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OTR service location in Portland Oregon area?
Good Morning, I am new to this forum and I have a question does anybody know a good shop in the Portland area that can change out a clutch seal and charge the system.
I feel I have a bad clutch seal because I have dirty oily residue on the inboard side of my clutch.
I purchased the bus last year (dec. 2015) and had the guys at Prevost Maraloma Ca. Do a complete service on the bus before I purchased it. At that time the OTR air had bubbles in the freon, they drained the system and could not find a leak. So they recharged the system. It worked fine for a year. I used the OTR all last summer and in feb while snow birding in Palm Springs area. However on my way home in early April the OTR would not blow cold air. I ran it for about 10 min. And then shut it down. I noticed in my condenser bay that the freon level is low in the sight glass. The upper sight glass is empty and the bottom sight glass is full. I don’t want to run the system with it low on freon, I don’t want to burn anything up.
I am sure I could take it to Marathon, however If anybody knew of a good shop here in the Portland area that would be great.
1999 xlv Marathon
Thank You
Tony Calvert
503-866-4343 -
11 Replies
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Tony, you should get a “LOW AC PRESS” orange lite coming on if the freon gets too low. If it is still cooling, and the bottom ball is floating, you should be ok to use until you can get seal fixed.
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Tony, What Jerry said about the red ball being in the middle of the lower receiver sight glass is a reasonably accurate way of knowing the freon level is where it should be.
The gritty oil behind the clutch is an indication of a minor leak in the compressor seal. If it was a serious leak instead of a dry gritty accumulation you would see a relatively clear leak of compressor oil coming down from the shaft.
The compressor is a Carrier compressor so any Carrier service facility, any commercial refrigeration shop that installs Carrier equipment or Prevost can service the seal. Generally if it is holding level as viewed in the receiver sight glass you might not want to do anything until it gets time to recharge. At that time get the seal replaced, the system leak checked and recharged. I think the seal replacment is 2 or 3 hours and about $100 worth of parts.
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Tony,
I had a similar issue a couple of years ago and looked into the Portland area Carrier service facilities. There is one out in Troutdale. I made an appointment but the “good AC guy” according to the service manager was not there. I was not comfortable leaving the coach there and left.
In short, I’d go to Marathon only 100 miles down I5.
Gerald
PS: I have the same oily residue behind the compressor clutch. The guys in Mira Loma said that was normal. My problem turned out to be a leaking king valve which they replaced. Someone had overtightened the valve stem.
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Great information, thanks for all your response.
Tony
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I just asked the Knoxille Thermo-King shop if they would service a system with the Carrier compressor. They said they would not. It might vary from loc ation to location.
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I recall Geo mentioning that many or most seated coach operators running any number of coaches probably has someone on staff who can work on the OTR system. You might call around to the seated coach operators and we what kind of expertise is available.
It would be a good idea to develop a list of reputable and qualified OTR repair shops so that if a member is not within a reasonable distance of Jeff Rowe’s shop they have an alternative.
Jeff told me he has attended the Carrier school and is certified to work on the Carrier compressors. When our compressor failed Jeff offered to rebuild it as an option, but we went with a factory compressor which he seemed to lean towards. When you call around suggest you ask if the tech has attended the Carrier school and is certified.
Jeff or someone who really knows something about this subject might jump in here to either correct or validate what I’ve said.
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Tony, any bus company using Prevo’s is a good source as the busses will all have OTR. If the leak cannot be found again…don’t obsess about it. We have looked (Parliament, Jeff and a tour bus operator in Wi) to no avail finding it. Ours lasts 7 mos or so until the low pressure light comes on. We just plan around it. If yours lasts a yr…you’re 5 mos better than us. Geo.
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As coaches age it is com mon for the compressor seal to become an issue. But as coaches age the compressor approaches the end of its life cycle.
They are rebuildable and all parts are available, but the only way to determine if rebuilding is an option is to open one up. It is not unusual to find an older compressor damaged by scoring from leaf valves breaking free and damaging cylinder walls.
As Geo pointed out 134A is cheap and if the system needs to be topped off ev ery year it is a good alternative to replacing a compressor. The seal replacement makes perfect sense if the compressor is working on all cylinders, something that can be determined just by feeling an operating compressor. The bad cylinder(s) will show up.
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I had My OTR air services last year. i went to use or test it before we take off here in the next few weeks . the compressor wont turn on. there is no tricks to servicing ? i am going to ASSume its straight forward like servicing a car?
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The only “trick” I’m aware of is to mechanically open the solenoid valves in the condenser bay and behind the front bumper when you vacuum the system prior to recharging it. If you still have some charge left, you may not need to vacuum it.
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