David, that is basically why this List is here.  You CAN'T trust most dealers
to do the job right or to give you a good shake.  Why?  They just don't work
on enough Vanagons for them to know their quirks.  Most of the time they just
want you to leave them alone so they will basically use two strategies:
1. Charge you an arm and a leg for their work and parts so that you either
give up on the van or never come back.
2. Give you a really wrong and goofed up answer to your question because they
don't know the answer and just want you gone.

I don't blame you for listening to them because I think I would have done the
same if I hadn't have had so many bad experiences with the dealers
"Anti-Vanagon" attitude.  The worst is calling up to order Vanagon parts from
a local dealer and hearing the parts department people laughing in the
background.

That's why I came to this List and saw the need for a mechanic who
specializes in Vanagons in my area (we have none here in southern Jersey),
and also a parts dealer who installs the parts he sells, so he knows they
work and fit properly and can help others install the parts they buy.  That's
the story behind Van-Again.

As a side note: I am a one man show here as far as parts ordering goes.  That
means when you call to order parts you will be talking to me.  If you have
any questions about getting your van to run right, etc you can ask and most
of the time I can point you in the direction of an answer.  I also might
refuse to sell you a part that you don't really need (like I did recently
with a customer that thought he needed an ECU when I knew he didn't).  I
don't make money off of the deal, but the "Thanks for not selling me that
part" call the next day was worth it to me.  I am not in business to get
rich, basically just to make money to feed the family doing something that I
love, and to help others to keep their vans on the road, and not go broke
doing it.

Just wanted to share,
Ken Wilford
http://www.vanagain.com
John 3:16
Office (856)-765-1583
Shop (856)-327-0027
Fax   (856)-327-2242