Jaleo 2- Building a 2012 E-350 4x4-Third time is the charm

Railvan · Feb 17, 2023

Raul said:
That is the mufler that came with the heater. At some point I may re-locate to a point where it blows pass the body of the van, but I do not think there will be a problem where it is.

The end of the tailpipe for the heater on my van was in the rear wheel well and I moved it. Dirt and water got in it and settled in the lowest point of the pipe and made mud and blocked the tailpipe. I just moved it enough so wheel spray wouldn't fly into the tailpipe and it's been better since. Can't do much about dust getting into under the van.

Raul · Mar 6, 2023

Keeping up with the maintenance. the AC failed. The high-pressure line broke at the connection on the compressor. This happened to my previous van too. Luckily this time, this didn't happened at the beginning of a summer road trip and I have the chance to fix it myself. I guess the vibration of the engine keeps loading this connection until it gives up.

This is a picture of the new lines. Getting the compressor out is a pain in the ass and it's worth removing the radiator cowl and fan. On a 2wd van you may be able to remove the compressor from the bottom, but on a 4x4 I do not see this happening. I've seen on Youtube people having to loose the engine mounts an lift the engine. I didn't have to.

Since I had a lot of crap out of the way, I replaced:

serpentine belt,
belt tensioner
pulley
water pump
crackshaft position sensor
Fan clutch

None of this is very expensive and with out the compressor and the fan cowling, it was easy to do.

Another issue I was having was the heat/ac blower fan not having any intermediate speeds. The fan resistor was completelly corroded. It's a shame the Ford used this crappy design for as long as they did and, who designed the connector? you need two screw drivers to pry the taps in an area you can barely fit three fingers... Anyway, I had to replace the resistor and the connector.

On a more possitive note, we had chance to test fit the carrying capacity for our summer trip.

Raul · Mar 16, 2023

More lights and Bedroom furniture re-arrangement.

the relay board on the swicth pannel was defective. Good customer service from the vendor got me a new one. Rear E-locker is not controlled by 30A solid state relay. The "aux" (10A) controls a 500A solenoid for the winch (Red circle n the engine bay) . I didn't like having a huge cable permanently connected and unprotected. Af some point the blank switch may control an on board air.

The required "overlanding LED bars" are present.

Roof bar so I can justify having a rack.
Recessed LED on the blinkers; these are useless, at some point I may change them. I just wanted to get rid of the big ugly orange blinker. Headlights have integrated blinkers.
Rough Country bumper bar. Love this one. very useful on long night drives in the middle of nowhere.
Recessed side cubes. Just installed them they seem OK. Installed on the chamfered side of the bumper to provide light to the sides.
Fog lights.

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Since I built the interior, especially the back, on a rush to do our summer trip, I decided to demo it an start over.

You gotta love the fact that no portion of the wall is the same and has a lot of weird curves.

Still not finished, but the first module is a closet for clothes on coat hangers. You access them from the front.

On the passenger side I added a drawer. The kitchen on the barn door now has a faucet that opens with the door. Not done yet. I'll update later.

Raul · Mar 29, 2023

On today's episode:

Trip to Padre Island National Seashore park
Rebuilt front Driveshaft
New end section of the tail pipe.
Upgraded and finished the roof rack

I wanted to go to the end of Padre Island for a long time as it seems to have the nicest beaches Texas has to offer. The Gulf of Mexico is not known for its beaches, and it seems that Corpus Christi is far enough from the Mississippi River that the water clears up. Well, not this time. The wind was constant, the sky was dark and the water was all shaken up. Still, I enjoyed the company and the advantage of Beach camping n the van is that I didn't have to worry about the wind.

Driving 4x4 on the sand, the front driveshaft was chirping like a canary in heat. Time to rebuild it. Finding the right U-joint and rebuild kit, and the rebuild of a CV has always been a pain in the rear I took it to Gilbert Driveshafts in Houston. For what he charged me it was worth not messing with it.

Since I was in a shop area of Houston, and while I was waiting for the driveshaft, I stopped at a muffler shop to fix a crack on the rear end of the exhaust. I'm glad I did. At some point in the past, the section from the silencer to the end was replaced. Instead of using the original 3" pipe, it was replaced with 2.5". That doesn't seem too much, but in reality, that is a 44% REDUCTION IN CROSS-SECTION. I haven't put many miles since, but I can feel the van breathes a lot better. Maybe this was the main culprit of the struggles in Colorado.

Getting ready to carry two large row boats across Mexico, THe roof rack needed upgrades. The roof bars I got originally were junk. It's amazing how two products that look almost the same on Amazon site, could be that different. Just look at the thickness of the material. These two bar towers have the same shape originally.

Cut, bend to shape and welded.

Installed. The yellow, horizontal, bolt is not part of the original design but it's a must to make these racks work. The small screw and the bend taps will not keep the clamp in place.

The final product. I'm keeping two of the flimsy bars in the middle and two of the new ones at the ends

I have two solar panels now ( 180W x 2) but not sure how healthy they are. On the solar controller I havn't sen more than 200w. They ususally are clean. On this picture they are under an oak tree in my driveway. Being spring in Houston, it takes a few minutes to be covered in yellow pollen.

Hound · Apr 1, 2023

How was driving on the beach? Did you need 4x4 much?

Raul · Apr 2, 2023

Hound said:
How was driving on the beach? Did you need 4x4 much?

Most of the time. There were some stretches of hard packed sand, but most of it was softer. I went down to 25 psi from 65 psi on the 285/75r18 tires.

Raul · Apr 6, 2023

I guess this is becoming my signature on the conversions. If you want to know if you have an authentic Raul's 4x4 van, look for the leather-wrapped steering wheel. I did this on my previous one. This looks better. Using a 40-year-old piece of leather from the couch of the house I grew up.

I forgot how much work this is. Starts with a masking tape pattern, but you have to guess the stretching and how it will deform to follow the curves, puch the holes, ... a pain in the back.

When removing the steering wheel, do your future self a favor and add two flared nuts inside the steering wheel. Using the extractors are a pain in the neck. I had to wedge the prongs with bolts to get a decent grip. With the nut now I can use the threaded rod of the extractor.

Raul · Apr 17, 2023

Finally, I was able to put Jaleo to the test after rebuilding the transmission and the transfer case. The 4Lo popped out a couple of times, but that was because the booth was not letting the lever move all the way back. I'm using Ford linkage and it's not working. shakes make noise and don't shift properly. In my previous van, I used a piece of pipe with a pivot on the floor of the van and worked better.
I love the e-locker. There when I needed it. I think the front Torsen LSD also worked quite well but it's harder to feel it. The tail got caught on a big step, both rear wheels in the air and I was able to get out rocking left and right (sorry, no pics)

Three wheel action. Locker saving the day.

Beaufifull Texas Hill Country Sun set.

Raul · May 11, 2023

On the beach trip, the front drive shaft was squeaking like crazy so I had to rebuild it. Still was having quite a bit of vibration inside and on the Hidden Falls trip, the transfer was making noises and jumping out of 4LO. Since I already rebuild the transfer case and after all the issues with the transmission, I got a "new" remanufactured transfer case. hopefully, this will be the end of my driveline issues.

Nice to see them shinny and clean.

Raul · May 23, 2023

2023 Gambler 500- Santa Ana's Revenge. Crazy vehicles, crazier people, and one of the most spectacular Texas landscapes. Good times exploring, picking up trash, and enjoying watching what a Gambler car can do.
This year we were able to see a more environmentally conscious gambler with the participation of a Hybrid Prius. Do not miss the rear-mounted Camry engine.

The Black Gap is (I think) the only Jeep badge of honor in Texas. I guess it is hard to find challenging off-road trails in Texas. Several Gamblers did it, Scion XB, a 90's Mercedes sedan,...
Dramatic landscapes abound in the Big Bend area.

Terlingua is still an eclectic town, but you can see some signs of gentrification. Hopefully, it will benefit the locals.

On the way back, I swung by Fort Davis and Balmorhea State Park. Spectacular natural pool with plenty of fish swimming around you.

Raul · May 26, 2023

Got the sought-after popout windows from the rear and a small barn door. I go the inside trim also so I added mosquito screen to all my windows (except the large one on the driver's side since I had it blocked).
Hot glued the screen, cut a T-slot for the opening mechanism, and close it with Gorilla Tape.

CaptainBuilt · May 28, 2023

Looking legit as always.

Raul · Jun 1, 2023

Another one bites the dust. Less than one year old, the Skyjacker shock absorber blew up. They have a lifetime warranty but they need to be inspected by an agent and also they have to match the application, yadah, yadah,... I'm not going to waste my time. I pace an order to Bilstein B6 for E450 RV. Let's see how they perform. On van#1, 2WD I had Bilstein and liked them a lot. Van #2 (rigrunner 4x4) had Fox and was not impressed, especially for the price.

Raul · Aug 27, 2023

Great Sumer. I joined the SORAC group on the Alpine Loop for a week. After that, went to Moab by myself, and then I picked up my wife at the airport in Kalispell, MO. From there we did Glaciers Nat'l Park, Yellowstone, Great Tetons, Rocky Mountains, ... About six weeks of exploring some of the natural beauty the US has to offer and escape from the Houston miserable heat.

Of course, no trip can be without repairs so the first day in the Rockies, I had to replace the fuel pump on a side street in Durango.