Getting Ready for the Nevada Trip.

The New Distributor.

As you may remember I ordered a new distributor for the van.
When it arrived the distributor cap was broken.
I contacted the company and after sending them some pictures they informed me that they would be shipping me a new distributor and I would not have to return the old one.
The guys at KMJ Performance were great to work with and were very helpful.

In order to get a jump on things, I am going to install the base for the distributer that was damaged so when the new one gets here I can just install the cap. If the new one doesn’t arrive in time I can use the cap and wires that I already have. If there is a problem
with the distributer, it will be in the base as everything else has been swapped out.

Getting Ready for the Nevada Trip.

The last couple of days I have been reconfiguring the van for single occupancy.  That means I removed one of the bunks.
That makes a lot more room in the van.

Excuse the mess, it is a work in progress.

The Windshield Wiper.

When we were on the Continental Divide trip the windshield wipers didn’t work. I had to hold the switch on with one hand while I drove with the hand.
Yesterday, I started checking it out. The switch is in a hard spot to get to.
I reached under the dash and found the plug on the switch. I tried to remove it but it was very tight. I wiggled the plug and pulled on it but it wouldn’t come off.
I decided to see if the switch would work so I turned on the ignition and tried it. The wipers swept across the windshield and back. I tried both speeds and it seems to be working now.
It must have been a bad connection between the plug and the switch and moving the plug fixed it.

The Right Tail Light.

When I was at Bob’s we noticed that the right tail/brake light was not working.
Upon closer inspection we determined that the lead contacts on the bulb were warn out.

Yesterday I pulled the lens off the light and removed the bulb.
I added a little solder to the contacts on the base of the bulb and replaced it.
The light now works just fine.

Engine Temperature Sender.

I also replaced the engine temperature sender as part of looking for the high speed miss problem.
I am down to shot gunning the problem as I don’t know what else to do at this point.

Okay, I guess that’s all for now.

Wednesday 7/11

Installing the Distributor.

The installation of the distributer went as well as usual.

I pulled the number one spark plug and removed the distributor cap. I turned the engine over with the key. Bumping it until the piston came up to top dead center on the compression stroke.

I checked the timing mark and saw that it was just slightly off so I manually turned the engine about 1/2 inch to line the mark up with the zero.

Now I was ready to pull out the old distributor.

Now I just have to remember this picture when I put the new one in.

It took a couple of tries to get the new distributor to line up with the oil pump and #1 plug wire at the same time.
I had to turn the oil pump gear about 1/4 inch to the right before everything lined up and the distributer dropped into place.
I snugged it down, replaced the spark plug, put the cap on the distributor, hooked the plug wire to the plug and tried starting the engine .
It turned over a few times and started. I could tell it was way advanced by the way it was running so I turned the distributor in the retard direction about 1/4 turn before it ran smooth.
I turned the engine off and hooked up the timing light. I started the engine again and let it warm up for a while. Once it was warmed up, I checked the timing with the timing light. I had to turn the distributer back and forth a few times before I could get the timing marks to line up. Finally I got the timing set at the speck for the 292 engine  6° advanced.

A Test Ride.

I wanted to go to Harbor Freight for a couple items so I figured that would be a good test drive as it is across town.
The van ran good all the way over there but it was all on the surface streets so on the way home I got on the freeway for a few exits. It ran pretty good on the way home. I had a couple of chances to accelerate and it seemed to be okay.
I have been here before so I will wait until I am on the highway trying to pass someone to say whether it is fixed or not.

The Fan.

The van doesn’t have AC. What it dose have, is two fans mounted on the dash. One blows on the passenger and one blows on the driver. It ain’t much but it is better than nothing.

The passenger fan lost a blade the other day and I haven’t been able to use the drivers fan as they are both on the same switch.
Today I removed the passenger fan; now I can use the drivers fan.
I’ll replace the passenger fan at a later date.

The XM radio.

When we were on the Continental Divide trip I took the XM radio but we had trouble with it.
I hooked it all up today with one change; instead of running the antenna out the front of the van, I ran the wire out the passenger side door and put the magnetic antenna on the roof.
I plugged the XM into power and turned on the radio.  They came on but no sound came out. 
While I was working on the XM I found that the auxiliary battery was not holding a charge and the voltage was very low. Fortunately I have a couple of deep cycle batteries that we use for the fridge at the cabin. I had to buy a new one last year so I put that one in the van. 
Once I had the battery replaced I turned on the XM and the radio and it all worked just fine.
Cool, now I can listen to old time radio shows at night.

Packing for the Trip.

I started packing the cloths for the trip. I think I will have enough that I won’t have to do any laundry along the way.

I have been going through my lists to make sure I take everything I need.

I’ll start loading the van tomorrow after I lube the drive shaft. Hopefully that will be the last mechanicing I will have to do beside putting the belly pan on. That’s always the last thing I do.

Okay, I think that’s enough for today.