My new (to me) 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke Van and Introduction from a long time lurker

[DanTheVanMan]

Congrats on the van. I need to make the trip to Chris to convince the wife of converting our van. I'm 20 minutes outside DC in MD if you want ideas of things to do or need a driveway to look things over.

Thanks for the offer I appreciate it. I'm already back home in NC now. That's why I started this thread -- to hopefully get answers to some of the things I found while shaking things down. Good luck convincing the wife. My wife loves this van.

 

[DanTheVanMan]

The rubber is still attached to the pivot on the transmission, thats what popped out of the linkage. You may be able to put it back together, had to tell from the pic. Also looks like they made some sort of adjustable linkage.

Chris, the pics were hard to get from that angle. I guess I need to convince the wife we need a new garage with a lift now too.

So would it most likely be a piece of rubber it pops on to? No bolting? Is it that simple? It does look like that rubber piece is still there. Are all linkages the same mostly? Or does it change car to car? Just trying to figure out how to do it. Thanks for the reply.

 

[ujoint]

That rubber is fused into the shift rod, you may have luck forcing it back in but it may come out again. Hold that shifter rod up to the pivot and it will make sense. If it comes out again it should be replaced.

 

[gtbensley]

I had to replace my shifter linkage piece from dorman because I snapped it off. That arm just pushes onto the nipple with the rubber. Easy. Awesome van BTW

 

[DanTheVanMan]

...If it comes out again it should be replaced.

I got under there and put it back in place this weekend. So far it's staying put. If it comes out again I'll replace it. Thanks for the help.

 

[DanTheVanMan]

Well shifter linkage seems to be holding up so far. Thanks guys!

We just got back from another long road trip last week. We did the 10hr drive to take our son to Disney World and so we could escape the gray for a little while and get some much needed warm weather and sunshine.

I decided some additional tweaks were needed. I ordered an Edgestar fp43 12v / 110 fridge so we have food and drinks for road trips.

I'm thinking of adding a sink and a cooktop too in the near future, along with some solar panels on the roof rack and a dedicated house battery. I noticed there was wasted space on either side of the bench that converts to a bed so I've rotated it 90 degrees and mounted it against the wall to make more of an aisle layout behind the four captains chairs. I'll put the fridge, cooktop and sink along the opposite wall on the passenger side. Looks like I'll need to add a little shelf to extend the length of the bench a bit so I can still put my feet up (the existing one no longer works with the bench rotated). I give up a small amount of bed by rotating it his way but have a much more functional layout for my needs and less wasted space on either side of the bed so I can add the sink and cooktop. For now I'm planning on making it so everything can be quickly removed when not needed.

Also on this trip I split the driving more with my wife. I noticed the ride towards the mid and rear of the van is very bouncy. That's going. To need fixing. I'm guessing its the suspension bottoming out on the bump stops. When we hit a bump there is a front to rear bounce which is much more noticeable as you move further from the front of the van. Doubt new shocks would fix this. Maybe the springs are worn out? I know the diesels are heavier. There's not a lot of clearance in the crossmember from what I can see. New springs maybe? More lift?

You should've seen the look on my wife's face when I told her the most likely fix was more lift.

 

[DanTheVanMan]

The bugs in coastal NC this spring are absolutely terrible. So yesterday I added screens to the side door pop out windows using this method:

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=11256

It took about 40 minutes to do both taking my time. They work great! I try to snap some pics of them when I get a chance.

 

[gtbensley]

Any updates on this Dan?

 

[DanTheVanMan]

Any updates on this Dan?

Yes, quite a few updates to the van have been made. Our new daughter has been keeping me busy so I haven't updated this thread. I'll try to update it here soon. Just a quick preview of what updates I made and will be posting:

- new 12v fridge
- rear aisle layout, perfect layout for me
- new shocks
- 12v removable sink build
- driveshaft issues and fix
- front brake issues and fix
- new baby and change from aisle layout
- passenger swivel base install

 

[gtbensley]

Sounds like you have been busy! Thanks for the update and look forward to seeing more on this!