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NEWBIE OWNER MUSINGS
Now that I have managed to pass my board certification
exam and am about to graduate from residency I have a few moments to chronicle
some recent experiences as a newbie coach owner.RIDE QUALITY
The first actual repair I did was to replace the front
shocks with a set of Konis set to 2/3 full stiffness. I have no prior coach ownership or driving
experience, but based on the difference in ride and handling I am really pleased
with this upgrade. The coach no longer bounds up and down after dips in the road such as bridge approaches or other irregularities. It also just feels more stable in crosswinds and lane changes. The removed shocks did not appear to be
leaking, but looked old, maybe original, but were not totally without
damping by manual cycling. I put Koni
shocks on a 1968 Cougar, my first car and was impressed with the change they
effected on that vehicle.WORKING MY WAY TO ZERO
Coolant Change
Inspired by Jon’s article on coolant change to ELC, I
drained and flushed my system 7, yes seven, times running the coach to warm it
up 5 of the times, and taking it out and running down the road a way
twice. The water was near clear by the
last time. Ran the Webasto several times
through the process, and the coach heat a few times. Did measure the drain effluent, got 15 gallons
first time and about 12 most of the other times. Did not measure what I put in as I filled it with a garden hose except the
first and last times, first was about 13 gallons, and last was over 14 gallons 12 of which were
Shell Rotella ELC and the remainder distilled water. Also used distilled water on the last
flush. Put on new blank (without SCA additive) coolant
filter from NAPA. Did not use any cooling system flushes as what came out looked clean, the coach has not run hot so far, and I figured if there is any crud in there, let it stay where it is.Trans fluid change
Changed the trans
fluid with Mobil Delvac Synthetic ATF with new filters, mine had the 2” sump with 4”
long filters. Ended up with about 7 gallons
drained out and replaced I think. Sent
the old fluid out to test and learned it was also Allison Transynd compatible
so should be good to go for the long change interval.The above two fluids bought at NAPA on their “Crazy Second
Saturday” sale each month – 30% off all purchases before 0900. Lowest possible price for these items
anywhere, better than the AITA discount.Series 60 Engine Oil and filters
10 gallons of Shell Rotella T6 full synthetic. About $20/Gallon at WalMart. NAPA filters on the AITA discount program can’t
be beat. Changed both fuel filters with NAPA units. Air filter looked brand new so left that as is.Air system drain
Did a complete drain of the air system, no water found, just a slight mist of oil from the “wet” tank for the first second or so. Drained them in the order shown in the video on this site, good pressure retention all the way through.
SHAKEDOWN TRIP
Took our first trip, went to Phoenix during mid April, had a great
time with the new to us coach. No
non-self inflicted issues arose on this trip (see next section).
PRESSURE PRO PEACE OF MIND AND HOW NOT TO INSTALL ONE
While OCD tendencies to beat on the tires with a tire billy at
every stop give some sense of security, I convinced myself a TPMS was the way
to go. Ordered one from Tom and had
shipped to Arizona and picked it up at a post office there during our trip. Installed the rear under chassis antenna at
a Walmart parking lot in Tucson while waiting for Mrs. Lee to explore the local
antique markets. Went without a hitch,
though the process did bring some interesting stares – you would think some Arizonans had never seen an old guy wearing shorts with pale legs lying halfway under a bus before. Installed the sensors that evening while
parked at a campsite at Picaccho Peak State Park, which incidentally is a great spot. Steer and Tag axle were simple. The drive axle is where it grew interesting. Had not watched the installation video
advising to turn the outer wheels’ valves to an accessible location so not
being sure if turning the valves would disrupt the seal I devised a method to
install the sensors on the valves while they pointed inward into the holes in
the Alcoa wheels. This was an interesting
exercise involving a coat hanger, some gaffer tape, two hemostats, and at one
point almost invoking the services of an old priest, a young priest, and well
you know the rest. Ultimately got them
on the stems. My inner duals had
extensions on them, long extensions, so the sensors simply screwed on the
ends. No problem, I thought. Things were fine until upon returning from a
day trip (in our toad) up the mountain the next day the Pressure Pro alarm came
on when I checked the tire pressures by powering on the system (OCD
remember). The inner drives were down
to 60 pounds. Investigation showed the
valve extensions were leaking. Not at
the sensor to extension junction, not at the extension to tire valve junction,
but at the joint where the extension had been pressed or soldered together on
manufacture. Turns out during normal operation this portion of a tire valve extension is not pressurized until you
push in the center pin so it never leaked tire air pressure during normal
driving. When the PressurePro sensor was
screwed on, it pressurized this intermediate chamber and allowed the leak. Aired up tires and left off sensors. Next
day bought new stems at NAPA and fixed
problem. When got home, made the tool in the video and
installed sensors on inner duals valves directly, eliminated extensions. Also turned outer dual stems 90 degrees so can
just screw the sensors on and off. Summary
advice is probably best to install your tire sensors at or near home, and watch the video first. Meanwhile,
the system has worked wonderfully, and gives great peace of mind to be able see
the coach and toad tire pressures at a glance.STRANGE NOISES UNDER THE FRONT END
During our trip to Arizona noticed some “clunking”
on rough road sections under the front end of coach. Was at its worst on bumps that affected one
front wheel more than the other, such as
potholes. Was a little concerning at
times as it was quite loud and I feared a drag link or some steering part was
ready to leave this earth. When got home,
checked sway bar bushings first and indeed found the depicted bushings. These are the ones in the “dogbone” looking links. Replaced, road tested and found completely
silent ride. Cheap repair with big
results.
THINGS YET TO DO
New tires and several suspension air valves were put on the
coach before purchase by the dealer – Legacy Coach in Dallas, fine folks, so I
am good there. I have the prior owner
service documentation of recent complete air bag replacement and house battery
replacement. Have been digging for
sources for brake chambers and or diaphragms and hoses and fitting for all
around replacement one of these days, will check all brake linings at that
time. Will do complete filter and oil change on
generator and replace coolant soon.Thanks to all for your advice and knowledge sharing. We head out on our big trip early July, will see some of you at the Eclipse Event in Driggs.
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6 Replies
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Great post. Nothing inspires confidence in a coach as much as working on it yourself and getting to understand and appreciate how things work and why.
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Excellent post David. Glad to hear your shakedown trip went so well and congratulations on your exams.
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Outstanding post David, you did everything right. FYI, the red dog bone bushings didn’t last long, the new improved version is black.
Enjoy your bus.
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Good job David
Safe travels,
Rocky -
Thanks for all the kind remarks. A few points:
- Forgot to mention also changed the rear axle lubricant – 5 1/2 gallons of Valvoline 75W-140 syngearoil.
- I mentioned got the fluids at NAPA on their 30% off deal – paid $31.50 per gallon for Delvac Syn ATF, $12.25 per gallon for the Rotella ELC coolant, and $40.88 per gallon for the Valvoline syn gear oil.
- I ordered the sway bar bushings from Prevost and they sent me the red ones which I understand are urethane. Don’t recall if I was given a choice of the black which are rubber if I recall correctly. We’ll see how the red ones hold up. All the rest of them on my coach are the red ones too, none appeared to be disintegrating (yet). Will probably replace them all the next (and first) time I get all the wheels off the coach.
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David, The red bushings work until they don’t. Historically they work as intended but as soon as they begin to fail it is almost a sudden failure. As long as you inspect them anytime you are beneath the coach you should be able to replace them before they are gone, but they can go from functioning to completely gone in a few hundred miles.
The black bushings are the two part type used on shock absorbers. They also can fail but typically they age, show cracks and look real ugly for a long time so you have ample opportunity to catch an impending failure. And the best part is they are cheap.
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