1989 Dodge 350 1-ton Van

By Chad Hauris: Updated 2/18/08

This is kind of a long story, but if you like automotive matters, you may find it interesting.

I bought this van in 2003 for $700. I really needed a good cargo van, but most of those I had seen were twice that price. On the test drive, the performance seemed to be OK, even though there were a few problems. One major problem was that the power steering gearbox was leaking fluid. This apparently is a fairly common problem on Dodge trucks of this time frame. First I tried replacing the power steering hoses but this did not solve the problem. The gearbox would have to be removed.

The gearbox is secured to the frame with three bolts, which screw into nuts welded to the frame. These bolts were on good! I could not get enough leverage using penetrating oil and a breaker bar. I used an 1/2" air impact wrench to remove two of the bolts, but one was located where I couldn't fit the impact! I removed the driver's side tire and found that I could reach the bolt through the wheel well. I then used a box end wrench over which I placed a 6' length of pipe.This provided the leverage to remove the final bolt. I then used a pitman arm puller to remove the pitman arm.

The gearbox was available at Autozone for about $142.00. I installed it and have had good performance to this day.

Other problems included: low oil pressure. The oil pressure warning light was coming on at idle after the engine heated up. To combat this, first I used 20w-50 oil to provide more viscosity at high temperatures. Then, I changed the oil every 200 miles about 4 times. Every time I changed the oil, more old sludge and dirt came out. This procedure brought the oil pressure back up to an acceptable level. There was also a bearing growl when the engine started up, that I have been able to significantly reduce. The oil now still looks brown when I change it, instead of yucky black.

Also, the exhaust was overheating. I could smell a "rotten egg" smell. I attributed this to the fact that the smog pump had been disconnected, causing the catalytic convertors to operate improperly. I replaced the smog pump, pulley, and belt, and have not had this problem since.

And, the air conditioning compressor had seized up, and one day I found that I could not get the truck started because of this! I was at church and had to cut the belts to the AC compressor and alternator to free the engine so I could get it started to get home! Luckily it drove OK on purely battery power. I measured the distance from the crankshaft pulley to the alternator, bypassing the AC, and got new shorter belts to run the alternator only.

After a few months of driving the van I started getting a lot of vibration above 50 mph. Because I had had tire trouble with my Grand Marquis, I decided to have the tires replaced. New tires and wheels were installed which improved the performance greatly.

Now, one more thing is the brakes! Also about 3 months after getting the van I was getting a grinding noise when applying the brakes. Removing the drums indicated that all of the pad material had worn off of the shoes and one of the drums was severely scored. Also, one of the brake shoe springs had broken and was rolling around inside the drum! I installed all new shoes and springs and one new drum. This worked well for a while. Then, I was finding that I had to pump the brake pedal in order to get good brake action. Bleeding the system seemed to cure that.

However, the brake problem was getting worse...the pedal was sinking to the floor and the warning light was coming on. Took it to a shop in Odessa and they replaced the shoes and pads and turned the rotors and drums but they didn't do anything to the hydraulic system, they said the master cylinder was OK. Well, I didn't quite believe that, because although the performance was improved, the pedal traveled quite a long way toward the floor before the brakes activated. However I thought that maybe that's just how it was supposed to be.

Then, the brake problem got worse again, you had to pump it to get brakes to work. This was October 2004 and the van had been out of commission for several months because the brake performance was just so poor. I took it to Midland Frame and Wheel and they found that indeed the master cylinder was bad. They replaced it and WOW! The brake action was amazing. I would recommend Midland Frame and Wheel for any brake or suspension repair. They do a GOOD thorough job and are priced fair.

The van is now back on the road, doing well.

Update: 8/2/05: The van has been doing fairly well this summer...have noticed that the oil pressure light will flicker after stopping directly after 20 minutes or so of freeway driving. However, when idling at a stop light in-town, the oil pressure light does not come on. Gauge indicated adequate oil pressure at all times so I am not too worried about it...it may be a thermally related problem in the sensor.