ansonivan Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 I bought the van primarily as a means to transport my scirocco to Gainesville FL this fall for the GRM challenge, I've wanted a large towing capable hauler for years so this is most exciting. The plan is to first make the vehicle reliable and safe, then clean up/replace the interior before dealing with the paint. My goal is to stay under $1000 for everything, I'm about half way there after replacing the water pump/serpentine belt. 1997 ford e150 chariot conversion 178,000 miles 4.6 v8 4 speed automatic The van as purchased, 100% horrible: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/4603218607_803d345dbb_b.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1029/4604871335_a899cf5fef_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted May 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 I spent about 4 hours on Saturday heaving a mountain of detritus from the van, lots of food tins, food wrappers, instruments of food consumption and a little actual food. Also, the usual shoes, 5 ice scrapers, four cans of ice remover and three off-brand portable disk players. I've come to conclude that the previous owner loved food and music and feared ice. Also replaced the water pump which was not nearly as annoying as I anticipated, work access was decent after removing the air filter/maf assembly and the radiator shroud. Happily I found no stuck bolts or signs of hackery, what little maintenance was done on the van appears to have been handled by proper mechanics. The van interior post mung removal/quick vacuum http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1178/4608715261_1d9c8b02c3_b.jpg Old leaking water pump http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1370/4609320020_28a2928ac0_b.jpg I pulled the running boards since they looked like ass http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1220/4608714495_b5b79fbd8f_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Removed Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 take the rear seat out.. leaves room for tools, jack and so on. then put some e250 rear springs in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWW$HEEET Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 fuckin ramp that shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted May 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 The rear seat will probably come out, probably insert a few hold tie strap loops into the floor for securing toolboxes etc. Dear Gabe, in anticipation of your ramping request I endeavored to launch Beast over a sweet jump, beast broke the ramp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted May 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Replaced the roasted rear wheel bearing last night, Erik come over to offer 'murican car tech support and assure me that everything would be fine. The old wheel bearing machined a 1/16th" groove into the axle which explained the excessive wheel play and horrible misbehavior under braking. New axles are around $150 which is far too much money to spend on beast van. I opted for a "repair bearing" which uses an offset housing to move the bearing to a new location on the stub axle. It's definitely a half assed fix so I'll be looking for a good used 8.8 rear end to replace this one. All of my tools are tailored to working on them 'ferrin cars so I didn't have the correct puller or slide hammer attachments to remove the old bearing race. Trick I learned from the ever helpful internet: remove the rollers from the race and weld a bead around the inside of said race, as the weld cools it shrinks allowing the race to be removed easily. Very nifty. I used a couple of shop rags taped to a length of flat bar to wipe most of the steel shavings from the axle tube. Erik didn't take any pictures of this process nor did we sing the chimney sweep song from Mary Poppins. I don't know why not. Test drove the van, no weird noises from the rear end, joy. Failed to do a burnout, sadness. Joy begins http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4626179659_0563dab99a_b.jpg Me: is this a good idea? Erik: it'll be fiiiine! http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4626182601_7ce20c1349_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3349/4626180641_200abe94e2_b.jpg race out! http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4626181063_9d185e19a9_b.jpg grooved axle and bearing repair unit http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/4626789484_0850d7f003_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patterson Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 And weak sauce burnouts. But I assured you it would be fine, and it all buffed out. I love this thing other than the raspberry/ass juice stink from the back.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted May 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 (edited) The interior is now clean, I'm not sure how much I'll re-install. As I feared the van is absurdly loud inside with no carpet or seats, I may try a layer of spray on bedliner to kill the noise. I would love to retain the hosability of no carpet. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4647239791_1b7919fc95_b.jpg Edited May 28, 2010 by ansonivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted July 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Last night I performed the 'J-mod' on the van's 4r70w, this involved enlarging several holes in the valve body separator plate and removing one of the 1-2 shift accumulator springs. The idea behind the j-mod is the same as any auto transmission shift kit; quicker more positive shifts to prolong transmission life. The work was easy but messy, I hate messy. I also replaced the 2-3 shift accumulator piston since the seals were worn causing an extremely late 2-3 upshift. Took me about three hours to complete the work, the transmission is now shifting great aside from a sledgehammer 1-2 shift thanks to the spring I removed. I'll have to drop the pan to re-install the spring, I don't know why people recommend that as part of the mod since it causes an abusively hard shift. Info on j-mod: http://www.crownvic.net/tech/4R70Wnotes.pdf http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/shiftybusiness.html http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/ The old shift accumulator pistons and the 1-2 spring which I'll need to re-install. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4840190809_9c960e3fab_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicktcfcsb Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 I was enjoying reading this. Then it stopped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted August 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 Apparently my van was the only conversion which did not include a hitch, finally remedied this on Friday. Some dude from Zanesville hooked me up with a 7500lb rated hitch with hardware for $50 delivered. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4852996357_126d7a335b_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4852997443_b1f3964ab7_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted August 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 (edited) Project summary: Van - $very small 3 digit number Repaired ground for power windows/mirrors - $0.10 Replaced battery terminals - free - used b4 passat brass terminals Windshield wiper blades - free - used random bmw blades Soap - $20 Drivers/passengers front seats - used low mileage cargo van seats - $40 Water pump/serpentine belt/coolant/used low mileage radiator - $200 Rear wheel bearing/synth gear oil - $50 Front pads/rotors/whl bearings - $130 Rear spring shackle - $25 5 qts synth 5-30 - $15 oil filter - $5 12 qts mercon V - $60 Trans filter - $15 Valve body gaskets - $3 accumulator pistons - $20 Tow hitch - $50 Total parts bill (if my mental addition is correct) - $633.10 Outstanding work: - steering box very loose - probably replace with used box - front shocks soft - ignore - replace front tires - cheap used or cheap new - clear EGR passages - repair rear outer door handle - tinker - replace ignition cylinder with original key code to match doors - dealer - rear climate control heat always on - replace valve for heater core or install visegrip on hose. - ad stickers to cover peeling paint Edited August 2, 2010 by ansonivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 when ya take a look at the steering, check out the rack bushing...on the mustangs with the 4.6, the oil filter sits right above the bushing so whenever you change the oil, it would leak oil down onto the bushing and cause them to rot away...best to replace them with poly bushings (atleast something to look for, not sure how those vans look underneath) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted August 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 Wish it were that simple, the e150 uses a pair of parallel beams and a steering box setup. The beam bushings are a little worn but the main play is in the steering box. I've already adjusted it to the max before it starts binding on center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 oh ok so its setup like my truck then...it seems like a cool project man, goodluck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 General Grabber MTS 109t 235/75/15 - tirerack - $99 each plus shipping. Mounted a set of new tires last night, what a joyful experience. All four wheels had a thick layer of oxidation covered by nasty black bead sealer. Much scraping and wire brushing of the sealing area was needed to ensure a decent seal... at least until the oxidation builds up again. All four tires had visible but mild hop/squirm an the balance machine, the worst one required 1.75oz and the others were from 1.25 to .50oz total each. Not too bad. I'll report back when I re-balance them in 2000 miles. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5017151375_2dae7b2d19_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5017150637_6612e7ecaa_b.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 just a heads up, bed liner is not a very good sound deadner. when i say not very good i mean almost none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Very good read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansonivan Posted September 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 just a heads up, bed liner is not a very good sound deadner. when i say not very good i mean almost none. Good to know, I re-installed the captains chairs which has helped reduce the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Lee Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Tool boxes and a pit bike are mandatory for such a vehicle. Cool project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 just a heads up, bed liner is not a very good sound deadner. when i say not very good i mean almost none. What about rubberized undercoat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeDot3083 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Enjoyed the read keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.