'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by STstudios

Looks like its coming along nicely! Can't wait to see her all finished!!!

Sam

I believe the proper phrase would be "Slow but sure..."

Needless to say I can't wait either!


Brad

[bkahler]

Two steps forward, one step back

Monday afternoon I tried installing the right front wheel hub. The hub slipped on to the spindle just fine but when I went to thread the spindle nut on it got tighter the farther on the shaft it went. Backed it off and tried the other nut with the same result. Close inspection doesn't show any obvious thread damage but there must be something or I wouldn't be having trouble with the nuts threading onto the shaft.

So, I've ordered replacement nuts from Rockauto and found a reverse thread chasing tool that hopefully can help restore the spindle threads.

After all the work I just did getting the front suspension installed this is not something I really want to be dealing with. I'll let you know how the thread chasing tool works out.


Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Two steps forward, one step back

Monday afternoon I tried installing the right front wheel hub. The hub slipped on to the spindle just fine but when I went to thread the spindle nut on it got tighter the farther on the shaft it went. Backed it off and tried the other nut with the same result. Close inspection doesn't show any obvious thread damage but there must be something or I wouldn't be having trouble with the nuts threading onto the shaft.

So, I've ordered replacement nuts from Rockauto and found a reverse thread chasing tool that hopefully can help restore the spindle threads.

After all the work I just did getting the front suspension installed this is not something I really want to be dealing with. I'll let you know how the thread chasing tool works out.


Brad

I like asking real stupid questions:
Of course you had the bearings in the hub?
"Ducking" for flying objects coming at me

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

I like asking real stupid questions:
Of course you had the bearings in the hub?
"Ducking" for flying objects coming at me

I'm to tired to throw anything right now

Yep the bearings are in the hub, looking closer at the threads with a magnifying glass it appears there is a burr coming out of one of the cotter pin holes.

I vaguely remember when I took it apart the nut seemed to be difficult to turn by hand. That'll teach me to pay closer attention when I notice something odd. It doesn't help that there's times when there are long gaps from when I take something apart to when I put it back together.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I'm to tired to throw anything right now

Yep the bearings are in the hub, looking closer at the threads with a magnifying glass it appears there is a burr coming out of one of the cotter pin holes.

I vaguely remember when I took it apart the nut seemed to be difficult to turn by hand. That'll teach me to pay closer attention when I notice something odd. It doesn't help that there's times when there are long gaps from when I take something apart to when I put it back together.

I am sure you understood, why I was asking that stupid question? If you would only have the oil seal and the inner bearing in place to hold the hub, the nut would go further than it ever needs to if the outer bearing would be in place.
Even after you clean the burr, I would still use a torque wrench for the recommended setting of the hub, before backing it back out to the next cotter pin hole. I always have to make sure to remember to coat the oil seal lip with some bearing grease.
What makes it so exciting to get older is black holes of short term memory. I sometimes have to make a checklist so I will not have to tear it all apart just to make sure, I did not forget that screw on the ground next to me..

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

I am sure you understood, why I was asking that stupid question?

Yep, sure did

If you would only have the oil seal and the inner bearing in place to hold the hub, the nut would go further than it ever needs to if the outer bearing would be in place.

The nut never makes it past the holes for cotter pins. The nut starts getting difficult to turn when the nut reaches the holes.

Even after you clean the burr, I would still use a torque wrench for the recommended setting of the hub, before backing it back out to the next cotter pin hole. I always have to make sure to remember to coat the oil seal lip with some bearing grease.

Yep, I always use the torque as described in the manual, which in 1974 was 12 ft lbs.

What makes it so exciting to get older is black holes of short term memory. I sometimes have to make a checklist so I will not have to tear it all apart just to make sure, I did not forget that screw on the ground next to me..

I've reached a point where I have lists to keep track of lists

[bkahler]

For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to remove the rear bumper. It was held on by four flat head sheet metal screws. I would never mount a bumper with four 1/4" sheet metal screws but apparently it was considered good enough back when it was built.

Once I got the bumper off this is what it was hiding


Looks like I'm going to have to do some reconstructive surgery on those 2"x4" tubes. When everything was new the bumper may have slid onto those tubes but the NOS replacement bumper that I have (thanks Martin!) would have to be pounded on to get it to fit. I think I'll rework how the bumper gets mounted so bolts can be used which would allow for easier removal in the future.


The filler panels between the bumper and the shell are totally different from the 77 and later Argosies. My back quarters are made of ABS and are rounded where the later coaches use the squared off quarters. Fortunately my rear quarters appear to be in good shape.


The tops of the ABS fillers are warped and cracked so what I might do is cut them tops off leaving a 2" or so strip along the body and then fabricate some 1/8" aluminum panels to lay on top of the ABS to fill the gap between the body and the bumper.

[Smartstream]

Bred those 1/4" bolts might seem anemic but maybe not so much compared to the aluminum bumper itself. The PO put a good bend in mine and the mounting screws held fine. I changed mine to stainless machine screws with lots of never seize.

[bkahler]

You have a good point about those 1/4" screws. I don't know how many bent bumpers I've seen that still had the bolts intact! Heck there's an Argosy sitting in my driveway right now with two bent bumpers and no broken screws!

[bkahler]

Last Wednesday I ordered what's called a Reverse Thread Chasing Tool to repair the damaged spindle threads. The tool arrived last night and worked very well at repairing the threads.

From past experience it seems that when threads get damaged it's usually at the end of the bolt or threads and you can't get the thread chasing tool threaded on properly so getting the threads repaired is a real challenge.

The thread chaser that I ordered is split so you can clamp it on to some good threads and then back it into the damaged threads. I used a C-clamp to keep the chaser closed and the clamp also served as a handle to rotate the chaser. It took all of about 15 minutes to repair the threads.



Needless to say I'm quite happy with the results and I now have the front hubs/rotors installed and believe it or not this is the first time since I've owned the Argosy (2007) that it has had front shocks installed

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Last Wednesday I ordered what's called a Reverse Thread Chasing Tool to repair the damaged spindle threads. The tool arrived last night and worked very well at repairing the threads.

That is a neat gadget Brad, in searching for it I don't suppose you come across them being loaned/rented by any of the auto-part stores?

[bkahler]

This is the only thread chaser I found that would work on the odd spindle threads. Considering the unique thread size I would be surprised if any store had something like this available for loan.

I had never heard of a thread chaser that clamps on like this one does. I was initially skeptical about how it would work since it's a 2-piece affair but once it arrived I found it to be very well made and very precise.

The spindle threads are 27/32"x20 which is an odd thread size to say the least. I really wasn't expecting to find any thread chaser so when I found this one I had to give it a try. $50 wasn't cheap for a one time (hopefully!) use but my options were pretty well limited. I suppose I could have used a 20 thread per inch file but I've found those to be a pain to use.

Bottom line is I'm pleased with the tool and pleased with the results.

[bkahler]

Not a lot has been happening on my Argosy for a while. Between traveling to the Get Together, constant mowing and tinkering with Peanut I've been somewhat busy!

I did find time to try and install the front brake calipers and found that I was missing the wedge keys that hold the calipers in place. By coincidence while at the Get Together Matt gave me the front knuckle, rotor and caliper assemblies from an early 80s P30 chassis that just happened to have the wedge keys

I like it when a problem shows up and gets resolved immediately with no real effort on my part

I did run across one rather annoying issue while trying to install the front brake hoses. The mounting tabs on the frame where the hose and hard brake line meet have round holes for the hose to fit into. The replacement hoses have a hex shape to them and don't quite fit into the holes

I think the best option is to take a file to the holes and create the hex shape for the hoses to fit properly. It's annoying little issues like this that continually crop up causing delay after delay. Oh well....

[bkahler]

While at the fab shop picking up the generator floor for Peanut I asked to see how they were coming on my replacement gas tank.


The cutout on the lower left is required to clear the rear leaf spring hanger. Assuming my calculations are correct the tank should hold a little over 50 gallons when full.

They might have the tank done in a week or so at which point I'lltake it straight to the local radiator shop to have them seal the inside to help keep the rust at bay.

[bkahler]

The caliper and brake hose installation is done and I've since been plugging away at small tasks related to the brake and hydroboost and the associated piping. Hydroboost and brake MC are installed and I also took the time to pull the new power steering gearbox for painting and it is reinstalled as well. I also took the opportunity to add a power steering suction line filter similar to the one Dean installed in his coach.


When the old hydroboost piping was removed one of the fittings between the hydroboost and a brass T was frozen and the pipe twisted off during removal. It took me several hours of googling on Saturday to find what I hope is the right size replacement fitting. The new fitting won't be here for a week or so and needless to say I'm really hoping it's the right fitting!



The brake pedal push rod boot as rotted away and falling apart.


According to GM the boots have been discontinued. I've looked for boots that are similar that I could modify to fit with no luck. If you've got a suggestion as to what might work as a replacement I'd love to hear about it!

The rough dimensions are 8" long, 2" at the top and 5/8" on the shaft itself.

Thanks!

Brad

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

The caliper and brake hose installation is done and I've since been plugging away at small tasks related to the brake and hydroboost and the associated piping. Hydroboost and brake MC are installed and I also took the time to pull the new power steering gearbox for painting and it is reinstalled as well. I also took the opportunity to add a power steering suction line filter similar to the one Dean installed in his coach.
Attachment 263479Attachment 263480

When the old hydroboost piping was removed one of the fittings between the hydroboost and a brass T was frozen and the pipe twisted off during removal. It took me several hours of googling on Saturday to find what I hope is the right size replacement fitting. The new fitting won't be here for a week or so and needless to say I'm really hoping it's the right fitting!
Attachment 263481


The brake pedal push rod boot as rotted away and falling apart.
Attachment 263482

According to GM the boots have been discontinued. I've looked for boots that are similar that I could modify to fit with no luck. If you've got a suggestion as to what might work as a replacement I'd love to hear about it!

The rough dimensions are 8" long, 2" at the top and 5/8" on the shaft itself.

Thanks!

Brad

Maybe worth searching for a motorcycle fork gator Brad, I am sure you will get the length and width at the top, but you may have to wrap the shaft to pack out to a more standard 1" size.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Maybe worth searching for a motorcycle fork gator Brad, I am sure you will get the length and width at the top, but you may have to wrap the shaft to pack out to a more standard 1" size.

Martin, that's a great tip!

For a grand total of $7.85 I ordered a pair of these Universal fork boots shipping from China. If I can't make one work at least I'm not out a whole lot of money!

[bkahler]

Well that was fun. I'd been putting off torquing the large control arm nuts on the front suspension for too long and decided it was time to complete that task. The lower nuts had to be torqued to 280 ft/lbs and the uppers to 190 ft/lbs. The problem torquing the upper nuts was socket access for the two nuts close to the brake hose brackets. I couldn't get a 1-3/8" socket and torque wrench on the nut, not enough clearance. I finally tried using my 1-3/8" crows foot and problem solved!

The difficulty on the lower control arm nuts was I don't have a click-bar type torque wrench that will go to 280 ft/lbs. I have a Snap-On 3/4" torque wrench good for 600 ft/bs but it's a dial type and I wasn't sure I could read the gauge and apply pressure at the same time.

With careful placement of a light and a mat I was able to position myself so I could just see the dial. It helped that I marked the 280 spot with a Sharpie. Torquing those 8 nuts officially completes the front suspension rebuild

I've got a short list of about half dozen items to wrap up and I'll be ready to install the engine in the chassis. That's probably about four to six weeks away at best.


Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

.. Torquing those 8 nuts officially completes the front suspension rebuild
Brad

Congratulations for huge and difficult task completed.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

Congratulations for huge and difficult task completed.

Thanks! What's really nice is installing all this stuff and not getting dirty and greasy in the process