New Starter

 I replaced the starter on my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan.  The last one got submerged when I was trying to ford a stream in the road.  For those of you who don't know, in rural areas, they don't have bridges and culverts over every stream.  Sometimes you have to drive through them.  But my van got unexpectedly deep and the van stalled out in the middle of the stream.  Then it too AAA about 3 hours to come out and tow it about 2 miles.  I can't really remember the details.  Either starter got submerged, or it took on a huge splash of water?  Ever since, it worked, but not well.

So it's now replaced.  But I tried to unbolt the wires on the power distribution block, but it's probably original and never been disturbed before?  When I tried to loosen the bolts, both sides loostened, then got ceased and then wouldn't tightened again.  After I installed the starter, I tried to start up the van, but it was dead.  So I got the multimeter on the battery terminals and it had a charge.  I then probed the power distribution block and found that my loose connections were the problem.  Now I know that I probably should replace it and the woman at the auto parts store said that my local hardware store might have one?

As for now, the mileage on the van hasn't changed.

Battery Cables Changed

I finally got the battery cables changed on my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan.  The positive cable has brackets that route it around the front of the engine bay before it gets to the starter.  I had to take special care near the starter in order to get the cable far enough away from the right exhaust manifold.  The 8 gauge positive cable going to what I think is the power distribution block was bolted into the old positive battery terminal clamp.  I never liked it there because it always gets in the way, especially when I have to remove the battery.  So, I got about 8ft of 8 gauge cable and ran it down to the positive battery terminal at the starter.

That's about it.  It took all afternoon and evening to do just about that.  The mileage on the odometer is 149,991.8 today.

Rear Shocks, Leaf Springs, Battery Cables

 I started jacking up the back end of my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan to start working on replacing the rear shocks and leaf springs.  What I found out is that my 3 ton jack stands aren't tall enough if I set them to meet the van on the frame, which of course, it higher up than the axle that I normally do.  So, I got it into my head that I should get some concrete blocks from the hardware store.

At that point, I decided that I would start the van, drive to the auto parts store where I can do a back yard alignment on the way to the hardware store.  At that point, one click forward of the key and the fuel pump would come on.  But when I went to crank the engine, I lost all voltage.  Now, I'm finally at the point to where I'm replacing the battery cables.

I'm replacing them with 13 feet of 2 gauge wires.  It must have run about $64 for those?  Then what we think is the power distribution block, I have a new one of those coming in.  This is a tee consisting of 2 poles that multiple 10 and 8 gauge wires get bolted to.  The the positive wire to the fuse block comes off of that tee.  One of the wires mounted to this so called block, the other end was bolted into the top of my positive battery cable.  Well, it's a short 8 gauge cable and I'm tired of all this getting in the way when I'm working under the hood, particularly when I have to take the battery out.  So instead of the new 8 gauge wire going to the new positive battery terminal, I'm going to wire it all the way down to the starter instead.

    And it's possible that the starter finally went bad.  The last time that I had it tested, it had a hard time passing.

Tables Sanitized and Batteries Replaced at Legion Hall

Legion Mowed, Weed Whacked and Grass Clumps Removed

There is a painting class scheduled at the Legion today, so I mowed the lawn, weed whacked and moved most of the clumps into the run that I spun down by the low spot months ago.

Master Cylinder Holding Brake Fluid

 It's been about 6 hours since I last posted about the new master cylinder being installed in my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan.  I checked the level again and the master cylinder is holding the same amount of brake fluid.

Master Cylinder and SLA Battery Charging

 I bench bled the new master cylinder for the my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan.  I hooked it up to the lines to the proportioning valve.  I know that the front lines are getting fluid because the lines coming from it going to the front calipers were leaking fluid.  I just replaced those lines and used compression fittings.  When I replaced the upper, lower ball joints, front brake calipers and front brake lines, I did it all in one big project.  But I left three of the compression fittings loose, so I tightened all four today.

This was my first time bench bleeding.  When they say put it in a vice, I put the stem of the master cylinder in there and locked it down.  But a video that I saw said not to do that because it could cause problems inside the stem.  Instead, the vice should be locked on to the bolt hole flange.  I corrected that and then did the bench bleed, but I'll be monitoring the level for the next few hours to see if there are any changes?

There is no change to the vehicle's odometer mileage since the last log.

I have The Wilderness Chapter of the Buckeye Trail Association's sealed lead acid battery for our walk behind, DR field brush mower downstairs on a trickle charge.  Apparently the battery can only handle 2 amps?  I could have swore that I jumped it with the van before?  And last time, I tried to use the 10 amp automotive battery charger on it, but for some reason that didn't work?  Today I plugged the trickle charger in for the first time and the "bad battery" light came on.  But when I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in, it didn't light up.