Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

The only part that makes the hot tub possible is it's ease or portability and setup. If it takes up anymore cabinet storage or longer than an hour to setup, I'm never going to use it. Only use it for special occasions when there are other people around to enjoy it and throw some diesel in the tank. Reflectix doesn't work when you compress it. In fact, I think Reflectix only works properly when there is an air gap next to it's surface. I would need high density foam of some sort to support the weight of about 110 lbs per sq ft. Figuring 2000 lbs of water and 4 people, that's a lot of weight. Definitely not carrying around plywood. But I like the insulation to get it off the ground idea.

Haha, nothing beats enjoying the snow while in the hot tub! Glad someone else understands. Who said living in a van had to be rough?

 

[Calypso]

Put it on top of an inflatable mattress.. just would have to be a one made for Hulk, and a few Titans.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

No no no, bad, all bad!

Driving at night on some county backroad in VA and the engine temperature gauge started climbing. Normally it's been sitting way too cold, like 100 degrees all the time. I shut her down and pulled over before bad things happened. All the coolant in the radiator was gone. Looked underneath and everything was white and wet. Popped the doghouse off and yep, the braze job on the engine didn't hold. Filled the radiator back up and continued on and got to where I was going. Stand by for further analysis...

 

[bullfrog]

I see more parts in your future!

 

[mudbunny]

Bummer but it was worth a try. Seems like if you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn't have luck at all. Time to polish it with $100 bills.

 

[kklowell]

Uh oh.

 

[Calypso]

… that’s the only face I can make.
At least you were able to make it to your location. I’ll have to look back to find the entry about the braze job of which you speak. Hope it’s not too bad.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Unfortunately, yes, going to need more parts, expensive parts. Sometimes you just got to throw money at things. The braze job has been a work in progress over the last few months to fix a crack in the engine. This is very bad, not as bad as when the crankshaft broke in half, but almost as bad. Only saving grace is that it's still drivable, just need to add two gallons of coolant every time we fill the fuel tank. But at $15/gallon of coolant, this is not sustainable! Might need to bite the bullet and get this thing fixed properly.

 

[GntlStone]

Where are you located now?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Made it all the way to NJ. Ugh, a terrible place, but there are better tools and supplies there. I'm sure I could change an engine out on the side of the road, but she still runs, so going to repair this in comfort.

 

[kklowell]

Bummer. Sounds like it'll need a new head.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Maybe. I still have a bunch of JB Weld left over from last time though!

 

[kklowell]

Maybe. I still have a bunch of JB Weld left over from last time though!

Regular JB or Extreme heat JB? I used the latter on an exhaust port on a Briggs engine and it held up well. I'm thinking heating and cooling cycles might be too much for regular JB, but I'm not engineer or expert.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Haha, if the braze didn't hold, I don't think JB Weld will hold much better. JB Weld is better for applications like fixing crankshafts.

 

[Calypso]

Made it all the way to NJ. Ugh, a terrible place, but there are better tools and supplies there. I'm sure I could change an engine out on the side of the road, but she still runs, so going to repair this in comfort.

How far is that? VA to NJ? I could look on a map, but I’m lazy right now. I have a skewed sense of distances. I’m trying to remember what we used on this plow system we had. It was some pretty intense stuff, as JB weld didn’t last long either. It was more due to the pressure put on it and repetitious use. There’s gotta be some industrial mojo out there. But at ,East you were able to get to a place where you can really focus on it.
Do you all live in your van?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Made it with one tank of fuel, just under 500 miles. Already took engine apart. Will need new one. Don't be fooled by the photos, I'm in the van by myself. Realistically, only two people could live in this space full time. And those two people better be able to get along because it is cozy!

 

[kklowell]

Made it with one tank of fuel, just under 500 miles. Already took engine apart. Will need new one. Don't be fooled by the photos, I'm in the van by myself. Realistically, only two people could live in this space full time. And those two people better be able to get along because it is cozy!

A whole new engine, not just a head?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

New head. The rebuilt one didn't make it. Stand by for update.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

We dove in deep. It is what it is. Everything is on hold now that the van is officially stranded.

Looking down the side of the block under the problem area. That looks terrible...

Lots of white fluffy stuff caked on everything underneath. Not sure how to clean all this. I'm assuming this the result of the block sealer that all leaked out. What a mess.

And the money shot. Not sure what happened, but it's definitely leaking out of here again. That block sealer made a mess of things! It held for a good while, but no, it didn't work. Oh well, it was worth a shot. I'm really only out my time and some fluids. But I did learn to silicon bronze braze stuff. Find the silver lining in all tragedies.

Anyway, no time to stare at things and attempt to come up with new cuss words. Ripped the busted head off with a come-along. I still can't get over how much access there is with these step vans. Not sure if I ever want to work on anything else ever again.

The key to this mess is to stay organized! Obviously parts that we're going to reuse with the new cylinder head.

And as documentation, we're crossing all of our i's and dotting all of our t's. All of the old cylinder head bolts are in great shape and within manufacturers specifications. Now we just need to wait for parts to come in...

 

[kklowell]

It sure is a good thing you're not mechanically timid.