The Bacon Van's Full Breakfast

[AbuelaLoca]

Yay!!! Great progress! Read about your smoke and crackling thing... hope that's being solved as I type!!

 

[thehellend]

Yay!!! Great progress! Read about your smoke and crackling thing... hope that's being solved as I type!!

Literally it was! I have a new item to add to the top of the list, but he found the cause and temporarily fixed the hoses for now. He's a good guy, he's a great friend in addition to being a solid mechanic. So yeah, things are pretty good


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[thehellend]

Just got back from our first excursion in the van! We survived!!! She actually sleeps two very well, and we've got another adventure booked for this Friday (a waterfall about an hour from here). Yay!

Just in time for me to resolve one issue, another has popped up - the chassis has started creaking beyond all hell! Going over bumps creates an orchestra of noise, so now I'm on a new mission to find out why and get those things lubed or replaced.

Also, the transmission is leaking in four places - all bolts. I added the UV dye and got a good look at where it was coming from. I'm going to go back out when it's a little less blazing sunshine and get some photos of where the leaks are coming from so I can formulate a plan for patching them up. Hopefully because the bolts are what are leaking, there's an easy-ish fix?

 

[thehellend]

Where do I even start in looking for grease points? The joints have a thick ***** tar on them that I can only assume was healthy grease once upon a time. Do I wipe that off and look for nipples to pump grease into?


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[highdesertranger]

"Where do I even start in looking for grease points? The joints have a thick ***** tar on them that I can only assume was healthy grease once upon a time. Do I wipe that off and look for nipples to pump grease into?"

yes, that's exactly what you do.

after you have lubed everything if it still squeaks more then likely it's the bushing that don't have lube fittings, like the one in you pic with the big bolt on the lower A-Arm. to locate the source of the noise spray WD-40 or some other light oil on the bushings until you find the culprit. on a side note front end bushings should be replaced in sets not just one. you will need an alignment after the work is done. highdesertranger

 

[thehellend]

yes, that's exactly what you do.

after you have lubed everything if it still squeaks more then likely it's the bushing that don't have lube fittings,  like the one in you pic with the big bolt on the lower A-Arm.  to locate the source of the noise spray  WD-40 or some other light oil on the bushings until you find the culprit.  on a side note front end bushings should be replaced in sets not just one.  you will need an alignment after the work is done.  highdesertranger

You're the best. Thank you for being my lighthouse as I sail the uncharted seas of becoming a noob mechanic.

 

[thehellend]

Can anyone tell me what these are, and what they are supposed to connect to? Both need hoses replacing and one I can't find where one hose feeds into, and the other's wiring literally snapped in my hands. I need to fix these asap.

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[AbuelaLoca]

I just want you to know that I'm gonna be right behind you where ever you go so you can fix my van too 

 

[thehellend]

I just want you to know that I'm gonna be right behind you where ever you go so you can fix my van too 

lol right now that would be parked up behind me... she's in a state of disrepair right now


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[thehellend]

Right, ok so I searched and searched and searched and searched and eventually figured out what they are... kinda.

The skinny one that has a hose that splits off into a T connector is the "Trans conv vac sw" known as a lock up converter vacuum switch. Something to do with overdrive? I thought my van didn't have overdrive? It doesn't have the O around the D on the gear display.

I used the schematic located under my hood to try and figure out the cabling, but I can't see the electrical stuff on there. Maybe I'll just try to follow the wiring and somehow put in a new wire? This might be above my station somewhat. Ideas?

The phat one is a "Tip in vac sw" - which is a "tip in vacuum switch".  this completes a circuit when there is a tip in situation to stop a spark which might cause a knock. I don't really understand much of that, but I am guestimating from context that it makes the engine adjust its behavior when you drive a little erratically so it doesn't mildly insult the engine's functionality. Using the schematic I see that it connects to a T that then connects to a bunch of stuff (I found this connector already), and the other part of the T has the broken line, which is supposed to connect to the EGR/PURGE/TCC/TVS thing, which might look similar to this. I guess I should know if I'm right when I find something with the chewed up remains of a rubber hose on it.

So it sounds like the van is driveable without these fully functional for now, but that I should get them fixed because they certainly do have some bizarre 1980s mechanical purpose.

Also, I'm bookmarking this post for information. Can't say I understood it all, but it was definitely written in a way that I could perhaps start to figure it out.

 

[Ballenxj]

Also, I'm bookmarking this post for information. Can't say I understood it all, but it was definitely written in a way that I could perhaps start to figure it out.

Nice find.   About your lock up converter, you should make sure that works. While not an actual overdrive, it will feel like it just shifted into one when the torque converter locks up. A lock up torque converter is meant to eliminate slippage once it does lock up at freeway cruise speeds, which will help save fuel.
 Good luck in finding where everything goes, but I will bet you can do it. What you've accomplished so far is impressive.

 

[thehellend]

I'm an overachiever  Thanks!

 

[thehellend]

Ok, I got the vacuum hose connected. Turns out the trick is to swear loudly and aggressively for what feels like hours while you fumble blindly in the dark. The cable might be a tough one, as I've never repaired a cable before. :/

Going to meet Jeeps and More tomorrow to see if they can handle my van - then I'll have them look all over the carb and see if there are any connections in dire need of fixing up, also look at the tranny leak that is still happening. And the chassis squeak....

 

[thehellend]

Update!

So I finally got the van over to Jeeps and More, they ended up not having time to look at her other than to check the tranny fluid and oil, and showed me how to actually check tranny properly. We topped her up and set off to Bonnaroo festival! She did so well! It was about 350 miles round trip, and a whole lot of stop/start queuing to get in, as well as lots of bumpy field driving, and we had zero issues. I'm dropping her off today to see about getting the full check up and starting to work through the mechanical stuff I can't figure out

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Woo hoo... that's two weekend trips under the belt! Congrats to The Bacon Van for coming through!!

 

[thehellend]

A couple of weeks have gone by, so I figured I'd update...

We went to England for a holiday, so things have been a little on the quiet side. Bacon has been sat in the barbed wire enclosure at the mechanics for two weeks, as they'd been seriously short staffed and didn't have time to work on her. I'd told them to take their time owing to the fact we'd be away anyway, so I finally got a call on Tuesday as I returned back to America through Philly immigration.

They told me they'd done the full check, and there were a few majors that needed attention. The main three areas that needed attention were the brakes, the leaks, and the suspension. No surprise there, the brakes seemed old, the leaks were already evident, and I knew the suspension was a little iffy. We decided to work on the first two things now, and come back in soon to do the suspension. These aren't going to be cheap things, but I'm going for the 'eradicate all possible issues' angle rather than the 'keep her kicking', so there's going to be expense there. It's why I married a doctor....

We are working on a timeline to have the first round of repairs done for a couple of weeks' time, when we drive off for the weekend to go to Louisville's Forecastle festival. Still looking for a place to park and camp, so if anyone reading this has a plot near downtown we can use, mucho beers coming your way!

I'm pretty sure my neighbors assume the van is gone for good and are breathing a sigh of relief.... can't wait to dash their hopes and bring her back. I miss her RAID musk!

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Oh my goodness... what a hoot... I hope your trip was awesome and I'm jealous of your trip to Louisville as that's one of my favorite places to visit!! What is the forecastle festival? Is that like a renfest?

 

[thehellend]

Oh my, I let a whole month go by?! Well, I got the van back with new front brakes, plugged leaks, and they did a little carb work to make her run better. She has a mild dieseling issue when it's really hot out (as they increased the revs) but I assume the only thing that'll fix that is a carb rebuild or replacement.

The van has become my main driver, and OMG I love her. I've put a queen bed in so she's more comfortable for sleep, and I'm enjoying a little travel and relaxation time before I move on to the next set of fixes. The plan is to sell my other car (that'll be about $800) and invest that money into the next set of improvements, starting with the suspension. Then carb work and power steering pump replacement. Oh, and getting a stereo in!

 

[Gary68]

the dieseling could be the timing,at highway speed give it 3/4 throttle without shifting out of high gear,if the engine make little rattling sound the timing i to advanced

set timing,advance it till you hear the valve rattle then retard till it stops,advance will make the idle faster,retard slower
adjust air idle screw on carb,screw in till idle gets rough,back out slowly till smooth and then a touch more
then set idle where you want it

on a carb vehicle you will need to do this 4 times a year or any weather/elevation change

 

[user 12892]

It's called Monosnap - I just need to press ctrl and 1 and it will capture the screen and open the editor where I do the fancy text. Pretty neat!

Thanks very much, works well on a Chromebook. My text ended up really small but that can be played with.