The rust saga goes diesel.

[alefcourt25]

Hi everyone,

I've been aloof for a bit while staying home with my son and then starting a business and things have stalled out on my '86 Quadravan, I should have followed most of your advice and ditched the rusty body or the project...BUT,

Update: I just picked up this gem, rust free body!! Diesel! Propane heating system and house batteries!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290630553876&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3AOC%3AUS%3A1123#ht_500wt_1182


So the new hope is to salvage what I can from the Quad and junk the rest..unless someone here is looking for parts. Then either run it 2wd or convert to 4wd with the Quad parts. I was wondering if anyone would consider it to be a bad idea to use the Quad's frontend and upgrade the d44 to 8 lug? That's the plan... Thoughts?

 

[sdski]

That thing is awesome! How is the rear axle on your Quadravan? Why not just swap both axles under?

 

[alefcourt25]

The rear axle in the Quadravan is fine, but the new van has a heavier duty rear, so I want to keep the stoutness.

 

[rockbender]

Sweet! Go to your local truck shop and get some coolant test strips to see if the coolant needs any SCA additives. Also, oilburners.net is a great resource for the IDI diesels.

Are all D44's the same (other than bolt pattern - your's currently has 6 lug?)? Keep in mind the diesel motors are pretty hefty.

FWIW, I've got 4000# sitting on the front axle of my diesel E350 Quadravan which was converted with a D44 (8 lug). No problems I've seen, but most of the new guys seem to prefer the beefier D60 in a swap.

 

[alefcourt25]

Sweet! Go to your local truck shop and get some coolant test strips to see if the coolant needs any SCA additives. Also, oilburners.net is a great resource for the IDI diesels.

Are all D44's the same (other than bolt pattern - your's currently has 6 lug?)? Keep in mind the diesel motors are pretty hefty.

FWIW, I've got 4000# sitting on the front axle of my diesel E350 Quadravan which was converted with a D44 (8 lug). No problems I've seen, but most of the new guys seem to prefer the beefier D60 in a swap.

Sweet, I'll definitely look into the test strips and check out "oilburners". I would love to swap a d60 in, but I figure I already have a donor so hopefully it will be almost plug 'n play. The best part is that the diesel is an excellent runner so I can use it this winter for camping/ski trips and prep the frontend out of the other van in my garage.

Side note-- Does anyone need good barn doors, windows etc..? or a frame, 351w? 9inch rear? All the stuff not related to what I need to swap the 4wd has to go or it's going to the junkstack with the van. (I'm in North Central Mass.)

 

[loren85022]

Boy, could that thing evolve into something really cool both inside and out. That interior has room for some great remodeling.

 

[spencyg]

Neat. I will say that the 6.9 which is installed in your truck will eventually need head gaskets and ARP head studs if you intend to really use the rig. I'm just finishing up the engine reinstallation on my 1986 6.9L IDI Quadravan after serious issues with head gaskets and the oil cooler. My van only has 65k miles on the odometer, so it was more of an age issue and the fact that the 6.9's came with weak head bolts from the factory.

As for the axles, most of the '86 Q-Vans came with a Dana 61 Rear and Dana 44HD front. Both axles aren't awesome, so if your new van comes with a Dana 70 than you're golden. Eventually I'll be swapping my rear over to a 70, and the front over to a 60. If I were you, I wouldn't swap over any of the Quadravan 4WD system. I would do a leaf spring front end with a Dana 60, divorced NP205 Transfer case, and call it a day. The Quadravan front syspension linkage is one of the worst designs I've ever seen. It certainly isn't worth the trouble to swap it into another van.

Good luck.

 

[alefcourt25]

Neat. I will say that the 6.9 which is installed in your truck will eventually need head gaskets and ARP head studs if you intend to really use the rig. I'm just finishing up the engine reinstallation on my 1986 6.9L IDI Quadravan after serious issues with head gaskets and the oil cooler. My van only has 65k miles on the odometer, so it was more of an age issue and the fact that the 6.9's came with weak head bolts from the factory.

As for the axles, most of the '86 Q-Vans came with a Dana 61 Rear and Dana 44HD front. Both axles aren't awesome, so if your new van comes with a Dana 70 than you're golden. Eventually I'll be swapping my rear over to a 70, and the front over to a 60. If I were you, I wouldn't swap over any of the Quadravan 4WD system. I would do a leaf spring front end with a Dana 60, divorced NP205 Transfer case, and call it a day. The Quadravan front syspension linkage is one of the worst designs I've ever seen. It certainly isn't worth the trouble to swap it into another van.

Good luck.

Thanks SpencyG! I've been following your build since I started researching 4wd vans three years ago and must say you and Boomer are my inspiration!! My new van has a 7.3l, will that need the same fixes as the 6.9? Also, thanks for the input on the Quadravan frontend swap. I'll start looking for other options, as I want it to be stout, simple and as efficient as possible. Meaning I only want to do the swap once..

 

[spencyg]

The 7.3 won't have issues with the head gaskets or bolts, but you do need to have the coolant checked immediately for a good ratio of SLA's (do a google search on 7.3's and coolant cavitation). The 7.3 is a good stout motor otherwise, but cavitation can kill them in a hurry.

It gets no simpler than a leaf spring front end. Add a track bar for good measure and you'll have a very capable and simple front end setup.

I'm glad Boomer has inspired. It isn't the first time I've been told this, and it makes me smile every time.

Thanks

 

[alefcourt25]

Well... Finally picked up the new rig and it is BIG. Drove the 103 miles home, in the dark, torrential rain the whole way, left blinker not blinking, brake lights almost not considered lights, but...it made it, ran great and I wasn't arrested for running plates from my other van on it. Pheww! My wonderful wife followed me the whole way. (she smelled more like diesel than the van upon completion.) Oh and I discovered that not all diesel stops have a nozzle that fits in the fuel filler. Super fun holding the handle barely on trickle to eliminate the geyser effect.. while getting pelted with rain. Long story short, it's home and I'm pumped!! More to come as the time allows.....

 

[alefcourt25]

Here's some photos of this morning. Nothing special but this van is RUST FREE!!! The body could be showroom quality. Compared to the Quadravan, which I paid the same amount for, this van is pristine. I couldn't be happier.

 

[alefcourt25]

I went for a nice long 60 mile ride today, just to get accustomed to the new van and really pay attention to how it drives and handles. I must say this one runs great. Seems to shift well, has power and rides pretty smooth. New shocks are in order and I am pretty sure it needs a passenger front wheel bearing, but all in all in awesome shape. I also removed the power folding step that was inoperable and jammed in the down position. After the drive the step had an inch of mud sitting on it. While I was at it I pulled the blacked out grill from the '86 and installed it and swapped the Steelcraft seats for my Mastercraft Rubicon set. While crawling around underneath I was able to really see how great of shape this body is in. All the usual areas that rust out are pristine. It makes me think that this vehicle must have been garaged for a large chunk of its life and was obviously well maintained. Amazing that over the course of 6 owners all of them kept up on the maintenance. I attached some pics of it out on the road and next to the soon to be dismantled Pathfinder.

 

[alefcourt25]

smoking...

So, the PO told me that the van smokes when cold and that it goes away when warmed up. White smoke. Well, this is true.. but it smokes alot! It definitely goes away when warm and the van has power and idles nicely, but it sure is alot of smoke, for about 15 minutes and it stinks! The PO also said that he just replaced the GP's (and they seem to be working) so I would like to rule that out, but maybe I should do it again.. This morning it was 18 degrees out when started and was not plugged in. I did a bit of research and it sounds like this smoke is normal from the older 7.3's when cold, but I wanted some other opinions. SpencyG, how's Boomer when cold and not plugged in? Anyone else experience this with the late 80's diesels? Thanks for reading.