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ALANSD · 03-16-2002, 10:59 AM

I pulled my plugs to check em out, and although only 15k on them the carbon motivated me to replacements. I also got the rotor and cap, but the wires seem fine, and are not very old as per the r.o.'s I have. My question= are the ceramic wires worth triple the price of Belden premiums, which NAPA sells with a lifetime warranty? The guy there says they will replace them no questions asked anytime with the receipt....
and they are 62 bucks a set.
My manifolds I cehcked closely after reading all the problems with these- they look ok, and were replaced two or so yrs ago. I may have to go with the Hedman headers, I priced them and they seem very fair, with the brass hardware and all.

PeterH-350LE · 03-16-2002, 12:11 PM

I don't think that the ceramics are worth triple the price, unless you have a problem, like I did:
a missing heat shield, which caused the rubber boot to melt. I probably could have bought a new shield from the dealer, but instead, I fabricated one and used the ceramic boots.
The plug fouling can be solved by you know what

:
Jacobs, or at least an excel (sp) high voltage ignition coil.

ALANSD · 03-16-2002, 01:12 PM

You make a lot of sense, I will look into the coil, and maybe go with those NAPA wires.
While I was out messing around I checked my rear air bag valve and found no air in them. I tried to air them up to 100, never got past 50psi, then by them time I rechecked, they were at 0 again. I guess I see why the rear seems "bouncy"- any ideas on how to isolate the problem? It could be the small tank, or the lines , and of course the bags...I wondered if the compressor was coming on as I never hear it, guess the whole system could be replaced..

PeterH-350LE · 03-17-2002, 06:31 AM

Yesterday must have been my least productive day ever, in my career as a grease monkey.
There is this cute little 5" long hose just in front of the thermostat housing, that runs from the block to the waterpump. Mine had visible cracks and signs of a small leak. So, I decided to change it.
There is a tight wiring harness on top of it and the fuel line runs on the side of it.
It took me hours to get that #@#$% hose in place.
I ended up putting oil on the fittings and used a blow dryer to make the 3/4" hose flexible enough to slip it into position.
Has anyone ever dealt with this hose. Is it only to be replaced along with the waterpump?

PeterH-350LE · 03-17-2002, 03:02 PM

Ok,
Call me stupid!

That hose comes preformed to make the slight bend. And it was a lot easier to install.

ALANSD · 03-18-2002, 06:52 AM

Its just one learning experience after another!! I realized how tight it is under the "dog house" working on the carb the other day. With the engine on checking tran fluid and such and 80 degree day here it got rather warm inside the motorhome.
I had forgotten that Dexron II has been replaced with Dexron III some 5 yrs ago ( my older car is a manual) and when I went looking for trans fluid I felt quite out of the loop.
On the subject of air bags from earlier- I am going to go ahead and put shocks on the rear, as mine are old enough to be replaced. Anyone done that themselves? Looks easy enough I don't think I can safely jack up enough to relieve weight on them, and will propbably opt for a pro-installer to be safe.

PeterH-350LE · 03-18-2002, 04:04 PM

Pro installers like air tools. If you have the upper mounting stud, don't let anyone use an air tool on it.(to undo, yes, but not to tighten) The lower is a bolt and a nut, so air wrench is ok.
You don't need to jack the rig up for replacing the shocks. Bilsteins are a little harder to install (more pressure) than the P30 motorhome Monroes.

Larry Brown · 07-24-2002, 08:19 PM

Peter the same hose blew on me and the wife the second time out as we were heading to the coast. I was just cruising along and I said to the wife, do you smell antifreeze? .Needless to say I couldnt even see where the leak was coming from with all the steam and the dog house in place.We called AAA they towed us to the only place open on a sunday for repair 186$ for the same hose and antifreeze.plus we waited 4 hours for the tow truck to show up.sound like a pleasent trip?Anyhow we stayed at the KOA at fort Stevens state park Oregon .Very nice .

PeterH-350LE · 07-24-2002, 09:09 PM

Larry,
$186.- is a good price for a $5.- hose and $8.- worth of Anti-freeze. Got to keep those hard working sunday mechanics in business.

I bet he went thru all of his 4 letter words trying to reach that hose. But he always wanted to work on one of those Airstreams....
Maybe that hose is the harbinger of your waterpump.

Larry Brown · 07-24-2002, 09:39 PM

I think the water pump is ok. We just took one of our hottest trips over Mount Hood 7% grade for 7miles at 100 degrees and never got over 190 engine temp.We went to Lake Billy Chinook .Beautiful place.But I noticed What I thought Was an exhaust leak .When I got back Home I found it was not an exhaust but a lifter tick the drivers side of the rig .Sounds like the front cylinder.So I'm contemplating should I try some of that anti lifter stick goo or remove the valve cover.(probably do this )What do you think.

PeterH-350LE · 07-24-2002, 09:54 PM

yup, I like those old water temp gauges myself. But to be sure, I would add about 20 degress to the reading. I run per my gauge @ 165 - 180 degrees, which I know is not right, because my 180 degree thermostat would never open.
Did the ticking just start after that trip. Is it still there with a cold engine? You sure its not a bad plug wire?
The drivers side valve cover removal requires A/C compressor removal.

ALANSD · 07-25-2002, 07:06 AM

Just a suggestion - old mechanics use a long metal object to put in the area of the tick, and listen through it to more localize the sound. Younger ones use a stethoscope type listener. Peter is on the right track also as plug wires can "tick" if shorting ever so slightly, and also the cold engine tick versus the warmed up one; how old is the engine oil? The 3 month/ 3000 mile change rule is a good one for regular motor oil.
I changed my generator oil to synth and it changed the sound of the gen dramatically. Also started smoother.

Bfrank · 07-25-2002, 02:26 PM

Just an added thought my 24ft Excella was doing ok put a tuneup on it and checked plugs later they were somewhat carboned up
not to long after that it died out on the interstate got towed
up Mt Eagle by a nissan pickup anyway the problem was the distruibtor couter balalancers were worn and crank angle sensor had gone bad I installed a rebuilt distributor and wow what
a difference in the way it starts and runs also getting better
MPGs so don't overlook that at least check it out

Bfrank

Larry Brown · 07-25-2002, 09:55 PM

Hi everybody, The plug wires seem to be ok No sparks and I didn't get the s#*t shocked out of me when I stuck my fingers down buy them . The M.H. Just had a complete tune up before the old dude sold it.It had brand new mobil 1 Synthetic 10/30 The rig has 66000 miles on it.In the winter I started it and left it run about 20 minutes while I did some chores inside.When I came outside the airstream was smoking like it was on fire .It almost was. The high presure oil line to the cooler had blown and had pumped out maybe 4 Quarts of 5+$ per right on the exhaust manifold.Boy was I lucky It did'nt go up in flames!.So the oil or most of it was replaced.We hav'nt put much more than 1000 miles on her since.I come from a family of mechanics and our experiance with big block chevs tells us that lifter ticks are not all that uncommon. I think that maybe snice it got low on oil it might have picked up a small amount of sludge and pluged up the oil hole on a lifter.are one of the lifter adjuster nuts might have backed off . also pretty common. The cheap attempt to fix the problem would be rislone.(A good product) .And if that don't do the trick pull the covers,cheak it out and seal it back up.I can't hardly believe that there is much else major wrong at 66000 miles. P.s. My gaudges are all new Stewart warners

ALANSD · 07-26-2002, 06:49 AM

you may be right, and hopefully there are no major problems. My rig seems to work beter when it is used more often. It was used sparingly by the former owners, getting 80,000 miles total when I got it. I found if I drove it at least once a week, all thru the winter here, it ran quite well. I find the same with my 78 model car....when I use it regularly ( at least weekly) it runs better. The low mileage on many older vehicles may not always be a blessing, although it is sure an attraction.
You might find a few miles down the road the "tick" just goes away. ( lets hope so

uwe · 07-26-2002, 10:14 AM

To help, possibly even eliminate lifter ticking:
Put 2 or so Quarts of ATF in before your next oil change. ( you have to suction some oil out first, so it won't be overfilled. Then drive the vehicle until it is good and warm, maybe 20 miles or so. Drive normal, not aggressive. Let the engine cool somewhat and then drive it again. Maybe you've got errands to do anyways.
Then, have the oil changed, or change it your self, whichever you prefer. We have found this a very good way to de-sludge an engine and free up sticky lifters. The ATF is safe to use in engines for a short while, 50 or 100 miles or so.
We used to use this method in the shop, to free up sticky lifters in seldom used or stored Mercedes V8's.Our success rate was better than 75%.
I once tried an additive package, somethingMax i think, in my Dodge 360V8, and it worked surprisingly well. Got 14+ mpg on a long trip from Los Angeles to Nashville. ( up from 12) It too made the engine sound different, quieter and smoother overall.
I imagine that htese additives could also help free lifters and keep things lubed when the MH sits for a long time. The hardest wear always occurs during startup and warmup.
Uwe

davidz71 · 07-26-2002, 10:52 AM

One of the items that has been on the market for awhile is an oil pump accumulator. It is wired into the ignition circuit so that when you turn the key to the on position, a pump brings oil up from the oil pan and sends the oil into the lifter valley area. This helps prelube an area of the engine that receives a fair amount of wear on startup. I think these are available through speed and performance catalogs as well as J. C. Whitney. It seems that this would be just the ticket for a MH that has sat for a while.

uwe · 07-26-2002, 11:18 AM

Yeah, I saw one of these installed on a friend's turbocharged vehicle. It was a bladder type accumulator, with a magnetic valve, just like you said. I releases oil into the engine top via the oil pressure sensor galley through an adaptor.
In many vehicles, the oil pressure sensor is located in a crucial area of the engine, so as to monitor the oil pressure where it is liable to drop first in an emergency.
I would suggest to use only aircraft style hoses adn fittings for these, because they are in the oil circuit where pressure is present, and failure of the connection hoses would undoubtedly cause harm.

74Argosy24MH · 07-26-2002, 11:28 AM

Turbos often spin in excess of 100,000 rpm. The accumulators on these engines are designed to continue to release oil to the turbo bearings after the engine is shut off and while the turbo spins down. You could modify it to hold oil pressure until engine start, but feeding just the upper end of the engine would be the problem.

John

davidz71 · 07-26-2002, 04:35 PM

Go to www.roeracing.com, do a search for ACCUMULATOR, click on Viper engine oil pre-luber and you will see one of the kits available for $269.95 plus $8 shipping. Just the ticket for your situation.

By the way, I had a '77 K5 Blazer that was hit in a near headon collision at an intersection by someone who couldn't tell the difference between a brake and an accelerator. The frame was bent and I needed an entire front clip not to mention a grill guard and new 8,000 lb. Ramsey worm gear winch. When I got the Blazer back 3 months later, there was a tapping in one of the lifters of my 350. It slowly faded after another 20,000 miles but you could still hear it. I guess just sitting there for so long didn't help it any.