This is a story about a Van named Jed (1990 B-250)
#1
This is a story about a Van named Jed (1990 B-250)
So I picked up this 1990 B-250 camper van from the neighbor for $800.. 140K miles, and according to him, "oh it just needs a little tinkering here and there"
"Jed" seems to run fine, no knocks, no pings, tranny seems sound, And the horn works! But the drivers window doesn't, nor the windshield wipers, Paint looks ok, and the seats, carpets, curtians as well as the camping stuff all looked fine,,
So the other day I decided to tackle the wiper issue,, After reading several post in this forum, I knew what the issue should be, And after removing the hood and the digging into the wiper arm area, I discovered that the bushings were toast,, A trip to the auto parts store, and $4 later, I had the bushings to fix this issue,, Let me tell you, Them little bushings are not fun to press back onto there respictive post.. But with a little help from my vise and some greese, Wa-La,, fixed,, Cross the wiper repair off the list,,,
Now onto the drivers window issue,, Yes it has power windows,, Again, I first read some post about this issue, so I had a idea of what to look for,, First off, I HATE WINDOW ISSUES,, I don't have small hands, And I hate being bent over to work on anything,, But I decided to fix "Jed" at home, cause any auto repair place would charge me major bucks, to fix these issues.. Anyway,, The motor was working, but the window wasn't going up or down,, Ah I thought, The worm gear, or the main regulator gear,, So after dragging out the drill and a few bits to eat the rivets away, I had the regulator w/motor in my hand,, Guess what,, Both gears were almost perfect,, ALMOST! There was just enough play between the main gear and the regulator gear, that the main gear was slipping, and not moving the regulator gear,, Oh Crap I thought, I guess I have to spen $20 and get a gear set,, But wait, Try finding a gear set in the middle of no-where,, I was lucky to find the bushing for the wipers, Then I had to wait 1 day for the auto parts store to order the second set I needed,, Yes I did replace all 4 bushings,,, Anyway back to the window,,,
After I removed the motor from its assembly, I noticed the "Play" between the gears wasn't that bad, so I dug through a few cabnets, and found 2 small rubber washers,,, I took theses small washers and placed them at the base of the gear assembly, to "Lift" the main gear, so it would in-guage into the regulator gear, and to my surprise, IT WORKED!! After I picked myself off the floor of the garage, I loaded the gear assembly with greese and found some nuts and bolts to replace the rivets, And reinstalled everything,,
and IT WORKS!! The only problem with the window now, is the blood I left on the inside of the door, when I cut the crap out of my thumb and started bleeding, But as you know, If you are in the middle of holding the regulator assembly in the door with one hand, and trying to attach a few nuts and bolts with the other, you don't want to stop to render first aid to a bleeding thumb..
Oh well, now onto the other small issues,, Like replacing the side window, and installing a few screws in the top vent cover....
"Jed" seems to run fine, no knocks, no pings, tranny seems sound, And the horn works! But the drivers window doesn't, nor the windshield wipers, Paint looks ok, and the seats, carpets, curtians as well as the camping stuff all looked fine,,
So the other day I decided to tackle the wiper issue,, After reading several post in this forum, I knew what the issue should be, And after removing the hood and the digging into the wiper arm area, I discovered that the bushings were toast,, A trip to the auto parts store, and $4 later, I had the bushings to fix this issue,, Let me tell you, Them little bushings are not fun to press back onto there respictive post.. But with a little help from my vise and some greese, Wa-La,, fixed,, Cross the wiper repair off the list,,,
Now onto the drivers window issue,, Yes it has power windows,, Again, I first read some post about this issue, so I had a idea of what to look for,, First off, I HATE WINDOW ISSUES,, I don't have small hands, And I hate being bent over to work on anything,, But I decided to fix "Jed" at home, cause any auto repair place would charge me major bucks, to fix these issues.. Anyway,, The motor was working, but the window wasn't going up or down,, Ah I thought, The worm gear, or the main regulator gear,, So after dragging out the drill and a few bits to eat the rivets away, I had the regulator w/motor in my hand,, Guess what,, Both gears were almost perfect,, ALMOST! There was just enough play between the main gear and the regulator gear, that the main gear was slipping, and not moving the regulator gear,, Oh Crap I thought, I guess I have to spen $20 and get a gear set,, But wait, Try finding a gear set in the middle of no-where,, I was lucky to find the bushing for the wipers, Then I had to wait 1 day for the auto parts store to order the second set I needed,, Yes I did replace all 4 bushings,,, Anyway back to the window,,,
After I removed the motor from its assembly, I noticed the "Play" between the gears wasn't that bad, so I dug through a few cabnets, and found 2 small rubber washers,,, I took theses small washers and placed them at the base of the gear assembly, to "Lift" the main gear, so it would in-guage into the regulator gear, and to my surprise, IT WORKED!! After I picked myself off the floor of the garage, I loaded the gear assembly with greese and found some nuts and bolts to replace the rivets, And reinstalled everything,,
and IT WORKS!! The only problem with the window now, is the blood I left on the inside of the door, when I cut the crap out of my thumb and started bleeding, But as you know, If you are in the middle of holding the regulator assembly in the door with one hand, and trying to attach a few nuts and bolts with the other, you don't want to stop to render first aid to a bleeding thumb..
Oh well, now onto the other small issues,, Like replacing the side window, and installing a few screws in the top vent cover....
Last edited by gilligan; 11-25-2010 at 08:11 AM.
#4
wow, I had an 89 mark 3 ram van, w/ 318, that thing ran like a dream. used a little oil. I gave like 8 bills for it, ran it 3 years and untold thousands of miles, I put brakes on it and a set of tires. then gave it to a lady that was in hard times, she drove it for another 2 years and several miles, then they gave it to the husbands bro. and its still running great, enjoy it, it looks great.
#5
My wife as proclaimed the van , "The Love Mechine" for reasons I won't post here... The van was purchased to replace my daughters Handicap van that is slowly falling apart,, Her current van is a 99 Dodge Grand Caravan with the handicap conversion, Ya know, the wheelchair lift, lowered floors,, We bought that van new at a cost of $50K with the conversion.. Now that it is falling apart, I snatched this van, and I will get a portable wheelchair ramp, (already ordered) and finish some small repairs on the "Love Mechine" and present it to the daughter for her birthday in March..
Only after the wife and I "Camp" a few more times...
Only after the wife and I "Camp" a few more times...
#6
Cool Van I had a white 91 conv van very similar. It got totaled during a police chase. No it was parked !! Got a super deal 4 years ago Gave $1700 for it ready to drive! Had it less than a year. The insurance CO gave me $3500 for it. Bought a 98 B150 conv. to replace it.
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