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Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726023 July 23rd 2017 8:47 pm
Joined: Nov 2013
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pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
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The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Had a great time, great weather. Found a spot under a shade tree, next to an island in the parking lot at the hotel, so the van had a nice place to sit and recuperate from her long run from Michigan. We made several local trips, and it ran flawlessly each time.

[Linked Image]

Our old friend Sponge Bob made the trip with us, and has now adopted a permanent place on the dash of the Express. He previously resided on the dash of our Chevy Venture. A McDonald's kids meal toy, he stays in place very well in that three point stance. He lived on the dash while my son learned to drive in the van. If he went sailing off the dash in a turn, you were turning too fast.

On the way home, she rolled past the 80k mile mark.

[Linked Image]

Going back past McDonough, we thought we might catch the tale of the Great American Race, but were too late.

I've been spending my time since playing with the Trans Am. But I need to get back to the van this week. She needs a trailer brake controller installed. smile

Last edited by Dyno_Dave; July 23rd 2017 8:48 pm.
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Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726042 July 23rd 2017 9:57 pm
Joined: Jun 2010
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Great story .... may have cost a little more but all good in the end.


SUNSHINE VANS-VAN DIEGO
ADRENALIN BY THE GALLON & CHASIN RACIN
ONE FOR THE DIRT & ONE FOR THE STREETS
'93 CHEVY G30 454 4X4 SPORTVAN EXT 146" WB
'92 CHEVY G30 454 BEAUVILLE EXT 146" WB
Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726043 July 23rd 2017 9:58 pm
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 18,536
Likes: 136
Supreme Master
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Thanks fo sharing your story and photos. It sucks when your van craps out on you. Especially far from home . Been there done that. I'm glad it worked out for you. Sounds like Mickey Mouse has a good crew working for him. I didn't know they had their own pit crew. grin


[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Arianrhod:2003 Chevy Astro
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Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726065 July 24th 2017 1:04 pm
Joined: Nov 2013
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W
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Great Summer vacation story, glad it went well. Smoothly done Dyno_Dave. Kudos to the WDW staff involved 4 sure. Came to the right place! Lol.

I vote the My1997Express, for the "Finest Van on a Flatbed" award!


BBC Blue
1990 Chevy G30 L19 7.4 EXT
Church Van, maternity division

DogVan
1988 Dodge B250
LA series 318 Wedge 5.2 TBI A500

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'94 Dodge B350 www.xplorermotorhome.com/
Xplorer MH model 230
230 hp LA series 360 Wedge MPI 5.9 A518 OD auto

Old vans are getting pricey!
Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726070 July 24th 2017 5:56 pm
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,805
Likes: 123
Uncle Rust N Dents
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Uncle Rust N Dents
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Cool story.
The breakdown sucked, but you were in good hands once the security officer showed up.
I've never seen customer service like what they have at Disney World. It reminds me of those vintage ads where everybody's always smiling and 100% professional.
I didn't know they had their own pit crew either, but it doesn't surprise me really... they are pretty self-sufficient.

We have a Summit Racing opening here in a couple of months... I can't wait to cruise over there and check it out.

So what was the failure on the van? Did the fuel pump die?


[Linked Image from farm3.staticflickr.com]
Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726077 July 24th 2017 9:26 pm
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,692
Likes: 32
pooh-bah
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Thanks everybody.

I'll take that award Wedgy! lol

What broke? Well, that's the $64 question. And it took a LOT more than $64 to find out.

The short answer is, we don't know exactly. Something in the ignition system. Not fuel pump. That's been done before, according to the stack of receipts Dad had kept. And it was good.

The long answer? One of the details I didn't provide in the already too long story above, was that after it died and would not re-start (crank only)....this was very hot conditions. Hot day, just off a run down the highway, idling at a light. After she sat for a 1/2 hour, and the tow driver was ready to pull her up on the flatbed, the front tires were maybe 6-8 foot away from the edge of the ramp. He asked my to try it one time, to see if I could pull it forward those few feet. And wouldn't you know the damn thing started. So something got too hot. Had a solid check engine light, so a stored code.

When the shop called me, they could see that much under the bonnet was original....20 years old. And they wanted to go to town. They offered me two options, the full boat including every maintenance item that had never been done as far as THEY knew, including a coolant flush, belt, tensioner, etc. This would have cost more than I paid for the van. Literally. lol And all of this things had looked up to snuff at the shop back home that I have used for 20+ years.

After I backed them away from that cliff, we focused on doing everything in the ignition system. Crank sensor, coil, cap, rotor, module, distributor, plugs, etc. This cost a few hundred less than I paid for the van. It would be easy to be cynical and say they had me, and went all out to over-repair the van. And while I was not in a position to argue, I wasn't entirely against this approach. Since it started when cooled off, how would I know for SURE we'd fixed it until the long drive back to Detroit? Did I want to risk breaking down on the side of the highway on Tennessee or Kentucky, up in the mountains? All because I wanted to second guess the guy working on it? To save a few bucks?

I did not. So I gave them carte blanche to rebuild the ignition system. Now, I'm not trying to brag, or try to show off. MANY people in the auto industry and hobby know a LOT more than I do. But I do have a couple of automotive degrees, spent some time in a Chevy dealer, and many years as a contractor to GM here in Detroit. So I have some notion of what's going on.

My guess? I think it was the coil. While crank sensors can be intermittent, or fail when hot, in my experience, they are like a light bulb. When they fail, they fail. Obviously distributor (high voltage switch in GM speak for the L30/L31 engines) itself was not the issue, nor the plugs or wires, cap or rotor. Could have been the module, but I'm thinking coil. Why? Because of that slowly degrading gas mileage on the way down. Ran, but getting ever weaker. I could be full of it too, but whatever it was, we killed that fly with a sledgehammer.

Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726088 July 25th 2017 11:45 am
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,805
Likes: 123
Uncle Rust N Dents
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Uncle Rust N Dents
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Hey thanks Dave!
You went above and beyond answering my question.
It doesn't sound like they troubleshot according to the diagnostic codes, but instead decided to shotgun it.
It surely cost you a lot more that way, but they had you up and running the next day, and there's definitely value in that.
smile



[Linked Image from farm3.staticflickr.com]
Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726663 August 10th 2017 9:15 am
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,692
Likes: 32
pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
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Enough of these pleasure cruises. Time to put the old gal to work!

I have an '88 Trans Am that I would like to take to a few shows that are farther away from home than I am comfortable with driving it. So...I placed an order on Saturday. Should be ready in a few weeks...actually, picking it up the day before I leave for a show!

[Linked Image]

Two orders from US Cargo Control have arrived. E-track was already at the trailer factory when I placed my order. That was some fast shipping. My straps arrived at the house Monday.

http://www.uscargocontrol.com/

As I will only have a 1/2 day to get the trailer ready for the trip to the nationals, I'm trying to pre-buy everything, and be ready for an installation blitz. Yesterday was a trip to Harbor Freight for a 5000 pound winch. List $244.99, on sale for $179.99. I had a sale flier which had this for $169.99, but I was able to use the 20% coupon, and got it for $146 or so. No complaints about that. As with any trip there, I couldn't make it out without picking up a few more items...nitrile gloves (coupon), a d-ring shackle (coupon), and a spring loaded center punch for drilling those holes in my brand new trailer and tool box! (coupon). My brother and I already have a bet going on how long I will stand there with the drill in my hand before I start making those holes.

https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-l...ake-68144.html


Re: My 1997 Express
Dyno_Dave #726690 August 11th 2017 8:47 am
Joined: Nov 2013
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Likes: 32
pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
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Stopped to fill up last night. Never the happiest of times when I have to feed the old gal. Guy at the pump on the other side of the island filling up a Jeep with diesel. Looks for a long time. I'm looking the van over too, thinking about all the things I need to / want to do with it, and wondering if buy yet another vehicle was such a good choice.

The guy with the Jeep finally pipes up, asking how many miles. I tell him, he says it's really clean, and looks great. Repeats this a few times. A perfectly timed compliment. I thank him, and leave realizing there's far, far more good about the van than wrong, and just enjoying the rest of my commute home.

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