Gearheads: does this make sense?

[user 423]

My '91 Dodge van is a great runner (even after overheating numerous times in '14) but it looks terrible and needs the frontend and other work done.

So I've been scouring Craigs for a very similar van ('90 to '92) that's in better shape and maybe have a raised top plus I'd rather have a cargo van.

Anyway, I've replaced many parts over the past 8 years (with lifetime warranties) including the radiator, alternator, starter, water pump,timing chain,PCM,calipers,etc.  The transmission also works fine.

If I find another van I plan to remove all those parts from the '91 and junk the shell.

Now the question: Does it make sense to haul around an extra 200+ lbs. of parts and have them ready if needed?  I will be towing a 7x12 cargo but plan to keep the weight down.

The tranny is really the main thing I'm thinking of. On the road it would cost $1500-2500 if the trans dies.

 

[GotSmart]

Do you really have the room to drag all those parts along with you just in case?  I am in the same boat with my 91 318.

I would sell the van outright and bank it for a repair fund.

 

[user 423]

Well, since I'll be sleeping in the cargo, yes, I would have room in the van. So it's really the added weight I'd be concerned with. Actually, I've already been carrying around (under the bed) an extra PCM, alternator and master cylinder.

 

[SternWake]

The tranny life is basically dependent on how hot and how old the ATF got.

Dodge overdrive transmissions should get no other Fluid but ATF+4.

A stacked plate fluid cooler or even just a tube and fin cooler, in addition to the stock radiator cooler should be considered manditory.

Add a drain plug to the Tx pan next time you have it off.

I also fear the transmission failing,.....
SO fresh correct fluid, highly filtered and cooled well, is about as good as one can do.

One day i might have to put all my well kept mechanicals into a new frame/body

 

[user 423]

I hear you about the ATF+4 and have used that exclusively. Also added a tube/fin cooler that is two sizes bigger.
From forums I learned that the Dodge overdrives were subject to early death from heat. I've always been careful about when to use OD,also. If I ever swap this one out, I'll look into an add-on filter. That cant' hurt.

 

[Gary68]

i wouldn't haul around a transmission but everything else,heck yea

 

[jonsun]

same

 

[user 423]

Yeah, the tranny seems a bit much to haul around. The Dodge A500 weighs about 150 lbs. but I would toss the torque the converter to save some weight. I'd be buying a new TC anyway if there's a swap.

The radiator is bulky but it's a plastic/aluminum one from Autozone and only weighs 15 lbs. I don't use the trans cooler section and run a separate cooler. That would make for an easier change-out when the cheapo thing starts leaking.

 

[user 423]

I would sell the van outright and bank it for a repair fund.

It's in pretty rough shape and in fact I was in a minor crash recently when someone ran a light and trashed the front bumper. Like many old Dodges, it has terrible paint that I've primered over. Probably the most I could get for it would be about $500. It's worth far more in parts.

 

[highdesertranger]

most lifetime warranty parts are just a gimmick. the factory parts are usually much better quality. the parts store offers a lifetime warranty to get you in the door. they are betting that the part you buy last 5-7 years, the average times someone owns their vehicle. does anybody really believe that brakes will last a lifetime. also what good does that warranty do when the closest store is over a hundred miles away. buy quality parts not gimmicks. highdesertranger

 

[Van Man Dave]

It makes sense! I would pass on hauling around the tranny though. Other than that, no reason not to be well prepared. I keep extra belts, hoses, fluids, carb parts, fuel pump, etc with me at all times.

 

[bullfrog]

It is a shame that some vehicles and parts are so poorly designed that owners feel the need to carry so many spare parts. I did this with my air cooled VW's and with my Jeeps and Chevys I still do but with my Toyotas it has not been required even though old habits are hard to break.

 

[user 423]

most lifetime warranty parts are just a gimmick.  the factory parts are usually much better quality. 

I hear what you're saying HDR and when possible I'll buy the better part. It's getting harder and harder to do that cost-wise. I'm not even sure you can buy a factory radiator for a '91 anymore....if so, it would be pretty expensive. This one from AZ has been fine for 3 years and I don't anticipate it failing all at once. The only AZ or Advance part that I've had to make a claim on in 8 years was an ISC motor. They didn't blink when giving me a new one.

 

[user 423]

Years ago I had a throw away commuter car that I put a 'rebuilt' starter in. I must have swapped that thing out five times,

Yeah, I did that with a supposedly 'good' 3-speed tranny for my '56 Belaire bought from a salvage yard when I was a kid. Nicely painted, several of them sitting on a shelf, 30-day warranty. I got so tired of laying on my back changing those out.

Depending on the part, the auto parts stores now sell new stuff instead of rebuilt that is about the same price. Sure, they're made in some Third World country but some seem to be OK. I put a new starter from Advance in 8 years ago and it's been fine. $86 out the door.

 

[user 423]

It is a shame that some vehicles and parts are so poorly designed that owners feel the need to carry so many spare parts. I did this with my air cooled VW's and with my Jeeps and Chevys I still do but with my Toyotas it has not been required even though old habits are hard to break.

It's not so much that my old van is poorly designed, it's more an "old vehicle" thing. It's true though, I'd probably carry around a heater core, wiper motor, distributor and never need them....LOL.

Yes, I too carried spare VW jugs,pistons, generator,etc. for my old '70 bus around the country back in the 80s, along with a John Muir Compleat Idiot manual. Simple things to fix and could do it solo most of the time,too.

 

[tx2sturgis]

...but with my Toyotas it has not been required even though old habits are hard to break.

Got spare airbags?



https://www.edmunds.com/recalls/toyota.html

 

[bullfrog]

Got spare airbags?



https://www.edmunds.com/recalls/toyota.html

Ain't perfect but close.

 

[bullfrog]

Got spare airbags?



https://www.edmunds.com/recalls/toyota.html

2013 base line regular cab, 4 cylinder(with timing chain and the good no recall cam followers), the no recall air bags(even side bags in the bench seat), 5 speed standard transmission, 4 x 4, plastic bed, ARE wedge style topper.  Best MPG 23 worst 16 (towing) average 20,  should have gotten the V6/Automatic as I would have gotten better MPG towing and wouldn't have had the squeeky clutch return spring (that ain't right).  60,000 hard on/off road miles only oil and filter changes at 5,000 mile intervals and one exhaust recall done on their dime that I never noticed.  This thing may out last me.

 

[user 423]

Toys are good, I've owned several but if my van was a 2013 model, I doubt that I would be hauling around spare parts in it. A spare wallet (as in thin)? Now that's a different animal...

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Now the question: Does it make sense to haul around an extra 200+ lbs. of parts and have them ready if needed?  I will be towing a 7x12 cargo but plan to keep the weight down.

The tranny is really the main thing I'm thinking of. On the road it would cost $1500-2500 if the trans dies.

My 2¢

Finding a van that your parts fit will limit the selection.  Better to find a good van for the money and not limit yourself to a particular make/model.

Changing a transmission requires a special jack and 4 jack stands.  Are you going to carry those also or rely on breaking down close to a place you can get them?  You also need a smooth, level place to roll the jack around.  Paying someone to swap trannies is expensive too.  And I would want to check the tranny out before they installed it, or pay them to do it; more $$.

Corollary to Murphy's Law:  The part that breaks is the one you don't have.

 -- Spiff