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Old 06-08-2019, 11:42 AM   #21
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Last week was spent tidying up the engine compartment and wiring under the dash, cleaning up and replacing the seat swivels and seats them selves, cleaning all the plastic trim pieces I removed, replacing the ARB compressor, and in general getting ready for the maiden voyage. I got all the door panels and plastic trim pieces replaced but it was a bit of a puzzle figuring where all the pieces went since I wasn't the one who removed them and a lot of the screws were missing. I had one near disaster though. Way back at the beginning I stuffed a rag in the intake hose when I pulled the air box. Sadly, I forgot about it and started the motor, but the intake was making a funny whistling noise, and it only took me a few seconds to remember the rag. A few bad words were said, but fortunately, there is some type of projection inside the intake the caught the rag, preventing it from going any further. Had it continued to the turbo, I would have created a lot more work and expense, but I got lucky. So, once the rag was removed, she fired right up and ran fine. I eased out of the drive way and did a few laps around the neighborhood, much to the amusement of the neighbors because there is no front end attached at the moment. Everything worked as expected, the transmission shifted fine, the transfer case was fine (but I forgot to shift into 4low) and the power of that 7.3 was enticing. It clearly pulls much harder than my 5.4 with lots of low end, I can see why folks like them so much. Now that most of the mechanical stuff is out of the way, I can concentrate more on the inside of the van. Yesterday I spent several hours cleaning and organizing the inside and doing an initial assessment of the Starcool. I couldn't get the compressor to start, but discovered that several of the fuses have been removed, most likely due to the evaporator fans being seized. I also discovered that there is a toggle switch wired in to manually actuate the solenoid valve that isolates the engine compressor when operating on shore power, I'm not sure what that's about. Since I had a bunch of stuff piled on the seat, getting to the relay / fuse panel was difficult so I plan to remove the seat to provide better access for troubleshooting. Sadly, none of the wires, relays or terminals are labeled or color coded making it harder to trace individual circuits. Another chore will be to figure out how to deal with the cabinets. Many of the latches have failed, and no longer hold the doors closed, and the pull out pantry cabinet sags and needs an additional drawer slide. The cabinet faces show some wear, making me wonder how expensive it would be to have them refaced. Then there's the floor, the original SMB marine vinyl is showing its age, and there is a spot where a wheel chair lift was installed, leaving some bolt holes. I'll weld up the holes and splice in a piece of plywood, then decide on the new flooring. Vinyl is far more practical but I'm partial to padded carpet which is much nicer to my knees, but harder to keep clean. In my 2001, I just replace it every few months with scraps sourced from carpet store discard piles. I've never failed to find really nice, new pieces big enough to fit. Using the old piece as a pattern, I can cut a new piece in just a few minutes, and I quickly have a new, fresh piece, and add my old one to the pile. Then again, some nice wood flooring might work too, we will see. So, she's cleaning up nicely and running fine. Progress.......................

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Old 06-08-2019, 12:07 PM   #22
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Always held your experience & knowledge in high regard, and from this last post it sounds like the initial apprehension that must have come with the purchase (what have I done???) is fading quickly...and that's great. All sounds encouraging, hope the rest goes without incident so you can maintain your optimism.
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Old 06-08-2019, 01:07 PM   #23
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Yeah, what he said. Me too, very much appreciate your posting, experience and knowledge. Sounds like progress is being made, which is awesome. Hopefully the cabinets will won't be too bad and you can resolve the Starcool issues. Wish you continued success moving forward.
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Old 06-08-2019, 02:33 PM   #24
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awesome to see the resurrection, my friend drowned his Tacoma last week in Mexico, but i believe he is just going to total it out on insurance. Click image for larger version

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Old 06-08-2019, 03:01 PM   #25
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Wtf did a bull shark ram that thing for extra insult to injury? Would like to hear more of the story if you don’t mind.

Glad that van is rollin again! Good job bud!
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Old 06-08-2019, 07:23 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zappo View Post
Wtf did a bull shark ram that thing for extra insult to injury? Would like to hear more of the story if you don’t mind.

Glad that van is rollin again! Good job bud!
damage is from being broadsided by waves.

we were going to pull a SXS out and got caught by the tide, couldn't get the momentum to get up loose rock hill above the sand as tide came in.

extracted by a Tundra with 10k pound winch and a pair of 4 runners as anchors because the tundra kept getting pulled across the loose rocks.Click image for larger version

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Old 06-08-2019, 09:18 PM   #27
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What a bummer!especially afteryour buddies kindness in tryin to help another off-roader,we helped this guy out 3 weeks ago in or near anza borrego.nightfall was coming quick and he was begging for help so we held up a smartphone and videoed him accepting all responsibility if his truck flipped etc while we were tryin to help(unfortunately the world we live in).two trucks held him from flipping over and my other buddy spun him around and pulled him off straight off the ledge.we told him he could get a big rig wrecker who could crane and cradle truck down to safety but he rolled the dice haha.it was my first recovery assist(Black f150)

“Sorry for jacking this thread,won’t happen again!
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Old 06-09-2019, 12:46 AM   #28
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I learned my lesson on a steep beach in Baja on my BMW. I was unable to head up hill and kept getting sucked closer and closer to the waves. I finally laid it over and ran for help, and when I got back waves were lapping at the wheels. A helpful lady told me not to worry, one big wave would wash away all my problems but I secretly hoped a wave would take her away. My nice shiny aluminum wheels were never quite the same after that and now I'm much more careful in deep sand or water.
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Old 06-09-2019, 09:46 AM   #29
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Always held your experience & knowledge in high regard, and from this last post it sounds like the initial apprehension that must have come with the purchase (what have I done???) is fading quickly...and that's great....

I second that!


I love stories like yours, Jeff, 'fortune favors the bold'.



A vision and persistence, the skills to pull it off, and there's a little luck, too.
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Old 09-03-2019, 11:03 AM   #30
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I just returned from Alaska and started working on the project van again. Prior to departing I had removed all the batteries. Yesterday I installed all new cable ends (thanks for the recommendation CarringB). I used the little solder pellets designed for the ends and soldered the wires in, but there is no way to really confirm that the solder actually wet the copper strands, so I crimped them too. Then I cleaned and repainted everything. I noticed that SMB had run the ground cable from the house battery directly to the frame, so I removed it to check the connection and I'm glad I did. They just chose an existing hole in the frame and didn't even clean up the metal. The hole was much larger than needed and as a result the connector had very limited contact, probably equivalent to size 18 wire. I'm pretty certain the battery will charge faster now due to the reduced resistance in the ground. I got that all taken care of but when I was raising the 4D AGM I noticed that the positive cable really had no where to go that wouldn't result in it contacting the body of the van. After a couple of try's, I took it out again and discovered that indeed the cable had been rubbing on the van and it was worn about half way through the insulation. Yikes, I can only imagine what was going to happen if it wore all the way through! So, after modifying the connector, rerouting the cable and cutting a new exit hole in the box, the cable fit's nicely without contacting anything. Next up is repairing the floor where a wheel chair lift was removed. After sealing the holes and welding a piece of metal over them, I cut a piece of plywood to fill the gap and now have to decide on what to use for flooring. This is turning out to be a big project, but I have plenty of time to get everything done correctly rather than just good enough.
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