Chevy & GMC Vans

photo_van wrote:Poly motor mounts came in the mail today... oh boy! Thankfully my new water pump crapped out after 30K, so I've got it all torn apart anyway.

Have fun with the motor mounts! What brand of water pump was it?

Stroverlander wrote:

photo_van wrote:Poly motor mounts came in the mail today... oh boy! Thankfully my new water pump crapped out after 30K, so I've got it all torn apart anyway.

Have fun with the motor mounts! What brand of water pump was it?

I'm not sure of the brand; I got it from O' Riley, "TOTL", lifetime warrantee so at least the replacement was free.

Now ask me how psyched I am that I just test drove and the pulley is scraping more then ever and I actually have less clearance then I did before I changed out the mounts; ya, I'm really happy

those poly motor mounts didnt work out for you man?
That kinda sucks ! I was thinking of doing mine.

well, let's just say they didn't fix the problem. Put the scraping center link problem could be from my idler arms bing worn out again. So I should reserve judgment until I replace those in a couple of weeks.

That said, this is what one of them looked like after a couple of days. I emailed Energy Suspension a couple of days ago and have yet to get a response.

Saturday I leaned on the DS armrest and it broke !!! Turns out I broke the pin which the armrest slides in.
Today I pulled the seat out of the van and peeled back the seatback foam and covering. Welded the broken pin back in place with a couple tack welds. I hope that will hold it !

I put an aftermarket exhaust on my 99 right after I bought it and have been getting random cat efficiency codes ever since. Reading here I found and just tried the old non fouler trick for the rear O2 sensor. Codes are cleared and fingers are crossed

I've had issues with the modded spark plug anti-foulers rusting and breaking. I've found some stainless steel ones on eBay. Haven't bought yet because somehow Green is not setting codes without one despite having a hollowed out cat.

If I can clear codes, I'll upgrade and make it permanent. Right now things are hammered in there. Threads were shot on the sensor to start with

Drove to work and back today with the rear O2 sensor snugly tucked into an anti fouling collar. Plugged in a scanner and NO CODES!! Nothing pending-NOTHING!! Will be going thu emmisions tomorrow. Five bucks for a pack of two of those anti foulers and good to go. The threads on the rear sensor are shot so I will get another collar, sensor and do the job right but right now I'm just grinning like an idiot. Insert joke here...

94 is still running ok. been having problems with it initially trying to stall when cold though (very annoying)

Took the van thu emissions after work. The anti foul collar on the rear O2 sensor did the trick and PASS!!

Replaced (or had replaced) the cat today. The old one had about half of the matrix left in it and was pretty much a big ball rattling around inside. I guess the other half must be stuck in the muffler somewhere? Cleared the PO code and the ol' girl had a lot more pep pulling up the grade back home!

Thing that I'm wondering now; why did it burn up? The mechanic said they do that when they run rich? Never thrown any other codes though :-k

photo_van wrote:Replaced (or had replaced) the cat today. The old one had about half of the matrix left in it and was pretty much a big ball rattling around inside. I guess the other half must be stuck in the muffler somewhere? Cleared the PO code and the ol' girl had a lot more pep pulling up the grade back home!

Thing that I'm wondering now; why did it burn up? The mechanic said they do that when they run rich? Never thrown any other codes though :-k

My 03 had pieces rattling around in the muffler, took me a lot of slamming that thing around at just the right angles to get the crap out, otherwise the muffler was in good shape I think it mostly comes down to that damn gear at the bottom of the distributor, they wear out and cause just enough running problems to cause issues without throwing codes, causing un-burned fuel to leave the engine, destroying the cat. As soon as that part throttle bucking starts or about 80k to 100k miles, check that gear.

Reminds me of a saying I have heard thrown around, something like 'These engines run longer poorly than most other engines run.' It sometimes amazes me how much abuse they will take before taking a crap.

My poor Safari has needed some maintenance for more than a year. It's getting the works. Our annual trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is coming up in October. It's a really big trip as it includes a visit to my daughter in Tn. Then on to Albuquerque for the 9 day event. Then up to Washington state to visit Mom. She's 94. Then to Custer, South Dakota to visit balloon friends. I hope the weather is balloon friendly. I'd sure like to do some flying in the Black Hills. Then it's back down to TN for another visit with my daughter. I don't get to see her but 2 or 3 times a year. We've always been close. Then back home here in Orlando. Whew....I'm tired just thinking about it. So, the Safari has to be in perfect working order. And it will be. 275,000 miles and counting.