2 Sluggo's Garage

[Grumblebum]

I don't think we've got any vans over here with v8's in them. How do they go? Should be great for a tourer once you get it cleaned up.

GB

 

[metalhead140]

As per GB, looks like it's a good van. Hope your coolant leak stays away for good!

 

[1/2 Cup]

rmalkow, Great score on the van..

Wishing you and your family all the best for Christmas.

Regards..

 

[taumac]

That's one hell of a deal you got there. That will be a nice road trip vehicle and nice "date" night vehicle for you and the wife. LMAO

 

[Lyndon]

OK, so it's the Tuesday before Christmas (I hear that's cause for a holiday somewhere ). And the sun is long gone, so a few drinks have been had.

So RM, while I may not contribute here a lot, I do appreciate what you're doing (for you and for us) - and I wish you, and yours, a whole heartedly fantastic and prosperous Christmas.

I cannot describe (in manly words) what this site means to me. More power to You and yours.

Have a great Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Lyndon
Nearly Fatherly Christmas . . . .

 

[rmalkow2]

I don't think we've got any vans over here with v8's in them. How do they go? Should be great for a tourer once you get it cleaned up.

GB

These Econoline vans have been made with every sort of engine Ford used it seems like. Many in this era used the 4.6L V8 which I have or the 5.4L V8, both gas engines. You could also get larger diesel engine versions for heavier load use. It runs pretty well for its age but needs TLC. The prior owner used it more I think when his children were younger but not so much in recent years. I think it sat a lot lately so it needs attention to revive it. Hoping you and family have a great Christmas.

As per GB, looks like it's a good van. Hope your coolant leak stays away for good!

Thanks, and me too! I hate chasing coolant leaks around a tight engine compartment. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

rmalkow, Great score on the van..

Wishing you and your family all the best for Christmas.

Regards..

Thanks 1/2Cup. All the best to you and yours this Christmas season.

That's one hell of a deal you got there. That will be a nice road trip vehicle and nice "date" night vehicle for you and the wife. LMAO

Road trip yes hopefully. No date nights for me however. Hope you and yours have a great Christmas.

 

[rmalkow2]

OK, so it's the Tuesday before Christmas (I hear that's cause for a holiday somewhere ). And the sun is long gone, so a few drinks have been had.

So RM, while I may not contribute here a lot, I do appreciate what you're doing (for you and for us) - and I wish you, and yours, a whole heartedly fantastic and prosperous Christmas.

I cannot describe (in manly words) what this site means to me. More power to You and yours.

Have a great Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Lyndon
Nearly Fatherly Christmas . . . .

Lyndon, I agree this is a great site and I learn a lot and have great fun reading others exploits. I always get something from reading your thread even though I don't always comment. I appreciate your attention for detail and zest for life. Merry Christmas to you and all your family. And, I'll have a Christmas drink if you will!

 

[rmalkow2]

Heating Success!

Yesterday I had a chance to drive the van locally for some errands in town since the prior day of changing the thermostat. So I topped off the coolant tank to the cold level and gave it a good drive to work out any air trapped in the coolant system. A few miles down the road the temp gauge rose to the normal range for the first time.


Plenty of warm air coming out the vents so hopefully that problem is solved.

Now onto the next task which is changing spark plugs.

 

[rmalkow2]

TO ALL MY GJ Friends

MERRY CHRISTMAS



From


To all your shops and garages all around the world.
​

 

[rmalkow2]

Smooth Running Van

I was going to try and change spark plugs myself then started reading up on all the potential problems with replacing old plugs that get carbon fouled on Ford 4.6L engines so I decided to just take to to my local mechanic and have him do the job right and handle any potential plug breakage. Good thing I did although it was not cheap. The plugs were definitely old and in bad shape but also 7 of the 8 coils were bad or failing and needed replacement. All signs that the prior owner had neglected this area of the vehicle. But all is back now and running smoothly without all the misfire.

I also updated the keyless system with two new key fobs ordered from Amazon. Step by step this thing will be revived and roadworthy again.

 

[rmalkow2]

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I bought this 1995 F150 a number of years ago and it was a useful vehicle until about 2 years ago when a number of things started to pile up as needing repair. I had continued to believe I would fix it then sell it as I had purchased a newer one one year ago.
Well, reality finally matched up with common sense this winter and I figured out what I could get in a tax deduction versus "someday" selling it on CL. That convinced me to make the call to Charity Motors before the end of the year and today it was hauled off to some eventual new owner.

No regrets as I'm glad to see it go and to open up usable space in my driveway. It's a nice mental relief as well not having to plan time to continue working on something that I was not going to use in the future anyway. And I get to specify the charity of my choice for the proceeds to be donated.

 

[taumac]

Smooth Running Van



I was going to try and change spark plugs myself then started reading up on all the potential problems with replacing old plugs that get carbon fouled on Ford 4.6L engines so I decided to just take to to my local mechanic and have him do the job right and handle any potential plug breakage. Good thing I did although it was not cheap. The plugs were definitely old and in bad shape but also 7 of the 8 coils were bad or failing and needed replacement. All signs that the prior owner had neglected this area of the vehicle. But all is back now and running smoothly without all the misfire.



I also updated the keyless system with two new key fobs ordered from Amazon. Step by step this thing will be revived and roadworthy again.

Wow, how did the van even run with 7 out of 8 coils being bad. I have replaced those when I had a 99 5.4. That was a expensive bill cause I know the price of those coils.

 

[jon72vega]

rmalkow2,
Here's wishing you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

[metalhead140]

Good news on getting the van sorted, and though I don't know how it works, good on you for donating the f150 to charity. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

[rmalkow2]

Wow, how did the van even run with 7 out of 8 coils being bad. I have replaced those when I had a 99 5.4. That was a expensive bill cause I know the price of those coils.

Well they were not all failing all the time so it ran sometimes on all 8 and sometimes on less. Sometimes I would feel the misfires while driving and even get a check engine light. When home and checked with my code scanner I would have codes for one or more cylinders that misfired. So I knew it was at minimum the spark plugs or possibly more. the plugs themselves were very old and probably had huge gaps.
I don't have a good way to diagnose failed coils myself so I just decided to let the expert do it. They knew that 2-3 coils were definitely failing and the others looked very suspicious so if put back in I might be back in the shop once a month for each additional failure. So, I agree with their choice to just prevent future problems from a vehicle with old and original hardware.
It was a big bill to be sure but in the big picture I purchased the vehicle very cheap so will not have a lot into to total.

 

[rmalkow2]

Good news on getting the van sorted, and though I don't know how it works, good on you for donating the f150 to charity. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

rmalkow2,
Here's wishing you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks guys for stopping in and the good wishes. Hoping you all are having a great Christmas Holiday with friends and family.

The donation thing is pretty common here and a number of different organizations will take cars, trucks, boats etc, then auction them off and use the proceeds for charity work. They are registered with the government and can issue a fair market value receipt to you which can then be used as a deduction on our yearly income tax. So it can be a good deal with some items.

 

[rmalkow2]

Charging up the van battery today. After many days of starting the engine fine it decided to show up yesterday with low power. The prior owner said he thought it was very old and suspect but I've been watching it so far. Always carrying my jump box along just in case. Also holding out for tomorrows extended family Christmas gathering and hoping someone took the hint from my wish list and bought that nice battery tester I picked out. This way I could have a fun purpose to try out the new toy ( er, I mean tool). But if this battery won't hold a charge today then its off to the auto parts store.

 

[xtremek]

Happy holidays. Good call on letting someone else do the plugs in the van. I'm a diehard DIYer, but Ford is notorious for plug issues in their early Triton motors. Ask me how I know. Better yet, my blood pressure doesn't need the spike, so skip that question. Sounds like something else is wrong with the charging/starting system. BUt that's just my guess.

 

[taumac]

There was a way to test coils. It can be done with a multi meter. If you suspect a misfire one way to get the computer to tell which one is to get on highway up to about 45 50 mph and give it some gas but not enough to downshift it out of overdrive after about 10 to 20 seconds it should turn the CEL on and tell you what cylinder misfired. If plugs are good then it's a bad coil. Oh one other thing. Never hose down a 5.4 motor or that COP motor. If you do you will short a coil out. Ask me how I know. I replaced 4 coils @ $60 a pop before someone told me. Water will find if way into valley where coil and spark plugs are and short the coils.

 

[rmalkow2]

Happy holidays. Good call on letting someone else do the plugs in the van. I'm a diehard DIYer, but Ford is notorious for plug issues in their early Triton motors. Ask me how I know. Better yet, my blood pressure doesn't need the spike, so skip that question. Sounds like something else is wrong with the charging/starting system. BUt that's just my guess.

I hear ya. My BP didn't need the rise either if I caused more damage myself. But really I wouldn't mind trying to work in this if I had more time and warm winter space but I did not have that luxury over the holidays. Turn out this is a 2 valve engine so the plugs are more traditional design and don't have the issue with breakage as much.

Charging system seems fixed now with a new battery. The old one would not take a charge yesterday and then after load testing at the local O'Reilly it totally failed. We took it on a long road trip today and everything worked fine.

 

[rmalkow2]

There was a way to test coils. It can be done with a multi meter. If you suspect a misfire one way to get the computer to tell which one is to get on highway up to about 45 50 mph and give it some gas but not enough to downshift it out of overdrive after about 10 to 20 seconds it should turn the CEL on and tell you what cylinder misfired. If plugs are good then it's a bad coil. Oh one other thing. Never hose down a 5.4 motor or that COP motor. If you do you will short a coil out. Ask me how I know. I replaced 4 coils @ $60 a pop before someone told me. Water will find if way into valley where coil and spark plugs are and short the coils.

Good tips on how to test the coils. And I did the driving test portion and got the exact result of DTC's that identified a few bad cylinders not firing. Turned out the plugs themselves were very old and not firing well. And yes I'm guilty of washing my engines. I try not to get them drowned with water but it's entirely possible that I helped cause some of the issue. So that means I possibly paid for my own mistake. Gee I've never done that before!!!!

Given the holiday time and I have a house full of family and, we needed the van running to make some area trips it forced me to use the quick method and take to the shop.

Oh well, the result is a smooth running engine now and good electrical with the new battery.

 

[rmalkow2]

Happy New Year GJ!!!

Looking forward to a better 2017.

 

[rmalkow2]

No Room at the Inn

Subtitle: No vacancy at the mouse motel….

Last winter half way through the winter I found myself overrun with the little critters who decided to move in during cold weather. They typically head back outdoors in warm weather but last winter I ended up catching 10 of them before seeing no more sign.

This year I started putting out traps earlier and have already sent two of them to their ultimate demise. The traps are back out and set with peanut butter which seems to be a favorite bait.

The latest catch who will not be living in my vehicles.

 

[HSpencer]

Yeah, those guys are a pain in the neck. I catch one now and then, but our cat, who takes naps in my shop, keeps most of them out.
I do keep about four traps set in the places I have seen them, but I guess my place is just not all that welcoming to them lately!!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[Vieux]

The trap looks the same in all countries. I, too, usually in the fall the mice come into the garage and I struggle with them also. This year, why it was not

 

[1/2 Cup]

rmalkow I don't do pesky rodents like that.

Fortunately we don't have too much of an issue here..

Regards

 

[rmalkow2]

Useful Addition to the Garage

Thanks to GJ member Strouty, I made a new purchase last week and think I'm going to really like it. I saw this on his thread and after a few questions had to have one. It's a low wattage heat mat. This is the smaller size but I wanted something I could move around easily and place in spots where I would be standing or kneeling, say, to work on brakes or wheels. So far it seems to do the job in the sense that it just takes the cold cement floor away. In our typical winter temperatures it does not throw a lot of heat but rather makes the floor neutral to prevent that cold from the cement from soaking into your feet or body. 90 watts so does not draw a lot of power. Seems pretty heavy duty and was about $26 from Amazon. Cozy Products if you want to check it and bigger brother out.
The instructions say to not cover it with anything but I will likely test that out when used for kneeling and lay a small piece of carpet over it for a little extra padding. It will be a test to see of there is any degradation of performance.
Also warns that it's not for wood or vinyl floors but rather for cement use as an anti-fatigue device.
If I like the small one I may also get the larger version to increase work space.

 

[metalhead140]

That's a neat idea!

 

[1/2 Cup]

rmalkow, that warmer would be handy, the only thing is we don't need one here just yet with 100F + days.

Regards

 

[taumac]

That's a nice little item. So I guessing you have no excuse to be out there in the garage and get **** done even if it's only one square at a time. LOL

 

[rmalkow2]

That's a neat idea!

I thought so too when I saw it on Strouty's thread.

rmalkow, that warmer would be handy, the only thing is we don't need one here just yet with 100F + days.

Regards

I hear you and I will be glad to put it away for our summer if it ever comes back!

That's a nice little item. So I guessing you have no excuse to be out there in the garage and get **** done even if it's only one square at a time. LOL

Haha, one square at a time is about my top speed. And there is no limit to my ability to make excuses. But this will help once in awhile.

Thanks for stopping by here everyone.

 

[rmalkow2]

Hooptie Happenings

I decided to use a good portion of today to do some checks and maintenance on my new to me travel van. Affectionately dubbed the Hooptie Van! Beautiful 53 degree F day today which is highly unusual for January 21st. So I had to take advantage and do a few things outside.

One thing that needed a visual check for my peace of mind was the status of the front brakes so it was good day to take off the wheels and inspect everything. The good news is the brake pads have lots of meat left on them and the rotors actually looked new too. So I think the prior owner had recently replaced them. With the first wheel off I was looking at how grubby it was with years of accumulated brake dust and grease. So out came various sized brushes and the Simple Green mix in a spray bottle. The before and after show a much needed improvement. Maybe it won't actually run better but I'll feel better about it.

Another upgrade got accomplished as well with the replacement of the old stock radio. The old double DIN size Ford radio played ok and the CD worked but it has no AUX input and I really like playing podcasts while on long trips. I had a spare radio taken from another vehicle but just had to order an adapter kit. Well it arrived earlier than expected and was in todays mail. So out out with the old radio.

Solder together the radio harness to the adapter harness.

New radio installed in dash with plastic adapter housing to fill in the old larger space.

Last but no pics. The front chrome bumper had a partial plastic cover that was broken and half missing. So I ripped off the remainder and it looks better as just one plain chrome bumper.

 

[metalhead140]

Transformed those wheels, well done.

 

[rmalkow2]

Low Budget Solar

Another project tackled this weekend for use in the travel van. I've wanted to have some simple aux power for the van when stopped overnight and wanted to be able to use solar power to keep it refreshed. The third goal was to make it portable so I could take it in any vehicle or even inside the house if needed during a power outage.

Another goal as usual with me was to re-use or re-cycle as much as possible in the project. I knew I would have to buy the key components such as a battery, charge controller and inverter.
All three of those items came from Harbor Freight simply because they were on sale and access is easy.
The battery is a 12V 35Ah sealed unit. The solar panel (I already had on hand) for now is 12V, 1.5W small panel. I also have a larger panel that could be used if this one does not handle the job of topping off the battery. The charge controller is the smaller of the HF units that is rated for up to 7 amps and 100 W input. The inverter is a 1500W continuous unit with dual 110V outlets and dual USB outlets. This is all experimental for me but I think it's all pretty much overkill for any typical use I have in mind. My basic intentions are maybe phone charging, powering a tablet, possibly some small LED lighting and other small electronic devices. I'm not expecting to run a blender for late night drinks or anything.

To start off I needed a case to put all this stuff and had this plastic tool box that I will never use for tools. It's missing one latch but I will improvise something for that eventually.

Luckily the initial test fit for the battery was a perfect slip fit almost as if the box was designed for this battery.

Next was fitting the power inverter on the opposite end of the box to help balance the weight a little bit. I also spaced the inverter up off the box floor a little with a piece of wood from the cut off bin that was a perfect fit. Luck is with me. The board acts both to space the inverter up a bit and to lock the battery into place at its end to prevent sliding/moving in the box.

Some access holes needed cutting in both sides of the box to provide access to the inverter power switch and all outlets. These holes also provide the path for air flow to cool the inverter as needed.
One side required a larger rectangular hole for the outlets to be exposed.

The other side just needed the hole saw to make two holes that line up with the twin cooling fan inlets of the inverter.

The charge controller got mounted on the outside of the lid to allow easy view of the status LED's with a slot cut in the lid for wiring connectors to drop down into the box.

All hooked up, my volt meter says power is available at the outlets and, now the battery is charging via sunlight through the kitchen window. All wiring used was scrounged from my spare parts bins and even the few fasteners needed came from extra parts in the shop.

It will get its first real road test this coming weekend as I travel to visit family.
A fun little project that should be very useful.

 

[Vieux]

A great van for traveling . Radio Ford is quite unique, I'm remodeling the radio from a Ford Maverick, she does not work CD and to do input AUX.

 

[rmalkow2]

A great van for traveling . Radio Ford is quite unique, I'm remodeling the radio from a Ford Maverick, she does not work CD and to do input AUX.

Thank you. I too hope it will be a good traveling vehicle.

When you finish the Ford radio modification I hope you post the process on your thread. I would be interested to see how you add the aux input to an older radio.

 

[Vieux]

Thank you. I too hope it will be a good traveling vehicle.

When you finish the Ford radio modification I hope you post the process on your thread. I would be interested to see how you add the aux input to an older radio.

If you get it done, it will definitely show. While everyone in the research process. The radio is old and also broken CD had a few more faults. One of the faults of non - working encoder on the volume control. This problem I fixed by replacing the encoder. The difficulty lies in the fact that all the parts have Ford's markings and to find a diagram or Datasheet of the manufacturer is almost impossible. You have to "declassify" with tester and oscilloscope. I'll hope that happens. Radio here's

 

[Vieux]

I did the AUX in an old radio Ford. While all assembled on the breadboard. A little video is here

 

[rmalkow2]

Well done Vieux. Now you have a more usable radio for the vehicle it comes from.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Well done Vieux. Now you have a more usable radio for the vehicle it comes from.

rmalkow, I have to say when it comes to repairing stuff Vieux is the man for it..