1984 B250 Van... which tranny?

Which engine?????

Oops...sorry, 318 2bbl is all I know... No air either if that matters.

~jp

Budd Cochran wrote:

Being the B250, it was probably a 727 trans originally, but if there have been engine and trans swaps it could be a 904 also. Given that possibility, I'd say it's most likely a long output shaft trans or the driveshaft would have been swapped as well.

The rear axle is most likely the 9.25 / 9 1/4 corporate and contrary to some a good axle. I know of one that has yours matched or beat on the number of miles.

If the engine turns easily by hand, with a socket and breaker bar, it should start with fresh battery, oil and gas.

Well, I know it's a 727, just wasn't sure on the length...

The last time I started it was to see if it was up to the trip from Alabama to Atlanta. It clearly was not. The tranny made funny sounds and I only got up to about 10mph before there was heavy vibration coming from somewhere within the drivetrain.

I removed the air cleaner before starting it only to discover that a squirrel had decided to use it for acorn storage...I was kind of miffed about that.

Also, the carb's never been rebuilt... It ran, shall we say...a little rough.

Thanks,

~jp

Budd Cochran wrote:

After the 60's, I don't think they made many short output shaft transmissions as the wheelbase standardized at more than 100 inches.

That sounds more like a engine balance mismatch. A 318 is internally balanced and a 360 is externally balanced. A 360 trans on a 318 or vice versa will shake like mad. In both cases, the right converter fixes the problem.

Why be miffed? The squirrel had excellent taste and chose the best, highest quality storage place he could find. You've obviously got a five acorn air cleaner there, friend. :)

Better give that carb a good soaking and rebuild it or buy a rebuilt because that could be some of the vibration also.

Glad to help.

Well, I don't think it's a balance problem like you're describing. To make a long story short, the van was basically stolen from me at one point, and for about a year and a half I believed that it had been sent to the crusher--until Dad saw it driving down the road. Apparently the people who told him (not me) that it was "unfixable" (hardly anything is unfixable) fixed it 2 weeks later and ran it with illegal tags for that year and a half delivering carpet. I don't know if they did something to it once they realized that they were about to return it.

I do know that after it was returned to me, it was in many ways the old, worn out Dodge Van that I knew and loved, but soon after started having a strange issue where something would make a good bit of noise when just maintaining speed, but not under load or while deccelerating. Someone suggested to me that they make have put something in the oil or the gas tank to cause quicker-than-normal deterioration of the engine. Someone else listened and said it sounded like the main bearings.

I do know that when I did get it running that last time, it idled *ok* after a very lengthy warmup on a very hot Alabama day. It revved smoothly without noise when in park. The heavy-duty vibration only occured when moving in gear, and it was there regardless of whether or not I was accelerating or coasting down a hill.

LOL...Well, he must've thought so. I thought otherwise once I saw how the flapper in the intake tube had rusted open and the linkage connected to it was MIA. It just made it easier for him to get in!

That carb was toast in '93 when I started driving the van. I think it's beyond a good soaking. The choke was shot about 200K miles ago ;-) I would like to rebuild it, just because... But if I manage to get the van mobile enough to move a few miles, I'll probably do so with a temporary carb until I can find a more permanent workspace for it.

~jp

Main bearings will hammer loudest under load, even light cruise, but will quieten some when coasting at lower speed. Rods pound under load but don't quieten much.

Long warmups could be a plugged crossover passage, thermostat stuck open, or inoperative choke, or any combination of the three.

And they always go for the 'better' places.

Sounds like a plan. If I can be of help, just drop the "spam" out of my email address.

Good luck!

Budd

A Chilton or Haynes book will help you determine this. The VIN, may be of some help. Also, some vehicles have a big sticker in the glovebox, which details all the equipment which was applied to this particular vehicle.

As it's more recent than 1974, it will have the electronic ignition. They are well noted for having a bad ground on the ign module. Which may prevent it from starting. May I suggest you bring some fresh gasoline. and a couple cans of ether. Also, distributor cap and rotor. Ballast resistor. A new battery. Jumper cables.

Wish I lived closer, I'm in western NYS. I'd sure like to work on a project as this.

Well, it's going to be quite a long project, as I want to restore it to its original state.

The hard part will be the body work. I want the frame to be blasted and repainted, and the body needs to be stripped and repainted as well. All new weatherstripping was needed years ago. The windshield is cracked. How would one go about doing a frame-off resto on a Dodge Van???

~jp

Storm> A Chilton or Haynes book will help you determine this. The VIN, may be

A frame-off can't be done, the frame is welded to the body.

Ok... well that solves that problem, LOL...

What would be the best way to tackle it then? Put it up on stands, yank the suspension out and start sandblasting? Repaint and undercoat and call it a day?

~jp

Budd Cochran wrote:

If you can afford one that will hold the weight, get/ borrow/ build a rotisserie and take the doors off, glass out and strip the engine, suspension and interior, then rebuild as you wish. There are several sources for reproduction carpet, headliners, etc.

But don't have too much fun, you might scare the neighbors. ;)

Well, something that big would be too big for the space I have available. But it would be the most ideal.

I think realistically my best option is to pull the drivetrain. Then with the front end removed, support the whole thing on several heavy-duty jackstands. Then I could media blast most of the underside and then apply paint over that. I'm not worried about doing a really nice, clean job underneath, so long as any existing rust is removed, the underside is painted, and therefore protected from rust.

I'd really like something tough to be applied over the underside for dirt / debris / rust protection. Something like Line-X but I don't know if there are portable facilities available for someone to come out and apply the stuff.

I'd also like to do the same type of undercoating on my truck...

~jp

Budd Cochran wrote:

"Herculiner" is a bedliner coating that you can put on at home, but I have no idea how good it is or if it can be sprayed with conventional guns.

I understand the space limitation problem. I live in a mobile home park and I'm rebuilding a 1952 Cushman motor scooter out of my "workshop" an 8' X 16' storage shed that has only a 4' X 10' space left open for me to work in. :(

Right now, the scooter is on jackstands ( aka, high tech concrete blocks) in the yard . . .sometimes ya just can't get away from them "good ol' boy" traditions ... while I do the final assemblies and check out.