Thoughts on a Ram B1500 Starcraft Van?

Sledge:

That does look kind of rough with the rust and all. Does the steering or front end tie in there anywhere ? Is there any chance of welding in some new metal ?

It might sound crazy but a combination of new metal & expanding foam insulation (to fill the void) might stiffen it up to a point where you could get a couple of years out of it. I wouldn't load it to heavy is all. Maybe 50% of it's rated load ?

It was kind of interesting when you mentioned the third connector socket of the ECM. Those two halves of an electrical connector really need to be as weather tight as possible. Get just a bit of moisture in there and the corrosion creeps into the metal parts of the connector. After awhile the corrosion will even start to creep up inside the insulated wire.

Ever stripped out automotive wire and instead of bright & shiny it looks black or green with oxidation ?



I would check out the circuit board on the ECM. Those things are pretty well made. If you don't see any burnt spots on the board it might be that the ECM is okay. It's possible that it's only the electrical connector that's bad.

Just a few thoughts:

1: NAPA & Rockauto sell all kinds of replacement electrical connectors. They might have one listed for your ECM.

2: I've heard that you can have ECM's tested just like you would test an alternator,starter, or battery. That way you know the part is bad before you replace it.

3: It's been a few years but i believe there is a company on-line that specializes in the repair/re-manufacture of ECM's ? Might be worth checking out. Their prices didn't seem all that bad.

4: You might try Googling " Free Candy Van " and see what that turns up.