Live and learn, right? If this had happened in the pre-internet age the first person you talked to would have quietly set you straight and there would be no public spectacle, but alas, we live in a brave new world where not owning an 18 socket can lead to LOLs in the internet! 
Anyway, glad to hear you're enjoying the van over the truck.. Now i wait to see how bad your trans issues are. 
In reply to Vigo:
Yarp, 'struth! But for a little pointing and laughing, I got answers darn quick!
Hoping I can get through the ball joints and tie rods this weekend and maybe have enough time to drop the trans pan and see what it looks like. I'll start a separate thread for that, but I fear that it sounds an awful lot like this.
I like the van and even if the trans is toast I'll want to wrap up the front end work. With a bit of luck, I won't need a whole trans right now...
Streetwiseguy wrote: "Odd" 18? Not anymore, my friend. They are everywhere.
Amazingly enough when I was working for NAPA we were continuously begging/pleading/threatening our tool supplier to put 18mms in sets and include them in the store displays. We were convinced that said supplier thought 'this metric thing' was a passing fad.
This was in the early '90s, BTW...
I forgot I have a fifth set of sockets; Ditchdigger gave me a spare set of Toptul sockets a while back.
They also skip 18mm.
I'm not crazy, just misinformed...
ransom, don't forget to check the trans fluid in neutral,not park. And if you are unsure of what the previous owner used for fluid, remember Dex-Merc kills mopar trans. ATF+4 all the way !
dex/merc is fine for that trans. The clutch-to-clutch 604-based trannies in the lighter stuff need the +4.
Hrm... I've been using +4 (hopefully that's not wrong, even if unnecessary), but I didn't realize neutral vs park mattered. This is the first auto trans vehicle I've actually owned...
Just as a wrap-up to the trans concerns: I'm much less concerned now that I have a rebuilt trans 
(where's the moths-from-wallet smiley animation?)
Garage work, travel, then maybe I can tidy up the van's loose ends...
All the manufactures have figured out how to design and utilize 18mm, 16mm and 13/16" hex size fasteners so that the end user with the crappy tool set will be forced to go to the dealer for service!
Good luck with your project. There are plenty of the aero generation of the b vans in yards around here! Parts gonna be easy and cheap.
Greg
What the?!
In reply to slantsix :
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