Well I'd say congrats on the purchase but you're probably wasting your time here on this site. If you want expertise and help from the people that are the most familiar with Chevy hardware, you should search out an appropriate forum. I have no bad things to say, just think you can get better help elsewhere.

 

perpetualjon,

Your probably right with the mechanical information, but what brought me to this site was the conversion the ideas in transforming the van to a camper, that is what brought me here. I like the construction methods that were used and it gave me a lot of ideas on what I really wanted to do or what I really could do with my van no matter what kind of van it is. Sure the measurements won't be that the same but at least I have more information about construction than before.

 

There is another site dedicated to camper builds of the typical van, search for Sportsmobile forums. While this is indeed FORD Truck Enthusiasts the ideas and experiences VWVan shares could translate to any brand just as well.

BTW VWVan is a monumental contributor to that other forum, very much just as generous with his info there too.

 

WVVan, Don't you worry about all those rare earth magnets all over your van interior? I'd be super scared to bring my computer in the van for fear I'd accidentally brush my laptop with a magnet.

 

Sadly, WVVan has bigger issues than magnets. He's gone missing from this page after spilling the guts of his 4.2 V6 on his driveway after hydrolocking it early in May. We're hoping he can resurrect the drivetrain and get his labor of love back on the road....and come back here to share his knowledge and skills.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ercoursed.html

George

 

Yeah, I've seen the other thread. I figured it would be pretty much a no-brainer to do an engine swap. I heard the 4.2 had problems, but given what WVVan has put into the camper van, it'd be worth replacing it even if its a poorer engine.

Maybe a diesel swap? Or buy another older similar model style van and swap over the penthouse roof, dash, undermount stuff, and interior framework. Aside from the insulation and all the cutting, most of all the components should reinstall pretty easy. And it'd be a good excuse to find a new solution for the magnets.

 

Hey everyone, I'm back. Letters, I get letters. Emails actually. Besides posts here a few people have written to ask what's happened to me and Hal. We've both been kind of busy. Here's a recap to bring this thread up to date.

But first a shout out to genscripter in regards to a question about using rare earth magnets inside the van. I'd just point out that many of the magnets I use come from scavenging old computer hard drives. Since these magnets came from the inside of a computer I don't see any danger to having my laptop inside the van.

So back in May I climbed in Hal to go somewhere and the engine wouldn't turn over. I could hear the starter engage and move then stop. Figured it must be time for a new starter. If you've not done one of these before on the van it's dead simple. Didn't even bother taking pictures.

Took the old one off and went to Advance with it. Got a new one for around $100. Put the new one on the van and went to start it up. The new starter worked like a champ. The van started right up then there was a loud BANG and massive vibration. Instantly shut the engine off and climbed out and looked under the van. Oil was gushing from under the engine like I was Jed Clampett.



Quickly found my drain pan and slide it under the van but not before a goodly volume of oil had already escaped. One advantage of having cats is cat litter. Threw a bunch of that under the van. Managed to stop the oil before it ran out onto the street and down the hill.

Well no doubt about it at this point. I'm intercoursed but good. Time for some heavy thinking. Two choices. Another van or fix Hal. Start looking around to see what's available in the used van line. In this area all I can find are new to one year old vans or older than 10 year old vans. Nothing in what I would consider the sweet spot where the price has dropped off but the van's not to well used yet. That's not to say if I didn't wait around long enough one would show up but who wants to leave a large immobile vehicle directly in front of their house for however long and also camping season is starting.

Then of course there is all the work I've put into Hal. A good many of the modifications I've made can be moved over to another van but that in itself would take a lot of time. I've been working on Hal for going on five years now. A lot of that effort would have be lost with another van. So fixing Hal would seem to be the best option.

Next up find a garage that would do the work. That turned out to be easier than I thought. My favorite mechanic changed locations and a new group had moved into his old location which is within easy walking distance. I talked it over with them and they had experience with Ford van engines replacements. Their usual method was to remove the body but with all the inside work I'd done they wouldn't be able to access the bolts. So they would have to take it out the front.

Next to get the van to the shop. The van is kind of wedged in front of my house with the hill in front and a telephone pole behind. Here's how the tow truck driver got it out.



Then up on the tow bar. I was pleased to see that the van's "basement" didn't interfere with the towbar.


Here's something the driver did to the steering wheel to help hold it in place while towing.


By the way the pile of gravel has nothing to do with the van. It's for this which is going on at the same time.


I'll come back to that.

So here's what the pavement looked like after the van was dragged over.


And here's the trail it left behind.


The trail ran for three blocks.

Hal at the service center. They weren't ready to work on it yet so it sat outside. . What's worse is this is over the Memorial Day Weekend and the weather was perfect. Would have been a great time to go camping.


continued

 

I hope the story ends well. One advantage of the 4.2 is that it is tiny compared to the V8's so you don't need as many shoehorns to get it in and out.

Thanks so much for the update...we're rooting for you and Hal!

George

 

Glad to hear from you again WVVan, was very sad to see the original post of the engine internals becoming externals.

Great little clip of dragging Hal, I actually LOL'd a little ha ha.

I'll be staying tuned, you've given us all a ton of great ideas

 

Thanks guys. I'd like to think someone is getting some useful info from all this.

I didn't mention in the previous post that before having Hal towed to the repair shop I'd talked with the manager about which engine to get as a replacement. It was obvious that a another engine was in order. He quoted a price for a junkyard engine but I passed on it. I wanted a rebuilt. Tried for a Jasper rebuilt but they don't carry Ford 4.2L six cylinders anymore. Guess there's not enough call for them.

Manager suggested Spartan rebuild which is the Advance Auto house brand. I checked on line and found some complaints but the manager said he's not had any bad luck with them. Problem was my options where limited so went with the Spartan engine. Quoted me a price of $2600 for the engine and $760 for labor. There was a possible additional damaged core fee of $200 but I heard nothing more of that so my engine must not have been too far gone.

After ordering the engine it took close to three weeks before it was delivered. Was told that none were in stock so it had to be assembled.

How the engine looked when delivered. It came in a black packing case.






It's probably never going to look that clean again. The gentleman to the right in the middle picture is Derrick who will be doing the majority of the work on Hal.

I had to leave town for a few days just when the work got started on the van so there's not as many photos as usual.

Here's the front view with most everything removed.








Found the cause of the original oil leak. This is a piece from the side of the oil pan. Told me that a rod had shot out of the engine and broke this chunk off.




In the photo the engine has been removed. You can see a floor jack holding up the transmission.




This was a weird looking view without the engine in the way.


Old engine.


They found a safe place to store the hood, on the sofa bed.


Rebuilt with all the pieces from the old engine transferred over.


New engine in place.




Here's the replacement to a couple of the pieces that were too rusted to reuse. I told them to replace anything that looked iffy.


They put it all back together in no time flat so I don't have anymore pictures of the repair but a quick story. Manager calls me at work and wants to know if in all my customization I've done something to the headlights. They can't get them to work. Turns out that the headlights that used to work both failed when reinstalled. Most likely from being knocked around. Since neither light worked they thought it was an electrical fault.

The bill:
Spartan Reman Engine $2600
Oil and Filter $32.95
Anitfreeze $36
Spark Plugs $28.32
Tow Bill $85.00
Water Pump $129.70
Thermostat $17.70
Exhaust Flange Bolts $16.20
Exhaust Manifold Bolts $13.38
Coolant Hose $157.48
Oil Cooler $275.95
Belt $48.50
Headlamp $54.22
Shop Supplies $20.00
Labor $760.00

Tax $256.52
Total $4,531.92

Pay the bill, start up the van, and listen to that new engine purr. Most definitely you can hear the difference.

So pack up the van and go camping and biking along the C&O Canal.




Running up and over the Allegheny Mountain Range that separates West Virginia from Maryland I got a real chance to try out the engine. Everything was just fine until I noticed the check engine light. Checked the code numbers. They were P0171 and P0174. Cleared the codes to see if they would come back. They did.

continued

 

P0171 = Cylinder Bank #1 Lean
P0174 = Cylinder Bank #2 Lean

centralized vacuum leak that's affecting both cylinder banks..

always take the vehicle for a shakedown cruise before any long journeys to uncover any potential issues, i always expect the unexpected especially after a motor swap, there's just too many things that can and usually do go wrong..

 

"Coolant Hose $157.48"

This hose must be mighty special.

 

It is. It's the one in the picture of replacement parts.

 

I didn't care too much for the sofa bed either...

 

Oh I have built a nice box in the rear, got some 1/4" red oak plywood years ago cheap, less that luan costs now, so I made 2 runners one on each side, put a 50" wide wall between them 30" from the rear, so the spare tire is boxed in the rear, I just made another 50" wide wall for the front, it's to be 14" high, plywood on top, and maybe a futon mattress on top to sleep on. I'm going to add a stereo system, so far I have a 6 1/4" component setup, then picked up a Pioneer system on sale, came with a pair of 6 1/4" and 6x9" speakers, the big stuff is in my other van waiting till this has the space ready, either my pair of RF HE2 12's or the RFR 15", not made up my mind, an alternator upgrade will be mandatory. I have an event in October, so I gotta get that bed done, been waiting on insulation, so I can cover the walls before finishing my framing.