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Topic: Breakdown Information

Posted By: jag70r on 07/02/06 03:19pm

I would like to add my two cents regarding overheating in a class A Motorhome. A couple of years ago while driving on I-5 south bound near Bakersfield CA suddenly I discovered the heat gauge went off the scale,steam everywhere. What led up to this was the fact that the old familiar noisy radiator clutch fan had been silent for a few miles and the heat was building up in the engine and it blew an over looked rubber hose that goes from the water pump to the intake manifold just a little hose that appeared to be o.k. when all the others were replaced it wasn't.I did not look for the obvious and I assumed it was a freeze plug because the steam and water seemed to come from the side of the block.I had us towed in and it was just a big mess all around with loss time and etc. Lessoned learned is obvious. Those clutch fans are a nuisense when they come on because they are so noisy but watch out if they don't. This was on a 454 engine by the way and the second clutch I went thru in three years.

Posted By: GBMcruisair on 07/06/06 08:43pm

2000 Georgie Boy 32' Pursuit 7.4 Workhorse 4 speed trouble description: wouldn't shift, lost dash gauges, quit. Coming home from 80 mile trip, everything was running fine, had to stop for a stoplight, when getting back up to speed wouldn't shift past second. Since I was only 10 miles from home I thought I'd limp home. After 5 miles gas gauge, ammeter, and oil pressure gauges quit, in another mile tach and speedo quit and then finally the engine quit. Rolled to the side and started checking wires, found gauge fuse was blown. Replaced the 20amp fuse and MH started right up and ran normally. Still can,t figure out why things failed in sequence and not all at once. DW thought she smelled hot wiring, will check ign switch next. Kip & Judy 2000 Georgie Boy Pursuit, 2001 Cherokee toad 1951 Pontiac with 400cu GTO running gear 1964 Corvair Monza all original

Posted By: schwalme on 08/09/06 09:12am

RV particulars: Safara Sahara Driveline (Engine, Transmission)ummings Diesel with an allison 6 speed tranny Miles: 78,000 Year:1995 Break Down Description: I was driving South on I-5 after a week-end at a LaConner Campground while climbing a slight incline near Everett Wa. The outside temperature was the high 80's. I had just had the normal service done to the engine by Cummings NW. The engine just cut out on me with no warning. I shut it down restarted it and got off to the side of the road. It would idle however when I put it into gear it would quit. I waited for an hour the was able to drive another 40 min. Freeway driving and stop and go in places before it quit again once again on a small incline two block from my house. I immediately re started and drove the two blocks and parked it. Symptoms: No previous simptoms. Effect: Cause:unknown purged the water seperator no water. Stabalizer was added before the trip. Coach goes to shop tomorrow. Outcomeoach goes to shop tomorrow.

Posted By: tothelight on 08/11/06 12:02pm

This breakdown info is a great idea, I see mention of a summary of these breakdowns and fixes, where could I find this? Also thinking of buying some spare parts for common breaks on a diesel pusher motorhome like fuses fan belts etc.. does anyone have something like this? I am about to buy this diesel pusher within two months can anyone steer my in the right direction as far as manufacturers? I read JohnnyT's info and many responses, great info, but a little mind numbing? Limited funds will make my choices easier,I will be full timing/working in the coach and have been looking at older coaches 95' to 00' with atleast a 8.3 cummins (some without a slide)as I will be loaded down and towing a suburban (2 humans and 1 weimoraner), also looking at more expensive models, by this I mean the Flettwood American coach line versus discovery or bounder, hoping like the boating industry they would put a little more effort and better core materials into the product which would hopefully translate into less problems, still this is an assumption. Is anyone running biodiesel in their rig to save money? Lastly, looking for the names of the directories that list all camp sites, state parks etc.. and costs for hook up, heard of Woodall's are there any others? Thanks much, ToTheLight

Posted By: Donhembree on 08/12/06 10:15pm

Test * This post was edited 11/20/06 05:36pm by Donhembree *

Posted By: dualsport on 08/19/06 08:45am

RV particulars: Fleetwood Flair Driveline (Engine, Transmission):GM 8.1 not Allison Trans Miles:22K Year:2002 Break Down Description: Auto Park Brake applied while driving Symptoms:Auto Park Brake warning light came on to indicate the resevour was low. Brake warning light came on when hydraulic pressure dropped. Effect:Auto Park Brake, at rear of transmission, was applied. Cause:Leak in body of valve that supplies pressur to Auto Park Brake. Outcome: Stopped along side of the road for 21 hours until I could get towed. Had to remove drive shaft to tow. The first dealer disconnected the linkage so I could drive to Workhorse dealer 100+ miles away. Workhorse dealer found leaking valve (pin hole in valve body) and I had to wait two days for part to arrive. You're Never To Old To Learn

Posted By: englishmick on 08/20/06 07:55pm

I'm new to Rving,& to the USA,so after being here for 2 months(relocated to 'Vegas from Chester/England) I decided to buy a motorhome. I started looking at under $10k motorhomes,but they were pretty tacky,so we upped our budget to $20k(I've gotta be careful with my money 'till it starts "working" for me!)& still they weren't very acceptable to us. We then went up to $26k & looked at mainly class "A"s in 'Vegas,still not happy with what some owners recon that good conditioncan mean cupboard doors hanging off,generators not kicking in when you go to view,& one had such bad steering/brakes,it shouldn't have even been on the road! Well after a month of looking in the 'Vegas classifieds,& travelling what seemed like hundreds of miles across the city,Dawn was going to a friends house not more than 5 miles from where we live in NW LV,& she saw a nice looking m/home with a for sale sign on it,& a price tag of $15k!!!!!! So we went around to view it,the owner was a very nice guy called Tony who used to work at K-Mart,& was the 2nd owner from new. It's a '93 Frontier Flyer by Damon with 46k mls on the clock,perfect interior,everything works,& the Chevy V8 sounds as sweet as a nut. NOW,here comes the bit you've all been waiting for! Off we go to Utah,Bryce Canyon to be precise,all the way there,no problems,all thro' Bryce,great!,then we park up down a real long lonely track at Red Canyon,& settle down for the night. So I think I'll start the generator so we can watch a bit of TV(or "telly" as we call it in England!) Now we have had the genny running before,so we didn't forsee a problem,& as you will later read,it wasn't the gennies fault. Just as I press the genny starter button,there's a slight "pop" from the dashboard/engine area,& all the lights go out! Nothing,nada,nowt!!!!!! Bloody hell,what're we gonna do now? Start the engine & get back to civilisation!(it's 8pm on a Saturday night) Will the engine start.......................NO!!!!!!!! There's NO power anywhere to anything!!!!!!! Oh dear,break out the candles. I checked everything I could find,fuses,trips,cables from battery to battery,I wiggled,poked & prodded things..........still nothing! Oh well,good job we joined the GOOD SAMS BREAKDOWN SERVICE 2 days ago,we'll give 'em a call in the morning. Along comes a nice guy from Bryce Canyon Towing,has a look,says there's nothing he can do,& puts us on the back of his truck,& takes us back to the garage,& places us by a 110volts mains supply. "There'll be no-one to look at it 'till Monday mornin'" he says. So we plugged in,put on the air con,& phoned around to tell people we'd be a day or so late gettin' back to 'Vegas. Well,our next door neighbour(English spelling!)John says he'll just pop up(250mls)& have a look for us(he used to own a garage in Cal So he gets up there 4hrs later & we talk things thro',& he says well lets listen to if there's any clicking from the battery(flat batt; symptom)................ Guess what,IT STARTED!!!!!!!!! He was somewhat dismayed at this as you can imagine,as he had not only travelled all that way,but he wanted to find a fault & repair it. So we both go to fill up at a gas station just in front of the garage,& when I come to start it again......IT WON"T...start that is! So he now has a chance to put his mechanical skills to the test,& within 5 minutes he's found it......... ...........A FAULTY GROUND....................... It seems it only started before because it had just come of a mains supply & that had 'warmed it up' a bit,but as soon as there was a hint of a load on the system,nothing! So he used his jump leads not only to test the battery output to the starter solenoid etc;,but also as a temporary ground lead to get us back to sunny 'Vegas. 1st of all many many thanks to the best neighbor(Yank spelling)in the world,but also to Sams Club Breakdown Services. & the last word to you all out there is................... ..........maintain your vehicle,I know there's always the unexpected(fuel pumps etc,but if I'd been more aware of my new vehicle,maybe I would have spent a bit more time gettin' a bit of dirt under my fingernails! Happy & safe RVing you guys! Mick'n'Dawn Moores.

Posted By: ddwillis on 08/20/06 08:58pm

Decided to take our 1990 Winn from South Carolina to Iowa on a trip. Did what you are supposed to do: tune-up, check-up and had roadside assistance. 2nd day I was in the corn fields of Iowa when started backfiring and stopped. Called roadside assistance and was told that I was too far for them to respond. Had to find my own tow. Found out that the problem was that when I had the tune-up they left out the ground wire. Finished the trip. Actually the wife and I had a good time...lots to talk about.

Posted By: englishmick on 08/21/06 10:53am

These ground wires/cables seem to be a problem. Can nobody come up with a foolproof solution to this problem,other than the obvious? ie;weld the groundwire permanently to the chassis. or....have a special non corroding form of connection. or............is this already out there & nobodies told me yet!!!!

Posted By: winbarrows on 08/25/06 05:36am

Ours was a fuel line fitting/washer combination into the injector pump on a 8.3 liter 300-hp Cummins, Alison 6 in a 1999 Newmar DutchStar with 58,000 mi. We stopped for fuel and a fellow (who works for Cat) pulled up and said we were spraying fuel out the back. We got towed to Diesel Injection Service in Windsor, WI who said the problem is a documented one with this pump/engine and there is an upgrade fitting/washer combination. Parts were less than $100 but the labor (it was tough to get to) and the steam cleaning was another $600. Incidentally, that fitting/washer is a one-time use. Remove it and replace the same one and it leaks twice as bad! Winston and JoAnn and one feline Tenters for 20 yrs, popup for 10 and Class A'ers since 6/2006 1999 Newmar Dutch Star Groton, CT and the road, somewhere

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