Hey everyone, this is my first post after lurking around for a couple weeks.
So me and my lady got an 86 2wd and I've come to find out that it suffers from about every common ailment that these vans can offer. First major thing I had to do was get a new differential which I was in no way about to attempt myself (I can suggest a great place in LA if anyone is curious) and now I'm on to all the other stuff which I'd like to take a whack at with my own hands. I've ordered all the bushings for the front end, shocks too. I found a couple of vans in a local pick n' pull from which I've gathered a heap of cosmetic parts from (no sliding door handle, tho.. I've told myself I can live without it). Annnnd I also have something draining my battery which brings me to the point of this post.
The van has died three times. Never when driving, every time when the doors have been open with the engine off for not even ten minutes. Would not start up. Had to get it jumped every time. After the second time I got a new battery. Put it in and the van started up great. For about a week. Then two days ago the same thing, unloading crap for ten minutes with engine off, doors open and dome lights on... and dead battery. After reading threads on this site I feel like it's the fusible link that connects to the battery. It looks like it's in bad shape so now I'm going to try replacing that. One thing I noticed is that the classic 80's toyota buzzing noise that comes on when you start the car worked the first couple of times with the new battery but then stopped. The van starts up fine but without that noise. But the noise will happen when the door is open with the car on. Is that a sign of some other electrical issue?
I am fairly ignorant about car mechanics so any advice on steps to take would be very welcome, and WOW is this site cool!
Thanks for reading!