Saw The Light, Now It Shines

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition)
02/28/2019 at 07:09 • Filed to: weekend wrenching, Mopar, Caravan, wrenching

Friday afternoon we went and picked up the new van’s new axle and dropped it at my friend’s shop:

Got up and over there around 9 Saturday morning:

Set to work tearing the junk axle out. About an hour later:

With that done, I set into tearing the new axle apart and getting everything swapped:

Got the axle all back together, new brakes, bearings, and lines:

About couple hours later she was back together, brakes bled, and ready to rock ( or so I thought ):

So I loaded up my stuff, cleaned up, and headed home around 3:30.

The short trip was going great, the van was smooth, it was quiet, all was coming up roses.

Then I stopped at the stop sign coming into town and it stalled. Tried to restart it, nothing, just cranking. Listen for the fuel pump, nothing.

Alright no biggie, I have a brand new Mopar pump sitting at home, I’ll just strap it back to the shop. A neighbor drives by and asks if I need a quick hand, so we push it ( thank god these are light ) into a parking lot, and he gives me a ride home. I wait for my dad to get home from their errands and we tow strap it back to the shop. It’s about 7pm now, so dad takes me back home assuming I’m done for the night.

I load in the car, with my new pump in hand, and run to the nearby town to get a fuel filter. Get back to the shop around 8pm and set to work. Got the tank out, pump replaced, repaired a bad wire, replaced the filter, then it all fell apart. I went to plug the new pump in, only to find they “standardized” the pumps for all the years, meaning I needed a new pump harness because my 4 wire/5 prong plug won’t work with the new 3 prong pump!?!?!?!

So after calling around all morning yesterday to find the “adapter” harness, I said screw it, next dayed it off rock auto, and spent the day doing nothing.

Update:

Got the adapter harness Tuesday, so I went out and put it back together last night, everything went flawlessly . Drove to the gas station, threw some gas in, then went home and picked the family up to go for supper. We went and got supper without a hitch, the wife even commented on how smooth/quiet it was!

Put it on daily duty the rest of the week to see if any other issues arise, got me to work today without issue.

DISCUSSION (20)

random001 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
02/25/2019 at 07:30

So you blue the fuel pump....

Sovande > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
02/25/2019 at 07:30

At least you got it figured out! Sounds like a pretty productive day to me.

You seem to work on a lot of older cars... Any suggestions for making a rear floor pan? I have steel, have a welder and very little skill with either... I am not going for restoration, just fixing the hole so my kid doesn't fall out. Basically I need to replace the entire flat part of the pan. Rivets, panel adhesive and some spray paint? Or should I actually weld it up?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Sovande
02/25/2019 at 07:39

I try not to put my kids in anything that rusty..........

No offense, I just tend to stay away from things that are rusted that much.

I would have to see exactly what you’re talking about to be able to offer advice as I’ve helped people do it both ways.

random001 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
02/25/2019 at 07:43

Good answer.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > random001
02/25/2019 at 07:45

Ya the bad wire caused it to eat the pump.

Sovande > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
02/25/2019 at 07:45

Ha. Nothing like a pa ssive agg ressive judg mental answer to start the day!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Sovande
02/25/2019 at 09:13

Cutting out the rot and welding in new metal is the way to go long term. Anything else is just going to invite more rust to the party. If you’ve got the time watch some Wheeler Dealers. Especially the early stuff they do a lot of rot repair and the explanations are pretty good.

Sovande > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/25/2019 at 09:24

The plan was to cut out the rust, paint/rust proof, rivet/panel bond and seam seal a new bottom on the pan. The area that is completely missing is about the size of a sheet of notebook paper. It’s a body on frame car, not unibody, so the pan is not a structural member.

I could certainly weld it in, but this is $450 parts hauler wagon, not a daily and not something that is every going to be made to look good.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Sovande
02/25/2019 at 10:05

Wasn’t meaning it that way, sorry if it came off like that. I had to do much the same with our 66 Electra before I loaded the kids in.

Kinja'd!!!

I used 12 ga steel for the pan and 1/4" to box in the bad sections of frame. It was likely more stout when I got done than it was from factory.

If it’s just a parts runner, your plan to cut out the rust, rust proof it, then rivet/panel bond the new panel on sounds solid.

I would inspect the frame as well, you may need to do some repairs there also. For that I would get some channel made.

Sovande > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
02/25/2019 at 10:13

No worries! I was just being a smart ass. I will be using 18 gauge sheet for the patch. I have gone through the rest of the underside of the car with a screwdriver and have not found any rust anywhere (other than surface rust) on anything except the rear bumper and a spot on the right front fender. I am not sure why this one floor pan is gone, but it is . It’s a 1983 Caprice Wagon - nothing fancy.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Sovande
02/25/2019 at 10:14

Well at least there is that. You could take the approach that going the cut and weld route would be good practice for if you ever had to do it on a vehicle you care more about.

Sovande > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/25/2019 at 10:30

That’s a good point. I’ve actually welded in pans on an old Mercedes. It was a giant pain in the ass due to inexperience.