Scoutkid's van is HERE!!!

[blupaddler]

WOW!
I just finished reading this entire thread. I am definitely impressed!
You are definitely on fire.

I need to get out to Colorado sometime soon...









So what happened to the glow plug relay?

When do the power mods start?

[scoutkid]

WOW!
I just finished reading this entire thread. I am definitely impressed!
You are definitely on fire.

I need to get out to Colorado sometime soon...

So what happened to the glow plug relay?

When do the power mods start?

Thanks boss! More to come. The GPR is still on the to-do list. I just had too much other stuff to do to get that in. As for power mods, I want to get Vantom up and health - at least leak free - before I juice him up too much. The good news is that the ICP sensor has made a HUGE impact. I don't even have to plug Vantom in on these cold nights and one round of glow plugs is all he needs to fire up. He idles better and has great throttle response.

Yesterday I managed to kill my battery yesterday leaving my lights on for about 8 hours....

So i pulled the battery, and i would LOVE to hear some ideas about WHAT THE HELL TO DO WITH THIS:

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I also pulled the inspection cover off between the tranny and motor - i have GOT to figure out this oil leak. I already knew that the oil pan had a softball sized dent in it:

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But I didn't think it was the cause of the oil drip. However, up around the rear main, there was a pencil-thick line of nasty looking silicone gooping out, and I noticed that it looks the pan is weeping where it meets the block in several areas.

This one is up by the oil filter (yellow in pic)

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Nasty silicone around rear main:

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Another angle:

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Also think i may have accidentally found where the leak in my AC must be (AC hasn't worked since I got it)

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[ujoint]

It's common for people to mis diagnose 7.3 oil leaks. What looks like a rear main is usually the HPOP or something in the valley coming down the back side of the engine. Get the valley clean, then the rear main area, and see what happens/where the oil is coming from!

[scoutkid]

It's common for people to mis diagnose 7.3 oil leaks. What looks like a rear main is usually the HPOP or something in the valley coming down the back side of the engine. Get the valley clean, then the rear main area, and see what happens/where the oil is coming from!

Pretty sure I have the valley dried up now - so the rear main/oil pan is next!

Meanwhile...

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Interstate batteries are the ONLY ones I will use. I have never had a problem and use them in everything. Love um!

[BCHauler]

Just read through 28 pages over my morning (2) cups of coffee. Great build. I love vans.

[tcdent]

So i pulled the battery, and i would LOVE to hear some ideas about WHAT THE HELL TO DO WITH THIS:

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Mount a bus bar on your inner fender and run your loads of it. This particular one says it's rated to 600 continuous amps: http://bluesea.com/productspecs/2104. CUCVs came with a beefy pair on the firewall for the 24v loads, too.

[Ozrockrat]

Mount a bus bar on your inner fender and run your loads of it. This particular one says it's rated to 600 continuous amps: http://bluesea.com/productspecs/2104. CUCVs came with a beefy pair on the firewall for the 24v loads, too.

Or use the military spec battery clamps that Wil sells at Sierra Expeditions.

http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/ind..._detail&p=1010

[brettf]

Saw the monster van on Mcintyre Street crossing above HWY 58 today. Van looks good! Huge with that top!

[scoutkid]

Mount a bus bar on your inner fender and run your loads of it. This particular one says it's rated to 600 continuous amps: http://bluesea.com/productspecs/2104. CUCVs came with a beefy pair on the firewall for the 24v loads, too.

I like that - problem is space under the hood... I wanted to mount one of those in the van, near the inverter. I still may, heck, I may do both.

Or use the military spec battery clamps that Wil sells at Sierra Expeditions.

http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/ind..._detail&p=1010

Ordered! Thanks for the link! Let's see if those help clean up a bit of the clutter.

Saw the monster van on Mcintyre Street crossing above HWY 58 today. Van looks good! Huge with that top!

Excellent! Thanks for the compliments - it is pretty hard to miss...

I keep meaning to post pics of a few things. Before I (re)dig into the interior, I got the windows tinted. 5% from the passengers doors back, and 20% on the fronts. Its pretty darn close to limo around the back.

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Also, we have had some decent weather, so I got to play with some toys.

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Unfortunately, it was because I was fixing my broken track bar mount. This little guy was a mother to weld on in the first place - and I missed the weld on the inboard side of the frame. This caused the mount to basically rock back and forth like bending a coat hanger until it failed. You can see that the mount broke before my original weld, which is good. I got it back up on there, and made sure not to miss anything! Lesson learned - van's are HEAVY!!

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[scoutkid]

I picked up a new full size spare off CL at lunch - the guy had it mounted to a Dodge wheel, but said he could break it down for me so I could just have the tire. Turns out it was the same guy I bought my tcase and donor tranny from! AND he had an extra matching Superduty wheel! Score!

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Now I have something to ride on the Aluminess I have coming my way!