Ambulance Camper/ Expedition Rig Conversion FAQ

[Bikersmurf]

White-Rodgers (Stancor) Monster Glow Plug Relay

I'll be honest, diesel 'Vans' are not a lot of fun to work on. So, whenever possible, I've tried to repair things permanently.

DieselORings.com supplied me with new O-Rings and a filter for the fuel bowl, OEM glow plugs, and a 'Monster' glow plug relay.

A pic for comparison, and pics of what was left of the original OEM relay:

 

[Abitibi]

That's quite the difference! I really hope not to do my glowplugs or injectors for a long long time!

 

[Bikersmurf]

So far, I've only replaced the relay and rebuilt the fuel bowl. It went from needing to be plugged in to start at 8 deg C (without a fight & clouds of white smoke) to starting easily right after the 'Wait to start' light goes out (below freezing). She still smokes a touch for the first block of driving, so I'm sure I've got some dead plugs, but it beats needing to plug it in for two hours before going anywhere. I'm hoping the plugs won't be too bad, but everything is awkward on a motor that was designed to work in a large truck engine bay.

I'm hoping my injectors have already been done... I'm optimistic about the engine health due to the fact that: it would start with no glow plugs, it performs well, gets good fuel economy, doesn't smoke, despite having 15k + hrs on it.

 

[cjken]

So far, I've only replaced the relay and rebuilt the fuel bowl. It went from needing to be plugged in to start at 8 deg C (without a fight & clouds of white smoke) to starting easily right after the 'Wait to start' light goes out (below freezing). She still smokes a touch for the first block of driving, so I'm sure I've got some dead plugs, but it beats needing to plug it in for two hours before going anywhere. I'm hoping the plugs won't be too bad, but everything is awkward on a motor that was designed to work in a large truck engine bay.

I'm hoping my injectors have already been done... I'm optimistic about the engine health due to the fact that: it would start with no glow plugs, it performs well, gets good fuel economy, doesn't smoke, despite having 15k + hrs on it.

Glad to hear the relay worked out.
I have the same one sitting on my desk.
Just waiting got a warm day to put it in.
Hopefully next week will be in the 40's
About how long did it take you to install?

 

[Bikersmurf]

All said and done about 1.5 hours. 30 min to get the cover, shield, and air intake out of way... 30 min to remove falling apart relay an install new one, and 30 min to put it all back together. In a 'truck' it'd be a 15 minute job.

 

[mk216v]

Great looking ambo. What's it name, MATHias? :sombrero:

 

[Bikersmurf]

Making the interior pannels white again...

After washing, the abuse my Ambo had seen was still evident. Getting the panels white again is taking extra effort.

 

[Bikersmurf]

There's no need to replace the panels, as cheesy as it sounds, 'Mr. Clean Magic Erasers' do work... applied with a lot of elbow grease. The three pics are of the same section of panel: after washing, in progress, after. The Ambo had been used by contractors for 7ish years.

 

[mp_tx]

Looking forward to see yours.
Hoping to continue working on mine come spring time.
Too cold to do much now
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As for the tire carrier, we made it.
Here are a few photos I found

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I may have asked this question before, but what kind of bracing for the spare tire mount is on the inside of the box? Similar press braked plate acting as a sandwich? Big washers and bolts? Any pics of the inside mount?

And how does the swing-away latch to the box or door?

Thanks.

 

[cjken]

Great looking ambo. What's it name, MATHias? :sombrero:

Thanks!!! It doesn't really have a name. Currently it is wrapped as a sign for my business.


As for the tire carrier, the rear corner is really strong so we just used big washers on the inside. I'll try to get some pictures if the attachment to the rear door. It's actually just a rectangular steel tube with a hole for a pin.

 

[gtbensley]

So far, I've only replaced the relay and rebuilt the fuel bowl. It went from needing to be plugged in to start at 8 deg C (without a fight & clouds of white smoke) to starting easily right after the 'Wait to start' light goes out (below freezing). She still smokes a touch for the first block of driving, so I'm sure I've got some dead plugs, but it beats needing to plug it in for two hours before going anywhere. I'm hoping the plugs won't be too bad, but everything is awkward on a motor that was designed to work in a large truck engine bay.

I'm hoping my injectors have already been done... I'm optimistic about the engine health due to the fact that: it would start with no glow plugs, it performs well, gets good fuel economy, doesn't smoke, despite having 15k + hrs on it.

I feel the same about mine. I replaced my GPR (with a stock one) and it will start unplugged no matter how cold. It doesn't do it happily anything under 15 degrees but it will start. Almost no smoke when cold, zero when warm. I get good fuel economy too.

I imagine my injectors are original but I only have 155k on them, but who knows how many hours on the engine. I did do a buzz test this weekend and they sound great and PASS the test!! I am just going to change my oil often and not worry about it.

 

[505live]

I'm running 'Biodiesel' and have seen no difference in performance or economy. Stock O-Rings for the fuel bowl and water drain should be upgraded for Bio, as well as the rubber fuel lines which connect the fuel bowl.

All that said, Bio I can get my hands on is only 5% Bio... Some places you can get up to 50% Bio. I don't really think 5% would make much difference, but they claim it burns cleaner, and is about $0.10 a US Gal cheaper at the card lock than buying Fuel at the regular stations.

I have significant experience making and running my own B100 in a 93 7.3L IDI and my 2003 7.3L PSD. The fuel bowl seals are definitely a weak link. However the filter itself can be a serious problem as they are not usually made with B100 in mind and I've seen them disintegrate in the fuel bowl when exposed to B100. I got so sick of fighting fuel bowl leaks I modified a sinister diesel kit and installed a fuel bowl delete with fully regulated return, now there is a dahl 75 pre-pump, and a spin on baldwin post pump. All lines are braided stainless steel lined with teflon tube, and sleaved with clear PVC to prevent abrasion to anything they rub against. All tapered AN fittings. Some people attribute fuel tank delam to B100, but luckily I never had a problem. I did have the filter screens plug up on the intake, but with my pre-pump filter I just dropped the tank and did the hutch mod and harpooned the tank.
I quit making my own B100 a few years ago when the veg supply dried up around here. I have a friend with a 99 7.3L PSD that he did a vegie conversion on, but now he's mostly running WMO. 7.3L will run like a champ on waste transmission oil if you can get it and filter/dry it. You do have to be careful with veggie about start-up and shut-down, if you don't purge everything really well you can get paraffin build up on your injectors. You don't want that.

 

[cjken]

I may have asked this question before, but what kind of bracing for the spare tire mount is on the inside of the box? Similar press braked plate acting as a sandwich? Big washers and bolts? Any pics of the inside mount?

And how does the swing-away latch to the box or door?

Thanks.

Here is the door connection.
Not pretty but works really well.

 

[cjken]

All said and done about 1.5 hours. 30 min to get the cover, shield, and air intake out of way... 30 min to remove falling apart relay an install new one, and 30 min to put it all back together. In a 'truck' it'd be a 15 minute job.

Finally put in the GPR
I should never have waited so long huge improvement starting.
I put it off because even though it was the he obvious suspect my hard starting seemed to coincide with my break down in nov which was completely unrelated.
Was a very easy install. $50 well spent!!





I know it is not ambo specific, but a good upgrade for anyone with a hard starting 7.3!

 

[Bikersmurf]

X2 don't put it off just do it.

Good pics, mine looks just like that... And although it's not ambulance specific, it sure makes any diesel start better if the old relay is on the way out. The plus side to a dead relay is that the Glow plugs don't burn up...

On a pickup, it'd be super easy, on van bodies getting to it is awkward... It's too bad the truck diesels were just shoved in without consideration of the van body access limitations.

How long did it take?