Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Readers Rides 1989 E150 conversion camper build

Those parts aren't that expensive. I'd change it all out just for the peace of mind of knowing it was done and recently.

That's the plan. Heading to O'Reilly to pick up the kit, the drum brake tool for getting the springs on/off and lube.

By the grace of PB Blaster and leverage, the wheel cylinder has been removed and the new one installed and brakes bled. Cleaned the wheel back, sanded the 6 thick parts (what are they called?) and added brake lube to those points and to the star ring bolt.

Time to reassemble the brakes!

Then it turned 6:30 and right on cue the sky went from clear to black and a 30 mph wind brought the nightly thunderstorm in.

So everything is back in the cab and the wheel is covered in a garbage bag to keep dry.

I'm so tired of rain. Getting 45 minutes a day to work sucks.

That's a great looking van you got there. Looking forward to the build.

Hey! We have brakes again.



Removed it all, cleaned, sanded, lubed, bought tools, installed the new cylinder and hardware, bled the system, put it back together, realized I missed a part, took it apart, put it back together, did the "braking while reversing" thing to lock it in, went to a rural road and tested at 35+ mph.

$30 in parts, $250 in tools (jack and stands weren't tall enough, got the drum brake tools and flare wrenches for the brake line).

Took 7 hours over 3 days to get them installed the first time. Took 18 minutes to do it the second time when I missed a part.

I'm not a quick learner but I can repeat things.

On to the next project!

Nice work! Congratulations!

Oops! If you take a closer look at the picture you might notice a mistake. Thankfully I found and fixed it before driving further.

Today was productive ... Or at least educational.

To remove the seats we need to ratchet from above holding a nut below. So I bought some 6 ton ramps and put the rear wheels up and chocked the fronts. Son went under and I cranked from above. First three were tedious, with 30 years of rust, but they came up. Forth was not going to budge and the nut rounded. So back to the store for a nut splitter.

I'm officially in need of tool storage.

The splitter took care of it in short order and we got the first seat mount up. And what did we find?

Beautiful, pristine, 1/2 plywood subfloor. Life just got a little easier.

Switched to the other side and life just got a little harder.

Two of the four bolts are easily accessible under the van, but the other two are hidden above the gas tank.

Well shit. What to do?

Does anyone remember that children's song about going on a bear hunt? You get to an obstacle and say...

Can't go under it!
Can't go over it!
Gonna have to go through it!

Dremel and metal cutting attachment.

But first, let's rip up all this carpet so we don't start a fire. And let's have some water and an extinguisher on hand.

First bolt? Zip. Bam. Boom. 5 minutes going slow.

Second? I think this one is made from hardened unobtainium forged by the dwarfs of Magrithal.

Went through 3 discs. The washer cut like butter. The bolt didn't budge. But patience and high rpms always win. 30+ minutes.

The rain then came right on queue but it's been 5 hours and we've lost a few pounds sweating so maybe it's a good time to get ready for Vikings and Broncos game.

I'll get some pictures tomorrow.

So excited about that wood subfloor. That will save us a day or two and $150.

Money I spent today on more tools

I am a big fan of Kroil and heat for dealing with rusty bolts. Can you spray some Kroil on the nuts over the fuel tank and hold the nut with an open end wrench while another person turns the bolt from the inside?

Keep at it!

We were using penetrating oil and they were spinning good - it was just an access issue. Between the frame and tank, we needed to come from the driveshaft side of the tank but getting your body in position was a PITA (and as a big guy, maybe not even possible).

Cutting it off was annoying but worked.

I need a garage with a pit.