hrly

Do you need to drop the gas tank to replace the fuel pump, or can it be accessed though the trunk or some other means?

Thanks.

Ford E-350 van, 5.4 v8, mileage 240k.

Several months ago I noticed a rapid knocking at high rpm just before it would shift into a higher gear. This was the only time it would knock and at the time I put it up to some lifter noise because it only lasted a second or two until the rpms came down. Suddenly the other day that same knock came on when I started the engine and did not go away. I followed the noise and it seemed to come the bell housing; thinking it might be a broken flywheel I took it to a transmission shop that scoped it and informed me it wasn't coming from the bell housing. (Flywheel, flex plates and torque converter were fine) They have no idea what is causing the knock, suggested it's probably a thrown rod and want $4000 to replace the engine. (Yeah ... like that's going to happen)

I told them to button it up and now I'm left with how to find out out what's happening. I figure a broken rod would destroyed the motor long ago so I'm now in a bit of a quandary as to how to find out what the problem might be. The engine runs very smooth, no jerks, stutters, misses or other odd sounds. The transmission was rebuilt 5 yrs ago, is also very smooth but does seem to shift at a slightly higher rpm then it should.

Any suggestions on where to start are welcome.

Thanks.

Ps: This may be just coincidence ... but when driving to the shop I had to back up along a fairly long driveway, the knock stopped until I put it back in gear to move forward. Odd.

We recently bought a foreclosure and, of course, the furnace and AC are missing and need to be replaced. It's in a rural area in central Mn and gets down to -20F in the winter. We have a choice of propane or electric heat.

The hvac guy we had out mentioned that a heat pump with a propane back-up may be the way to go. We'll have 2 zones, one about 1100 sf and another about 900sf. I'm skeptical that a heat pump is as efficient as the claims made, and am concerned about reliability.

To my mind propane is a better way to go but others are concerned about the wild swings in propane pricing. Any thoughts as to which system will cost less to operate? Best value?

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks.

I posted the following a couple of days ago but I think everyone took advantage of the wk'nd. :)

Thanks.

Plumbing and cold weather?

We're rehabbing an old brick school house (circa 1908) in central Mn. Many years ago a large addition was added to one side with a block foundation crawl space and 2x6 floors and the plan is install a 1/2 bath and laundry room into a portion of the addition.

Currently there is no heat, never was, (we've got a hvac people coming out to analyze this and several other issues) and we don't know yet if we'll be using forced air, baseboard heat, or another method. I finally convinced my partners that the sink and washer will go on interior walls.

Because the crawlspace has no entrance once the floor is put back in it'll be basically sealed.

Since I'm the amateur plumber that has to make this work and I'm starting to get hammered about getting started I thought I'd get some opinions about my concerns.

My main concern is how avoid freezing pipes. (It gets cold (-20) up here) I can route through a 14" foundation into the crawl space or possibly go thru the main building at a higher level with minor modification to the kitchen plan. Would it be recommended to run the pipes down from the ceiling or under the floor? (Only 2x6 floor so I don't trust the insulation to keep warm) Heat tape? Run lines thru the cold air return? I keep hearing ... "they do to mobile homes all the time!" to the point I'm ready to snap.:)

Should any special attention be paid to the drain lines?

I'm ready to listen even to unconventional ideas.

Thanks

We will soon be installing a new water softener, There has never been one installed before. It'll be installed in a basement with a concrete floor and no floor drains. (Old school house, over a 100 yrs old) Can we drain the softener into the drain system above used for the main floor? Will it pump that far/high?

Dig a sump pit?

All the plumbing is being re-done so we can route anything anywhere we need to. Any other suggestions? Thanks.