Chevy & GMC Vans

I need some cheese for this whine, lol.

My 1981 Monte developed an antifreeze leak, and I thought it was the T-stat. I changed it, and it looked good. I also removed all of the non functional computer stuff, only to find that the leak was that it had blew it's intake gasket. So, no back up car. I'm not aclimated to the cold yet, so no bike either, so my van has been seeing more action than normal. This promted the wheel bearing failure, which I managed to fix.

Then my wifes van had dexsludge kill another water pump, so it sat for a day or two before I got to it, and it didn't want to start. 11.58 volts at the battery, 10.2 with the lights on. I knew there was an issue with it cause the lights have been flickering at night for a couple of days or a week. The third brake light also quit working, but I'm sure it's unlelated.

So I got a battery, and went to change it, and noticed that somehow the hold down was missing. The bolt was there, screwed down all the way, but no wedge. After unbolting the fuse box (nothing can be easy, lol) and cables, I lifted the battery out, and the wedge was beside the battery by the fender. At least that was easy. All back together, looked down and the right rear tire is almost flat.

I'm sure the dexcool caused the electrical and the tire problems somehow, I just can't prove it.

The alternator was suspect, and it has a lifetime warranty, so I pulled it and my wife got it changed out for a new one. That went good, in retrospect.

The '99 had it's flush and new parts, that ate up most of 2 days, intermittently.

So I pull my '94 down to change the oil. Deep down I knew it hadn't sounded right the last few times it was started, but didn't want to admit anything. So I change the oil and adjust the front ride height, since it hasn't been right from when I replaced the tosion bar. That went OK, so I go to back it off the ramps to jack it up and rotate the tires, and when I turn the key, no fuel pump. I thought about the relay-oil-pressure-switch thing, so I cranked it for a couple secs, had 40+ on the oil pressure, still no pump. Got the test lead, 12V+, No pump.

Can't be.

It was.

The tank was over half full. At least it was at home, on a concrete slab, and the front was already lifted up. I do hate jacking up the rear with the front wheels up on ramps. I'll do an AWD, but not a RWD. It's still scary.

The pump had been changed before, and the wiring harness was ran creatively over the top of the tank where the straps are The soft cushion strips must be what saved it, there was an impession of the harness in them. It appeared to be ok, and upon disassembly, it had what looked like a cheap Auto Zone or = pump in it. The strainer fell off when I touched it. I ran the harness under the van and used the new pump to drain the tank and put it all back together.

I think the filter was original or maybe from an even older van that someone put in cause it was so rusted it was leaking. The bolt pulled out of the frame but stayed in the filter holder. The lines required squeezing with vice grips, PB Blaster, swearing, sweet talking, and finally with the right holding of the mouth, they started to spin a little and then more. At one time, I thought about how a little heat (like the oxy-acetelene torch) would do wonders. I swear that I'm my own worst enemy sometimes. I got it, and antiseazed the nuts like crazy. I doubt this van will outlast the filter, but if it does, it should come out next time.

I always think of that one wrestler that used to say "I'll press you into the darkness" when I put a tank (or trans, or anything awkward or heavy) back in overhead. Makes me laugh, which makes what I'm doing that much more of a challenge.

The good part, I had a almost new pump and filter in a box in my shed from my 93 that suffered bottom end failure shortly after the entire fuel system was replaced. That's where the spider in the 94 came from. So now it has the new fuel system form my 93 that I had in 05. Other than a small leak, that I fixed, it was easy, and didn't take a dime out of pocket.

I rotated the tires, pulled the right caliper and freed the stuck slides (I did the left one when I did the bearing) and decided the awful and getting worse oil leak is the oil cooler adapter, so I'll have to fix that.

All in all it was a good couple days of Safro wrenching, and beat the life out of painting in my addition.

Good job, I think I would have had a fitfull breakdown after the fuel pump. =D>

It's all good. Really. What I've posted here is just the tip of the iceburg in the saga of my life. And yes, I know most if not all of it is in some way my own fault. #-o

A little post script;

My windshield is now leaking water at the top, but only when it rains, lol.

I had noticed some black carbon looking stuff where the intermediate pipe and the pipe from the cat meet when I replaced the fuel pump, but thought "huh, wonder why that looks like that" and didn't give it any more thought. Well, the exhaust also came apart on the way to work. I'm glad that a previously repaired it just further back and reattached the hanger, so that it stayed under the van.
I knocked the old clamp off, and found that the pipes overlapped by like 1/4", so I grabbed another piece of left over roof cap, 3 more HD all stainless worm gear clamps, some hi temp RTV, and two massive Panduit ty-wraps to sinch it down while I put the clamps on.
Wife drove it today and didn't complan, so I call it a success. It is quiet.

I also managed to fix the awful oil leak that was growing out of control. It was the "O" ring on top of the oil cooler adapter at the filter. The gasket and ring were just shy of $5 at the stealership. Seems like a lot, but was cheap compared to the oil and what happens without it.

I went under the van armed with the right tools, thanks to Zam's post about removing the sandwich adapter, aka a T40 bit, and a 13/16ths wrench for the lines. The dealer's kit did not include the little green o-rings on the cooler lines, so I reused the old ones, R&R the adapter, clean, and with a new gasket and O-ring: Viola! No more leak.

I've been whacked by the rear hatch like 4 times now, so I guess I need to find some new shocks for it. I've got a piece of 3/4" cpvc that I using to prop it now, but that is hard to remember. The whack by the hatch does help the acute memory, but not the chronic one, lol.


Bottom line, I love my vans, and enjoy the bumps in the road. It sure as heck beats a car payment, and breaks the monotony of working on my house every spare minute.

pps;

I did something cool today. You know how your wife doesn't let you do things like weld in the living room? Well, she was gone today. I flipped my lazy-boy couch and looked at the broken recliner linkage. I have seen it before, but it was a while ago. At the time, I mentioned welding it, and my wife didn't think it was a good idea. Anyone who has ever burned a couch (like on a brush fire) has a good idea why. I agreed, but my desire to recline with my feet up finally got the best of me. So in came the Lincoln mig welder. My 13 year old was on fire watch, and I covered everything really well with old towels that had been rinsed and spun by the washing machine (Yes, this was premeditated). I clamped and welded one side, no problem, pulled the clamp and welded the other for good measure, and unbelievably, no problems at all. Waited for it to cool, reassembled the linkage, flipped the couch, and Bob's your Uncle. AHH.
The only bad thing was that my 13 year old used 3D glasses (yeah, from the movie theater) instead of the spare welding mask. I have no idea why, other than maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He hasn't complained yet, so I'm hoping he was pulling my leg. I don't remember looking at him since I was preoccupied.

It's great to be me. I love my life.

rlsllc wrote:the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

It's great to be me. I love my life.

Your poor wife!

You should start writing Novels Roy...lol