What did you do to/with your van today?

[safari kev]

After it was stripped of any usable pieces...It went to the crusher this AM....why ?

you crushed your van? why?

[oldsmoker]

Derek939...

regarding your T stat....i decided to put a cooler running stat in mine (180 deg, 195 is std)...to find that there was no stat in there at all...

not knowing the previous owner, i had no idea why it had been taken out but after fitting the 180 stat, i came to see that before, without a stat it was obviously running way too cool....the gauge would hardly move, after the fitting, my guage now sits with the needle right on that first notch, cooler that yours is running.....truthfully, being here in south florida, i would not want it to be sat any higher on the gauge than it does.....makes me wonder if yours is running too hot??....does the coolant system need flushing, new rad??

also, what oil are you running, oil pressure gauge looks a little low, maybe a slightly thicker oil may work better??

[LrdSatyr8]

I finally finished my infinity lights in my van today after over 2 months of working on it! The main head piece on the ceiling had 3 plexiglass panels that were painted black on the backsides of them and they were just put in place. It looked good but was very boring. I wanted something a little different and spent the past few months researching and gathering parts with my limited income to make something special to put in it's place. So whenever I was able to get a little extra money together, I cut 6 plexiglass pieces, on one side of 3 of them I put 5% window tint and on the other side of all 6 of them I put some reflective window tinting. Then I found this great deal on a LED light strip and put that between the two mirrored sections and VIOLA! This is what I ended up with:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_dHXEJT-t4[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_dHXEJT-t4

Lemme know what you think... oh... and did I mention... it's completely remote controlled!

[Derek939]

Thank you oldsmoker for helping out with what you could. Now im sure i have the problem you guys have been talking about. My gauge sits there when im not climbing a hill but once i start climbing hills the gauge shoots up it sits right below the yellow marker when climbing hills. Anyone know why its still doing this? My oil is 5-30, I thought that is what these vans were suppose to be ran on?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

If your coolant temp gauge is climbing then it is either the radiator being 20 years old is partially plugged or the fan clutch is weak. The recommended oil is 5W-30 but you can run 10W-30 easily. With 187k on the engine it is starting to wear a little.

[Derek939]

Are fan clutches pretty simple to replace? Do you think that's what I should be looking at? At least id know if it was not the clutch it would be the rad.

As far as the oil goes what do you think would be the best for the van? 5-30 or 10-30?

[Derek939]

And is Thermal or Heavy Duty Thermal?

[Cobra]

98: got proper spare mounted on rim, TPMS installed in all wheels, corrected backlash and am still trying to figure out where to put two new fuse blocks....

[oldsmoker]

Derek939....
totally never thought about the fan clutch?!....a good place to start....an old rad will be coated/plugged inside to some degree (maybe) and might add to your problem, i would do a flush, new rad, check fan clutch and make sure you have the coolant mix correct. be careful to not send old coolant mix thru a new rad, kinda defeating the object of what you are trying to fix.

with your mileage, i would be running 10W30 as a minimum...see how the oil pressure looks....maybe go up to a 10W40 depending what you see, with my mileage, im running a mix of 10W40 and 20W50....it runs good and has decent oil pressure, sometimes i run full 20W50.

let us know how you get on....

start with checking and or replacing the clutch, you might not have to bother with a new rad.

[Smiliesafari]

Love the video, Dude. That's very creative.

[Derek939]

Right on! Thank you oldsmoker, I'll keep ya updated once I have the money for a new van clutch!

Thanks again!

[safari kev]

removed right rear access panel to check out rear blower
learned a few things
1: blower is locked up
2: its not a GM blower
3: some moron broke the duct box where it meets the blower- then proceeded to tape the fan to the box. the tape then got hot and melted
4: the fan is run off the aftermarket wiring, even though the factory fan power hookup is right there
5: explorer vans put all the wires in the vans for every option available- and they all have power and are not capped
6: uncapped live wires leads to insulation fires
7: my van has rear heat AND rear AC (the only good thing I found out)

[tribri1]

Installed the house battery and hooked the 12v fridge into it. Gave the fridge a run for it's money and it took on the 90 degree weather and constant stop and go of Hood to Coast like a champ.

[JTalley]

Went to the tag agency today... The tag dies this month and it costs $22 and change to renew it. Also took some pics of that weird antenna on my roof and I'm about to upload them.

[LrdSatyr8]

Love the video, Dude. That's very creative.

Thanks bro... took me long enough to get it done... had a heck of a time trying to find some reflective window tinting. But all in all I'm pleased with the results. Am actually thinking of swapping out the contant on rice bulbs in the rest of the van with these strips in the future... will tie it all together nicely!