Forget the Yahoo group, this is where the A100's meet!

so my back tired exploded while sitting behind my house.

i pryed the cover off of the rim... and it was already missing 1 of 5 nuts.

the rest of the nuts were rusted onto the bolts and wouldn't come off at all. under james' recommendation, i used a breaker bar on the tire iron to no avail...

basically all of the bolts stipped and i've been trying to cut them off with a dremel tool... and it's a certain pain in the rear end, lemme tell you.



and previously, i tried pouring coke to eliminate some of the rust... wd-40... and a few other things and nothing seemed to work at all.

super frustrating. lemme tell you... and it's something miniscule.

i suppose i need to relax, eh?

People should learn to start nuts by hand instead of using the impact gun.

Look for "L" stamped in the studs and nuts. You can still get the nuts in boxes of 25, but its best to change the studs and nuts to right hand threads.

I had forgotten the whole left hand thread thing from my youth. I couldn't get one damn lug off , but I saw a nut moving slightly. I put the gun in forward so I could clean things up a bit, the sob came flying off! Freaked me out.

FYI - Sometimes you can stubborn things loose if you heat things up with a MAPP gas torch, then shock it some WD-40 or other spray oil.

I have had really good luck with PB Blaster. Got some bolts I never thought I get out. Now I don't go to the JY without it

left hand nuts, are you freakin' serious?

i'm used to some things being like that from working on bicycles...but i never assumed that ANY motor vehicle would have anything... and now that i think about it, it is the left hand side of the vehicle.

holy crap.

i'll post updates after work when i check it out.

I went outside right now, just before leaving for work....

And sure enough, left handed bolts.

I'm kicking myself right about now, just so you all know.


But, I am sitting in the insurance office right now, buying insurance, geeking out on my cell phone making the post right now.

Excited!

All Mopar vehicles prior to 1971 had left-hand threads on the driver's side. Odd, but it's one those things I suppose.

That's why the engineers get paid the really big bucks to come up with really genius ideas. Check out the Flash of Genius movie trailer to see how Detriot couldn't even come up with the intermittent windshield wiper.

BTW - Is PB Blaster actually "Dust Off" turned upside down with some sort of penetrating oil in it? Are you supposed to smack the nut after spraying it?

Alex, if you happen to break off some of those lefty lugs I have some spares, but not sure what now. They might be from front disc brakes from a Dart or something. The best thing you can do is change them all over to right hand threaded. That way you won't break any off, or risk having somebody else break them if you ever let a tire shop or whatever work on your van.

it's a pain finding nice chrome nuts in lefty thread too..they're just a pain all around. Change them over if you get the chance.

Good luck with the the rusty suckers.

well, i got all of them off except for the one that i started dremeling off.

i went to the auto supply store a block from my work and they had (in their warehouse) nice chrome nuts in lefty style... 10 for around 12 bucks. i picked up a pack.


my next question was going to be about switching them.... the actual bolt itself... are those bad boys difficult to get out? am i going to have to remove big parts of the brakes and such?

i'm still pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff, so i figure it's better to ask you well educated folks before getting in over my head.

i haven't even taken the whole wheel off yet, because it's usually dark when i get home and i haven't had a day off since wednesday...


so, any suggestions?

i pounded new studs into my hubs as i am doin my D/B swap. i got them about 1/16th-1/8th from seated on the hub. can i just tighten them down with the lugnut before (or after) the wheel is on? i dont want to have to take the caliper back off unless i need to since i am so close to being done...
james

On my Barracuda I found I had to remove the wheel cylinder to get at one of the studs, but otherwise they all came out and new ones in really easily. I sacrificed a chrome lefty lug nut to hammer on instead of just hammering on the end of the stud, that way the leftys are reusable to whoever wants them.

i just dremeled off that last little piece, knocked some of it off with a hammer and the wheel came right off.

i can't tell you how relieved i am.

i pounded out the bolt and one of my neighbors opened their window and yelled "ARE YOU GONNA FUCKIN' BE MUCH LONGER WITH THAT SHIT?!?"

I politely told them that, "actually, i just finished!"

hahahaahahahaah.

i suppose i am a jerk for living around other people and working outside at midnight.


so, tomorrow i go to the store, get a new bolt, a new tire, my colorado license, some insurance, and then it'll be time to cruise around a pick up honeys.


or i'll just drive down and visit james.

also, that stud came right out.

i'm not sure about the exact brake mechanism, but there was a little flap that moved up and down, and when lifted gently, the bolt fit right underneath it and was easily removed.

score.

yeah, stick with just visiting me. it is less embarrassing than tryin to pick up honeys....

yeah, with a hairline like this, other vegan edge kids in town would have better chances than me, even without a van.

especially ones that won the sexy-off.

check your email, dude.

alex owes me an eyeball......

i didnt want him to catch fire on the way home so i tried to find and fix a gas leak (in the dark alley). it didnt work out too well for me and besides the pain i felt when it happened, i have a raging headache as i type this.

so yeah he owes me.
and make it brown, alex...
james

yessssss, this is all true.

upon getting my van up and running, i proceeded to drive it to james to look at it...

i had just put 50 bucks in the gas tank, consequently putting the most gas in it that it's probably seen in years...

so, james smelled a leak and went to look for it. the hose connecting to the gas tank had no grip whatsoever... and whilst tightening the screw, james caught a fat drop of gas straight into the eye. ouch ouch ouch. it was painful just watching him. i feel terrible.



here's the problem:

so the metal hose part of the fuel sender connected to the gas tank is leaking...
when wiggled slightly, there is play in where it's connected, and that seems to be where the leak is coming from.

i drove around a little tonight to get used to everything, listen for other problems, and to burn off a little bit of the gas to see if i could get the level below where the leak is.

so, i'm trying to see if it would be a good idea to throw some jb weld around it or if i need to replace the whole thing...

who knows about this? i'd really appreciate any help, as always.

Are you saying its the sending unit fitting that's cracked? Does your fuel gauge work? I'm replacing my sending unit/pick-up assembly in the future (I have other issues to take care of first). I can give you my old one with the defective sensor.

not sure that it's actually cracked, as we were looking at it in the dark....

but the actual part where the tube of the sending unit meets the part that's mounted into the gas tank wiggles...

make sense? if not i'll try to grab a photo or two.

Hey guys...been busy working a lot, but haven't forgetten about you all or my van. It's sitting collecting dust, but I'll get to it soon enough.

As a moderator of the Yahoo OldEconolines site and friend of Terry Bogus(moderator of the A100 site) I took it upon myself to notify Terry of your troubles. Im sure he will address it as to what happened and why. As G-man said,Ter is a nice guy so Im sure he will assist you.