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So, I officially have twins now. Meet Thing 1 and Thing 2   Van #1 is a 2000, 1500. Has some flavor of V8 in it. Don't which one. Body is in alright shape. Its missing the exterior door handle for the sliding side door, but everything else on it opens up just fine. It starts. Doesn't have or need a key to start. But It starts! Smells powerfully of gas while its running, but doesn't seem to have any issues getting up and going. The electrical side though, has a few issues. The PRNDL indicator on the dash doesn't work. The lights are wired in such a way that they come on automatically, but setting the switch to off turns them on. The blower for the HVAC sometimes works, but has a lovely wire connection and flakes out. AC doesn't work. Van #2 is a 2001 2500. This one has issues. The engine does start. Well, it used to before one of the battery terminals melted. But it did start. Sometimes. It'd run pretty rough and kind sputter and misfire. So I'm thinking there's a timing issue. I was told that this one had a motor swap done, that wasn't completely buttoned up. Again, this has a V8 of some flavor, still not sure which. Most other things seem to work ok. Lights work. Well, the lights that it has. Blower for the HVAC works. This one actually has a key, and all the locks work. Paint is in pretty bad shape as you can see on this one. The usual suspects on these vans though, the hood and the roof. Pretty easy to fix that side of things. Both of them have a lot of dents and dings spread out across them. Some worse than others. So why did I buy these? Well, for one, it was $700 for both of them. For two, I'm gear these up to to be work vans again. I'm planning on making them ready for a hopefully long career in the HVAC/R field. So they'll be getting shelves, partitions, and ladder racks at some point, and restickered on the outside. Not sure if I want to get them resprayed just yet. Now, Let's talk about the """""FUN"""""" part of today. Getting these things home. The journey back wasn't the hard part. AAA saved the day again by getting them towed for free.  Something tells me this won't be the last pic you'll see like this. So the real fun began in the last 5 feet of getting these things park and ready to be worked on. See, van #2 got stuck getting int in the driveway. Took a turn a bit too wide and welp.  Should have been simple enough to start it up, let it warm up, and back it in again right? Well, the tow truck driver ran the battery down by leaving the lights on. Went to jump it out and got it started. Then it lost all power completely. Popped the hood, and found that that postive battery terminal had liquefied. Not only was a poorly crimped aftermarket one install, but they lost the battery connector and had it held in place loosely by a bolt. So that sucked. And this thing is loving heavy, loaded down with like 200lbs of OSB that the PO left in there for some reason, and its on a gravel driveway. Well, after getitng Van #1 pulling and and friends truck pushing behind it we got it unstuck and out of the the way at least. Van #2 has certainly proved it's worth today. Despite getting stuck in the gravel, pulling another van, and having it's own issues, it still worked like a champ. 
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Aug 2, 2020 05:34
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 11:46 |
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Good luck on your sweet vans! I bought a 2003 Chevy Astro AWD today that has it's own gremlins, but not as bad as a liquefied battery terminal!
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Aug 2, 2020 06:53
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Love it!!!
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Aug 4, 2020 02:00
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do a kickflip
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Aug 4, 2020 02:05
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A+ thread title.
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Aug 5, 2020 00:12
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EVERYWHERE 
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Welcome to thunderdome. Ground floor. Edit: nevermind the thunderdome comment, I see now you’re actually trying to get two running vans out of this.
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Aug 5, 2020 18:22
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I'm liking where this is going.
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Aug 7, 2020 06:15
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So, no real update as of yet. I'm keeping these at a friends house for now, as he has the room to store them and he's helping to work on them. I helped him install a bathroom fan today, and ran into some very scary wiring issues. So that was fun. For some reason, the PO got rid of a bathroom fan that was installed in there already, by just removing the guts, but still leaving the shell in the attach, and installing a can light inside it, and sheetrocking over it. Oh, and to power it?" The tapped off of one of the main power wires running to the breaker panel. In the attic. Not inside a junction box. With a wire nut. So, anyways, after doing lots of crawling and pulling some new wires. I just kinda looked over the vans and make a more complete list of what needs to be ordered and done on them. And I went through and looked at some of the goodies contained within: First prize of the day, some plumbing fittings:  Second prize, flavored nuts:  As you can see the previous owner was very thoughtful and forward thinking, and included a convenient snack holder for those long drives between jobs.  The radio leaves quite a bit to be desired, both in terms of actually working, and, you know, staying in place, or being level, or being secured in any meaningful way. Also a whole mess of micro-USB charging cables were found scattered across the van.   The rear sliding door is completely missing the handles both inside and out. All the hardware is there, and it can be opened, but for some reason everything else is just....gone. Luckily its only like $20 worth of parts to replace everything, but still, its just like...why. I do plan to try and scavenge some new interior panels for all of the doors as well. The sliding door one is missing, but the drivers side door card is all smashed up as well. Like, the entire bottom is smashed out of the storage pocket on it. And last, but certainly not least, the wonderfully safe seatbelt on the drivers side:  I have no idea what's going on under that tape and I don't want to know. The whole assembly swings around like crazy and you can almost twist around itself. No clearly its barely bolted down to anything. And this is on the "GOOD" one. I still haven't looked around the inside of the other one too much because A: I forgot to bring the keys with me this time B. Most of the inside is taken up with the like 20 sheets of rotting OSB that were left in there. So I can't wait to see what surprises are inside that one.
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Aug 9, 2020 01:10
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So the plan here is twin turbo LSX I'm assuming?
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Aug 9, 2020 12:15
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ExplodingSims posted:So I can't wait to see what surprises are inside that one. Another post like this on that van and we can call this a warped vans tour  It still kinda blows me away those things skipped the gen3 entirely and went right from tbi 350 to the gen4 in 03. In 2002 you could still get a good ole smallblock in a brand new vehicle. Turbo Fondant fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Aug 9, 2020 |
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Aug 9, 2020 20:48
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NumbersMatching320 posted:Another post like this on that van and we can call this a warped vans tour Are you sure about that? I don't think gen4 started until '05, and I'm pretty sure I've seen some gen3 motors in vans in the jy
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Aug 9, 2020 22:00
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The vans were kind of weird. Like the 2500s got 4.8s but the 1500s stuck with the 5.7. Just weird poo poo like that all over.
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Aug 11, 2020 05:36
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Elmnt80 posted:The vans were kind of weird. Like the 2500s got 4.8s but the 1500s stuck with the 5.7. Just weird poo poo like that all over. sure, but gen3 4.8s, i think. the 5.7 is a gen1
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Aug 11, 2020 07:25
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Raluek posted:sure, but gen3 4.8s, i think. the 5.7 is a gen1 Yeah, the vans were just a clusterfuck of design choices which totally makes figuring out wtf with them an easy and enjoyable task.
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Aug 11, 2020 14:31
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NumbersMatching320 posted:Another post like this on that van and we can call this a warped vans tour I'll have to check on this when I get back to them in another week or so, but while a VIN check indicates the 2500 has a 5.7, and I'm pretty sure its got the Vortec Fuel Spider thing on it, not the TBI. So that's interesting. The G20 I bought back in the Trukk Thread definitely had the 5.7 350 with TBI, so I guess they changed sometime between 93 and 99. Also running the VIN on the 1500 seems to indicate that it has a V6 in it, not any V8 like I though. So welcome to THE SLOW ZONE I guess.
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Aug 12, 2020 04:31
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Lesson 1: count how many spark plug wires you see that don't end in nothing. I didn't realize these ever got a V6 though, I thought that ended in the 90s. There's nothing wrong with a 4.3 in the right vehicle, but holy poo poo is it gonna be gutless these days compared to, uh, even a U-Haul truck. unless you luck out like I did a decade ago and wind up with a mid 80s Toyota cutaway with the 3.0 with an odometer that stopped a bit past 300k (it smoked like a train with a blown turbo, except blue/white smoke). e: this is not "the right vehicle" for a 4.3, I don't think even a USPS LLV would be the right vehicle for a 4.3 these days (going by today's standards and what they're speccing for the next generation of postal vehicles). Can't kill a 4.3 easily though. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Aug 13, 2020 |
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Aug 13, 2020 03:45
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The Chevy van was the last straight 6 Chevy in the us. Always steal the 292 power steering bracket if you find one those are gold!
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Aug 25, 2020 14:18
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Elephanthead posted:The Chevy van was the last straight 6 Chevy in the us. Always steal the 292 power steering bracket if you find one those are gold! This doesn't feel right. The Atlas 6 was in the TB until 2009; the express van surely had a V6 by then?
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Aug 26, 2020 06:01
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He's referring to the 1960s straight 6 292, which isn't related to the Atlas. I don't think GM had a straight 6 from about the late 80s until the Atlas came out (~2002?). The Atlas is uncommon enough already that most people don't know it was a family of inline 4/5/6 engines. And yeah, the Express could be had with the ol' 4.3 V6 until the end of the 2001 model year. Not sure why he mentioned the 292 though, that hasn't been used in the Chevy vans since the... late 80s I think? And by then I think the 4.3 was more common by then. In the US anyway... if wikipedia is to be believed, you could still get the 292 in Brazil until the early 00s. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:02 on Aug 26, 2020 |
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Aug 26, 2020 09:47
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STR posted:He's referring to the 1960s straight 6 292, which isn't related to the Atlas. I don't think GM had a straight 6 from about the late 80s until the Atlas came out (~2002?). The Atlas is uncommon enough already that most people don't know it was a family of inline 4/5/6 engines. I know what the 292 is, my point was that I don't think that was the last chevy I6.
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Aug 27, 2020 08:16
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Me and my 2009 Express 2500 will be watching this amazing thread. I thought mine was slow because it’s loaded up to about 8,800 lbs and has the 4.8 with a 4-speed auto. I drive everywhere with the pedal matted into the floor and I still feel like loaded cement trucks want to pass me. We built metal lumber and osb shelving in the back, and run a HP laser printer on an inverter and marine battery for printing invoices off of an old iPad. Do you have any plans for cooling the back of the van or auxiliary lighting back there? I don’t know how much time you plan on spending actually in the van but I’m in the back for ~15 minutes about 10 times a day and it gets hot in the summer. The cab air does nothing for the back.
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Aug 27, 2020 12:17
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this ought to be an entertaining thread to follow. You gonna hire someone to run the second van, or use it as a backup so you can keep different crap in each one, or just use it as a backup in case one explodes? Great price for both of them, too. e: NumbersMatching320 posted:Another post like this on that van and we can call this a warped vans tour or he takes it on the highway the first time and realizes the previous owner was a fan of panic stops, so it's Vans Warped Rotor kastein fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Aug 30, 2020 |
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Aug 30, 2020 02:30
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Modus Man posted:Me and my 2009 Express 2500 will be watching this amazing thread. I thought mine was slow because it’s loaded up to about 8,800 lbs and has the 4.8 with a 4-speed auto. I drive everywhere with the pedal matted into the floor and I still feel like loaded cement trucks want to pass me. I'm not really too worried about the ventilation in the back. I don't really anticipate being in there for more than a few minutes at at time, unless I'm re-organizing things or cleaning or such. I'm probably going to to do the same thing you did and build shelves, but I'd very much like to buy metal ones. I'd love to get some Adrian Steel ones, but those are $TEXAS. Ranger Shelves (https://rangerdesign.com/) are what we use in the current vans I've worked out of, and they're pretty nice and somewhat more affordable. I definitely need to get a metal bulkhead divider though. That's something I won't compromise on at all. Then I need to get some decent ladder racks as well. I know you can get the slide off the back kind for cheap, but I really, really hate those kind. Trying to keep an eye out for a decent WeatherGuard one. This one is the one I really, really want: https://www.weatherguard.com/products/van-storage-equipment/van-racks/QuickClamp/234-3-01 As for lighting, the last van I had that had crappy lighting in the back, I used these lights off of Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016KNZQ0E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 kastein posted:this ought to be an entertaining thread to follow. You gonna hire someone to run the second van, or use it as a backup so you can keep different crap in each one, or just use it as a backup in case one explodes? Great price for both of them, too. Yeah, my buddy is going to be going into business with me when we get everything else set up on that front. So honestly if these things last a year and open the door for us to buy something newer and better down the road then so be it. But once I get some money coming in I do want to have a backup van for when one of these craps out.
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Aug 31, 2020 00:50
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So. Van thread. Its been a little bit. I ended up moving shortly after buying these Van's so over done approximately Jack poo poo to any of them yet. I know what needs to be done. I've ordered some parts for them, but I'm still ignoring them. And this update is no different! Because I'm completely ignoring them in lieu of some new toys I picked up. So the new place I'm at sits on almost an acre of land. And uts really nice, grass, like 6 kinds of fruit trees, walnut trees, etc... But this is the first place I've lived at since leaving my parents house that has a lawn for me to take care of. Having rented everywhere else, someone else took care of it, but now its kn me. The PO left a push mower to use on it, and I did that once. It took 2 1/2 hours and sucked. So I wanted a riding mower, and thanks to Craigslist, now I have one! And some other "goodies" Heres what $60 and a trip into the country gets you:  The mower is Powrkraft By MTD Rated at 18 HP with a Briggs and Stratton engine   Needs new front tires, and supposedly the starter is bad. It does turn over by hand, and it has spark, but just clicks when you turn the key. Rolls just fine at least. Prize #2 was this rototiller. I think it's an MTD. Engine is supposedly seized up on it, but well see what else is up with it.  Prize #3 is this chipper/shredder thing? I wasnt really looking for one, but the guy threw it in as part of everything else for free. Probably junk, but I've got free time, and it was free so hey.  And a seed spreader  Ince I got everything unloaded hit them with the pressure washer and cleaned some of the gunk off:    So, I've got some fun little small engines to tinker with across the winter months now. Hopefully I'll be better at updating with these then I was with the Van's! Those are still in progress though. I need to get one of them towed to my new place still too.
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Nov 15, 2020 23:00
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I'd be surprised if the starter on that riding mower was actually dead and it wasn't just the solenoid.
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Nov 15, 2020 23:16
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Seconded. It lives under that little flap between the seat and dash.
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Nov 16, 2020 14:35
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The shredder thing looks like a walk-behind leaf blower that's missing the fan and cover.
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Nov 16, 2020 15:03
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So, on the advice of this thread I went ahead and bought a new soliniod and a new battery and such. So, let's get to working.  Gross. And the crimped on connectors just snapped off when I moved it.  Whoops. Anyways, I got the new soiliond in, and the new battery as well. Had to crimp new ends on all the wires since they had rusted so bad i couldn't get them off the battery. Once that was in place, I also replaced the throttle lever, since the old one had completely shattered.  After all this I truee to fire it up and... Nothing. The soliniod clicked, but nothing happened. Starter didnt even try to spin or anything. So I guess were gonna have to pull it and.. Good Lord:  Just completely impacted with all kinds of poo poo. Good thing I borrowed this CO2 tank from work:   Much better. Trying to apply 12V directly to the starter and....nothing. its dead. So I guess were going to be ordering a new starter. So I turned my attention to the shredder. It had been totally seized up. I couldn't spin it by hand and the PO had taken the head off for some reason.  So I let it soak while i worked on the mower, and then tried spinning it again, and it made a full rotation! The valves seem to actuate, and aside from some flash rust the cylinder seems to be fine: 
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Nov 28, 2020 00:51
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