water pump went out as I was going highway speeds.  Since the
coolant was still hot, it cracked a hole in my plastic coolant distributor.
Long story short, I decided to get the stainless steel distributor and have
been happy with it.  Since the install, my van has traveled 8000 miles with
no coolant issues.

My only complaint is that not all of the connections are flared as they are
in the plastic version so some hoses are held on by the hose clamp strength
only.  I also suggest you seal the threads with a sealant.  Since I have a
manual trans, I use the stopper plug on the bottom middle spot (in the
photo).  I installed it without sealant (not knowing what I was thinking)
and have noticed a small amount of weeping from that spot I'll have to
correct when I remove the engine this winter.

I also suggest getting new rubber hoses if you can afford it.  When I
replaced mine, there were a lot of worn out rubbers under the van.

I think it is an awesome part and I am thrilled that our wonderful vendors
are providing solid metal replacements of the Vanagon's plastic coolant
parts.  A few weeks ago, someone shared a link of aluminum thermo housings
so if that fails, I'll be replacing it with the metal version.

Andrew

On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 8:14 PM, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com> wrote:

> Anyone have any experience with this 'universal' part for the cooling
> system?
>
> http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_984_897/universal_2.1l_stainless_steel_junction.html
>