by Al Christensen | Oct 14, 2023 | Mechanical, Vans, Vehicle Maintenance
THE ODOMETER FLIPPED OVER to 340,000 miles somewhere between the Grand Canyon and the Mogollon Rim. Two-thirds of those miles were mine. Ten years wandering the West. About 22,500 miles a year. I chose van life so I could travel. My 2007 Chevrolet Express was running...
by Al Christensen | May 3, 2023 | Mechanical
MY 2007 CHEVROLET EXPRESS has gone 340,000 miles, and although the 4.8L V8 engine is still working, it has felt rather tired, especially on hills. A compression test and a leak-down test confirmed my set-of-the-pants impression. Looks like it’s time for an automotive...
by Al Christensen | Apr 17, 2023 | Mechanical, RVs, Travel Trailers, Trucks, Vans
AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST and rescuer of rust bucket Jeeps, David Tracey, is ambivalent about diesel engines. “I like the idea of the diesels,” he wrote, “even if I would never want to maintain one.” Other folks are absolute fans of diesels. Diesels crank out tremendous...
by Al Christensen | Mar 22, 2023 | Mechanical
MINIVANS ARE A POPULAR NOMAD VEHICLE. They’re plentiful and relatively inexpensive, and get better fuel mileage than full-sized vans. Over the years, I’ve come across various people saying not to buy some brand or another because the transmissions are total junk. A...
by Al Christensen | Mar 15, 2023 | Mechanical, Trucks, Vans
I’M NOT AN AUTOMOTIVE BRAND LOYALIST. I’m loyal to well-engineered, low-trouble vehicles that meet my purposes, whoever makes them. So I’m not writing this as a Chevy driver whose knee-jerk reaction is to bash any and all things Ford. It’s because there are problems...
by Al Christensen | Mar 8, 2023 | Mechanical
THE POPULAR CAR TALK RADIO SHOW would often get calls that went something like this: “Hi, this is Bill from Burlington. My daughter lives in Indianapolis and is about to give birth to our first grandchild. My wife and I want to be there, but we’re wondering whether we...
by Al Christensen | Mar 1, 2023 | Mechanical
MY VAN has 340,000 miles on it, so, among other things, I check fluids regularly. Yesterday I noticed the transmission fluid was a little low, and it was slightly brown instead of pink. I had never had the fluid flushed and replaced in the 225k miles I’ve owned the...
by Al Christensen | May 27, 2022 | Mechanical
ONE DAY, YEARS AGO, the exterior handle of my sliding side door snapped off. Panic! I tried super gluing it back in place. No luck. I tried epoxy putty. No luck. So I learned how to slip my finger tips behind the remaining part of the handle and tug on it just...
