Van Maintenance [Day 5]

Yesterday, Austin had a flight and I took the day off from van stuff, so today is build day #5.

Van Maintenance

This afternoon Austin did some maintenance on the van.

Glow Plugs

Austin wanted to put anti-seize on the glow plugs because there’s a common issue where when you try to take out the glow plugs they could break. He removed the air filter housing to see if he could get at the glow plugs. However, it would require moving pieces of the turbo unit, which is pretty difficult. Since we’ll know when a glow plug needs to be replaced because it will give you a check engine code, Austin decided not to pursue this particular maintenance item. The van was also probably maintained at a dealer every time because it was a fleet vehicle, so we can be pretty sure that they used anti-seize on the glow plugs.

Grille

Our van was all blacked out when we got it – rims, grille, and badges. Unfortunately, a strip on the grill was removed (probably because it was damaged or peeling) and so there was one chrome piece showing on the front. It looked a little silly so Austin peeled the rest of the plastidip off to reveal the original chrome and re-installed the grille. What do you think, should we plastidip it back to black? Take a look on Instagram and comment below!

Lubing the Nuts

Next up was removing all the lug nuts on each wheel and lubing them (what did I think I was talking about?!). A few were stubborn so he used a propane torch for 60 seconds and heated them up so they would loosen. After pulling the lug nuts, he applied a layer of grease and replaced them. This took him about an hour to do, but it was so worth the time. The reason he did it now, is so if we get a flat on the road it will be so much easier to take the tire off and replace it.

Back up Beeper

Finally, there was a REALLY loud beeping noise whenever the van was in reverse. Austin went in and disabled it. That was a relatively simple task, he just had to disconnect the wire that’s located under the back bumper.

Parking Brake Sensor

The parking brake was not always throwing a light up on the dashboard, so we accidentally drove it around the block with the E-brake on the first day we got it 😬 Austin lubricated the parking brake and now the sensor works and puts the light up on the dashboard every time the brake is engaged.

Taillights

One of the taillights is missing some clips so Austin evaluated this. It seems like it will stay in just fine so this isn’t a high priority. He also checked that the tail lights weren’t cracked through (because that would allow water in). The taillights were damaged due to the rear door stoppers swinging in and smashing them. Austin fixed the rear door stoppers earlier so that they wouldn’t cause any more damage.

Miscellaneous

• Tires: Our front driver’s side tire was low when we bought the van, we pumped it up a couple of days ago and it seems to be holding air just fine (yay!)
• Weatherstripping: There was weatherstripping under the hood that was falling apart so Austin glued it back in place
• Air Filter: Austin pulled out the air filter and looked at it. It looks new and does not need to be replaced right now (there will be a dashboard light when it does need to be replaced in 25k – 30k miles)

 

What’s this thing?

There was a weird antenna with a flashing light on the dashboard, and something else wired under the steering column. At first, we thought it was an aftermarket alarm system. Upon further inspection, Austin discovered it was a monitor for the fleet vehicles. It probably has an engine monitor and data log as well as a GPS tracker. Because of the GPS tracker, we feel a little sketched out, so we’re gonna remove it. However, this is additional confirmation that the van was a  fleet vehicle, which again is a good thing because that means it was maintained on a regular basis.

 

Amazon Seller Account

I’ve been listing things for sale over the past week, and I have several textbooks I want to list on Amazon. However, my old amazon seller account was deactivated because I didn’t use it for years. Today, I re-registered. Part of their registration process is verifying your address, so now I have to wait a week or so to get a postcard in the mail, and then enter the code that’s on the postcard into the account to activate it. THEN, I can finally list my textbooks. This is turning out to be more of a process than I thought.

 

Summary:

8/30/2020

Build Day #5

Hours Worked: 4.5

• Austin – 4
• Becky – 0.5
• Total Project Hours: 57.5

Money Spent: $0

• Total Project Spending: $16,674

Tasks Complete: 4

• Look into anti-seizing glow plugs
• Peel plastidip off of grille and replace
• Lube the lug nuts
• Identify electronic system

Questions Googled: 3

• What’s this box under the dashboard
• How much torque for lug nuts on wheel
• Location and procedure for removing glow plugs

 

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