Damned it all!! The thing even looks good on a wrecker! Damned you Superman....:coffeedrink:
Scoutkid's van is HERE!!!
- Thread starter scoutkid
- Start date
arlon
Adventurer
You will notice something funny in this last pic..
My shop door is 9'10". My van is 9'7" already!!
Sooooo... while I was thinking about doing mostly interior work for a while, and 4x4 in the fall.. I now think I have to switch that up because I will be doing my 4x4 conversion outside!!That means Chris will be getting a call soon! Ohhhh Chris...
I just ran into that issue with the AWD Astro I just got. With roof rack it's 1" taller than my garage doors.. So much for working on it in climate controlled comfort..
Cool van you have there. What a great platform to start working on!
my old VW syncro was to tall to get into my garage, but i had a set of stock tires to put on it and aired them down, i JUST cleared then, like rubbed the weather strip close. i was lucky to have 10ft ceilings in my shop so i put in a 9 ft header a long time ago so i could get it in without the hassle and even leave my box/rack on the roof. ALAS i sold that van when i got my new 4x4 e350 and before i actually did the door install. I bit the bullit recently and did the 9 ft door finally, i have 2 inches to spare with my home built sportsmobile.
moral of the story, air down your tires and you should clear the door
moral of the story, air down your tires and you should clear the door
arlon
Adventurer
That might just work. A pita but better than the cold. So if I bring it in, add the lift and can't get it out will you bring over your chain saw.. (-:}
scoutkid
Van Builder
So I picked the Vantom up from the Dr last night. I am not to big to admit when I have made a mistake, or overlooked something. The funny thing is, I hadn't touched a thing when the first fuel leak came around. But after I pulled the filter to switch it, the leak was MUCH MUCH worse. The tech said the only leak he could find was that the filter cap wasn't seated correctly, and that he could find no other leak...
So, it looks like perhaps the oring under the cap had let go originally, and i could have fixed it just by putting the new filter in 'correctly'. Who knew.. Either way, much less $$ than I had anticipated.
I also found out that vantom is COLD blooded and does NOT like to start in cold temps. I didn't think to plug him in last night (block heater) and he was having nothing doing with starting this morning, glow plugs or not. I am not looking forward to replacing the GP's in that tiny engine bay... perhaps i will check the glow plug relay first to see if it is acting as it should.
After a quick jumpstart he was happy, and running around like a champ! And no apparently fuel leak!
So, it looks like perhaps the oring under the cap had let go originally, and i could have fixed it just by putting the new filter in 'correctly'. Who knew.. Either way, much less $$ than I had anticipated.
I also found out that vantom is COLD blooded and does NOT like to start in cold temps. I didn't think to plug him in last night (block heater) and he was having nothing doing with starting this morning, glow plugs or not. I am not looking forward to replacing the GP's in that tiny engine bay... perhaps i will check the glow plug relay first to see if it is acting as it should.
After a quick jumpstart he was happy, and running around like a champ! And no apparently fuel leak!
scoutkid
Van Builder
SO I have been able to get a couple of good ski trips up with Vantom so far. Additionally, he is my daily driver, so we spend a lot of time getting to know each other. Things that have happened recently:
The bumper is the big one. While we love taking Vantom up skiing, hauling all the ski's and snowboards INSIDE makes it more difficult to walk around. I will be making a ski rack for the bumper to help with that. Additionally, we like to bike, and come bike season I will have a bike rack out back as well. Here are a few quick pics from being up in the hills.
- Ordered a set of Orings for the leaky turbo pedestal, waiting for a nice day to install
- Hand calculated 14.5 MPG over the course of a few hundred miles UP into the mountains - not back down
- Decided I need to re-evaluate the interior layout and basically gut it this spring
- ordered flares from Ujoint to hopefully avoid SO much filth on the outside...
- Ordered Aluminess rear bumper from Ujoint
The bumper is the big one. While we love taking Vantom up skiing, hauling all the ski's and snowboards INSIDE makes it more difficult to walk around. I will be making a ski rack for the bumper to help with that. Additionally, we like to bike, and come bike season I will have a bike rack out back as well. Here are a few quick pics from being up in the hills.
San Juans/Silverton area........now there's a wide spread.....so much to see there....plan on 3 months to 3 years......I spent 3 years there and never saw it all. You can catch trout right in downtown Durango no less Silverton. Awesome place....I just happen to hate snow and winter! Only place I actually wore out a set of bar chains in a month and I was in 4X all the time!
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scoutkid
Van Builder
So this weekend I played 'fix the oil leak', coupled with 'please God I hope this new ICP sensor fixes my idle issue'.
So, lets begin. I have a small leak, it seems to leak from the top of the motor, running down the weep hole, down the passenger side of the block and unceremoniously to the ground.
I started with these parts (you will notice the oversized Glowplug relay - that didn't make it in...
From the back of the motor, I popped the turbo off, here is a look at the o-rings that are directly below the turbo, they were brown (as was the o-ring between the compressor discharge and the motor intake). I will tell you why this is note worth in a moment. You can also see the small ocean of thorns you may remember me cursing early in the build...
With the turbo off, you can also see the ICP sensor that I needed to replace (I hoped...) It is allll the way up on the drivers side head.
And here are the o-rings under the turbo riser block. Note that they are yellow, not brown. All the orings in my new kit were brown. I checked the shaft endplay in turbo and there was NONE. It felt as tight as new. So methinks that sometime recently the turbo was rebuilt, and the orings changed between it and the riser block, but not under it. Needless to say, I left the turbo alone, but the rings under the riser were indeed bad, and probably leaking.
Valley pan was pretty nasty...
So I replaced the orings, and got everything put back together. Unfortunately I couldn't get to the ICP sensor from the back, nor the front. After a quick Google search, I found the quickest way to the sensor was to move the AC compressor. 3 quick bolts.
Old rings and sensor
Now, the leak? Still there!!! I don't know if it is just residuals or still a leak coming from somewhere. Here is a pic of the turbo out, its dirty, but I figured it was just from the oring leak on the pedestal. Ideas?
Blowby?
So, I still have a leak, I think. If its coming from the top end, I don't know where from. Ideas are welcome.
So, lets begin. I have a small leak, it seems to leak from the top of the motor, running down the weep hole, down the passenger side of the block and unceremoniously to the ground.
I started with these parts (you will notice the oversized Glowplug relay - that didn't make it in...
From the back of the motor, I popped the turbo off, here is a look at the o-rings that are directly below the turbo, they were brown (as was the o-ring between the compressor discharge and the motor intake). I will tell you why this is note worth in a moment. You can also see the small ocean of thorns you may remember me cursing early in the build...
With the turbo off, you can also see the ICP sensor that I needed to replace (I hoped...) It is allll the way up on the drivers side head.
And here are the o-rings under the turbo riser block. Note that they are yellow, not brown. All the orings in my new kit were brown. I checked the shaft endplay in turbo and there was NONE. It felt as tight as new. So methinks that sometime recently the turbo was rebuilt, and the orings changed between it and the riser block, but not under it. Needless to say, I left the turbo alone, but the rings under the riser were indeed bad, and probably leaking.
Valley pan was pretty nasty...
So I replaced the orings, and got everything put back together. Unfortunately I couldn't get to the ICP sensor from the back, nor the front. After a quick Google search, I found the quickest way to the sensor was to move the AC compressor. 3 quick bolts.
Old rings and sensor
Now, the leak? Still there!!!
I don't know if it is just residuals or still a leak coming from somewhere. Here is a pic of the turbo out, its dirty, but I figured it was just from the oring leak on the pedestal. Ideas?Blowby?
So, I still have a leak, I think. If its coming from the top end, I don't know where from. Ideas are welcome.
scoutkid
Van Builder
It was a busy weekend! I also found a CL ad for some Sportsmobile cabinets. Natually, I picked them up! Here is a base cab, I will be replacing the sliders (kinda ugly) and I have the drawers for it.
And a wardrobe!! I will be adding shelves and converting to a pantry. I have the drawers for it, too. I could have made these, but they give me a pretty good start to the interior!
And a wardrobe!! I will be adding shelves and converting to a pantry. I have the drawers for it, too. I could have made these, but they give me a pretty good start to the interior!
okiebindernut
New member
This probably isn't what you want to hear, but the oil leak on top of the motor is most likely one of the many fittings on the high pressure oil pump. There are at least five o-rings on the HPOP that can leak oil.
scoutkid
Van Builder
Yeah, if you read back to post #33, I replaced the 3 major offenders. I'm hoping the current 'leak' is just residuals from gunk on top of the motor.
TSAdventurez
Blogger/Adventurer
Amazing build man makes me think about going the van route deff suscribed.
okiebindernut
New member
A small fuel leak at the filter canister can start washing the gunk out and make it look like an oil leak. I know you've had issues with this, so you might just have a residual "leak".
scoutkid
Van Builder
Get one!! Aside from the confined engine compartment, its nice having room to work on things!
This is what I am hoping, when I park at night, i always try and find a 'dry' patch of concrete to see if i can see a drip in the morning - parked last night and it has gone to just a few drop! Much better than a 8" or 10" circle! I'm going to give it a few more days and see if it clears up!!