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What have you done to/with your van today?

1M views 17K replies 709 participants last post by  bryancraftyhands 
#1 ·
The Jeep forum I'm on has this thread. Thought I'd bring it here. The idea is to post quick little things that really aren't special enough to have their own thread.

I go first.

Seven (my new parts van): Removed the rear drive shaft and mounted two donuts in the front. Then towed it to my brothers house.

Loaded up nicely, once Grumpy was used to shove it up the ramps.


Uhaul thinks we're moving a Dodge Neon. They won't rent tow dollies to move an Astro, they are supposed to be too wide.


The only good reason to use donuts on an Astro.


Plenty of room now.




We didn't bring Grumpy to the unload point and couldn't push Seven off the dolly. Our solution, set it's parking brake and pull the dolly out from under it. Worked beautifully. Unfortunately I didn't take pics or video of that.
 
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#9,902 ·
#9,905 ·
97cargocrawler said:
SilverBullet1997 said:
Pics or it didn't happen......
Astro got itself a rear tire carrier!
Coolness!
Why is it tilted? :think:
That's just how it was made, it is on a tipper latch, so it tips down for access to the rear hatch, not sure why he didn't put a longer arm on it to keep it standing straight up, but I am okay with it, for now....
 
#9,908 ·
Replaced a failing, one dollar eBay Chinese festoon LED lamp with a five dollar SuperBrightLed Chinese festoon LED lamp. Took a chance paying five times as much to get one from SBL plus shipping vs a buck and free shipping from China direct.

I bought two. They actually looked cheaper build quality than the dollar ******. And sure enough, one of the new, expensive ones didn't work. It did the same thing the occasional China lights does, blinks as you snap it into the socket but won't remain lighted. The one that works isn't as bright as the cheap-china lamp.

Something tells me I'm gonna become a major pissed off dude and begin a MAJOR badmouth SBL campaign in a day or two. I sent them an email asking for a replacement. If they write back and tell me to ship the bad one back to them, I'm gonna tell them to F'off. No way in hell I'm gonna spend 3-4-5 times the cost of one China lamp to send back SBL's China lamp.

We'll see. They can do the right thing and send a replacement or they can suggest that I spend money to send their crap back. One will get them glowing reviews. The other will get them a virtual bag of flaming dog poo on their porch.

Lump
 
#9,914 ·
Took advantage of a beautiful afternoon to clean out the winter schmutz and dog hair accumulation from the cab. Vacuum and then Trader Joe's green cleaner, I wouldn't eat off any of it but it looks better. There was even dog hair in the GLOVE BOX. Crikey. Pics below.

I also went mechanic shopping, stopped by two in Evanston that are AAA certified and have good reviews on Yelp. Any wisdom on selecting a competent, reliable mechanic, I am all ears. Or if there's a thread about this, a link or heads up would be much appreciated.

Also stopped by Home Depot to buy a replacement washer for the one I bought last week and lost. It's to replace a rusted/bent bolt & washer from the back door that I discovered when I was working on the door locking mechanical. Another 12 cents. :lol:

Lisa

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#9,915 ·
Try this site:
http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files

I've been listening to those 2 schmucks since they started on BU Radio forever ago (when I was at BU). Best part is, you can't buy a good review on the site.

Yesterday, drove the '02 over the Bay Bridge to pick up my other Mom (best friend's mom) to drive her to the airport. Other dad has to get up at 5:15 am and her flight was at 10 pm. All told for the trip, got 19.5 mpg and filled up at Sam's Club for $3.38/gal.
 
#9,916 ·
Thanks for the link, I'll check them out!

Woowoo, nearly 20 mpg!! I put in $10 gas today to hold me until I can get to Costco for fill up.

Nice of you to do the airport shuttle routine.... :clap:

Lisa
 
#9,917 ·
Yeah, nearly. This area is pretty dang flat, but that's back up to where it used to be. Guess the leaking passenger-side exhaust flange screwed up my mileage. Now it's fixed, so...
 
#9,918 ·
I have a hard time putting much value into consumer reviews of mechanics. I figure those that use mechanics a LOT know the least about how to fix cars. Those are probably the majority of reviewers on Angies or similar. Those people probably go to their mechanic every 3000 miles and spend a pretty predictable amount every month/year to "keep their car running". No suprises means good review.

For people that DO know a lot about how to fix their cars (most of us?) we might go there for a single job that is just beyond our tooling. That kind of person probably doesn't review OR they review in the positive because they already understand the extent and cost of the repair.

People that go in for a windshield wiper replacement and then get told "You'll need a new differential" likely don't have the slightest idea what a differential is. So what they thought was a $45 job turns out to be a $4500 job so they give a negative review.

None of those scenarios are particularly valid in terms of accuracy.

It's expensive to fix a car. If a bad review is because it was "expensive" then the reviewer either didn't shop around or are just pissed because the repair, no matter who does it, is expensive.

I suppose the "They're all really nice and have coffee and bagels in the waiting room" review is valid for some. Lemme think for a minute and see if I can figure out who pays for those bagels... :confused:

Lump
 
#9,919 ·
I dunno who paid for the bagels but if they're free point me to the butter and jam.

Tonight I worked a bit more on my electrical boxes, the ones with the relays. I'm almost done with the first one:



I used my new label maker to print some heat shrinkable labels for the wires because I wouldn't be able to keep tract of what was what after stuffing everything into the boxes:







I got some awesome Delphi Packard Weatherpack (waterproofish) connectors:







These ends will be terminated in a similar fashion:



Lots more to do.
 
#9,920 ·
Lump, thanks for your views on mechanics (and the free bagels!). I'm a novice that for the time being will need to rely on one to keep Pearl going, for a variety of reasons, so I'd like to find a decent one. In terms of reviews, I did also think about that 'my opinion reinforces my experience, my experience reinforces my opinion' thing. There's a psych term for it, can't remember right now. I take reviews and even the AAA certification with a grain of salt...after all, the small, local, family-owned, multi-generational shop I was using has a good reputation in the area but I would not take my van back there for anything, their guys effed up on just about everything they did. Anyway I thought I might pick up some tips or wisdom from the more experienced folks here. Thanks for pointing out the nuances in prices and expectations, good stuff. :wave:

Leanne, did you post about fixing your exhaust flange? Sounds interesting...especially if the fix boosted mpg!

Cargocrawler, love the fire extinguisher idea. Is your bracket bolted into the floor? Did you have to use sealant or washers to prevent moisture getting in? Thanks as always for the good, clear pics.

Thanks
Lisa
 
#9,922 ·
Yes, it's in my '02 thread in Uncategorized.

If you start at the beginning, you'll see why we had trouble with the flange in the first place. This time the fix was from above and will last much longer.
 
#9,926 ·
Cleaned up a lot of electrical wiring under the hood. Installed some new split loom. Used up a roll of Super33+. Rerouted a couple of things out of the way of my A/C compressor which will go back in tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

Replaced my $45 variable orifice tube that vibrates when it's hot with a standard $2 orifict tube. Added some PAG 100 to the accumulator. Replaced some A/C O-rings.

All while watching pretty girls jog by. The advantage of working in my front driveway.

I got a boner - again.

Lump
 
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