"Da church van"
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"Da church van"
I recently have been put in charge of the church van. Maintenance, cleaning, etc. I personaly drive a nissan altima, and my Dad drives a 97 F150. I am a member of "altimas.net"; an online Nissan altima community. Since I am already a member of a forum, I do know how important it is to "SEARCH". I searched, and found out that we have a 97 E350 XLT w/ the v10 option. I think it is an option. It has about 53K on it. What are some of the common problems, and things that I need to watch out for? N-e-wayz, Just wanted to say hello to everyone. Halla lata' God bless!
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 543
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From: South East Texas
If that has the aluminum motor, I read some posts in here about those things spittin' out spark plugs.
I had an Oldsmobile years ago with aluminum heads that used to do the same thing. I got tired of pulling the heads off and taking them to the machine shop to get them heli-coiled. after the third one the car was history.
I had an Oldsmobile years ago with aluminum heads that used to do the same thing. I got tired of pulling the heads off and taking them to the machine shop to get them heli-coiled. after the third one the car was history.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,140
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
The big thing to keep the plugs from gettin blown out of the head is use a good anit-sieze grease and torque them properly. The lube will ensure that they torque correctly, and also keep them from corroding themselves to the head.
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Ok, So the V10s have spark plug problems. It has 53k or so miles on it. I know it probably needs a minor tune up right? I know in my altima it says that they go over 100k miles before the tune up, but we all do a "minor" one with just the plugs changed. And knowing this information, is it better to take it somewhere to get them changed? (I usually do my own work).
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,980
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From: central ohio
if its that common a problem, id take it to a dealer for plugs, let them fix the heads if they screw it up. a V-10 would be a major pain to pull heads in-chassis. had a 4.3 astro once and it was bad enough, even though it was a V-6. i do my own work also, but sometimes your better off having someone do it that does it day-in and day-out. Dave.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: The Show Me State
fredf15097,
Not even joking here, you have the advantage of the van being in the care and keeping of God. Praying before you start any work on the van would just be common sense in this case...
DadVan
Not even joking here, you have the advantage of the van being in the care and keeping of God. Praying before you start any work on the van would just be common sense in this case...
DadVan
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One of the biggest problems with these vans is that they get loaded up with a bunch of kids and no one puts on the seatbelts and then some 16 year or some 86 year old flips the thing about 4 times and then they all stand back and say it was God's will.
So as part of your mission I would regularly remind the captain of that ship that God's will is for him or her to not go 85 MPH, go to sleep at the wheel, slalom it like your Altima or otherwise spread the blood and brains of the occupants upon the landscape.
Good luck.
So as part of your mission I would regularly remind the captain of that ship that God's will is for him or her to not go 85 MPH, go to sleep at the wheel, slalom it like your Altima or otherwise spread the blood and brains of the occupants upon the landscape.
Good luck.
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Brett Foote
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From: The Show Me State
fredf15097,
85e150six4mtod makes some good points! I wasn't saying to stand back and trust God to keep the van in top repair, He's entrusted the care of the van to you. Hey, I trust God, pray everyday when I start the hated commute, but also ALWAYS wear my seatbelt, *and* ALWAYS require that my passengers wear their seatbelts. Faith in the Lord is no excuse for poor maintenance!
DadVan
85e150six4mtod makes some good points! I wasn't saying to stand back and trust God to keep the van in top repair, He's entrusted the care of the van to you. Hey, I trust God, pray everyday when I start the hated commute, but also ALWAYS wear my seatbelt, *and* ALWAYS require that my passengers wear their seatbelts. Faith in the Lord is no excuse for poor maintenance!
DadVan
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Joined: Jul 2004
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Praying before you start any work on the van would just be common sense in this case...
.Realy though just use comon sence , use grease on the plug threds and if you don`t know how to do something don`t try to do it , bring it to a shop.
God bless y`all
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
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First thing I would do is install a Roadmaster active suspension kit. Cost about $250, takes about an hour to install. Rollover is serious business and you should do everything you can to reduce the chance of it occuring. I think that the media has overblown the whole thing when you look at the real stastics, but it is better to be prudent when you are carrying precious cargo. Seat belts = always. Young Drivers = never. People who drive little tiny cars = never should drive the van. People who jerk the wheel to avoid things in the road = never should drive the van.
Vans drive differently when loaded, load the heaviest people in the front seats, run with the back seat empty or least loaded (lightest).
Vans drive differently when loaded, load the heaviest people in the front seats, run with the back seat empty or least loaded (lightest).
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thank all you guys for all the tips! I am also happy that I have a lot of God believing people here(not many on the altima board). I think I will just take it to a place to have all the maintenance done. I will buy a haynes manual though. Do autozone sell them?
I have seen in the media that these vans are prone to roll over. I will be careful when driving. Fat people in the front right! Anything else that I should do, be careful of, watch out for? Are there any cheap mods? Be pretty cool to have a modded out church van! I put a license plate on the front that says "SPEEDIN' FOR JESUS" I guess that won't be good in a van that flips all the time huh! Lol!
I have seen in the media that these vans are prone to roll over. I will be careful when driving. Fat people in the front right! Anything else that I should do, be careful of, watch out for? Are there any cheap mods? Be pretty cool to have a modded out church van! I put a license plate on the front that says "SPEEDIN' FOR JESUS" I guess that won't be good in a van that flips all the time huh! Lol!
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Twin Cities, MN
The plugs are supposed to be good for 100,000 miles so you may not have to worry about them yet. But I would suggest taking it in to a dealer and let them do it. We just did our only 1998 E350 v10 (bus cut away) and we spent a good 3 1/2 hours on it.
As for roll overs,
I've drivin these types of vans for a while and I've never rolled one or even come remotely close to. I think it's more the person driving it that over stears when they does off a bit and cross the lines on the road. And under inflating the tires can cause handling problems when it's fully loaded with passengers. I always set the presure to the max cold the tire recommeds.
As for roll overs,
I've drivin these types of vans for a while and I've never rolled one or even come remotely close to. I think it's more the person driving it that over stears when they does off a bit and cross the lines on the road. And under inflating the tires can cause handling problems when it's fully loaded with passengers. I always set the presure to the max cold the tire recommeds.