u/throwaway10_17

the good: 7.3 powerstroke

the bad: this truck motor is in a van (short bus) and you know what that means. In terms of access, with the hood open I feel like Helen Keller.

Has anyone pulled off this job successfully?

I've seen many instructions out there, but they are all for trucks; probably OBS and NBS F250/F350.

Not vans.

If you've got any tips, let me know.

Deciding between seal kit from dieselorings or riffraffdiesel, just to get it fixed cheap ASAP before potentially more expensive conversion kit to returnless for higher fuel pressure later on ( ~$50-100 vs. ~$400)

I did open the doghouse to look, but that's the back of the motor. And the motor is longer than my arm, with not much vertical room in the compartment, and a bunch of stuff in the way along the way to the fuel bowl.

I heard one person say remove the turbo. But that is at the back of the motor, and given the above, doesn't sound like it makes sense. Not to mention the fuel bowl is kind of almost at the front of the motor.

For illustrative purposes I have googled a 7.3 van engine bay pic and as you can see; can't see shit. Yes the airbox does come out with about 5 bolts but that doesn't really change anything.

bought a short bus. Needs work. So do friends cars.

Looking at shoving my toolboxes inside. Previous owner already threw out the seats.

Anyone done this?

Last setup I saw was a friend being a mobile mechanic on weekends with a tiny toolbox in the trunk of a little car appearing to be limited to basic little jobs.

I figure with this amount of space it can hold more. With the weight it may even ride better (dually)

Hopefully the boxes don’t go flying forward In the event of someone running a red light intersection resulting in a T-bone

Has anyone done this? Closest thing I can think of is a Snap On tool truck that has toolboxes still on casters. I have no idea how they’re secured.

I was thinking of unbolting the casters on mine and maybe dropping them down with a dolly, so they sit flat to distribute load and have friction grip.

I’ve got a 56x22” and 34x23”. About waist height.

It’s a short bus E350. An ugly steel partition might fit but they’re ugly.

I was gonna put them ahead of the wheel wells, with a cargo bar in between to prevent falling over. Until I come up with a better solution to free hallway space.

I have a lot of tools in storage. The new-to-me bus needs work. Friends always hit me up to work on their car.

I have furniture I don’t need inside. I figure I should put toolboxes inside and get to wrenching.

2 concerns at this point are:

1. If someone else runs a red light causing me to T-bone them in a frontal impact collision, that could send my boxes with their weight and tools flying forward into me.
2. They’ll probably rattle loud. I guess I’ll make foam cutouts or something.

Here is an example. The bus needs power steering fluid flush, brake flush, rear diff service, fuel bowl reseal, and likely more. I figure it’s better to have my things inside and accessible (tools, fluids, sealants) rather than buried in storage where access is ridiculous.

Bought a short bus.

At this time, it is able to fit a good amount of fins, rucks, and undiagnosed camoflauged autists.

However it is it not optimized.

I would like to know if you have any suggestions on how to do that.

The current informational resources at this time including but not limited to reddit skoolies, skoolie forum, and FB groups appear to be trash.

I am looking to weld a CH-47 automatic ramp door. And flush C-130 floor hooks.

UH-60 folding wall mesh seats.

Ability to conduct first aid as needed. Such as internal lighting and drop down bed for emergency aid and evac to higher level of care.

For modularity to accommodate the needs of the mission as well as quick ingress and egress.

Otherwise I will examine OSINT to develop a DIY expedient field modification plan.

Am planning on painting it M81.