Suppose you need to carry a van load of stuff to sell to a location a few hours away. Now suppose you also need to tow a car to that same location. Now suppose you need to do all of this in one trip. Then what you need is this Chevy van. The annual pilgrimage to Hershey for the Porsche meet involved all of the above this year as I decided to put the Puma up for sale just to see what interest there might be. The van was really loaded with internal contents, passengers, and the trailer with car. Despite this, we were moving along at just under 80mph for much of the trip except for the the inclines, where the van really loses power quickly. I was impressed with how it ran, and it was a good day as we sold the car and came home with an empty trailer...
Somehow, in the dead of winter, there is always a need to get something towed from point A to point B. It may be partially related to the fact that deals often pop-up during the winter, if you live in an area that has true winter. It may also be related to the fact that the need to move a vehicle pops up in the least desirable time to move said vehicle. Regardless, the G 10 had to be awakened from its slumber in order to go pick up a surprise addition to the stable (see stray cat). Snow and slippery surfaces in general are not the best terrain for the 2 Wheel drive van. Fortunately, the roads themselves were clear, and the job was accomplished without drama. It was also good to get the oil circulating as it had been sitting for almost 2 months.
The G10 has been earning its keep over the last few months hauling a variety of cargo. Most recently, it transported the R75/5 back to base in an extended highway run. I flushed the radiator and put in new anti-freeze. It was very cold, and the battery was suspect a few times, so I opted to replace it. It now has 800 cold cranking amps rather than 700 warm ones. Speaking of warmth, the heat is surprisingly good, and needs to be turned down when on the highway. It also blew a low beam headlight and a marker bulb, and needed wiper blades, all of which were easily replaced. It is an amazing to know that anything you need for this vehicle is available at any auto parts place for very reasonable cost, despite its age.
Due to an unexpected need to move a few cars around, the G10 and the trailer got a full workout during the course of a weekend. It was several hundred miles of towing all together, and a solid test of the van under full load. The Mercedes are not small light cars, but the van performed well on the highway and on country roads. The brakes are the one area where you need to pay attention when towing a full load. The trailer has dual axle electric brakes, and they were needed. I also discovered that there is a short of some kind when turning on the headlights. It must have been introduced when the trailer brake controller was installed.
Sometimes when you make improvements to a vintage vehicle, the results become a self-fulfilling prophecy. And sometimes you actually have evidence that there has been an improvement. So it was with two small things that were done to make the van a little more fuel-efficient and quieter at higher speeds. The first change was the air filter mentioned in a previous post. However I also added some seafoam to the next fill up of gas. Between those two changes the next full tank of gas resulted in mileage of 13.6 miles per gallon. This is up over a full mile per gallon over the last tankful with similar driving. This is not a big enough difference to declare a full cause-and-effect, and it was not a scientific experiment, but I'll take it.
The second change was the replacement of both belts in the engine compartment. Both of the belts looked like they were in fairly good condition, but I was chasing a squealing sound that occurred once underway for about an hour and at speeds over 75 mph. The replacement of the belts is fairly straightforward with moving the alternator and the steering fluid pump in order to remove the belts and put the new ones on. The result on a test drive was no squealing at higher speeds. A full honest test of this will be a lengthy trip with speeds in that region to determine that it is truly solved when the belts and the engine are hot for some time. But for now, I'll take it.
Don't ask how I know this, but the van felt like it was suffering from asthma at higher speeds. Nothing dramatic, just a sense that the motor was not getting all of the air that it needed. The common solution would be to just take off the stock air cleaner, and put on a chromed filter. However, I had pledged not to start turning this into a hot rod. An email coupon for K&N products solved the problem. Unfortunately, you cannot change the air filter without getting to the back of the motor, but it was a quick job. I got 12.5 mpg on the last run with the van, so I will see if either mileage or feel improves....
