I hate working on my Chev Venture...

[JohnMack]

Originally Posted By: AdRock
As a tech I can say that there are tons of vehicles that are a major pain to work on. Volkswagons, Bmw's, and Jags come to mind. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to visit a manufacturer to beat the carp out of an engineer. If there's a part on an engine that is the most prone to needing replaced you can bet that some moron engineer buried it so that you have to pull half the engine apart to get to it.
My hat is off to you techs that are making a living working on modern vehicles.. I know it can be a very tough way to make a buck..

 

[JohnMack]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
That price is way high. I charge 3 hrs labor...$261. A new rad about $160,a few more for clamps and coolant.those are not too bad.I'm sure that I can beat the 3 hrs if I'm not bothered. The thermostat is much more frustrating than doing the rad.
'
Figure bout $450 if I did one.

I was told by the shop that it was a 6 hour job!! For $450 I would have been more than fine having you do it../

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
FWD transverse V-6s tend to be a PITA to work on.
Minivans tend to be a PITA to work on.
Combine the two in one vehicle and you have an RPITA.
At least you got the job done and saved yourself a good bit of coin.
WRT the Aerostar demarpaint mentions, not changing the passenger's side rear spark plug was a little trick a lot of shops used. We also had an Aerostar and changing the plugs was a real challenge that would have you searching through your tools for that one magic wrench that would let you finish the job.
Problem is that there is no such wrench.


That's the plug! I took a hole saw, and actually drilled through the floor/firewall just below the dog house and made a nice little access port to get the plug out. What a PITA working on the Aerostar was.

 

[Red91]

The Venture, and it's inbred cousins(Trans Port, Trans Port Montana, Silhouette) were abortions that should not have ever made it off the assembly line. This coming from someone who generally likes GM products.

 

[fdcg27]

That was another common trick for more honest shops that at least wanted to install the six new plugs the customer was paying for.
It isn't really necessary, though.
With a swivel, a floor jack and some jack stands, you can do the passenger side rear plug.
You will curse a blue streak in the process and probably shed a little more blood in addition to the blood you've already shed on the first five "easy" plugs, but it can be done.
BTDT

 

[JohnMack]

I may have did mine the hard way!!! I went over the top after removing the coil pack and pulling the engine forward.. Although I know for a fact that I did not hit the radiator with the motor it was a couple days later I had my rad leak(not damaged but leaking at the tube/tank joint) coincidence ?? or is it possible to "stress" an already weak radiator and cause the leak.

 

[Falken]

The Prospector, is that the Van people cut a square hole in the firewall to change the spark plugs?

My teacher mentioned that IIRC. Crazy.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
I recall the factory recommendation for changing the 3 back plugs on a Venture is to put the van on a lift, remove the rear engine mount, and rock the engine forward for clearance! F'in SERIOUSLY?!

A very large number of transverse V6 engines have to be repaired by removing engine mounts and twisting the engine around for clearance.

There is only one van I know of that is easy to repair. A VW Microbus.

Eventually I am going to buy a Winnebago Rialta or Vista, and I hope working on it isn't much harder than the FWD vans I have encountered.

 

[fdcg27]

+1 on this.
We had a Vanagon and if it ever needed anything really serious, it was easy enough to just drop the engine.
The engine service hatch was huge and the oil easy to change from the bottom.
You checked the oil level and added oil behind the hinged license plate, kind of like the fuel filler on an old GM car.
The VW also had its engine at the right end and had enormous interior space as a result.
None of the overall length was wasted on accomodating the powertrain.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: JohnMack
Originally Posted By: Chris142
What brand did they sell you for $115? I won't sell junk like silla or spi. My cost on a good quality rad is about $120.
The new rad is a"CSF" is this a decent brand?? for what its worth it has a two year warranty but lots of fine print to claim it!!!
CSF is one of the better ones. That price is real low. My cost on a CSF for that van is $125.

 

[JohnMack]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: JohnMack
Originally Posted By: Chris142
What brand did they sell you for $115? I won't sell junk like silla or spi. My cost on a good quality rad is about $120.
The new rad is a"CSF" is this a decent brand?? for what its worth it has a two year warranty but lots of fine print to claim it!!!
CSF is one of the better ones. That price is real low. My cost on a CSF for that van is $125.
Thanks Chris, I was hoping you weren't going to say that brand is a POS. As for the low price!! all I know is that these guys have been around town along time and pump a lot of business out so maybe they get volume discounts???

 

[Red91]

Got a look under the hood of a mid 90's Mazda MPV with a 3.0 V6 this week. Actually seemed very easy to work on due to the fact that the engine is not under the dash. It's laid out like an SUV.

 

[paulo57509]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
I recall the factory recommendation for changing the 3 back plugs on a Venture is to put the van on a lift, remove the rear engine mount, and rock the engine forward for clearance! F'in SERIOUSLY?!


The FSM for my Lumina will have you go through a similar exercise. Unbolt the two front torque struts and pry the engine forward.

This also sounded crazy to me at first until my father handed me this tool:



I use this tool in place of one of the torque struts, crank it up and it pulls the engine forward. This 10 minute detour makes working on this transverse mounted FWD so much easier. No more cussing and colorful language.

 

[Falcon_LS]

A lot of cars are a major PITA to work on these days. As much as I like them, Crown Vics can be a nightmare depending on what you're doing - I thought the valve cover gaskets and heater core was bad. Boy oh boy was I wrong, I had to raise the body off the frame a couple inches to pull the transmission crossmember off. That said, it's also the easiest vehicle to change a coolant pump on IMHO - you win some, you lose some.