Davy
Forum Replies Created
-
Jon,
Maybe she pulled your finger:)
-
“Razor sharp handling”? Really? Come now, I’m afraid I’ll have to give a clear edge to my BMW Z4. What I’m looking for is stability and comfort. Based on the weights we’re dealing with and the shocks resistance ( they can still be moved by hand) it would take a huge difference in shock to make a significant difference in handling. Obviously, if the old shocks are toast, ANY shock makes a huge difference.
My factory fronts (assumption they were original, I acquired the coach at 47K) came off at about 120K (Prevost was on a selling mission) and were replaced by Koni’s set on medium. They felt a bit stiffer but I didn’t find that surprising considering the mileage on the originals…nothing like night and day difference. Recently, at about 175K, the right front shock absorber shaft snapped clean on a moderate bump. I’ve never experienced this type of failure previously. After Speaking with Koni re warranty, I decided it was too much hassle (fill out this form, ship it to us for review, etc.) and got a deal on 2 Monroe’s. Installed one on the RF, left the Koni on LF…can’t tell the difference. I’ll replace mine individually as they begin leaking, thanks, anyhow.
I do agree, however, that tire pressures, tire sizes, air bag sizes and especially sway bar setups will make a difference. I would also suspect that going to the four shock front setup available on some coaches should make a significant difference, however I’m not sure that would be a positive difference in most cases.
-
Jon is correct in this matter.
Shock absorbers is a misnomer. The correct term is “dampers”. The job of dampers is to attenuate the inherent oscillations of the suspension assembly. These oscillations occur constantly as we drive but are most pronounced when crossing sharp bumps or dips. Tire imbalance is another oscillation that the dampers have to tolerate but that is off the subject of handling for this purpose. Any harshness or softness of ride is due to the rate of damping of these oscillations.
Sway bars (more correctly “anti-sway” bars actually are what minimizes the tendency of the bus to roll when placed in a situation where centrifugal force is induced by a turning motion. Thus the anti-sway bars are a variable spring resistance to roll that play no part in ride softness or harshness when traveling in a straight line.
The air bags (“air springs”) resist roll but are llimited in this function by the rate at which they can change pressures and react to roll due to built in rate damping devices.
As far a Koni’s adjustability; if the most desirable ride is found to be at the softest position, it’s damping range is incorrect for the application. Properly fitted, the ideal ride will tend to be at the middle of the setting range.
My personal finding is that the stock shock from Prevost is a screaming deal and I can change them every 30-50,000 mile for a heck of a long time and save the cost of Koni’s.
-
What happen on this deal anyone heard ? -
Yes, we have a blog that we update almost daily. It is http://www.boggsblogs.com.
Click on the picture of the bus over on the left side of the blog for our schedule. The schedule also takes you to our original website. It is not updated regularly but has some more information.
It would be great to meet you some time. I always recommend that folks call before driving a long distance in case we have a schedule change.
Davy
-
The reason why I am a little apprehensive on knocking on their door is this is not a rally…. just a RV resort. So far, the few times I’ve driven by they have not been in ‘residence’. We’ll be here until Monday then off to Utah so maybe I’ll catch’m before we go.
Mark.
-
David is right on as to what happened. Merely filling the differential with gear lube does not get oil into the hub. Your coach was run with dry bearings and your problem may be significantly more extensive than new seals.
If you are verrrrry verrrry lucky you did not damage the end of the differential where the bearings seat. At the very least the bearings need to be replaced, but if they are seized onto the end of the differential you may have to not only get them off without damaging the differential, you may have to remachine the differential end.
The seals are no good due to heat, the bearings are now bad, and you need to alert the shop that serviced the hub seals they have a large bill coming to them as a result of the damage caused by an incompetent mechanic.
FWIW on at least two occasions that I know of two other owners had hub seals replaced and the mechanics failed to refill the hubs or pack the bearings with grease and in both cases they got a very limited number of miles (around 4 miles if I remember right) and they destroyed the bearings and the differential end. Both coaches had to be trucked to a service facility and the guilty shops spend thousands of dollars to repair the damage.
-
Woo Hoo Gary, bus time is coming!!!
-
Will they send you any pictures of the build……I’m getting excited, you must be loosing your mind waiting for that new coach!!
-
Bill, I don’t think the pre-egr engines had a separater.
The turbo can pressurize the crankcase thru a faulty Tu-Flo air compressor, which could be an explanation for the OP’s loss of power, and possibly thru the turbo’s return oil line.
-
Bill,
Be careful about mixing apples and oranges.
Oil pressure is that which insures the oil circulated through your engine is being delivered to the surfaces that need a constant supply of lubrication from your crankcase oil.
Bearings such as your crankshaft bearings, cam bearings, etc. have oil pushed to them via your engine’s oil pump. You can read that pressure directly from your dash. At normal highway cruise speeds you are likely to see 50 PSI on a warm engine, higher if the engine is cold. That oil pressure will not blow the cap from your oil fill tube.
You also have crankcase pressure. Your engine crankcase gets pressure from the oil heating up and from the slight blowby of the piston rings. But in order for the crankcase to build enough pressure to blow off the oil fill tube it has to be pretty high something under normal circumstances is not possible. The crankcase is vented. The excess pressure exits the crankcase via a breather tube which is about 3/4 to 1″ in diameter. That allows the crankcase to breathe freely.
If my coach exhibited the problem you describe I would start looking for an obstruction in the breather tube. The only other thing I could imagine blowing the cap off the filler tube is a set of broken rings such that on the compression stroke the compressed air in the cylinder is getting past the piston and is of such volume the breather cannot keep up with the compressed air produced and eventually the crankcase gets pressurized enough to blow off the cap.
All speculation so I would be very interested in what is found out. I really question a professional attributing the problem to excessive oil pressure or bad seals.
-
Karl,
If you ever need any help, give me a call. We’re too close not to lend a hand. 813-394-7470.
-
I have used Busch Polishes for several years and they work very well on stainless and chrome they also have airways to go on buffers as well as the the compounds.In the winter when I am not using my coach I use several different airways on a stationary buffer to polish the stainless on the mud flaps.A friend of mine had spots on his rivet coach and he used Sparkle from CR Laurence and he said it was the best product he has ever used to remove the spots and his coach did look great.
-
Mike,
They might have changed your’s out. Once you go to the hub pilot nuts, the wheel cover hits the washer and the end of the bolt thread and won’t lay flat against the wheel. Does your’s lay flat against the wheel or stick out a little?
-
Over the years we have seen several RV wrecks. We don’t know if there were injuries, but in every case the RV, whether a trailer or a Class A was completely destroyed with wood, personal belongings, cabinets, sofas and everything else spread all over.
We saw one wreck when we were about 500 feet behind a travel trailer pulled by a pickup truck start to sway uncontrollably, and it ultimately got to the point where it started to flip and took the truck over with it. It literally disassembled itself as it slid into the median with the truck. The sole driver was OK but everything was totaled.