Arctic Ambulance

[Cubey]

I may want an IDI van, but I don’t think I want to working on an IDI van. When I see pictures of turbo’d vans with the doghouse off, I’m like, oh hell no, how’d they fit that in there, or is it there, cuz all I see is some pipes and the turbo! And then from the front you can see the batteries, alternator, power steering pump, and IP gear cover. To hell with working on that, all y’all IDI van guys must be some kind of magicians to get anything done on them!

Timing is an awful ordeal, but how often do you do that?

It's not too bad to do return o-rings. You have to work from both sides depending on which injector.

If anything it's easier to work on stuff from the back side.

Also, it's possible to remove and install the oil cooler without unbolting and jacking up the engine. I've never had to (yet).

The power steering pump is very difficult if you don't remove the fan shroud, but it's doable.

Mechanical fuel pump is pretty bad to access.

If you want to do major work or pull the motor? yeah it's not fun. But routine repairs aren't a big deal.

 

[Rdnck84_03]

The speed sensor is in the top of the rear differential housing towards the driver side front.

That sensor is cheap enough that if I'm in doubt of its function I just buy a new one. While it is out look through the sensor hole and make sure there isn't shavings stuck on the tone ring as this will effect the sensor function. Also check for corrosion in the connector or cracks in the insulation that can allow moisture into the wires.

James

 

[nelstomlinson]

The US Shift uses the factory sensors. My vehicle doesn't have a speedometer cable, so I'll have to find the two wires with the speed signal and tap into those. Otherwise it's mostly plug and play, and replaces a lot of the old wiring which is likely to be cracking and failing.

 

[nelstomlinson]

While it is out look through the sensor hole and make sure there isn't shavings stuck on the tone ring as this will effect the sensor function.

I don't have much clearance above the rear axle. This thing desperately needs a lift kit, I barely fit underneath. My long term plans involve a lot of washboarded gravel roads, and a little extra suspension travel would help.

 

[klook]

My speedo is dead on by gps so I guess mine is fine. I was hoping it would eliminate the TPS as it is a plain old pain in the a$$ to adjust and get the wires hooked up to read. Still, I like the idea of it.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I'm not looking forward to trying to reach the TPS on the van.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

I don't have much clearance above the rear axle. This thing desperately needs a lift kit, I barely fit underneath. My long term plans involve a lot of washboarded gravel roads, and a little extra suspension travel would help.

The big tires that I run would help you out a TON with roads like that, and give a tiny lift. 285/75R-16's, or roughly 33". MT's or open tread AT's. I like the AT's better for the mostly road driving I do.
The trick is to only air them up as much as needed to keep the treadwear even. It's pretty low, even under the front axle I'm at 32-35psi cold, depending on ambient temps. Rear is 15-20psi empty. 15 is more realistic for treadwear but I got a little annoyed at how much lateral play there was and bumped it to 20.

Point is: it takes a ton of the little bumps and crap away from the driver, and allows you to do what you want without your teeth rattling out or shaking the truck to death. I don't need to be airing up and down either just to play on some dirt roads. I've been very happy with them even though my rig is mostly a pavement princess. The only thing I don't like is the fuel economy, but I don't drive her a ton anyway.
Another big thing I found the hard way was snow play went up about 1000%. Those stock tires at stock pressures SUCK in the snow any way you cut it. Those dang pizza cutters just wont stay put and wander off the packed snow and slice through the softer stuff, leaving you stuck. With this setup, no longer! I get to play around in all sorts of snowy conditions to my heart's content. It's not a Jeep or Tacoma, but just the tire difference is amazing.

Hope that helps!
Joshua

 

[nelstomlinson]

This rig uses duals, I think 215/80-16? I might be able to go to the 235/85-16 I have on the plow truck.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Doh. Well good thing I typed all that out for duallies...

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Doh. Well good thing I typed all that out for duallies...

Well he could run the 285/75R16s on the back end with wide rims and call them super singles.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Well he could run the 285/75R16s on the back end with wide rims and call them super singles.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I've thought about maybe, someday, going to super singles. Not sure it's a good idea, and I don't think it'll be cheap, and I definitely want to achieve compatibility with the plow truck, not move further from compatibility.

GVWR is almost 12k pounds, it's going to need more than load range E if I went to singles on the back.

I guess if I converted the front axles to single width, I could run the same wide SS rims front and rear? Sounds like a lot of work that I don't have time for. Right now I'm trying to get that old Mercedes' clutch changed out, then it's time to install that US Shift kit. Hopefully I'll get that done and get this rig reliable in time for some summer road trips. That's the immediate goal: to get as far south as Homer, and home to Delta again, this summer, with no breakdowns.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Yesterday's project was to replace the ball bearing slides on the battery drawer. That was successful, and the drawer with batteries slides in and out nicely now.

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Today's project has been to drop the transmission pan, replace it with an aftermarket pan with a drain plug, put a heater on that new pan, put retainer clips on the trans filter. The oil looked pretty clean, no signs of shavings on the magnet, so the ATF had been changed in the recent past. No surprise, Morely takes care of his stuff, and the mechanics he has working for him are conscientious.

I wasn't able to attach the retainer clips the way the drawing indicated, but I was able to attach them. This one is on the aft end,

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This one on the forward end of the filter.

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The high temperature silicone holding on the new heater pad is curing. Tomorrow evening or so I'll start reassembling.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I also took out the doghouse and started looking for the PSOM, or a wire leading from it to the power control module. According to the EVTM the PSOM is behind the instrument cluster, which I have't figured out how to access yet.

I need to attach the new shift controller to the TPS, the PSOM, and the transmission connectors.

I do at least have a good view of the back of the engine.

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