A 1989 Vanwagon for your amusement

[teamtestbot]

I'll probably be doing most of the stripping work with an angle grinder / die grinder and various forms of flap wheels and wire wheels. Have some of those flexible sanding discs too. We have a full welding setup at the shop, just a matter of making it portable enough. I think I'll stick with MIG - I've tried my hand on thick steel using the TIG welder and done okay, but do not trust myself on thin gauge metal yet. Better blobs than holes.

I'm now armed with several sheets of this stuff: http://www.eastwood.com/patch-panel-kit ... steel.html and a bucketload of rust converter, seam sealer, and undercoat goop. And a gallon of Bondo in case it all goes horribly wrong.

Probably will start the exercise with one of the long underbody holes to practice, since it requires little forming to shape and I can't embarass myself.

[Yokohama]

I wonder if you had enough rust converter, that you could do the repair and then fill up the inside of the rocker panels with it and then drain it out.

Ideally, it would good to strip the body down, fix it, and then have it galvanized. I have wanted to do that to a car before, but the costs are high.

Before repairing the actual van, you should consider buying a rocker panel section or fender from a salvage yard and practicing on that.

[teamtestbot]

So I have an interesting question. I can't seem to lock up the brakes on a dry road! I don't feel concerned about it not stopping; in fact it seems to stop very well, but shouldn't I be able to lock up and skid on a vehicle without ABS?

I've also tried panic stopping on a wet road, and then I can get lockup. But not on a dry road - am I just not stomping hard enough? Maybe it's a secret way to maintain control under braking without ABS - make the brakes not strong enough to lock the wheels up! Seems awfully shady though.

Instinct tells me that the front-heavy weight distribution would make the front wheels less likely to lock up for the same deceleration, but I haven't heard anything from the rears either.

I have a full set of rotors, drums, pads, and shoes that could be installed (maybe I should anyway...), but just curious to see if anyone else can confirm that these things have some above average stopping power.

[minimotos95]

i think i sub'd you on youtube not long ago.
it's a lot of weight on decently sized tires using less then great brakes. i'm not surprised but i bet if you kick the brake pedal with some momentum instead of pressing it, you will have a lot more chance of locking up.

[nxski]

Mine have always locked up pretty easily. Now that I've upgraded to dual piston, they can really stop those wheels spinning. That said, you do have to jam on the brakes pretty quickly or they start to fade and it becomes harder to lock them up.

[Yokohama]

I have not tried to lock them up; I do what I call "human ABS", and avoid lockup.

I have not looked to see if there is a break upgrade for the USA P04W/V. I also do not know if a break upgrade for the 4WD version would work on the 2WD version of the L300. I suspect that if there is an upgrade for the Mighty Max/D50 then the same brake upgrades would also bolt onto the L300 2WD.

[teamtestbot]

Not really a "bug" so much as a possible "feature" of a 150k+ mile engine, but I'm getting that the van is burning or otherwise losing about 1qt of oil per 300 miles. I have a drip pad made of shop towels taped to my parking spot, but the few dots on it really do not say to me that kind of amount.

So, any other gassers want to chime in with oil consumption levels? Given the poor maintenance history of this engine I wouldn't be surprised if the rings are worn or something and it's smoking more oil than it should. Bear in mind this is "city" driving - plenty of cold starts and idling.

I'm not out to fix anything at the moment, just curious.

[minimotos95]

the 4g64 truck i use to drive with about 115k went from the full mark to the bottom of the dip stick about every 1000 miles. i never paid attention to how much i added, but i would estimate around 750ml? mostly city driving too.
i would call it normal, 1qt every 300 sounds like a lot, and it's not smoking noticeably out the exhaust?

[Yokohama]

Not really a "bug" so much as a possible "feature" of a 150k+ mile engine, but I'm getting that the van is burning or otherwise losing about 1qt of oil per 300 miles. I have a drip pad made of shop towels taped to my parking spot, but the few dots on it really do not say to me that kind of amount.

So, any other gassers want to chime in with oil consumption levels? Given the poor maintenance history of this engine I wouldn't be surprised if the rings are worn or something and it's smoking more oil than it should. Bear in mind this is "city" driving - plenty of cold starts and idling.

I'm not out to fix anything at the moment, just curious.

I have had oil burn from the 4G64; it could be the valve stem seals. One sign is that you will have a poof of white smoke that comes from the tail pipe immediately after you start the engine. It will smell odd, like burning oil (not sweet like antifreeze).

The ironic part is, that it would have been easier to do when you had the timing belt off. You have to remove the camshaft to access the valve springs. Since it is non-interference, you can set at TDC and then get/make the tool that holds the timing belt top sprocket tensioned and remove the camshaft. This will allow the valves to all close and you can use the compressed air adapter to hold the valves up as you remove the springs, and then replace the valve stem seals. When you are trying to remove the valve spring retainers, there are the little metal 'retainer locks' that hold the valve spring retainer on the valve stem. After you use the 'on car spring remover', then you can use a small screwdriver and magnet to break them loose and withdraw them. The magnet is also useful for putting them back in. Just ask if you need any data since I have done this operation before.

The other way I describe below is for future reference or for users who have the timing belt off:
An alternative method is the use some small nylon rope and feed some into the cylinder you want to work on (though the spark plugs), and then rotate the crank to bring the piston up to compress the rope against the bottom of the valves to hold them up. When you get that cylinder done, rotate it backwards a little (this does not hurt it) to decompress the rope so you can remove it.

[Mazdax605]

Where in MA are you located? I live in MA as well, and used to own a really nice 1990 LE up until I sold it in December. I miss the van terribly, and regret selling it, but due to the engine not running great and not being able to truely figure it out I cut my losses. If you need help I have a lot of experience in these vans, and have a friend in AZ that can help virtually as well.

[teamtestbot]

It's been a while! Since last month, this contrivance has gone back and forth to New York City and then to central PA, and participated in quite a few around-town moves.

I think the oil issue has been isolated to a leaking or otherwise damaged rear crankshaft seal, with some possible contribution from valve guide seals. Yes, I have noticed a brief puff of smoke on cold-starts. Unfortunately the crank seal seem to be a pull-everything-before-and-after-it job, so I'm not inclined to tackle it yet. I changed the oil to a 'high mileage' 10W-40 before the last major trip, and it seems to have cut down on the loss rate greatly. Not really enough data to call marketing hype or actual results, but I guess I will keep using the stuff.

Anyone have suspension restoration / upgrade recommendations? The current ride can be described as' underdamped'. I'd like to replace the shocks and possibly the front sway bar bushings.

The next big mission is a trip from Boston to Atlanta (..and hopefully back?). I still have that pile of F/R brake parts which I swear I will put on beforehand.

[Yokohama]

Yes, they are really strong in terms of drive train, so I am not surprised to hear your van is doing well. I would take my van anywhere.

The transmission, being an automatic, will have one benefit in that I find that the automatics are usally easier to line up when reinstalling (leaving the flex place in place on the crankshaft of course, and hence there is no pilot bushing and splines to line up like in a manual).

I have to replace my valve stem seals again, as I am getting a puff of smoke on start up, so I will be buying or building a tool to hold the tension of the timing belt cog. I will let you know about that.

The high mileage oils usually contain anti-burnoff agents and seal conditioners. You may want to see if you can save some money by buying standard oil or synthetic and adding a seal conditioner. I have sometimes heard that certain products can over saturate the seals, so you will want to check on that.

I had looked into the same thing about the suspension; it is suggested to upgrade the dampers (shocks) and also look at the new stock Mitsubishi torsion bars (supposedly upgraded over the old specs) or Hyundai Grace is also supposed to fit and is upgraded. As for the rear leaf springs, you could get them rebuilt or replace them with new.

KYB and Tokico are both good dampers, but KYB is usally more affordable.

[teamtestbot]

Damn, it's been a while. I've mostly spent the past month prepping for the yearly robot competitions, but that brake job finally got done before the 1,200 mile (each way) haul to Atlanta from Boston.



New rotors and pads.. The rear drums were seemingly almost-new so I left them alone.



Brake goop that I flushed out. The entire system was flushed until the stuff that came out ran as clear as what I put in. I also changed the diff oil out since I was not sure when it was last changed, if ever. Also an engine oil and filter change while I had the disposal container out.



New modular roof rack recommended by some buddies, finished using left over industrial aluminum extrusion.

We made it essentially 3000 miles - 1,200 each way and tons of local driving in Atlanta, without any mishaps. The oil consumption / "disposal rate" was 2 quarts total over the trip, so it's now at a level which is not absurd for local punting around here. Still using the Castrol high mileage special.



On the way back up through VA, I saw this beautiful Chevy Greenbrier for sale - wish I could have snatched it, but the asking price was out of my range. Seems like this, and the first gen Ford Econoline/ Dodge A100, are the predecessors of the Japanese mid-engine van.

I think at this point I've all but admitted the electric project is a wash, so I'm just going to work on the little things for the time being, before it gets too cold. I had to rebuild the A/C blower in an Atlanta parking lot (luckily all my competition tools were with me) since I put the motor brushes in backwards the first time - well how about that.

[teamtestbot]

Seems like I've had too much of a good streak with all the mechanical work. Try to do a little body repair and...



I was attempting to work the rear hatch window out of the seal strip with a flat blade screwdriver. Didn't even cross my mind that hard-levering a tempered glass plate was going to end badly. The goal was to repair the rust and paint bubbles under the hatch window, which has been bugging me for a while.

Just dropped $250 on a new rear glass through Rock Auto - I hope it's correct, or else I might be back on here asking if anyone has a rear hatch glass.

For those who have done this before - what is the actual proper way to remove the glass? I noticed the seal was S-shaped, one 'valley' holding the glass and the other clipping onto the rear hatch. And even worse... how to I remount the new glass?! Gathering quotes from local auto glass/body places for reinstallation tomorrow, but I assume it won't be cheap.

The plan is to take the week or so while the new glass ships to knock the destroyed window out and repair the sheet metal in that area.

[Mazdax605]

I asked before, but never got a reply. Where in MA are you located? I live in MA as well, and know the vans pretty well.