Phase One of the Van Project is done.

I forgot my phone today, I felt lost without it and I had no camera.

So, I finished the rust fix by applying the sealant to hide the bad welds and it's black so I didn't have to respray any of it.

I cut out the rust in the front bumper skin and fit and welded a patch. I used the same sealant as if it were bondo to smooth out the welds. I hammered the patch to match the curve of the bumper so it wouldn't look too back yard mechanic. It looks nice, you can't see it unless the light catches it just right.

I painted it with flat black Rustoleum. After it dried I mounted it back up to the van with new hardware.

It was time to clean the floor and drop it back down on all fours. After making sure there was nothing underneath I had it down in a matter on minutes. It sat nice and flat. It looks really good without the side steps and hub caps.

I gave it a start and backed it outside so I could let it warm up and do a little more housekeeping.

My radiator seems to be leaking, it's only a few years old. I replaced the brass and copper unit with a new aluminum and plastic one. I think I'll spend the money on an all metal replacement this time. But it's not leaking too bad so that will be a project for another time.

When I backed it out It felt like a new van, the steering was tight, the brakes were tight and it rolled so smooth. I stuck my new registration stickers to the plates and new parking permit on the windshield and took it for a drive around the parking lot behind my shop.

The first thing I noticed was that the steering wheel was almost perfectly straight and it tracked straight as well, although I wont know if it does in fact track straight until I drive it on the road at speed. But looking at it, it seems to be pretty close.

All in all it was a good day and I finished what I wanted to get done for the first part. Everything else from here on in will be weekend projects.

Now to get the thing inspected and aligned.

Good Progress on the Van

Ok, first off I didn't post as I worked. My deepest heartfelt apologies. Once I get rolling with a project and I get in the 'zone' I don't think of anything else. As a matter of fact, the pictures I shot where at the end of the day.
So, the plan for today involved patching the undercarriage and ordering the brake part for the rear.

I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a sheet of 14 gauge steel, measured out the plate, cut it out and welded it in place. I hit it with paint and tomorrow I'll apply some sealant on the open seams. I couldn't find my caulking gun.

I put in my new driveshaft and it is a beautiful thing.

Here is another shot of the driveshaft. You can see one of the new shocks as well.

So after I got all that done I drove to the auto parts store and to my surprise they had what I needed in stock. I had a late lunch and drove back to finish the brakes.

I noticed a few other things I should address in the future but I think I'll get it inspected first and give my dad his car back. Everything else I need to do doesn't involve disabling the thing. They are all weekend projects.

Plans for this weekend

I'm going to work on the rust in the back of the van. It's not bad but there are one or two areas where it needs attention. I'm also going to try something new, I'm going to take pictures along the way and post them as I go. I've got all day and I'm going to take my time.
I need to find some metal to make repairs on the crossmember and bumper. I was going to go to Haverhill Steel but they may not be open this Saturday on account of the gas line explosions.
I can get what I need at the Home Despot. The metal doesn't need to be thick and I think the depot carries 16 gage. I wanted something thicker just so it would be easier to weld.
The bumper will be patched and painted. I got I good idea off the internet, taping off the bumper in a way to make a strip that covers the patch and spraying it with textured bed liner.
We will see how that works.

I got my driveshaft back from the shop!

And it's beautiful!

Once again, not my driveshaft, but until I have a picture of it this will do.

It's shiny, painted black and most important, straight and balanced! It was a bit more than they quoted me for but it's still less than buying it new. Apparently the tube size is odd and it's a pain for them to weld the ends so all of this cost about double of what they guessed over the phone.
It's still a win.

The trouble with driveshafts

So, when I purchased my van, I was aware of several defects. Some I was told about and some I found when I inspected it. These issues allowed me to get some money taken off the asking price.
The driveshaft was one that got by me.
I didn't see it, didn't expect it to be bad, didn't look.
I found it when I removed the driveshaft to change the universal joints.
I dropped it out of the van and onto the floor and pushed it so it would roll out from under the chassis.
I witnessed what can be described best as a trying to roll a banana across a table. It made one revolution and rocked back and forth in place. I just laid there staring at it, at first not connecting what I just saw.

Not my driveshaft but it's close.

I got up ad dragged it out and up onto the table. Upon inspection I found a large dent and good bend in the tube. I wasn't upset, I figured I could just get another one at the junkyard. I didn't know how wrong I was.
This van is a 1997 Dodge B2500. The year is important because it is the year dodge moved the engine forward about six inches. This 'transition' year makes it pretty much impossible to find a driveshaft. I even tried older years with no luck.
The closest I came to finding one was in a junk yard in Massachusetts, they had the exact year and model conversion van with the same transmission. They told me that they remove the driveshafts and toss them in the vehicle so the fork trucks wont damage it. Well, did I mention it was winter and the yard was all down hill and the van was about as far back as you could get in the yard.
After what could best be called an expedition, I arrived at my frozen prize. It was flat on the ground with no tires and about half buried in icy snow. I dug out the side doors and looked inside but I did not see the driveshaft. I sighed and started digging out the undercarriage. Once I removed enough of the ice coffin I peered in and found that the driveshaft was still in place and bend worse than mine.
The climb back to civilization was not only difficult, but without what I had gone to recover it was almost unbearable.
The guy at the desk apologized and offered to find me one in the vast collection of parts available on the online database of junk yards around the country. Luckily, he found one close and had it shipped.
After a few days they called and told me that it was there. I drove down that same day excited that my dilemma would soon be over.
I walked in and they went into the back room to get my new (to me) driveshaft. what I saw when they brought it out made my heart sink. It was aluminum. Being aluminum, it was for the later version of my van with the pushed up engine. They had me check it anyway.
I rolled it under the van and with the help of the counter guy we held it up in place. it shot past the transmission a good six inches.
We walked back to the office and apologized again and he jumped on the parts net once again. This time he found one that was steel, he confirmed it by calling them. And a couple of days later we had it.
Now, here is where I would like to make a suggestion. When you have a catalog of parts available online, there should be standards for things like descriptions, materials and most importantly, measurements. The length of a driveshaft is a crap shoot as far as who takes the measurement.
As I had found out. The one we got in was too long by about three inches. My best guess is that it was out of a van that had a different transmission or rear end or both.
One of the other problems with my van is that it is a conversion van. It is a B2500 (3/4 ton) but the driveshaft is not the same as a standard 3/4 ton. It's more like the B1500 half ton.
So, they told me that they were now losing money and they would not ship any more in. That door shut.
Discouraged, I drove back to the shop, pulled the driveshaft out and straightened and balanced it the best I could. I could not afford a new driveshaft so I left it.
Two years later I tried another junk yard and found one that appeared to be right. It sat behind me in my van for another year.
Three years later here I am going through the van to repair all the issues it has. I dropped the driveshaft out threw it up on my bench and compared the two. It was too short.

Again, not my driveshaft but it illustrates my point.

I'm going to make a sculpture out of it.
After searching the interwebs for a solution I happened on a shop in North Andover, MA who specializes in rebuilding driveshafts. That is were it is at the moment I'm writing this. I should have it back tomorrow. And the bill should be less that three hundred.
Between the driveshaft I bought a year ago and this one, it's still cheaper that buying a new one.
So I'm calling this a win.

Progress on the Van Part 2

I have some time at home to sit at my desktop and properly write this.

In the past two weeks I have removed the front bumper,

And removed the front suspension parts. ( sorry about the bad photo )

I also removed the running board covers, leaving the structure.

I replaced the passenger side idler arm with a new high quality one.

I also cleaned and painted the frame and surrounding metal.

This is a shot of the drivers side. I replaced the upper and lower control arms as well as the steering linkage inner and outer ball joints as well as the connecting sleeve.

Same for the passenger side.

I also replaced all four shocks.

For the first time since I have owned this vehicle, the front end is tight as it was when it was new,

Next week I will have pictures of the work I started on the back. There are some rust issues i'm addressing.

I'm also working on the rear drum brakes.

Van project part 1

I'm starting my new project involving my van. Here is the breakdown.

Remove:

Front bumper
Running boards
Rear seat
Carpet
Front Upper Space

Repair:
Front end
Driveshaft

Rust Issues in Rear
Engine vacuum and gaskets
Front blower
Front Bumper

Key

Finished

In Progress

Not Started

It's not a complete list but these things tend to add more items along the way. This is a good start.