All of the parts places seem to think so, but it isn't. I think the naming is part of the problem in finding it, because often "center link" comes up as a drag link. Center link hooks into the idler arms and tie rods. #2 vs #3
I replaced the drag link, all the tie rods, just need center link - idler arms I'll keep.

 

Took the seat out of my recently acquired 1977 Sportsman, to replace my missing 1990 B150 passenger seat.



Looks so good, and plus the lap belt is part of the seat as is the buckle - comes with its own belt integrated. Bolted right up. The bolt sizes are different but the 4 bolts to the seat are in identical locations.

 

Hey folks,

wanted to give post a fix and then ask about the brake lines again before I work on that.

First, I've always had a little of this roof separation, but it has gradually gotten worse.


This is spreading among the support beams. I invoked a simple fix of drilling a hole and bolting it back to the roof.




Did a total of 4 bolts and it's better.
I don't weld and I'm not a welder so I went basic.

Now, I got a flare nut wrench! Pawn shop. $1.
I wanted to ask about this again in more detail.

Because I rely upon this vehicle, should I have a spare hard line brake kit handy before trying to remove the hard line? Is it really expected to break?

IF it does break, what should I do?
I have other vehicles so I'm not totally stuck out, but I don't want this thing to end up parked.

Going to follow the advice I've received here already, but just wanted to check in and ask if there is anything special I need to know about disconnecting these soft lines.
Thanks!

 

I can't view any images on this site, must be my outdated browser due to my outdated WindowsXP.
So i can't comment on anything you have pictured.

But --- if it is the soft front caliper hoses you are going after , i recently did mine , and they were the originals.
I squirt an amount of PB Blaster into an old vitamin bottle and then use a small paint brush to apply it where i want it.
Goes a lot further and doesn't "blast" all over everything and make such a mess.

Toothbrush sized wire brush - use it on as much as you can get to.
PB Blast treatment twice a day for about a week ahead of time.

Any time you have a fitting that can accomodate 2 wrenches side-by-side , you get more holding power with less chance of stripping or rounding off the corners.

Always try to go a wee bit in the tightening direction first - then towards loosen.
More PB with the brush along the way as it starts moving.
Keep switching back to tighten every little bit to clear off corrosion build up that will try to stop you as you loosen.

If you are going after a metal line union - PB treat the metal line at the union too.
Sometimes the union will bind up on the line and twist the line in half while you think everything is going fine.

Patience, prep, and good fitting wrenches (even if undersize and hammered on) usually can get it done.

 

Hey folks. Sorry it has been awhile. My living situation changed and I got involved with other things.

Have still been driving this van and I'm sure you guys don't want to hear about my Chevy conversion project so hasn't been much to post until recently.

Recently on startup I was hearing belt noise. After running for a couple of minutes, it would go away. Similarly when I started out driving, a faint whine could be heard. But, after a couple of miles and with the engine warming up, it would suddenly stop. I knew something was up but wasn't sure at the time.

So later while idling in a parking lot, I noticed my temp gauge climbing. When I got out I could hear fluid hitting the ground. Sure enough, right under the pulley, coolant was draining out. Steam was blowing and hissing from a location I couldn't see. I had the van towed.

I surmised when I got home that it was probably the water pump. I would attempt the repair. If it was anything else other than that or a hose causing the leak, the van could have been in trouble!

I referenced both the factory manual and the Haynes. They had similar instructions but the factory manual stated that the air pump, alternator, power steering pump and their respective mounting brackets had to all be removed. Furthermore, since I had A/C I was also required to remove the radiator. I guess people without AC are not required to remove the radiator. And of course, the fan/pulley/ and water pump have to be removed/reinstalled.




It's a lot of work, but it's not necessarily hard work, unless you factor in all of the standing/lying down back and forth business. That alone wore me down. I didn't want to stress over this job so I took my time and worked on it a couple of hours here and there over the course of four days.

One of my biggest frustrations had to do with the sheer number of bolts and bolt sizes. It was as if every single component used a different size. A bolt holding in the alternator is a different size from the one holding in the PS pump is a different size from... on and on. Some nuts and bolts I couldn't match to any SAE size I had and I had to use metric tools. None of this stuff looked new or replaced. That was my biggest trouble by far.

I also highly recommend photographing the bracket positions. Some brackets overlay with others and use spacers - all important to establish particular clearances of the belts and neither the Haynes nor the Chrysler factory manual provide details. It's possible to have it reassmbled incorrectly and it might feel right. You'll know when you go to put the belts on.

One thing that kind of ticked me off was the instruction in the factory manual. It gave specific instructions for removing all of the belt driven components and the order in which to do it. But in working on it, I realized that the air pump and the ps pump did not in fact need to be removed at all - only their brackets needed to be unbolted and they could be pushed aside enough to slip the water pump in. I could have saved a lot of time and energy. The Haynes on the other hand, mentioned just undoing the brackets enough to get the pump in, which was consistent with my observation.







As you can see the water pump on these is the center connection piece for all of the belt driven components.
I started to sand and noticed abrasions on the mating surfaces. So, I sprayed with engine degreaser and mostly spot cleaned the rest with small areas of sanding or picking off pieces of old gasket material.
When installing the new pump, I placed a super thin layer of rtv on each side of the gasket. Seems to be doing the trick.

Inspecting the old water pump, it didn't appear to have blown the gasket. It seemed fine except that you could tell it had discharged through the weep hole, and it looks like this wasn't the first time that happened either. Also, I noticed when spinning it there was a coarse low rubbing sound. The next pump made no noise when spun.

When I got it all back together I realized that I left the shroud off. Now full of coolant and ready to go, I'd have to disconnect lines to the radiator (transmission and coolant lines) to get the shroud back in. So, I decided to leave it off.

Will this hurt it? I can't see how.

 

If the truck starts getting hot at idle, you need to put the shroud back on.

 

The shroud helps the fan to pull air through the radiator and AC condenser. Without it some of the air will recirculate between the fan and radiator resulting in reduced engine cooling and warmer AC temperatures at the vents. Of course there's also the danger of getting one's fingers chopped off should you ever stick your hand under the hood with the engine running, or road debris getting kicked up and bending blades. Is it a 2-piece shroud? If so, can't you remove the fan and install the shroud from the top. I've done this by removing the upper hose from the radiator and moving the compressor without disconnecting the lines to it.

 

Thanks for the tips on the shroud, guys. I'll give it another shot in a bit.
Based on what I'm hearing here, I'd feel more comfortable having it on.

I might can remove the fan, the problem however is that the fan bolts through a pulley to the water pump. So if I remove the bolts, the pulley will be removed and I'll have to reset the belts for ps pump and air pump. Almost would seem easier to disconnect the radiator hoses and catch the coolant in a drain pan.

We'll see.

 

Is your shroud one-piece? Or two?

 

If you're nimble enough, make two studs from all thread rod and replace two bolts across from each other on the fan. These will hold he pulley in place and keep the holes lined up. Do your thing then put two bolts back in. Snug them down and then replace the studs with bolts. Just be sure when you make the studs to clean the end of the threads.