Over time I have repeatedly expressed my chronic disdain of vans, mine in particular. Even though I own this Ford, for my purposes vans are the automotive equivalent of a gallbladder – it is quite easy to function without them. No doubt some people reading this have a pronounced need for vans, but few are the situations I’ve had in which a sedan or crew-cab pickup couldn’t do the task just as well or better.
Rant aside, I’m not going to neglect the van I do have. And she was needing some attention.
Giving the old Ford the once-over back in the spring, I noticed this pop-knot on the lower radiator hose. This is a 2000 model van and this hose was installed at the factory, so it didn’t exactly surprise me this had happened. Like people, rubber ages.
The Ford has also been sitting…a lot. The current odometer reading is 114,116; I last changed the oil in March of 2015 at an odometer reading of 111,979. Roughly 2,200 miles in sixteen months isn’t a lot of usage. Given the way we (don’t) use it, there wasn’t a huge sense of urgency to replace this hose.
Part of that is due to the lower radiator hose looking like a mutation between a spider and an octopus. When I went to the parts store to pick it up two days after I ordered it (do you seriously think they would keep a $110 hose on the shelf?) I didn’t even need my receipt – they remembered me.
This hose does make an impression. A customer saw me walking around with the hose. He asked what the hose was far, likely thinking for something exotic, like a 1970s Maserati Quattroporte or a Lamborghini Miura. When I told him it was for a Ford van, he said (and I have edited his statement): “You have to be f***ing kidding me! That’s for a Ford van? That’s f***ing crazy.” I can’t say I disagree.
The oil cooler is the reason for the two branches on the left and connect just above the oil filter. The top connects to the water pump, the bottom to the lower side of the radiator, and the right hose to the filler tank. This isn’t a small, dainty hose.
Getting home, I tear into the old Ford. I drain the radiator…
And I look under the hood. Thinking about it, I look at it from the other angle…
Which isn’t much better. All the air intake plumbing is easily removable and creates more room than seems possible.
Doing so reveals the water pump is way down there. The two hoses to the oil cooler (one of which I marked with chalk) are draped over the front crossmember of the frame.
The old hose was surprisingly easy to remove. I do recommend pulling it out from the bottom. Install the new hose from the top and start at the water pump. The entire job went much better than I thought. And, yes, I did use new hose clamps and fresh coolant.
With the old van having dual heat there are an abundance of heater hoses. I’m saving those for another day but have researched the tools needed for removing Ford’s plastic retainer clips. While it sounds oxymoronic for this being a van, the heater hoses are relatively easy to access.
Between replacing both radiator hoses (the upper was a snap, taking three minutes) and refilling the radiator, the job took about five hours. A good portion of that was figuring things out, so I could do the job again in about half that time. It also gave me three bloody knuckles, several finger lacerations, a bruised sternum from having to lie on the radiator support to reach the water pump, and the satisfaction of having fixed it myself. I’ve since given the old rig fresh gasoline and its 5.4 liter engine seems pretty happy to be active again.
So, my question: What was your last sizable automotive repair endeavor?
Front coilovers in my 2005 P71. Broke a front spring back in March (Thanks, Cleveland streets!!!), so I bought a pair of quick struts (aptly named… not) and went at it. What a freakin’ job! I’d gladly go the rest of my life without having to do THAT job again!!!
So there I was driving to work in my 2010 Porsche Cayman, shifting from 4th to 5th and all of a sudden the shifter goes floppy; no longer connected to the tranny. After pulling off to the side of the road, then coasting backward down a blind curve in the dark to get the car in an open spot (not fun), I call AAA and have it towed home. Looking on the internet to figure out what happened (thank God for the internet), it turns out one of the shifter cables had broken (common problem on Porsches). For laughs I call a Porsche dealer for a price on a new cable assembly. They quote ~$800 for the “new design” cable set. Now this is for 2 cables about 6 ft long with connectors at both ends (I think there is a slight markup). Further investigation showed I could get a set of performance shifter cables from Numeric Racing for only $445. After ordering them I get to work removing the existing shift cables. First one must remove the console (thank God for the internet). Then after the console is removed, one must remove the firewall access port (the Cayman has a mid engine with the transmission at the back so the cables run from the console thru the firewall, over the engine, and then to either side of the transmission). Then finally disconnect the cables from the transmission (2 hours to remove the snap-on cable connection!). Ok, that wasn’t bad; not! Once the new cables arrive I compare the two sets. The Numeric Racing ones are more robust with thicker cables and manly metal end connectors instead of wimpy plastic connectors like the original Porsche cables. So I install the new cables starting from the transmission over the engine, thru the firewall, and then finally to the shifter (thank God for the internet). Since I had the console out, painted it Guards Red (same color as the car). Total work time about 12 hours.
I hear you about the internet. Without the internet and specifically without YouTube, I probably wouldn’t have attempted half of things I’ve done!
I thought German cars were overengineered? Connectors breaking after 6 years of use? The mighty have sure fallen!
Actually the plastic connector did not break. The cable itself failed after only 35,000 miles.
Over-engineered? In some ways. Engineering a complex solution to a simple problem – yep. For example, the battery is in the front trunk (frunk). However the lid can only be opened from inside the car via a switch activating a solenoid. So what happens if the battery dies? You can’t open the frunk lid to get to the battery because there is no power to activate the lid solenoid! What one has to do is get another battery and using jumper cables connect the cables to two terminals Porsche located in the drivers side footwell to get power to the switch to activate the frunk solenoid lid to get to the dead battery!
In 1986 I tore down the engine in my ’68 Saab 96 V4 and took the parts to the machine shop. I ran into a time crunch and paid a shade tree mechanic to put it back together. I came to the conclusion that I like driving better than wrenching.
Earlier this year, valve seals on the 05 Silverado, took a little while to get familiar with the LS motor, I used to be able to assemble a first gen SB Chevy with my eyes closed.
Last year, total replacement of front suspension and brakes on the 87 Mercedes W124. Car spent its entire life in Georgia and Alabama. Not a single frozen/broken/rounded fastener. Never needed the fire wrench or the BFH. One of the most pleasant automotive DIY experiences of my life
I bought a 2001 Lincoln LS V8 for a couple hundred bucks. It was running rough and had a rattle when idling. A quick tour of the internet told me that the original chain tensioners on the secondary timing chains had failed, and the rattle was a sure sign of internal parts wanting their freedom. The chains had also probably skipped a tooth, accounting for the rough running. I ordered the new tensioners off the internet ($100) and waited two weeks until they arrived. The Jaguar V8 is really shoehorned into the Lincoln, especially on the driver’s side, but after about 8 hours work, it was buttoned back together and running great. The rattle at idle, however, did not totally disappear. This told me that the primary chain tensioner was also on its way out, and the clock was still ticking.
I couldn’t face pulling the front end of the Lincoln right after doing all that work. I put it up for sale, and a young kid paid me $1000 more than I paid for it.
The last time I did anything at all was a few years ago, when my Forester overheated. I popped the hood, noticed with some relief that it was simply a broken upper radiator hose and remembered that there used to be a time when various minor roadside repairs like this were a far more frequent occurence. So it was almost nostalgic to walk across the road to an auto parts store, get a hose and some clamps and antifreeze and replace the darn thing. I never get to do stuff like that anymore. When something breaks on a modern car, it’s usually not the kind of thing I can fix myself.
Bought a 191,000 mile 1995 F-150 beginning of May that needed shocks. Turned out that the shock mount towers were rusted through and one of the coil springs was broken near the top. After several hours of bashing old rivets off with a chisel and “engineer’s mallet,” finally got all that sorted.
I’m currently chasing the slop in the steering on my 193,000 mile ’95 F-150. I had the ball joints done and bearings repacked, since they revealed they were much more worn than they looked at about hour 4 of a 6-hour drive.
About three weeks ago, I changed the steering gear box and Pitman arm. Monday, I replaced all the tie rod ends, including the one that also functions as the drag link. So now, it’s better-only about 2 inches of slop in the wheel now. It’s looking like a rag joint or intermediate shaft is next. I can’t actually see the slop in the shaft when Mr. X turns the wheel, but I’m all out of ideas.
This all has been a very worthwhile experience, I will say, as now I know what I need to do to tackle the unsafe-at-any-speed slop in my Thunderbird’s steering. And, my philosophy on buying cheap used vehicles (paid $1,500 for the truck) held true yet again: They’re selling it for a reason. If it seems to drive well, engine or trans are on their way out. If it runs and shifts good but drives badly, that’s a winner because it’s easier to change steering and suspension bits than engines or transmissions. Wear from age, I find, is better than damage from abuse.
Actually deciding if I want to muster up the courage to replace the pads and rotors on the Outback. If normal time is 45 minutes a wheel, x 2.25 for me.
I do find it odd that with only 65k miles that Subaru recommends replacing the rotors…
Two recent jobs qualify in my garage. I pulled the TH 350 from the Buick, and did the refit. I’m not game to tackle trans rebuilds myself, so that went to a local shop.
Lavish soaking of every fastener with Inox made it an easy job.
Other job was a new starter in Anne’s Peugeot 306. What a PITA that was . The TH 350 R&R took less time, less skinned knuckles,less beers, and much less swearing.
My biggest endeavor to date came a year and a half ago, did an engine/trans swap on my wife’s ’98 Lumina LTZ. The 210k 3800 SII decided it had enough of a lifter and ate it for lunch and spread metal through the engine. Given the body and other parts of the car were in good enough shape, and having most of the tools/knowledge, I went ahead and saved the car rather than sending it to the boneyard. Besides the obvious engine issue… the last year or so the trans was acting a bit wonky when hot. Obtained a boneyard engine and trans and freshened them up before dropping them in. The engine (yanked from an ’01 Impala with 94k) and trans (from a ’98 Z34 Monte Carlo with 104k) got a freshening up – new gaskets/seals for the engine, new 4th hub, TransGo shift kit for the trans, and while the engine/trans was out, I also rebuilt the air conditioning system. Probably dropped just over a grand on it plus some tools I wound up needing, but the car is still running strong a year later, even though it took me several months working on it during limited free time. She’s happy with it and I’m glad she’s one who doesn’t demand having a nearly new car. Only thing the car could use now is a set of tires by winter.
Presently, and so far the biggest job of this year… my ’90 Celebrity wagon is under the knife – it failed inspection this month, citing cracked brake hoses and worn ball joints. Mostly inexpensive fixes given I do my own wrenching. I tore into it today…got the brake hoses done without incident. As for the alleged bad ball joints, it’s actually the control arm bushings which are shot which makes it look like the balljoint has excessive play when a pry bar is applied. Surprisingly, the control arm to subframe bolts came out without any fuss, and I have the arms pulled, old bushings removed, and new bushings ordered…since here in the DC metro area, if you need parts for something older locally, chances are you’ll be in luck if it’s Japanese, but if you have an old GM, you’re stuck waiting for them to arrive after special-ordering.