Van repair

6908 Views 49 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Debo22, Apr 28, 2022

Debo22

Discussion Starter · Nov 23, 2017

Driving home Friday night and pulled into a parking lot to pickup beer. All of a sudden I have no power steering, no alternator, and the engine starts heating up. It turns out I threw the serpentine belt. Saturday I check all pulleys and find one loose, I pull on it and oil pours all over the driveway. The shaft on the power steering pump let go.

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #21 · Oct 27, 2020

I got the p0304 code now showing misfire in cylinder 4. I checked everything and I have no compression in the cylinder. I pulled the valve cover off and springs looked ok. Im going to have to pull the head and check the valves and seats. I’ve never taken on a repair this big so wish me luck

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skoronesa

· #22 · Oct 27, 2020

Debo22 said:
I got the p0304 code now showing misfire in cylinder 4. I checked everything and I have no compression in the cylinder. I pulled the valve cover off and springs looked ok. Im going to have to pull the head and check the valves and seats. I’ve never taken on a repair this big so wish me luck

If it's a ford it probably blew a spark plug out, mine did. It's apparently common on ford v8s.

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #23 · Oct 27, 2020

skoronesa said:
If it's a ford it probably blew a spark plug out, mine did. It's apparently common on ford v8s.

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Chevy express v6, I changed all plugs, wires , and distributor cap. All that needed to be done anyway. I borrowed all these diagnostic tools from Autozone. I did the fuel pressure bleed down test, the noid light at the spider test, the compression test. Since it had no compression whatsoever they say to pour some oil in the cylinder and try again, if it’s bad piston rings it’ll build some pressure if it still has zero (which it does) it’s a stuck or bad valve.

I’ve watched so many YouTube videos and have been reading my manual trying to get the confidence to tackle it.

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MACPLUMB777

· #24 · Oct 27, 2020

Debo 22

I know how you feel, I had to pull the heads and Intake manifold
on my 65 Buick V6 back in 1975
I was in the service at the time so did not have any family close,
I worked with a MOTORS book and a friends tools, I had seen this done many times growing up but this was the first time on my own :biggrin:

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ShtRnsdownhill

· #25 · Oct 27, 2020

Debo22 said:
Chevy express v6, I changed all plugs, wires , and distributor cap. All that needed to be done anyway. I borrowed all these diagnostic tools from Autozone. I did the fuel pressure bleed down test, the noid light at the spider test, the compression test. Since it had no compression whatsoever they say to pour some oil in the cylinder and try again, if it’s bad piston rings it’ll build some pressure if it still has zero (which it does) it’s a stuck or bad valve.

I’ve watched so many YouTube videos and have been reading my manual trying to get the confidence to tackle it.

I rebuilt many a chevy motor..the problem you will run into is if you fix the upper end, the heads with a rebuild is that you can now blow out the lower end because it is still worn with high miles..not all the time, but now you will have tight valves and seals ontop and worn rings on the bottom...
if you take your time its not difficult todo, but just take alot of pictures showing where everything goes back and you drop the distributor back in the correct timing..

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #26 · Nov 8, 2020

4

I’m in deeper than I’ve ever been. Turns out it’s a bent valve.

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MACPLUMB777

· #27 · Nov 8, 2020

TIME to rebuild the ENGINE and the HEADS !

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Tango

· #28 · Nov 8, 2020

I guess you have another work van while you are working on this one? I'm also surprised you can pull the head, the space seems so restricted from the hood on even from inside the cab. Good thing it's not dead of winter working in the driveway and freezing fingers.

With so many more calls now I would of sent it to the garage instead of doing it myself. Probably rent a cube truck in the process because of the lack of shelves in a van.

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #29 · Nov 8, 2020

Tango said:
I guess you have another work van while you are working on this one? I'm also surprised you can pull the head, the space seems so restricted from the hood on even from inside the cab. Good thing it's not dead of winter working in the driveway and freezing fingers.

With so many more calls now I would of sent it to the garage instead of doing it myself. Probably rent a cube truck in the process because of the lack of shelves in a van.

I was in too deep before I realized it was a bad idea. I should have taken it in but now that I’m this far I’ll have to finish the job.

Most of my jobs are fairly close to home so we load up the install truck with what we need for the day so it hasn’t been too bad.

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Tango

· #30 · Nov 8, 2020

Debo22 said:
I was in too deep before I realized it was a bad idea. I should have taken it in but now that I’m this far I’ll have to finish the job.

Most of my jobs are fairly close to home so we load up the install truck with what we need for the day so it hasn’t been too bad.

Just like the guy who takes apart half his faucet and can't finish the job and calls a plumber!

I did that a few times, taking the entire front suspension off a terrible Kanada 4Runner. Or taking the head off and head bolts breaking in there, overhauling transmissions, differential and more. But seriously if you can find a head just put everything back with fresh gaskets.

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #31 · Nov 8, 2020

Tango said:
Just like the guy who takes apart half his faucet and can't finish the job and calls a plumber!

I did that a few times, taking the entire front suspension off a terrible Kanada 4Runner. Or taking the head off and head bolts breaking in there, overhauling transmissions, differential and more. But seriously if you can find a head just put everything back with fresh gaskets.

I figured since I’m this far I might as well replace both heads.

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MACPLUMB777

· #32 · Nov 8, 2020

Remember what ShtRnsdownhill posted
I grew up my father was a Master Mechanic and growing up with him saw and heard this many times !

I rebuilt many a Chevy motor..the problem you will run into is if you fix the upper end, the heads with a rebuild is that you can now blow out the lower end because it is still worn with high miles..not all the time, but now you will have tight valves and seals on top and worn rings on the bottom...
If you take your time it's not difficult to do, but just take a lot of pictures showing where everything goes back and you drop the distributor back in the correct timing..

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #33 · Nov 19, 2020

I got it all put back together and drove to a semi local service call for the test drive. So far so good.

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Dpeckplb

· #34 · Dec 2, 2020

Got in my Chevy express today and middle of a snow storm the heater quit working. Then the service stabilitrac light came on. I hate trucks.
I’m 99.9% sure the heater is the fan resister. Went through 10 of them in my 11’ express.

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ShtRnsdownhill

· #35 · Dec 2, 2020

Dpeckplb said:
Got in my Chevy express today and middle of a snow storm the heater quit working. Then the service stabilitrac light came on. I hate trucks.
I’m 99.9% sure the heater is the fan resister. Went through 10 of them in my 11’ express.

I came outside one day and heard the fan going on my not running parked express van..opened the hood and it ended up the resistors shorted or did something and the fan was running, unplugged and replaced the resistor set and not a problem since, at least 10 years ago..its a 2003 chevy express..

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skoronesa

· #36 · Dec 3, 2020

Dpeckplb said:
Got in my Chevy express today and middle of a snow storm the heater quit working. Then the service stabilitrac light came on. I hate trucks.
I’m 99.9% sure the heater is the fan resister. Went through 10 of them in my 11’ express.

I've had this happen on several chevy/gm vehicles at least 7 times as well lolz. It isn't too bad to replace but still. GM or generic brand made no difference.

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #37 · Nov 9, 2021

The van wouldn’t start the other day, I had fuel but seemed a weak spark. When I finally got it to fire up I drove it around and got the P0300 code (random misfire). I checked inside the distributor cap and found multiple shorts. New distributor cap and rotor, good to go.

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DDDave

· #38 · Nov 9, 2021

You've probably already found links like this one-

www.fixdapp.com

P0300 Code Explained: Causes, Symptoms & How To Fix It

How to fix P0300 Random, Multiple Misfire Detected. We cover common causes, repairs, and symptoms.

www.fixdapp.com

The fixes are generally determined by whether or not the problem just happened or it's been going on for a while...

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Debo22

Discussion Starter · #39 · Jan 9, 2022

The check engine light came on and the van was driving “sluggish, like a wet sponge” (extra points if you know what movie that line is from). I got the P0758 code. I need to change the 2-3 shift solenoid in the transmission. It’s a $25 part and I need to do a transmission fluid and filter change anyway so I figured no big deal. The friggin exhaust pipe is in the way and I can’t drop the tranny pan without taking off the whole exhaust. Good times, I do like the challenge of working on and fixing my van but damn I thought it was going to be a lot easier.

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Tango

· #40 · Jan 9, 2022

Another reason for a sluggish truck is the AFM sensor and or throttle body/position sensor. Had to replace that in my current chev 2500 express. I tried the AFM sensor and that wasn't it so I tried the TP sensor.

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