Removed the Van's Springs and Steering Column.

Replace the Ignition Coil.

On Friday I installed the ignition coil. Once that was in I took the van for a ride.
The problem is still there.
Well at least now I know that the ignition system is good.
I have decided to stop working on the TBI problem for a while as I have a lot of other things to do on the van in the time we leave for the Continental Divide Adventure.

Removed the Vans Front Springs.

As long as I have had this van it has had a problem with the front springs hitting the frame when you drive over big bumps.

It has gotten to the point that the spring eye on the passengers side of the van has worn through the place where it hits.

Over the years I have figured out why the spring eye hits the frame. It is because the springs are too long.
I mentioned that to Bob last year and after checking it out he decided to have the front springs on his van shortened by 1-1/2".
That made all the difference.

Saturday Morning:

I got up early Saturday morning and started removing the front springs. I wanted to get it done early as it was supposed to get hot today and there is no shade where I have to work.

It took me until around 12:30 to get the springs off.

  

A Moving Sale.

Patti was at our friend, Lorraine's. Lorraine is selling her house and downsizing. She is having a moving sale to day.
After eating lunch I went over to Lorraine's and hung out there for the rest of the afternoon.
I should have stayed home since I ended up buying some stuff from Lorraine that I don't have room for.  Oh well, I'll figure something out.

The Steering Column.

The steering on the van has been getting looser and looser. There is a lot of free play in the wheel. Also when you turn the wheel it growls like maybe the ball bearings are worn out. I rebuilt the steering box about 25 years ago but I must have not done a good job because it is already worn out. 
I have decided to send the box and column out to be rebuilt professionally.

Sunday morning after breakfast Patti went back to Lorraine's to help her with her sale.
After Patti left I started removing the steering column.

The first thing I did was to remove the pitmen arm. I have to remove
the large nut at the upper end of the arm and use a special puller to get the arm off.

Here is the pitmen arm removed and hanging on the end of the drag link.

Next, I disconnected the shift linkage.

The Floor Plate.

The next thing I had to do was to remove a floor plate at the bottom of the column.

The floor plate was the worst part of the job as some of the 1/4" screws that hold the plate down were rusted and I had a hard time getting them out.
I tried to drill out one of the screws but it was harder than my drill bit so I had to grind off the screw head off.
Once I had the plate off, I undid the clamp holding the column to the dash.

It was a struggle getting the column  and steering box out of the hole, what with the weight and all the obstacles that kept grabbing the box but eventually I got it out.

Here is the column and box on my welding table.

Here it is all stripped down for shipping to Straight Line steering in San Jose.

I got this all done by about 1:00 and took the rest of the day off.