The Fat Van

[Gary68]

How have things gone with the axles?  I'm definitely watching your build.

parts are ordered and on the way,cleaning everything up and getting ready for rebuild,if the weather holds :dodgy:
so far everything is looking in great shape just bad seals and springs

 

[Gary68]

o.k. i'm going to do it,grab a flashlight and look down the to toilet be right back

 

[Gary68]

yes,no surprises left for me,didn't look real clean but no piles

 

[Almost There]

Once you've got the van on the road, if you want to really clean out the tank you can put a couple of gallons of water in the tank, add a 10 lb bag of ice cubes and drive around the a while so they slosh around and loosen anything that's stuck to the walls of the tank.

Drain immediately and repeat if  needed.

 

[Gary68]

this sucks

napa wanted $112 for napa,rockauto-raybestos $89 delivered

 

[Headache]

Looks like your surprises weren't lurking in dark tanks.

I look at auto parts stores as convenience stores now. I can't imagine how much Rock Auto has gotten from me over the last 4 years but it's either wait and save the money or pay for the convenience.

Oh and with that ice that Almost brought up I've also dumped rock salt in with it as well. It helps the ice last longer and the salt scrapes the gunk right off. DON'T leave it in the tank though! It's only for a quick driving swirl and swish to the tank dump so you can rinse it out really good and put fresh water and chemicals in.

 

[Gary68]

waiting on new u bolt to arrive so i thought i would bring you this public service announcement



your brake fluid is a fluid and needs to be changed every so often

the rear is the rear brakes and i have the line open so i have filled it up a couple times and let it drain to get the old fluid out,you can go to a shop and they have a machine to do it

 

[Almost There]

waiting on new u bolt to arrive so i thought i would bring you this public service announcement



your brake fluid is a fluid and needs to be changed every so often

Does the same go for power steering fluid and if so, how do I know when it needs changing?

The last oil change had the guys trying to tell me I also needed the power steering fluid changed because it was 'dirty'.

But then I've had all kinds of repair places try to upsell me on a regular basis.

 

[LeeRevell]

The brake system is a closed and sealed system. Barring a serious leak, or an oops when checking the level, it cannot get 'dirty'. New fluid only needs added if the level gets low.

 

[Gary68]

Does the same go for power steering fluid and if so, how do I know when it needs changing?

The last oil change had the guys trying to tell me I also needed the power steering fluid changed because it was 'dirty'.

But then I've had all kinds of repair places try to upsell me on a regular basis.

yep,but only about once a decade or so,what you see in the pic is probably 40 year old brake fluid,what i've done with power steering fluid is use a turkey baster and get what i can out of the reservoir and fill it back up

so once maybe twice in a vehicle life do you need to change them,they are hydraulic fluids and over time absorb moisture and heat takes its toll

 

[highdesertranger]

dang that drum is scary. wonder what caused it? turned to thin? Chinese casting? highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

dang that drum is scary.  wonder what caused it?  turned to thin?  Chinese casting?  highdesertranger

what i was told is that the brakes were hot,drum expanded,they stopped,put on e-brake,drums cooled and wanted to contract and something had to give,les schwab guy said it was fairly common

 

[highdesertranger]

the problem with that it really doesn't show heat damage. I thought heat at first but it really doesn't show it. just for shits and giggles have them mic it. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

the problem with that it really doesn't show heat damage.  I thought heat at first but it really doesn't show it.  just for shits and giggles have them mic it.  highdesertranger

scrapper ran off with it

 

[Gary68]

still waiting for ubolts

so i did some clean up

not sure if it ever had a generator,need to crawl around looking for wires though

see the wood top,here it is from the inside

recessed,right behind the passenger's seat...battery box is pretty much done

 

[Headache]

Believe it or not brake fluid CAN absorb moisture even though it is in a "sealed" system and that can lead to major corrosion and reduced braking later on. Will it happen? Probably not but I change mine out every 5 years or so to make sure it doesn't become one. You have an older vehicle that you don't know when the last anything was done with 100% certainty. Good to see you're on top of it. It's more important to be able to stop so you don't take out that bus full of nuns.

 

[poncho62]

Its funny how that bus full of nuns are everywhere getting in peoples way..................

Agree with the fluids change thing.

 

[Gary68]

 

[poncho62]

Kinda like the black wheels....Did you figure out why the tire isnt sitting in the center of the wheelwell?

 

[Gary68]

aaannndd,it really didnt help much with the centering,all i can think of is i went back and check all the options for springs and there is a 2100lb set with 5+ inch bow where my 3000lb and the ones i took off are 3 1/2,the old ones where not stock they had a leaf added and it had a 2 inch lift blocks which i removed,so maybe it came stock with the 5+ inch bow 2100lb spring and a previous owner changed things

ride height is pretty much a push from old w/2 inch lift to new

anyways i have a solid baseline to work with now,a shackle flip might be in the future,would raise the rear,level the springs and move the axle forward

in the end,centering the wheels in the wheelwell is nothing my jigsaw couldn't handle

suspension was wasted, it sagged 3-4 inches when you stood on the back and acted like a spring board when you bounced,all solid now
inner wheel seals were leaking so the brakes were covered in goo,all good now

so the run down
springs $486 ooouuucccchhh
drum $89 normal ouch

brake shoes,wheel cylinders,hardware,hose
inner,outer wheel seals,pan gasket,pinion seal
u joint x3
paint
oil
u bolts
shocks
$290

for a total of $865 or so

total spent $3915