So the van starter died on Monday. I worked from home on Tuesday in order to alternate work with work. That is, there was a path being worn between my little work area in the living room where the laptop was dialed in to the office, and the bigger work area out in the garage where the van was slowly being taken apart, piece by piece.
The first order of business was calling around to different shops to make sure that they actually stocked a starter for a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan - at a reasonable price. First on the list was NAPA, since they are just down the street from work. They had four in stock. At $99 each. Plus core. Then I called AutoZone, since they are just down the street (in the other direction). They had one in stock. One. At $89. Plus core.
Guess which one I decided on?
The second order of business was removing the original starter. Which was harder than it sounds. Because, unlike most starters which are easily accessible either from behind and below the engine, or somewhere obvious in the engine compartment, the 3.8L engine on the Dodge Grand Caravan has the starter neatly tucked between the front engine mount and the engine block itself. Which means that the mounting bolts are incredibly difficult to get to.
It didn't help that I found out after starting this little project that the bolts on the older starter were 15 mm and I did not own a 15 mm socket. Instead, I had to use a 15 mm end-wrench. Which required a lot more finagling to get into place with sufficient room to turn.
It was slow and painful, but the bolts finally got loosened and the starter was pulled out of the tangle of wires and engine mount structure so that I could take it down to the auto parts store and trade it in on a much newer model.
But I also needed to get new mounting bolts. Because the old ones were both completely stripped. And the new starter doesn't come with mounting bolts. The original mounting bolts were heat-hardened bolts which are not generally sold in hardware stores (or in the auto parts store, for that matter). After talking to a few people and running around to a few stores, I just got some bolts that would fit the threads on the starter and were about the right length and let it go at that.
And they worked.
But it took me until nearly dinner time to get the new starter mounted and tested. And then it was time to leave again, this time for the Boy Scout Eagle Project review committee meeting.
But my testing revealed that there was still a problem. Because, although the car started, it was hesitating. Kind of like it does when the battery is nearly dead.
I didn't have time to investigate, though. That'll be a project for another day.
Probably tomorrow.
The first order of business was calling around to different shops to make sure that they actually stocked a starter for a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan - at a reasonable price. First on the list was NAPA, since they are just down the street from work. They had four in stock. At $99 each. Plus core. Then I called AutoZone, since they are just down the street (in the other direction). They had one in stock. One. At $89. Plus core.
Guess which one I decided on?
The second order of business was removing the original starter. Which was harder than it sounds. Because, unlike most starters which are easily accessible either from behind and below the engine, or somewhere obvious in the engine compartment, the 3.8L engine on the Dodge Grand Caravan has the starter neatly tucked between the front engine mount and the engine block itself. Which means that the mounting bolts are incredibly difficult to get to.
It didn't help that I found out after starting this little project that the bolts on the older starter were 15 mm and I did not own a 15 mm socket. Instead, I had to use a 15 mm end-wrench. Which required a lot more finagling to get into place with sufficient room to turn.
It was slow and painful, but the bolts finally got loosened and the starter was pulled out of the tangle of wires and engine mount structure so that I could take it down to the auto parts store and trade it in on a much newer model.
But I also needed to get new mounting bolts. Because the old ones were both completely stripped. And the new starter doesn't come with mounting bolts. The original mounting bolts were heat-hardened bolts which are not generally sold in hardware stores (or in the auto parts store, for that matter). After talking to a few people and running around to a few stores, I just got some bolts that would fit the threads on the starter and were about the right length and let it go at that.
And they worked.
But it took me until nearly dinner time to get the new starter mounted and tested. And then it was time to leave again, this time for the Boy Scout Eagle Project review committee meeting.
But my testing revealed that there was still a problem. Because, although the car started, it was hesitating. Kind of like it does when the battery is nearly dead.
I didn't have time to investigate, though. That'll be a project for another day.
Probably tomorrow.
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