Hello, from Washington

[SeniorMasterSergeant]

Hello,

I am Jesse, from western Washington. I retired from the US Air Force in 2007, after 25 years of service.

My platform is a 1997 Grumman Olson step van, atop a Chevrolet P32 forward control chassis. The van is a 12 foot step van, which means it has a cargo area 12 feet long.

Spoiler: my van

I run my bicycle service shop from inside this van. It was originally owned by the City of Tacoma Power Utility, as a maintenance van. I didn’t have much to modify to use it for bicycle service. I’ll get some interior pics up here if anyone is interested. But, in the next two years, I’ll be rebuilding the interior space, so I can easily remove the bike shop equipment and transform it into a traveler I can use with my family of four (and two dogs) to trek across the country to the east coast to see a total solar eclipse in 2024.

Before that trip, I want to do a couple test runs with it, probably to RTR in Quartzsite, since that happens in January. January is the slowest month for my bike service shop, and a good time to see Arizona.

The vehicle is quite sound. When I bought it four years ago, it had 32,000 original miles on it. It appears to have spent much of its life waiting to be driven. The engine is a Detroit Diesel 6.5 liter, normally aspirated V-8, turning a 4L80E transmission. The engine is a little bit special, as it’s an unusual configuration. Most 6.5L diesel engines were equipped with turbochargers and an electronic fuel injector pump. The engine in my van is the HO (high output, whatever that means) version, RPO code L57. That means, I have no turbocharger, no EGR, and a mechanical fuel injector pump. Grumman Olson really ordered chassis and built these bodies to be long life, simple, and reliable. I really hit a jackpot when I found this van, I think.

Behind the louvered box visible in the photo is a 5kW generator set (which was already installed when I bought the van). It’s more power than I need, and is somewhat loud. But, as I intend to only operate it for cooking operations, I think I’ll live with it until it needs to be replaced.

It has no air conditioning, which will limit where and when I travel, until I can solve that problem.

For cabin heating, I intend to install a Wabasto oil fired heater. They will run happily on diesel fuel, but if I have the space, I am going to install a separate heating oil tank for the heater, so I don’t have to burn up fuel for which I paid road tax.

I also need to install a solar power system for house lighting and other low current applications, to leave the vehicle starting batteries with nothing to do except start the engine.

I’ve been working in this van year around for four years now. A couple areas I know need addressing are sound and thermal insulation. The walls and ceiling are insulated from the factory, but I don’t think that’s very effective stuff, and probably shrunk since the van was new. I don’t think there is any insulation on the floor. I know that the fender wells are single wall bare aluminum, and there is exposed aluminum just about everywhere in the cab!

I’m glad to have found your forum, and hope I can contribute.

Jesse
SMSgt, USAF (ret)

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Sweet rig! Need more photos! I'm sorry, I get excited when I hear about other step vans...

 

[Seajatt]

I don't mean to be a downer but that 6.5 has some real gremlins. Types of gremlins that will grenade your engine. If you google more, you'll see what I mean, but also you'll find the work-arounds people have come up with.

 

[SeniorMasterSergeant]

I don't mean to be a downer but that 6.5 has some real gremlins. Types of gremlins that will grenade your engine. If you google more, you'll see what I mean, but also you'll find the work-arounds people have come up with.

If it had the turbocharged version of the 6.5, I’d be a little concerned. Grumman Olson spec’d their vans out to be highly reliable. I miss out on all the problems associated with the turbocharger and the model DS4 electronic injection pump, electric lift pumps, PMD modules, oil pressure switches, vacuum pumps, and EGR valves, since the L57 engine has none of those things. It really is a basic diesel engine.

Sure, it only develops 190 hp, but delivers a decent 400 ft-lbs of torque. It does everything I’ve asked of it these last four years. But, it does nothing really fast. That‘s all right, so long as it keeps doing things!

I am especially glad my older rig doesn’t have the diesel particulate filter stack to deal with. I appreciate the chemistry behind them, and they do what they claim. There are so many light trucks in use as passenger cars, that that level of emission control is really necessary. I wouldn’t choose a modern diesel, because of the DPF systems they need.

What specific problems with this engine came to your mind?

 

[Seajatt]

If it had the turbocharged version of the 6.5, I’d be a little concerned. Grumman Olson spec’d their vans out to be highly reliable. I miss out on all the problems associated with the turbocharger and the model DS4 electronic injection pump, electric lift pumps, PMD modules, oil pressure switches, vacuum pumps, and EGR valves, since the L57 engine has none of those things. It really is a basic diesel engine.

Sure, it only develops 190 hp, but delivers a decent 400 ft-lbs of torque. It does everything I’ve asked of it these last four years. But, it does nothing really fast. That‘s all right, so long as it keeps doing things!

I am especially glad my older rig doesn’t have the diesel particulate filter stack to deal with. I appreciate the chemistry behind them, and they do what they claim. There are so many light trucks in use as passenger cars, that that level of emission control is really necessary. I wouldn’t choose a modern diesel, because of the DPF systems they need.

What specific problems with this engine came to your mind?

I was thinking specifically of the PMD, coolants problems and crankshaft bearings. But it sounds like you've got it sorted out and are out there kicking ass. I'm going to GA within this next week to take a look at a 7.3 that looks to be in good shape. Keeping my fingers crossed

 

[SeniorMasterSergeant]

I was thinking specifically of the PMD, coolants problems and crankshaft bearings. But it sounds like you've got it sorted out and are out there kicking ass. I'm going to GA within this next week to take a look at a 7.3 that looks to be in good shape. Keeping my fingers crossed

Yes, that PMD (pump mounted driver*) has been a problem For a long time. I read an excellent failure analysis by an electronics engineer, who found that it is not thermal runaway that is killing these modules, but mechanical separation of the power transistor leads at the circuit board, due to the different thermal expansion coefficient between the epoxy used to pot the modules and the copper leads of the power transistors. Eventually, that connection cracks and breaks, resulting in a high resistance contact that will work intermittently, if at all.

I am not sure if that fault has ever been addressed by the module manufacturers.

*note: The PMD is what controls the fuel solenoid in the injector pump. It drives the solenoid that replaces your foot in throttling the engine. There’s no throttle cable connected to the DS4 injector pump.

Into what will you be installing your new 7.3 engine?

 

[Seajatt]

Yes, that PMD (pump mounted driver*) has been a problem For a long time. I read an excellent failure analysis by an electronics engineer, who found that it is not thermal runaway that is killing these modules, but mechanical separation of the power transistor leads at the circuit board, due to the different thermal expansion coefficient between the epoxy used to pot the modules and the copper leads of the power transistors. Eventually, that connection cracks and breaks, resulting in a high resistance contact that will work intermittently, if at all.

I am not sure if that fault has ever been addressed by the module manufacturers.

*note: The PMD is what controls the fuel solenoid in the injector pump. It drives the solenoid that replaces your foot in throttling the engine. There’s no throttle cable connected to the DS4 injector pump.

Into what will you be installing your new 7.3 engine?

Gonna make a note of this, that's really good to know. I've always heard it was thermal problems that killed them, but yeah, that makes sense. How many miles per gallon are you getting out of your stepvan?

And the 7.3 is an e350. It'll have plenty of payload capacity plus all the ass I need for towing my tools around. I just hope it isn't sold before I can get up there. So you've been on the road for four years, or that you've had the van for four??

 

[user 29855]

Thank you for your many years of service to our country.

 

[JDub]

Aim High!

JDub, E7 (ret)

 

[Calypso]

I totally dig the plan for 2024 eclipse… what an awesome adventure and to have that destination/goal in sight. I’m sorta loosey goosey with that stuff. I have an ongoing list of places but not events or timeline. I think I’ll start looking into that (and having a natural event that can’t get cancelled a year from now).

What a cool experience for your family, both the build and the 2024 trip