Looking at a 4wd van, need some advice

[BajaSportsmobile]

When a manufacture won't point you to a dealer, it means they have no dealer.


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CR Laurence is one of the biggest window and door manufactures in North America - they have thousands of dealers.

 

[ert01]

Yeah the guy on the phone that I dealt with at CRL said he would confirm that that make weekly shipments to edmonton from their warehouse but wouldn't say where they were going... Was a bit annoying.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

When a manufacture won't point you to a dealer, it means they have no dealer.


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HA! that's rich
It means they're being ethical and not showing a preference for one dealer over another by providing either all the names or none. I know it's obnoxious but it's fair. They should have a list they can fax, email, or provide online of EVERY dealer but to voice one name and one only gets iffy with contractual obligations and professional courtesy like wholesale/retail relationships. Same reason when someone at work (hospital) asks me what ambulance is the best I say 'the one closest to you when you need it' and when they ask what florist to use I say 'the one in the phonebook.'

Like Agile said, CRL is huge. With that many dealers there's likely more than one in any given area. Google-**** you need.

 

[350outrage]

I have thought of de-quigly'ing the van but I think I can actually do a lot with the Quigley system. It just needs a bit of tweaking. The parts are all there, it's just poorly set up and executed.

I'm thinking of building some adjustable control arms with Johnny joints (to be able to push the axle a hair forward and adjust caster). Also would like to try and turn the knuckles to set the caster better.

I'd also like to tweak the turning radius... It isn't hitting the stops on the axle at either end so I think a longer pitman arm would help there. Then I'd have to adjust the stops after that. The tires are nowhere near touching the control arms yet so I think I can get a lot more travel out of the steering system if I spend some time on it.

If I go with the RIP kit from agile, the progressive front coils and shocks should help the travel... Then I just need new leafs for the rear.

It may sound like a lot, but it's not really that bad. I like doing this sort of stuff. I'd rather tinker and tweak than spend money to get someone else to do it.

Makes sense to me!

 

[ert01]

Just for curiosity sake, I'm trying to ID my rear axle... any idea how I go about this? It's a 2002 E350 SD with the 7.3L and I know the gear ratio is 3.55 and it has limited slip. Does that help at all? I know the tag is missing off the rear axle (I lost it in the oil pan when I changed fluids and didn't bother fishing it out) so is there another way to ID it?

 

[radorsch]

There is often a tag on the differential. Otherwise, there may be an ID cast into the tube or near the pumpkin. The tag on my axle was not legible, but I was recently able to identify it by the tag on the differential that had the Dana BOM (bill of materials) number which can be searched on their site. The shape of the differential/cover is also a good clue. This site has great resources for identifying you axle... Helped me.
http://www.differentials.com/technical-help/differential-identification

 

[ert01]

Hehe, yes my dad used to own a small wood stove manufacturing business. One of the units was very similar to the one in the pic. When I was a kid, I used to haul those things around the shop.

It's an Osburn

 

[Mwilliamshs]

That's a bad place to keep a guitar. Very nice looking home though, like, really great.

 

[ert01]

Haha I know... It doesn't stay there long. It usually rests in the closet around the corner. I was just playing it seconds before taking the picture.

But it's just a cheap old 12 string Yamaha I leave out here at the cabin. Due to the poor humidity control in here and the drastic temperature changes, I'd never leave one of my nice guitars here.

 

[ert01]

Got the TS chip back and it's working good now. No codes anymore.

I am a bit disappointed though that even at the 140hp setting, it's not really a huge noticeable gain. I'll probably leave it set at the 100hp setting most of the time... seems to just have a bit more get up and go off the line and the shift points seem better but I really doubt that the actual gains are anywhere near what they say they are. Oh well.. overall I'm happy with it.

 

[ert01]

Swapped lug nuts today... The stock open ended nuts were driving me crazy. Road grime and corrosion on the exposed end of the stud is simply annoying.

I got some closed end nuts and swapped em on there today. Not a big upgrade, but it made me happy.

Also removed the stock front bumper in anticipation of some fab work I'll be doing over the next week or two hopefully.

 

[ert01]

Just bought a 24" single row LED bar to mount on my bumper. I'll get some pics up once I finish the bumper.

 

[ert01]

Got to put the TS chip to the test today! And I am very happy with it!

I have just driven around in the city with it until now but today I logged a few hundred highway miles... We went out into the bush today to grab some firewood.

For the drive out, I had my brother in law tow the trailer and atv. My van was towing nothing and just had my family inside. With the TS chip on 100hp, I got 19mpg! This is up from around 15-16 that I used to get on this same stretch of road.

On the way back, I towed the trailer with the atv in it and a partial load of birch firewood (total weight of around 2500lbs-3000lbs). The van barely noticed the extra load and I got 16mpg with the TS chip on the 75hp setting.

I would like to try the same test again with the chip on the 100hp setting both directions but I didn't want to risk it until I get an EGT gauge installed.

But I'm pretty happy with those mpg numbers... This chip will pay for itself quickly I think.

 

[tgreening]

Got to put the TS chip to the test today! And I am very happy with it!

I have just driven around in the city with it until now but today I logged a few hundred highway miles... We went out into the bush today to grab some firewood.

For the drive out, I had my brother in law tow the trailer and atv. My van was towing nothing and just had my family inside. With the TS chip on 100hp, I got 19mpg! This is up from around 15-16 that I used to get on this same stretch of road.

On the way back, I towed the trailer with the atv in it and a partial load of birch firewood (total weight of around 2500lbs-3000lbs). The van barely noticed the extra load and I got 16mpg with the TS chip on the 75hp setting.

I would like to try the same test again with the chip on the 100hp setting both directions but I didn't want to risk it until I get an EGT gauge installed.

But I'm pretty happy with those mpg numbers... This chip will pay for itself quickly I think.

Just out of curiosity, where are you getting your mileage numbers from?

 

[ert01]

Using the scangaugeII and verifying with the odometer ad pump readings upon fillup. The ScanGauge seems pretty accurate actually. I'll probably stop doing the manual calculations after y next fillup.