Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 to a camper van

[WVvan]

Thanks Photog.

With the undervan storage box in place I need to find a way to mount the spare tire. I've been carrying it around inside the van since I removed it's mounting bracket under the van. It's always in the way. Especially when camping.

So I ordered a Surco brand Ford tire carrier. It's around $70. Pretty basic. Didn't even come with any instructions. Just the carrier and a few nuts and bolts.

You have to drill four holes in the door. Here's how it looks after I installed it.


There are two bolts that go through the edge of the door above and below the hinges.




Two more bolts go through to the inside of the door. I added the metal plate as a reinforcement.


After installing it I didn't really care for it. My spare tire weighs around 79 lbs and this carrier didn't feel very substantial. It puts the tire weight onto the door and other people who have a similar carrier report that over time it will cause the door to sag.

Another problem is that the carrier is designed such that there is a four inch gap between the back of the tire and the door.

I believe that gap is to allow the door to swing fully open with the tire attached. If there wasn't that gap the edge of the tire will contact the back of the van when it's opened.

With the tire sticking that far out it will interfere with my bike rack.


There are a couple different ways to tackle this. In retrospect if I'd known how much time and effort I'd spend I might have chosen a different path. Or maybe not.

I noticed that with the Surco carrier if I lowered the tire it would rest partway on the rear bumper. Got me to thinking.


So why not build a new carrier which keeps the tire closer to the back of the van, so it doesn't interfere with the bike rack. Design it so the tire rests on the back bumper to keep the weight off the door and a way to raise and latch the tire when opening the door.

This is the beginnings of version 1.


Didn't like that one so started again with version 2.


Here's what the tire would be bolted to.


With this design a good part of the tire would be resting on the bumper as planned.


I worked on this carrier off and on for several weeks.


Then something happened. I bought a metal lathe.


Having the lathe along with my new mill meant I could kick my fabrication ideas to the next level. This caused me to rethink my design. Instead of hanging the tire off the door have it hanging off the hinges. Time to scrap version 2 and start on version 3.


I'd have to modify both the door hinges. Something I have no experience with. I was afraid this was beyond me but figured I could always get a couple replacement hinges from the junkyard if I screwed it up.

Start with the top hinge. The part on the left bolts inside the door. Other side bolts to the door frame.


Grind off the bottom of the hinge pin and see if I can punch it out.


That didn't work. The hinge pin is in too good. Use the mill to drill down into the center of the pin. The black clamps are to hold the hinge steady and vertical as it is drilled.


After drilling into each end of the pin I was able to use a punch to pop it out.


Inside the inner hinge, the part that bolts to the van frame, were these two bushings. Not sure what they are made of.


Next up fabricate new hinge parts and pin.

[WVvan]

Tire Carrier continued:

Here is a quickly done drawing of my hinge plan. Not exact.


I'll start with four 1" long blocks cut from a 3/4" square bar of 1018 cold rolled steel. These will go on the top and bottom of the factory hinge. I measured the pin that came out of the hinge and it was very close to 11/32" in diameter. I'll use that size of a drill bit on each of the blocks.


For a hinge pin I'll use some W-1 Tool Steel (AKA Drill Rod). I don't know that this is the absolutely best material for this application but I have some 3/8" rod on hand and I think it will work. The hole I drilled is 11/32". 3/8 = 0.375 11/32 = 0.343 So I have to remove 0.032". That's about the thickness of 8 sheets of copier paper.

I'll use the metal lathe to do this. It's only the second time I've ever used one so I'm sure there are some mistakes being made. Cut off the appropriate length of drill rod along with some extra and clamp it in the lathe. Use a carbide cutting bit moving back and forth to slowly reduce the diameter of the drill rod. The drill rod is so tough I can't take a lot of material off at once. Have to move the cutting bit forward .001" at a time. This operation took some time.


After awhile I got the new pin to fit both the new hinge blocks...


and the original hinge.


Set it up on the van. Note that the hinge pin will be trimmed down.


Need to figure out the size and shape of the 1/4" plate that I'll be welding to the two hinge blocks. Using the level you can see in the picture to line up the hinge with the one of the two holes I already drilled in the door for the first carrier I bought. Use a piece of posterboard to stand in for the 1/4" plate. I really need to wash the van.


Here is the posterboard laying on my total supply of 1/4" plate. I got this particular plate when I got a tour of the machine shop a few weeks back. They allowed me to take some leftovers from their metal shear. Both hinge plates will have to come from this one piece.


I've trimmed the posterboard template down to what I think is the right shape. Laying on top is a sample of the 1-1/4" 16 gauge square tube that I'll be using to make the tire carrier. The square tube cost $1.50 per foot.


I cut the 1/4" plate using my band saw. Need the clamps to hold the plate in place. I've found the hard way that on a long cut like this the saw will pull on the material harder than you can hold it.


Here is the plate after cutting. By using this trapezoidal shape I'll be able to get both hinge plates from the one piece of steel I have. You can see on the posterboard template where I've marked the planned position for the 1-1/4" square tube.


How the plate looks with the hinge.


I'll have to make adjustments to the plate where it meets the original hinge. There is a conflict. Need to remove some of the metal from along the edge. Use the mill for this.


How it looks after.


Set everything up to weld.


After welding.


The heat from the welding caused the holes I drilled through the hinge blocks to change. The hinge pin would no longer fit. Used the hand drill to re-do the holes. The distortion to the holes wasn't extreme so the re-drilling wasn't too hard.


Cut a groove in the lower end of the hinge pin for the C clip using the lathe.


I had cut the hinge pin longer than needed since it gives the lathe something to clamp too when machining. Don't need that extra anymore so cut it off.


One hinge done.


To do this one hinge took me most of the weekend. Some of the metal I'm using here was bought from Online Metals. They have online Product Guides that I've been reading to try and learn something about the different metal alloys.

continued -

[dicktill]

Wow, what a neat, but time-consuming project! And as others have said, great documentation, which sort of doubles your time.

You may have answered this before, but I missed it if you did: What software program do you use to draw the nice plans?

Regards, Dick

[WVvan]

Thanks Dick,
For drawing I use OpenOffice. I picked it since it's free and runs on Windows and Linux. My personal computers all run Linux but I have WIndows on the laptop I travel with.

[Ron J. Moore]

I said early on that you do superb work....it's as professional as it gets. Thanks for letting all us follow you along. Ron

[WVvan]

Thanks Ron. I appreciate that.

Tire Carrier continued:

After mounting the hinge on the van I found that the door was loose on the pin. The hinge that bolts to the van frame, the "frame wing", had the pieces of bushing fall out when I first disassembled it. To stop the door wobble I'll have to replace those bushings.


I'm going to make my first ever bushings from a brass rod. I don't know that brass would be the best possible material in this application but I do know you can buy brass bushings so I'm guessing it will work. Also I had the brass rod on hand.

I took a 0.4375" C360 brass rod and cut off a short section. Enough for the bushing length along with extra so the lathe would have something to clamp onto. Reduce the OD of the rod till it fits the inside of the hinge.


Once the OD is the correct size drill out the inside of the bushing to match the hinge pin. First use a center drill to make a starter hole for the regular drill. Without this step the end of the drill bit might "wander" and not be centered.


Then use a 11/32" drill. Notice that the drill bit is held steady while the bushing is what spins.


Reverse the bushing in the lathe chuck and use a parting tool to cut off the extra part of the brass rod. Just to the left of the groove the parting tool is cutting is the "lip" that I'm leaving on the top of the bushing.


Finished bushings. Not bad for a first try.




The gap between the two different parts of the hinge is pretty tight. On the left is the frame wing and on the right is the "door wing". I had to do some slight filing on the lip of one of the bushings before they would line up.


That finishes the first hinge. Before starting on the second hinge I removed the rear door off the van. It will be easier to make measurements for the second hinge and do the layout of the tire carrier with the door on sawhorses.


The rear door weighs 47 lbs.


Work out the size and shape of the second hinge plate.


Here's the second hinge finished and mounted on the door. It went a lot faster than the first one.


Tiger giving his opinion, like always.


continued -

[WVvan]

Tire Carrier continued:

With the new hinges done and the van door on sawhorses I started cutting and laying out the pieces of square tube for the carrier.


I'm lining up each of the square tubes so it is centered over one of the two holes already drilled in the door.


Where the two pieces meet near the door edge will be reinforce it with a section of 1-1/4" angle iron.




Cut the angle iron to fit. Use a grinder with a wire wheel to clean off this and the other steel pieces before welding.


I wanted the alignment of everything to be just right so I carefully set it all up on the door. Then use the welder to tack weld the pieces together. I couldn't do the actual welding over the door because I'd drop hot metal sparks onto the paint and mark it up.


Gently move the tack welded pieces to the work table and complete the welding.


While waiting for the welds to cool put the rear door back on the van. Take the carrier and mount it on the hinges.


The carrier fit perfect. It swung back and forth smoothly and without any wobble. To test it I started lifting and putting my weight on it till I got the van rocking.


The door also moved without binding or wobble. The carrier and door pivoted together without any shifting movement between them.


To say I was very pleased is a understatement.

continued -

[WVvan]

Tire Carrier continued:

With the carrier against the door mark on it the location of the two holes already drilled in the door where the square tubes intersect.


I want to mount the tire so it sits an inch above the rear bumper. Put down a couple pieces of wood that give me that height.


Rolled the spare tire onto the wood pieces and and moved it around until I got the best fit. Then marked both the tire and the carrier so they could be lined up in the same position after removal from the van.

Here's a picture of lining up the tire from when I was working on one of the earlier carrier versions.


The tire position deals with how wide the rear doors could be opened. Ford E series vans are made so the rear doors open enough so a 4 foot wide object can be slid straight in. If I position the tire so it clears the right door it means I won't be able to open the left door all the way.


I wanted to find out how much width I would lose. Used a square to stand in for the tire.


And a ruler on the bumper to take measurements from.


When designing the carrier I had considered making it so the tire could slide horizontally. This would allow the door to open to the full 4 foot width but makes the carrier more complicated. The measurements show I should only lose around 3" of door width if I go with a simpler solid design. I can live with that. Once the inside building begins anything 4' wide wouldn't fit straight in anyway. A 4x8 sheet of plywood will still fit, just diagonally.

Move the tire and the carrier inside the garage and set them up on sawhorses. The tire and carrier are in the same relative position as they will be when mounted on the door.


The welded square piece laying on the wheel is what the spare tire will bolt to. I had constructed this for a earlier design. I have to make something that will join that square to the tire carrier.


Cut and weld two pieces of, what will be when installed, vertical square tubes to the carrier that line up with the bolt square.


Cut four pieces of square tube that will connect the bolt square to the vertical tubes. In this picture I'm using magnets to hold four tubes in place before I weld them to the square .


Then weld the square to the carrier.


Check that everything lines up.


Drill out the holes for the bolts.


Do a test fit with bolts.


As a thief deterrent add a lock and chain


Weld one end of a three link long section of chain to the bolt square. I'll lock the wheel to the chain.


With the carrier finished I got ready to paint it. Didn't double check the fit on the door hinges since I'd done that before. This turned out to be a mistake.

continued -

[WVvan]

Tire Carrier continued:

Before starting to paint the carrier I drilled out the two holes where it will bolt to the door near the right edge. Used the new holes to hang the carrier from the ceiling with some chain and a hook. To protect the garage from overspray I hung a plastic sheet on three sides around the carrier.


Placed two box fans in the gap below the garage door and blocked off the rest of gap so I'd have a fresh air supply while painting.


Break out my painting supplies. I'm using automotive paint from NAPA which doesn't have any usage directions printed on the cans. I downloaded and printed the instructions from this web page.


As soon as I started painting I realized I'd made a mistake. Forgot to close off the end of the square tube at the hinge ends. Too late now. Will figure something out later.


To speed up the drying I added a third fan. When painting I'm wearing goggles and a dual cartridge respirator. Even with the safety equipment I'd vacate the garage right after applying each layer.


Along with the carrier I'm painting the hinges. First removed the old paint and rust with a wire wheel.


Hanged from hooks and painted along with the hinge pins


Not bad looking.


Since it took a few days to paint the hinges and let them dry I had to do something about the rear door.


I roped it to the front seat.

Get along little dogies

.




Once the carrier is installed the spare tire will be visible so it's going to need a little work. Up till now it's been hung under the van where appearance didn't matter.


Clean up the wheel with the grinder then wipe down with paint thinner.


Paper and tape prep work.


After painting.


While everything was set up I went ahead and painted the basement door frame.


Painting hint. If you're pouring from one of these metal can and it's full, keep the spout at the top. Otherwise you'll get a mess.


It's explained in this 1909 edition of Popular Mechanics.




continued -

[WVvan]

Tire Carrier continued:

A couple weekends ago the weather was dismal and rainy but I figured it wouldn't take long to finish up this project. As if.
Mount the newly painted hinges on the van. The picture is before they were adjusted.


Adjust the hinges and door so everything is lined up. Bring out the painted tire carrier and mount it onto the hinges. Or more accurately try to mount the carrier.

It won't fit. No matter how hard I tried.

Rain or no rain take the van door off and bring it into the garage. In trying to get the carrier to fit I managed to scrap some of the new paint off the hinge. You can see in the picture that the carrier's bottom hinge plate is now as much as 1/2" off alignment.


This used to fit perfect so I must have caused the carrier to distort while welding on the vertical braces. It's going to take more than a couple well placed hits with the hammer to straighten it out. Here I was all ready to celebrate another project finished so to say I was disappointed doesn't begin to cover it. I allotted myself a minute and a half for a pity party then after that started thinking about how to fix it.

Here's what I came up with. Used a angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut off the lower hinge block from each hinge plate on the carrier.




Each of the upper hinge blocks needed to have the holes slightly re-aligned. Used the drill for that. Hopefully this won't cause any looseness in the fit.


Looking on the bright side this gives me a chance to fix an earlier oversight. I'd forgotten to close off the open ends of the square tube where it meets the hinge plate. Cut out two metal rectangles and after using a wire wheel to remove the paint, welded one to each tube end. Cleaned up the weld later.


This is the lower hinge plate after I'd welded the lower hinge block back on but in a new alignment. You can see that the upper block is now about 1/2" away from the top of the door hinge. I considered adding an extension to close that gap but decide to just live with it. This gap will necessitate a new hinge pin but I already have that covered.


Here's the upper hinge plate. You can see that the plate is angling away from the hinge pin creating a gap. The hinge block I cut off isn't big enough to fill this gap so instead I made a new but this time I cut it from 1" square bar stock. Reduced the thickness to 3/4" and drilled out the hole for the hinge pin. The extra width allowed the hinge block to cross the gap and reach the hinge plate. Welded them together.


Put the door back on the van and see if the carrier will fit. It does.


The fit is good and solid.


Leave the door on the van and move the carrier back to the garage. Use a wire wheel to remove all the paint damaged by the welding. Instead of hooking up all the paint spraying equipment I'm going to use a paint brush to apply first the primer then the paint and finally the clearcoat. Not sure how the finish will look but going to find out.


I made the first set of hinge pins from tool steel which I find rusts pretty quickly when exposed to the elements. I ordered stainless steel rod and used that to make the second set of hinge pins.


A few days later. The re-painting is done and the weather has improved. Install the carrier on the back of the van with the new stainless steel pins.


Fits and moves just right. The finish on the re-painted parts is not bad either.


The two mounting holes in the door are just slightly off from the holes in the right edge of the carrier. A few seconds work with the drill fixed that.


Attach the carrier to the door with 5/16" bolts. I added the metal plate to the inside of the door to help spread the load.


All bolted up and ready to go.


Now for the acid test. Mount the tire onto the carrier.
The tire weighs 79 lbs so it's not like I can lift and hold it in place while I fumble with bolts and nuts to secure it. I experimented around until I came up with a workable method.

Get the tire on the rear bumper and roll it into place in front of the carrier. Move the tire around until the left carrier mounting hole lines up with the tire hole at the "9:00" o'clock position. Push the bolt through from the front and hand tighten the nut on the back. The weight of the tire is on the bumper.


Using the 9:00 bolt as a pivot point, rotate the tire in a counter-clockwise direction. This will cause the right side of the tire to rise. Raise the tire until the hole opposite the 9:00 bolt lines up with the hole in the carrier at the "2:45" position. The pivot bolt supports enough of the tire weight that I can hold it in place with one hand while using my other hand to push the bolt through and hand tighten on the nut. With the tire supported by these two bolts add the remaining two bolts and hand tighten in place.


Now it gets difficult. I want to add a washer and lock washer to each bolt then "wrench" them tight. I didn't realize how hard this would be until I started trying to do it. Getting the washers on along with the nuts wasn't the problem. The problem was in trying to work a wench in the area between the back of the tire and the carrier. The four square tube supports I welded to the carrier are consistently in the way if you're trying to work a wrench on the nuts. It's not impossible just maddeningly difficult. I tried a succession of wrench types until I came up with this solution.

I took a 7/8" combination wrench from a cheap set I had and cut it in half. Take the box end "half" and ground smooth the cut edge for safety sake.


This was much easier to deal with. It's got enough length for leverage but not so long as to keep banging into the supports.


I'm using carriage bolts since I like their look but didn't have any problem with the heads turning as I tightened down on the nuts. Made slight adjustments to the tire position to center it up as I tightened it in place. With the tire in place I added the lock. If I'd known how hard it would be to work the nuts without my "special" wrench I might not bothered with the lock.


The lock tucks in behind the wheel.


OK. The tire is now mounted onto the back of the van. Do some checking. The door opens and closes without any problems. Has a nice solid feel to it. No wobble on the door when opened.

This is the clearance on the left side of the tire.


There is enough clearance between the tire tread and the edge of the right side rear door that the door can open and close with interference. Just don't get your hand in between the two as the door shuts.


Looking between the bottom of the tire and the top of the bumper there is about an inch of clearance as planned.


Measure the new door width. Notice the yellow broom handle.




I had previously calculated a 3" reduction in width. It comes to 3-1/2". Pretty close.


The yellow broom handle in the above picture is being used to keep the door wide open. There is a small swing arm on the door that both prevents the door from opening too far but also holds the door all the way open. I don't know what the official name for this part is but I'll call it the "door stop". In this picture you can see the door stop on the right rear door.


The left hand door's stop doesn't work anymore. In taking the door on and off so many times it somehow got twisted. I don't know if I'm going to try and fix it or just go get one from the junkyard. It will have to be modified to work with the doors new opening width. Beside the convenience factor of holding the door open more importantly is limiting how far open I can swing the door.

Here is the left door all the way open. You can see that the tire is pressing against the driver's side rear taillight assembly. I have no doubt that the door can be open far enough to crack the assembly. I'll have to be careful until the stop is replaced.


I'll take care of the stop at some other time so I'm going to call Spare Tire Carrier project finished.


One final note on the problem I had with the carrier. I've since been told that the distortion could have been prevented by using a jig when I was welding. Live and learn.

[WVvan]

Gas Tank Pick-up Pipe installation.

If you've been following this thread you'll know I installed a Webasto heater and a diesel fuel tank for the heater. I'll also be installing a Espar HYDRONIC Coolant Heater as part of a home-brewed (pun) system to provide hot water for the RV. The Espar model of heater I'll be using is fueled by gasoline. I'll draw the gasoline from the van's fuel tank. To get the gasoline from the tank to the heater I'll need to install a fuel tank pick-up pipe and a fuel hose. Even though I'm not ready to install the water heating system I still need the pick-up and fuel hose in place before I can proceed with the van conversion. I'll explain more as I go.

The recommended way to install a fuel tank pick-up pipe in the gas tank is to first drop the tank. If I had a newer van I'd probably do it that way but since my van is a 1999 and a lot of things are rusted in place I'm going a different route. I'll cut a hole in the floor above the gas tank large enough so to remove the entire fuel hanger assembly from the tank.

WARNING: I've not done this before nor seen it done. I can't think of anything more dangerous than drilling and cutting around a gas tank. Wait, I can think of something worse. Working around a partially filled 35 gallon gas tank with a large open hole at the top. Don't even think about doing this if you have doubts about what you can handle. Also don't trust anything I've written.

STEP ONE: Get a fire extinguisher and keep it close. Actually I had two on hand.


I'm working on a 1999 Ford E-250 with the 4.2L engine. Other years or models of van might have a different fuel tank location and/or fuel pump hanger assembly.

To find the location of the fuel pump hanger get under the van on the driver's side below where the fuel fill is located. Reach up an stick your arm forward of the gas lines between the top of the tank and the underside of the van floor.


Feel around for a round plate with two metal tubes and wiring extending from the top. This is the fuel pump hanger. You can't get your head up there but you can a camera. Here's what it sees.


Take some measurements from the hanger to the side of the van.


Inside the van with the floor covering removed. In the top center of the picture is the "hump" that marks the fuel fill location.


I'm measuring from the center of the hump into the van.


I'm 18-1/2" in from the center of the hump. Very carefully drill a hole using a small drill bit. Don't let the bit "grab" and draw itself deeper into the hole when it first punches through the floor. You don't know what's directly below the hole.


I used a series of drill bits so I could enlarge the hole in steps without the bit grabbing and pulling downward.


You'll know the hole is big enough when you're able to see what's below.


I could see that it was ok to next use a hole saw.


Now I could really look around. Able to see where everything was located.


Next up the saber saw. My saw comes with a depth adjustment.


Even with the saw set to it's minimum cutting depth it still extends to almost 1-1/2".


The supply and return lines at the top of the fuel pump hanger are less than 1-1/2" from the van floor. I can't use the saber saw above the area of the hanger where the lines are located.


But I can use the saber saw on the parts of the floor that's not directly above the fuel lines. Cut the floor away from above the hanger in a series of cuts.






To remove the floor over the fuel lines use a hack saw in a holder. Patience needed for this step.


Here is the fuel pump hanger uncovered. The largest of the two fuel lines is the supply line. The small one is the return. The electrical connections are for the fuel pump and the sending unit.


continued -

[WVvan]

Gas Tank Pick-up Pipe installation continued:

Before moving forward I'm going to take some measurements in case someone else needs to use this info. Placed a drywall T-square tight against one of the floor ridges. I'm using the T-square to keep the ruler I'll be using perpendicular to the side of the van.


Here's the ruler pushed up against both the inside wall and the lower right edge of the formed metal "hump" piece. I'll be measuring along the left edge of the ruler. Notice there is a small recess where the hump meets the wall that the top of the ruler bridges. My measurement ignores that small recess.


Move down 27" from the wall and measure over to each edge of the hanger plate. The tape measure was moved to the left edge of the ruler after this picture was taken.


2-3/4" one side


8-1/2" the other.


Due to parallax these measurements aren't exact but I think close enough.


Before removing the fuel hanger I decide to make the cover plate for the hole I just put in the van floor. Took the piece I hand hack sawed from the floor and measured it's thickness with a slightly out-of-zero micrometer.


Looks to be around 0.040" thick which according to a chart I used is closest to 19 gauge sheet steel.


I have a steel sheet laying around the garage with similar thickness. Next need the dimensions. 10" x 10" looks about right.




To get a good fit with the cover plate I'm going to have to replicate the floor ridges. I need to find a way to get their angle. Use the same piece of cut flooring that I previously measured with the micrometer. Put it up against my sliding T-bevel tool to replicate the angle. The floor piece is edge-on in this picture.


Measuring the angle gets 47 degrees or 133 degrees depending how you look at it.




Cut out a 10"x10" square of sheet metal. Take some more measurements from the van floor then put the sheet metal in my home made bending "rig".


Start bending and measuring.


Repeat.






Done. Not a bad fit.


Prime and paint the cover plate.

continued -

[WVvan]

Gas Tank Pick-up Pipe installation continued:

Before I can remove the fuel hanger from the gas tank I'll have to disconnect both the fuel lines. Notice the safety clip on each fuel connection. I found the clip on the return line was loose before I started.


Since the fuel lines are under pressure I can't just pull them off. I read of two different ways to de-pressurize them. The manual recommends using the bleed-off valve on a fuel pressure test gauge but I don't have one.

Backup plan. Remove the fuse for the fuel pump then crank the starter.
Open the engine compartment fuse panel.


Remove the fuse for the fuel pump. It's this one. Position number 17 on the diagram in the owners manual.


After that I ran the starter for a few seconds. Having never done this before I wanted to double check that it actually worked. I'll check it using the Schrader valve located on the fuel rail on the side of the engine. This is where the fuel pressure test gauge would be attached, if I had one.

To access the Schrader valve remove the doghouse (aka engine cowl). Here is the view looking from inside of the van at the engine.


The valve is on the left hand side, driver's side, of the engine. It has a black plastic cap.


The Schrader valve is the same kind of valve you find on the tires. I used a regular tire gauge to release the pressure on Schrader valve. You can see the half a drop of gas on the bottom of the gauge which is all that came out. The "pull the fuse" method must have worked.


I put the cap back on the Schrader valve and buttoned up the doghouse. One other housekeeping matter. Use a wire brush to clean off the top of the fuel hanger and the area around it.


Then used compressed air to blow off the top of the hanger and top of the tank.


Next unplug the electrical wires to the hanger. To reach the plug get under the van where the fuel fill lines are. The wire disconnect is located just on top of the frame below the fill lines.


To access the plug I had to pull it up off the frame rail. There is a small clip on the connector that must be pushed down to separate the two parts of the plug.




To disconnect the fuel lines from the hanger I need a special tool. Amazingly enough it's called a "Fuel Line Disconnect Tool". Bought this one at Advance Auto for $7.39.


From the back of the package. It's made for 3/8" and 5/16" fuel lines which match the ones connected to the fuel hanger.


Pop off the safety clips first. The tool works by sliding in between the hanger tube and the fuel hose connector. It releases the clip inside the connector. Anyway that's how it's supposed to work.


Problem is I couldn't get the return line to release. Not having done this before I wasn't sure how much I could force things without something breaking. So while I was working the problem Supervisor Bob shows up.


After studying the problem she said to just push it a little farther and showed how.


She was right of course, as always. Pushed it in a little farther and pulled a little harder on the connector and it popped off. The supply line connector came off easier.
Here's everything unhooked.


continued -

[WVvan]

Gas Tank Pick-up Pipe installation continued:

This is the fuel pick-up pipe I'll be install on the fuel hanger. It will have to be trimmed to fit.


Time for the main event. I've cleared my work area and locked away all supervisory personal. The tools I'll need are close at hand. I have most of the van doors open and a fan blowing into the garage from the outside to prevent any gas fume buildup. I'll admit to being more than just a little bit nervous at this point. Because of obvious concerns I didn't take as many pictures as usual.

I've removed the six bolts with a 5/16" socket. In the bottom of the picture you can see a old bed sheet I'll use to carry the fuel hanger from the van to the work bench. Since the tank is half full I expect there to be a good bit of gas run-off.


The hanger unit came off the tank surprisingly easy. I thought there might be some sticking around the gasket but that wasn't the case. It was easy to lift out of the tank with just a little maneuvering. I placed the hanger unit on the sheet then placed a board I had prepared across the hole in the van floor, just in case.

Did you ever see one of those movies that deal with a nuclear bomb and someone is either putting in or removing the part that sets the bomb off? The "trigger mechanism". The hanger unit is just about the same size as one of those movie "trigger mechanism" and I initially handled it like it was one. Fragile, radioactive and could blow up if I sneezed.

Here is the hanger after I moved it to the work bench. I felt a little safer taking pictures there since I had a fan blowing directly on me.
http://larry.wvnet.edu/~van/pics/fue...er_drawing.jpg

The float for the sending unit is partially obscured in the previous photo. Here's a better look at it.


If I'd known more about the fuel pump I'd have bought a new fuel pump strainer and swapped them out at his point. Once I had the hanger out I wasn't about to stop for a trip to the auto parts store. The thought of the open gas tank a few feet away made me really want to move this job along. In retrospect if I was to do this again I'd fab up a metal plate that could be bolted over the opening along with a new $8 fuel pump tank seal. This would close the tank while I had the hanger out. Live and learn.

I need to find a location on the hanger where I can drill a hole for the pick-up pipe that won't conflict with anything else. I didn't want to drill through where the hanger was spot welded together for fear of weakening it. This limited my options.


I decided this would be the best spot.




Before drilling the hole I wrapped everything in a plastic bag to prevent stray metal shavings from causing any trouble later on.


Here's the pick-up pipe installed in it's newly drilled hole. In my haste I didn't drill a pilot hole first which caused the larger hole to not be exactly where I wanted it. In the picture you can see that I had to notch both the rubber gasket and metal washer to clear the supply line. It doesn't hurt anything but I should have done better.


I've trimmed the bottom of the pick-up pipe so that it's at least an inch above the fuel pump inlet.


That's it. Install the hanger back into the fuel tank. Went back in without a hitch. The fuel pump tank seal looked to be in excellent shape so I didn't bother to replace it. There was a audible "click" when the fuel hose connections locked into place. I fixed the safety clip on the return line before I re-installed it. Connect back up the wiring plug. Put the engine compartment fuel pump fuse back.


I primed and spray painted the edges of the hole. It's not the same shade of white, but who's to know?


Added four foot of 5/16" ID rubber fuel hose. Clamp one end to the pick-up pipe.


Ran the fuel line to across to the other side of the van.


Just like with the fuel line for the Webasto heater I made a simple support from some metal stock that keeps the hose off the exhaust shield.




Cut off the top from a 16d penny nail and clamped that into the other end of the hose to close it off.


I'm not sure of the final location of the water heater so I'll "park" the fuel hose on the metal support for now.


Time to check my work. I cranked over the van and it started right up. No "check engine" light. As the van was running I went back to the open hole in the floor and stuck my nose as close as I get it to the hanger and started sniffing. No gas smells. Took the van for a test drive. Everything OK.

I positioned the cover plate over the opening and using a small bit drilled holes around the edge of the plate. Removed the plate and laid down a generous bead of Silicone II caulk around the edge of the opening. NOTE: Silicone II is safe to use on metals. Regular Silicone I isn't since it contains acid and will cause rusting.


Used 1/2" long, #8 sheet metal screws to secure the cover plate in position.


OK that's the end of the scariest of the projects I've done so far.

I do have a sidebar comment on the engine compartment fuse panel. Never had to access any of the fuses before so can't say I'd ever paid much attention to it. When I first went to open it noticed the lid wasn't on all that tight. Same thing when I went to close it up after finishing with this project. Kept messing with it until I figured it out. Someone else might find this info useful.

On the right side of the fuse box lid are these two tabs.


On the right side of the fuse box base is this small bar with a gap between it and the base.


When closing up the fuse box the two tabs must slide into the gap between the base and the bar which then acts like a hinge. This wasn't obvious and the only way I found to fit them in there was to use both hands. One to move the lid around and the other down where the tabs slide into the the gap. Move the tabs into position by feel alone.

Once in position just swing the lid shut. These other two tabs are what keep the lid down.


That's it. Time to go play.

[markopolo]

You can follow WVan's progress on Good Sam Enterprises forums:

I think this link: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... m#25509812 is where it continues.

[MachineMfg.com]

One press brake machine will help you do this faster.