Subarctic ambulance

[nelstomlinson]

Made a grocery run to Fairbanks last week. 100 miles up there, drove around town for a few hours hitting all the stores, then home. The "losing the speed signal" problem didn't happen on the trip, though it has happened a couple of times here in Delta.

I got about 16mpg on the trip home. The overdrive and locking torque converter did their jobs.

 

[Bikersmurf]

This one is under 100k, but of course a lot of idle hours. There is some kind of wiring problem, and occasionally the aftermarket controller loses the speed signal, downshifts to first. Other than that, the transmission seems solid.

I used to be somewhat concerned about idle hours... I've now got about 17,500 hours on my '97 7.3 psd.

My concerns were alleviated when a friend of mine told me one of the tow trucks he drove with a 7.3 had been pinned at 99,999 hours for many years... and it still beat the 6.0s across an intersection. The 7.3 only needed oil changes while the 6.0s were always needing work.

 

[nelstomlinson]

On that grocery run I realized that the compartment door locks where all silted up and didn't work. Oh, well, not much need for them where I live. It would be nice to have them in the big city. I started trying to get them working today, and realized there isn't much insulation in those doors.

There's no thermal break, so they'll be cold anyway, but that token effort isn't good for much. I neglected to measure the thickness while I was in there, probably 2". I'll want to take those inner panels off again and insulate them completely.

The compartment latches are Atwood 30916. I hosed the locks out with Triflow, and now they're mostly working. One of them is missing the lock mechanism. It latches, the lock cylinder turns freely, but the cylinder isn't hooked to anything.

So far no luck finding a replacement latch, let alone parts for it.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I got projector headlights from Vantage Optical. The old ones were hazy and lousy. These are neither.

I did find a Dorman replacement latch that looks like a perfect fit. Dorman 760-5202

Edited to add: Installing the Vantage LED lights was just the same as replacing bulbs. You have to remove the headlight housing to change the bulbs, so it's just pull the old housing as if you were going to change a bulb, then put in the new light in its place.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I have an air compressor, and a 5 gallon aluminium tank, and I want to add air.

It looks as if there's room to mount the tank on the side of the frame amidships. That will mean drilling 4 holes through the side of the frame, two pairs about 18" apart, each pair spaced about 4" apart vertically. The holes will be within a couple inches of the top and bottom of the frame rail.

Does that sound reasonable? Or should I avoid drilling the frame?

I need to pick a compartment to mount the compressor, and get power there, too.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I've made a very little progress on this project. I've gotten that divided queen mattress I wanted. I had to have the two halves custom made, but I have them now.
My daughter and son in law borrowed it shortly after the mattress arrived, and overnighted at Mt. McKinley. They did that right about summer solstice, that's why there's foil over the windows. They said the mattress worked well.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Earlier I was asking about replacement window track for the sliding doors in the aft, left cabinet. I never found anything like the fuzzy-coated soft aluminum channel, so I eventually gave in and got some cheapie plastic cabinet door track from Amazon. The plexiglass doors are 3/16", and the track is only available for 1/8 and 1/4" doors. I went with the 1/4" and put two layers of Gorilla tape on the doors top and bottom to take up the slack and prevent rattling.

I have the window disassembled and the track is getting glued in.


If this works out I'll be able to hit a bump without the doors rattling loudly.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I have gotten a Camplux two burner cooktop, and I plan to set it into the left side counter, which will mean cutting a big hole in the top of the middle left side compartment. The propane bottle can go in the upper part of the front left compartment, accessible from outside and also through a little hand sided door from the inside.

The stove just arrived, and I've just gotten it out of the box and set it roughly in place.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I installed a new, much larger transmission cooler with a thermal bypass. If it works as advertised, I should get much more cooling in the summer, and keep more heat in the transmission in the winter.

I had to pull the grill and grill support, and had to notch one of the steel vertical supports to make room for the new cooler.

 

[Bikersmurf]

I installed a new, much larger transmission cooler with a thermal bypass. If it works as advertised, I should get much more cooling in the summer, and keep more heat in the transmission in the winter.View attachment 890473

I had to pull the grill and grill support, and had to notch one of the steel vertical supports to make room for the new cooler.

I mounted in one that was just like yours. This summer I've been putting it through the paces. We have had two trips across the Rockies (both ways) and one up the Sunshine coast, and it has been a real champ and hasn't missed a beat.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I got a propane cooktop installed in the counter on the drivers side. It protrudes into the storage box below, and I'll mount the propane tank in the front, tall storage compartment, since there's already a little hand hole/door there to let us reach through and turn the propane on and off.

I still have to fasten the cooktop in place, arrange a mount of some sort for the propane tank, and plumb the two together.

Bikersmurf, I drove down the Richardson about 20 miles or so, ambient temp in the high 70s, and saw the trans temp hit 170F. I could feel the inlet hose was hot, and the outlet hose was not, so the cooler was apparently working. The engine thermostat was keeping the radiator at 180F at the top, probably quite a bit cooler at the bottom. I guess I should have checked the bottom radiator tank temp too, but I didn't think to.

I was kinda hoping the cooler would keep the max temp pegged at a little over 150, hoping as soon as the bypass opened the temp would stop rising. I guess the cooler isn't that big. I don't really have a baseline to compare it too, I haven't run that stretch with the old cooler.