P1050531.JPG;bottom of old radiator, far right is aux coolant connection, middle is trans outgoing|||P1050532.JPG;middle is trans incoming (oil pumped to radiator here) then water line|||P1050537.JPG;transmission has signs of oil seeping|||P1050588.JPG;prestone flush and fill kit was well worth the $4|||P1050589.JPG;|||P1050590.JPG;two hoses in the middle end up going to the firwall|||P1050591.JPG;prestone flush adapter fitted inline|||P1050592.JPG;|||P1050593.JPG;garden hose connected to provide clean water pressure to flush system|||P1050594.JPG;old fluid pumped right out the top of the radiator, kind of messy actually|||P1050595.JPG;coming out clean, old radiator flushed and also the front and rear hearter core|||P1050596.JPG;disconnecting old radiator|||P1050597.JPG;disconnected fan shroud|||P1050598.JPG;|||P1050600.JPG;all lower fittings removed|||P1050601.JPG;|||P1050604.JPG;bummer, bolts are not accessible from inside engine bay, partially accessible throgh grill|||P1050605.JPG;old radiator removed. It has seen better days|||P1050606.JPG;|||P1050607.JPG;|||P1050608.JPG;|||P1050609.JPG;|||P1050610.JPG;just some shots to document everything normally obstructed by the radiator|||P1050611.JPG;|||P1050612.JPG;|||P1050613.JPG;|||P1050614.JPG;|||P1050615.JPG;look at all that space|||P1050616.JPG;|||P1050617.JPG;|||P1050618.JPG;|||P1050620.JPG;|||P1050621.JPG;|||P1050622.JPG;|||P1050623.JPG;|||P1050624.JPG;soapy water used to clean all the pulleys and the old serpentine belt|||P1050625.JPG;all pulleys clean|||P1050626.JPG;old belt cleaned, still had to be replaced though|||P1050628.JPG;new radiator|||P1050629.JPG;it came with an assortment of fittings, ended up reusing the old ones where possible|||P1050630.JPG;the bit fitting is tranmission line, internally the line sits against the fitting wrong|||P1050631.JPG;|||P1050634.JPG;7 of 8 speed nuts broke when removing old radiator and shroud, replaced all of them with new ones|||P1050635.JPG;new radiator installed|||P1050636.JPG;|||P1050637.JPG;time to tackle the transmission, i ran the car for about 30 seconds to pump oil out before dropping|||P1050638.JPG;pan dropped, old filter visible|||P1050639.JPG;|||P1050640.JPG;|||P1050641.JPG;runnings car for only 30 seconds with trans cooler line disconnected emptied most of the oil|||P1050642.JPG;old gasket|||P1050643.JPG;pan cleaned up, fuzzy magnet was cleaned and reinstalled|||P1050644.JPG;shiny new filter, both shallow filters for 2wd vehicles like the E150|||P1050645.JPG;new filter is not as deep but fits in position great|||P1050646.JPG;the o-ring didnt come out with old filter, had to extract it manually|||P1050647.JPG;new transmission filter and gasket, DW-FK180|||P1050649.JPG;my old gasket was not reusable|||P1050650.JPG;|||P1050651.JPG;drain plug for the torque converter visible, drained remainder of tranny fluid from here|||P1050652.JPG;new radiator connection leaked, went back to old fitting from old radiator|||P1050653.JPG;|||P1050654.JPG;|||P1050655.JPG;tranmission supposedly takes 18 quarts, I put in 13 so far and level looks good but dipstick is bad|||P1050656.JPG;castrol merc|||P1050657.JPG;|||P1050658.JPG;have to fill tranmission through the dipstick tube|||P1050659.JPG;make sure you have 8 hours free before you start adding transmission fluid because it takes FOREVER|||P1050660.JPG;auxillary coolant line leaked, new connecter was 1/8, not the needed 1/4 inch|||P1050661.JPG;used 1/8 hose, got it only a 1/4 in coupler to meet old hose. not ideal, but quick as rad was full|||P1050662.JPG;old cap had bad seals. used new cap|||P1050663.JPG;|||P1050664.JPG;the old belt kept squeaking. Too bad. Had to get a new belt.|||P1050665.JPG;old belt on left, new dayco belt on right, looks very different but seems to work fine|||P1050667.JPG;new belt installed, tensioner is way more tense|||P1050669.JPG;my arm got tired of holding tranmission filler so I proped it up|||AlbumDescription;

This day represents the culmination to an entire series of maintenance tasks on the van. When I bought the van it had many problems, two of which were:

  1. Squeaky noise from engine bay that increased with RPM
  2. Stuttering when at 1/2 throttle

I knew the first problem was related to the serpentine belt system. When I lubricated the power steering pump pulley, the problem went away. I replaced the power steering pump and pulley but the noise remained. Next I checked the tensioner pulley. Same as before, when I hit the bearing wtih WD-40 the noise went away. I replaced the tensioser but the noise remained. I then check all the pulleys one by one with the belt off. They all worked without squeaking which just left the belt.

The problem was that the radiator was leaking coolant which was getting on the belt and contaminating it. To fix the squeaking for good, I would need to replace the radiator.

As for problem number 2, I though the surging was ignition related. I replaced a bunch of parts, including all the vacuum lines, but the surging remained. Turns out that fouled transmission fluid can cause this stuttering to occur in the torque convertor. A complete tranmission oil flush was in order however I could see that oil was seeping past the tranmission pan seal. Not only that, but the tranmission pumps oil to a factory cooler that happens to be in the radiator. If I am already replacing the radiator, I might as well address the transmission fluid at the same time to avoid introducing any contaminents into the new cooler.

I got a cheapo radiator off ebay. The quality actually seems pretty good. Its got pastic tanks, but it seems sturdy and has no leaks so far. Removing the old radiator was not too tricky. I ended up flushing the old coolant out using tap water from a garden hose. The new radiator is a Sunbelt SBR1456.

Likewise addressing the transmission was time consuming but straight forward.

The only gotchas oveall were that the new radiator came with transmission oil line fittings that did not seal correctly. They allowed fluid to leak past. I ended up using the old fittings from the old radiator. The new radiator also did not come with the correct size fitting for the auxillarly radiator inlet on the bottom. I had to make a trip to home depot to get a fitting that would work.

When I was all done, I fired up the van and was sad to hear the squeal remained, even after washing the belt and pulleys. The old belt was just too far gone. Replacing it addressed the squeal.

It is so nice driving a nice quiet van that runs at smoothly at all throttle positions. I love it!

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