Worst Vacation Ever

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The Sprinter can certainly tow any Trillium, but their GCWR is not very high because they are designed to efficiently carry cargo, rather than pulling it.

That is what I was thinking, the 2013 is listed as having a tow capacity of 5000 lbs.
Sprinter Passenger Van 2500 Standard Roof 144" WB Specifications
Might be different for earlier models.

[Orcus79]

I know exactly what the issue is most likely, also the most obvious and the only item not looked at it seems. You need a new cap and rotor. How do I know this you may ask? I went through the same thing with my 1990 full size jimmy, my dad replaces the one the 92 suburban every other year.

What happens is moisture condenses inside the cap and corrodes the terminals. Just at random it will quite firing. Chances are now with all the gas that has been pumped in, you will need an oil change and new plugs too. With as many miles that are on it, replace the front O2 sensors and watch your mileage return.

[rabbit]

Distributor cap and rotor? Yikes, ya spose? The upside is that no one got greasy looking at the diagnostic scan.

jack

[Orcus79]

I went through the same thing, with my last truck ran fine one day, wouldn't start the next. Went through a list of parts, right down to new timing chain and gear. Would run fine all winter, would warm up a bit over january and febuary, there is always one last gasp by old man winter before spring where temps would go from a balmy -10c to -35C over night. That temperature change would be enough to make it quit. This was before OBD2.

[David Tilston]

Cap and ignition control module was replaced in the last, non helpful repair. When it runs, it runs good. It just stops randomly. They gave me the old cap. It looked good to me.
The van is currently working.

On Edit: I looked up what the rotor looks like, that was replaced as well.

[Ice-breaker]

Look on the bright side David, you are getting a new van one component at a time.

[Raz]

David, I admire your spirit, sense of humor, and perseverance. Your tale reminds me of the Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis movie the Out of Towners. That of course was fiction. Hang in there and thanks for sharing, Raz

[carlkeigley]

Loved that movie.............

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

I am really hoping to get the van going, but I have not ruled out a different van. My wife has already rejected the Sprinter. I think they are nice, but if they can't tow, they are not for me.
I am looking, but I keep finding the same van I own, kind of:

Red, but the same conversion company as mine:
1997 GMC Savana Vantage Signature LXE Raised Roof Travel Van - Alberta Cars For Sale - Kijiji Alberta Canada.

Same year, and same conversion company:
1996 Chevrolet Express Travel van - Alberta Cars For Sale - Kijiji Alberta Canada.

In Ontario, and a Ford, but same idea. Low Miles:
1995 Ford LA West Conversion Van - Ontario Cars For Sale - Kijiji Ontario Canada.

Also in Ontario, $24000, but a 2005:
2005 Chevrolet Express Executive Travel Van Explorer Edition - Markham / York Region Cars For Sale - Kijiji Markham / York Region Canada.

The problem as I see it is -- the van conversion companies in an attempt to keep their prices competitive and affordable choose the lightest duty chassis which is marginal even for a simple box van or 1/2 ton pickup truck that rarely sees a load. I can't tell from the advertisements, but it is almost a given that each of these is a 1500 rated model.

In the case of the automatic transmissions installed in these vehicles, they are the electronic derivative of the old failure prone 700R4 developed in the early 1980's to help satisfy the government demand to increase the corporate fuel economy. Many changes were made in the early years of production and with the addition of electronic controls to set shift points and limit the engine power while shifting was occurring, it has turned out to be a reliable unit. But installed in a heavy van with all the amenities added including a raised top, then add a trailer and tow it across country during hot weather?

I'm just wondering if you could transplant the heavier duty 4L80E transmission from a 2500 or 3500 series van or pickup into your van? Such a swap would certainly upgrade your van and may mark the end of your transmission problems.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Loren G. Hedahl

I'm just wondering if you could transplant the heavier duty 4L80E transmission from a 2500 or 3500 series van or pickup into your van? Such a swap would certainly upgrade your van and may mark the end of your transmission problems.

I will keep that in mind if I blow up the transmission again.

I am fairly sure that the transmission failure was the result of a faulty ECM, (VCM?). The previous owner towed a 35' long sticky. We did not have any transmission problems last year, and the tech in Carberry thought that the transmission was in OK shape. 2000 km later, not so much.

I suspect that, as long as I get the van going, the transmission should last another 17 years. That is probably longer then the van will be on the road.

[emers382]

Hi David

Had not seen this thread since we just moved to MB (probably crossed paths with you somewhere) from near TO and I've not been on the forum much.

Sorry to hear of all the troubles but glad you can look back and laugh. What a nice time you had at least with your course and great food in Niagara.

Just a thought I don't think any have touched upon. I know you need the big van now but considering I believe your three eldest are 18, 16, 16, perhaps you won't need such a large tug in just a few years. That was our experience at least for trailer size, we managed to squeeze our three kids into a 13ft., the boys got older and went into a tent, then our daughter no longer came camping so the 13ft. trailer seemed like a mansion for just the two of us!

Adrian

[Roy in TO]

I had my tranny rebuilt last year after the Ontario bolerama. I thought that rebuilding the tranny was not that much more and a prudent choice over replacing only the front seal that was blown. It went back to the shop 5-6 times during the 6+ weeks they had my Ranger before I would accept it. Each time it came back it was worse than when I initially brought it in. Every time I picked it up, I knew something was wrong before I made it home. The last failure occurred 10' from their door when I pulled over at the side of the road to circle check for any more body damage. It would not shift into park.

They burnt over a tank of gas in the six weeks they had it. I had to put gas in it twice to make it home on two separate trips. They must have used it for pickups and deliveries of parts. They also left the windows wide open in the rain and left their fast food garbage in the truck.

During one of those freezing cold snowy winter days since; I wound up ramming my hitch through the garage door. Turns out they had not fully seated the shift cable where it attaches to the frame. It popped out of place leaving the tranny in reverse while the indicator showed I was in drive.

Avoid them at all costs

TORONTO AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Toronto Automatic Transmission
34 Manitoba Street
Toronto, ON
416-366-1345
416-368-4442


It still leaks and lets say I will not let my CAA plus RV coverage lapse.

[David Tilston]

Good point Adrian. This is why I want to patch up the big van. It only needs to last another three or four years. A smaller SUV, possibly a Ford Escape, or a Honda CRV may be in the future for us, when we are down to the two younger kids.

I have Trilliums for the three older kids, (Launch Pad, Wedding Gift, and The Cantaloupe). Two more to go. My wife and I would like a front dinette 4500 for us, so Life Support, (our current trailer) will go to one of the younger kids).

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

Avoid them at all costs

TORONTO AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Toronto Automatic Transmission
34 Manitoba Street
Toronto, ON
416-366-1345
416-368-4442


It still leaks and lets say I will not let my CAA plus RV coverage lapse.

Well, I feel the same way about McQuarrie's in Espanola, Gore Bay, and Little Current.

But I have had no trouble with the rebuild on my transmission from Tann's Transmission in Mindemoya. He test drove it, and it was still slipping. Then he tore it apart again, to see if he had missed something. He did not find any problems, but when he test drove it again, and it still slipped, he diagnosed, correctly, that the ECM, (VCM) was defective.

It took McQuarrie's a day to reach the same conclusion, even though that is what I told them when I dropped of the van in Gore Bay. If they had even put a flash light, and a pair of eyes on it, It would have been obvious. Instead, they replaced the throttle position sensor, even though I had told them that Tann's had already done that. They did not charge me for the sensor, but since they charged me 4.5 hrs to replace something that is just under the hood, then I assume I was charged for their "diagnostic" time on the TPS.

Since it is in the plan to put a new ECM in, I feel like I totally wasted almost $1700 at McQuarries.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

I haven't had nearly the bad luck with transmission shops you've had, but there was one that was excellent above all the others. If you were in the Los Angeles area, I'd highly recommend 'The Toy Shop' in Pomona, CA. He caters to the Jeep rock climber folks, but was just fine with my diesel Blazer and upgraded my 700R4 to accommodate the extra torque of the diesel of which I had added a turbo, the size of trailer I normally pulled and the gear ratio of the Blazer.

That's been 10 years ago or more and many happy miles without a problem. He was recommended by an acquaintance and I hope he is still providing the same good service as before.

[David Tilston]

I would like to stress that the Transmission shop was not the problem. As far as I can tell, the transmission is good. I am having ignition problems, that the GM dealership couldn't solve, but they charged me $1700 to fail to fix my van.

[David Tilston]

This is a picture of most of us. My wife is taking the picture. This is about 1/2 hr from my dad's place. Almost there.

One of the few pictures I have of 13-1101043 after I did the belly band, almost.

[David Tilston]

This story now has an ending.

This summer, besides doing the windows on my sons trailer, I also went to Ontario to try to fix the van. I had a plan. I was sure that since every other part of the ignition system had been changed, except for the spark plugs, and the spark plug wires, it must be ether a connector problem, wiring, or grounding. So with the factory service manual, and a spare set of connectors for the computer, (Vehicle Control Module, (VCM))

I booked two weeks of vacation and I set out for Ontario. I flew into Toronto. I was greeted by Roy and Carole Ann in TO. They are the greatest folks. They have been holding onto three spare tire covers for me. I spent some time with them before Roy gave me a ride to the Greyhound station. The bus leaves Toronto 12:30 am. At 8:30 am I was in Espanola, where I met up with my dad and his wife.
I immediately started disassembling the van. First I removed the computer, and tested every pin on the connectors. They were all good. This was a great disappointment to me. I was sure that was the problem. Oh well. Onto the grounds. With the help of the service manual, I located all the grounds, they were all in good shape. I tried to wiggle the wires into every connector that is associated with the ignition system in an attempt to get it to fail. No luck. I pulled apart the dash in the hope that something would jump out at me. Nope. OK, I give up!

My sister said that she had a mechanic that she trusted. JK Automotive in Kagawang. Joe Moor is his name. He can be reached at (705)-282-2277, (CARS). So, I drove the van there. It was almost an hour away, so I was taking a risk. Just to point that out, I went over a bump in the road, and the engine died. I coasted for about 5 seconds and went over another bump.... engine is back. I made it to Joe and told him that the entire ignition system had been changed, so lets look elsewhere. Luckily, the van died for him. He said that was good, because it is difficult to fix it if it is not broken. For the next three days I waited, calling often. It never ran more then 1 hour while it idled in his parking lot. Since the gas was now more then a year old, I was kinda surprised it ran at all. The big difference between him and McQuaries is that he took the time to test it. They just changed parts and told me to come and get it.

He tried changing the crank sensor, that was not it. He rewired the ignition system, in case some wires had been damaged. No luck. He was getting quite frustrated. He has a guy that is an electrical consultant for GM. His guy said it was either the computer, or the ignition control module. I had to get back to Calgary. I told him that I would try to locate the parts online and have them sent to him. Then it was back to Calgary on the bus. 40 hours later I was in Calgary. 40 hours on the bus is not fun.

I had earlier located a computer on ebay. They program it to the serial number of the van. $70 US. Came to $135 CDN with shipping and exchange. It took me ~1hr to remove, and re-install the computer. Some background, McQuarries charged me for 4 hours, and like $500 for the computer. Since this was not a part available from GM, the computer they sold me was also an aftermarket unit. I also located an Ignition Control Module (ICM) for $10, including delivery. That is not a typo, TEN DOLLARS. The ignition control module is right under the inside engine cover of the van, easy to change. McQuarries charged me $600 including labor for that. Joe tells me he gets the part for $50. They also changed the rotor and cap, another ~$600.

The new ICM didn't fix it, but the new computer did. That was it. The first part that McQuarries put in was defective, (and over priced). The rotor, cap and ICM were never the problem. Joe charged me less then $600. I am sure he spent more time on it then that, as well as the new crank sensor. I should mention that when I brought it in, he was swamped, yet he found time between jobs to work on my van. A good mechanic. I would recommend him to anyone.

I book another week of vacation, good thing I get four weeks vacation. So, it was back on the bus for me. I met a great guy named Dick on the bus. The trip goes a lot faster when the conversation is interesting. But 40 hours is still a long time. I got to Espanola and was met by my dad and his wife again. Deja vu. I hooked up the trailer, and then spent the night at my dad's.

I left Calgary on Saturday morning. Two days on the bus, and a day at dad's. It was Tuesday morning when I left, and Sunday I was to be on a plane for Pittsburgh. I had another class to attend. Not much time. I pushed hard. The van ran flawlessly. The drive through northern Ontario in the fall was beautiful. I actually got to Calgary on Thursday. Lots of time to recover. I am posting this from Pittsburgh.

Kind of an anticlimactic end, but I am fine with that.

[Jim Bennett]

Glad you finally got it all worked out, Dave. Hopefully it now continues to give you great service for years to come.

[cpaharley2008]

The end of a saga, good write up.