by hetman » Sun Oct 04, 2020 6:54 pm
Greetings, friends. I'm sorry for not being around much the past 6 months; I've been using my new-found freedom (I'm speaking of having lost my job due to the "lockdown" begun in March) to work on my van. I know I had another thread somewhere about my mechanical problems (overheating, changing timing belt, adjusting valves) but wanted to express my gratitude to all you who helped me through that very exasperating time in March/April. I finally did manage to accomplish all of that correctly, and the van is running splendidly but since my source of income dried up, I haven't had money for fuel (or food, etc), and while the economic situation has improved (finding another job that at least pays enough to eat and pay expenses), I haven't had any spare income for fuel, so I have spent the past 6 months going through the van to get it ready for inspection (you call that MOT, I believe). Essentially, I was convinced that I needed to do something about the rust-through in the rear frame rails, and I basically stripped all the paint down to the metal on the whole underside of the van, including all 4 wheelwells, and inside the bed of the van as well. It turns out that there were a lot of surprises lurking under one inch of bondo along the whole lower side of the left and right sides of the van, very cleverly hiding some accident damage on both sides, and plenty of rust-through. Though this van was billed as "honestly done" by the previous owner, it is the epitome of the typical con job one would expect to find in Poland (and perhaps other countries). Normally I don't like messing with vehicles that have any rust at all, but I when purchasing this van, I felt a dire and urgent need to get a high-top van and this seemed to be in decent condition. However, the reality is that I have had to redo many mechanical things and then tend to the bodywork, which was in much worse condition than it was represented to me. Since I'm not trying to do a concourse restoration of this van, and only need it to serve me well (and pass inspection), I decided to try my hand at cutting out each and every rust spot and hand-beating panels to fit. I am almost done with the project, and have hand-formed and replaced over 100 body patches throughout the van. Not including the doors, which also need work. There is no rust left, which I take as a success. The result is far from what I'd consider an attractive van, but I've replaced all the rusted areas with metal and seam sealer, and painted and undercoated everywhere. I really don't mind that it looks rather poor, but it should serve me for another few decades, or until Jesus returns, whichever is sooner.
I need help decoding this axle tag. Can anyone point me in the right direction? According to the data plate in the passenger footwell, the axle is D, which should be a limited slip 4.56 ratio T34. However, I don't believe the axle is working correctly. The limited slip part doesn't work as it should, and I've had to be pulled out of soft ground when the van got stuck last winter in a field. So, the codes on the small tag seem to indicate that it's the original axle (I had feared it had been swapped out), with a D in the codes. So please confirm what these numbers mean. I'm very appreciative.
5G 11D 4.56:1 T34
95 VB 4001 GA
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Mike