1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[Keyair]

Oh...
And got the Antenna pretty close to finished...

[wxbuoy]

Wow, lots of work! Looking good!!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Time to scare Ya'll...

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Ouch! That is a heck of a mess. The patch was reasonably done although I would have used twice as many rivets.

Is the mounting plate for the deadbolt solenoid still there? If not I've still got the mounting plate from the 345. Don't have the solenoid though. I also have the inside turn handle although one wire is broken off of the mercury switch inside the handle.

At least the dead bolt is still in place. Have you tried turning the deadbolt to see if it rotates?

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Hey! At least you now have easier access to the front steering stabilizer nuts

You might want to replace the stabilizer while it's easy

[Keyair]

As you guys well know, what looks like 5 mins work was a few hours...

Yes Dave, are you feeling better about your projects now? LOL.

In truth, if I had known what I know now, I would not have bought it... but I am in it for the long haul and gonna make it right, make it good, and make it ours!
I knew about the damage, and had a good idea of material costs going in.
At that time, I figured in the fact it had a new motor and trans, and the whole front end suspension. A recent refridgerator was factored in, and it ended up $10/15K below what was out there at that time.

Brad...
I have the mercury switch and inner thingy, but mine has only one wire attached... you think it can be resoldered??

The solenoid plate? No idea... I was wondering how it all attached.. You have a pic, or one in your thread about the deadlock?

Yes, the deadlock mechanical part works fine... a miracle!

When I cut off the leveler mount, there, in the hole was a piece of the end of a previous steering stabilizer...
If you look at the pic of the hole, there is a cutout on the outboard side, that you can get at the nut thru... but I will check it before I zip up the front end to be sure.

[Keyair]

Today it was drivers side ugly mount time...
Cut that wart off!

Cut...


BOOM...
Its off.



Took me about an hour to get the rest of it off tho!


Cleaned up and primered...



DONE!

[Keyair]

With the old ones HISTORY.....
I started to look at the new leveler mounts...

Lets start with the "Official Info".



Huh???




It looks stupid, so either the mount Brad sent me is not for this area, or I am really stupid...
Don't answer that Brad!

So I crunched some numbers...
The 9000lb kickdowns I have are 14.5" from foot to mount face...


I let all of the air out of the front airbags... and the main chassis rails look like about 17.5" to ground level.

So...
Putting the new mount on the flat area just rearward of the "Official Area" gives me...
1.5" on the mount..
14.5" on the leveler..
16" is the total, so in this state(front and rear airbags deflated).
Add 1.5 to 2" for airbag lift I will have 2.5 to 3" of ground clearance when the jack kicks down...
Works for me!

Today, I started by stripping the jack...
I will need some new Roller bearings and some bushings...

[Smartstream]

Steve I think you are a victim of updates. These are the front mounts that I bought about 4 years ago.





These are the jacks on Tin Crumpets' coach which one might assume were installed in the early 80's.





I would guess the people at HWH must occasionally have a slow day and decide they have to make some "improvements." At least the current drawings seem to match the current mounts.

[bkahler]

Steve,

Here are some pictures showing the solenoid mounting plate and how it is oriented when installed.



Brad

[Keyair]

Thanks Brad!
That makes so much sense to me now...
Looks like they combined a backing/reinforcement plate for the handle with a mounting for the solenoid.
It also explains why the PO/Tech hacked that big cut down thru the handle area!

My task for now is assess what I have and collect all the parts and knowledge to put it right when I replace the skin on that side.

[bkahler]

Steve, here's a few more pictures showing more actuator details.



This is the only picture I can find of the front stabilizer mount still bolted in place.



Hope they help!

Brad

[Keyair]

That is simply AWESOME Brad!

I am thinking that untill I get to the bodyside skin replacement, I will cut out the mess, mount the handle on a plate, with all the parts once I have them, and rivet it all in place... not super pretty, but I will be able to make sure everything works as it should.
Also, very clearly that hack plate was not keeping the rain out judging by the dirt stains on the skin under it!
I bent the skin back on sunday and looked for the lock tail, that I hoped to find stuck in the insulation...
No luck, but I did find 2 wires Brown/Green with a black connector on them... which I am sure is for the solenoid(Lowest wire in pic below).
I also have a wrapped twin cable, which I assume is dorrbell, a black wire which I think is the missing cable from the Mercury switch and also the 2 heavier gauge white wires that are twisted together...



As for the Leveler mount... That pic is perfect, that was what I was thinking would work!

[bkahler]

I still have the cover off of the 310 deadbolt actuator so I'll take a peak at the wiring to see if I can verify your wire list.

On a different note, I'm sure I can add to the crate that I have so will start working on that this coming weekend. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Brad

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I still have the cover off of the 310 deadbolt actuator so I'll take a peak at the wiring to see if I can verify your wire list.

On a different note, I'm sure I can add to the crate that I have so will start working on that this coming weekend. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Brad

You ARE the Man Brad!

[bkahler]

Steve,

The colors in the 84 310 are:

White with black trace wires (two wires) go to door bell button.

Black with red strip wire & solid white wire go to mercury door switch.

The two wires in the plug are as you indicated for the door lock actuator.

Hope this helps

Brad

[Keyair]

Good info...
I will take a closer look at the weekend if I can.
Been feeling under the weather, so playing it by ear.

[Keyair]

Just a quick update.
here is the old mounting...
Look how bad this is... look at the thinning of the metal structure at the top and the amound of junk and sediment in the tube...




Did a little inspection and cleaning up on the first jack.


The bearing that the actuator bears again is frozen solid on one Jack... and missing on the other!
I called HWH and they are under $10 each.

On the first jack, the welded stop on the top is bent.



I tried to beat it back to square, but it was not moving much.

Degreased and sanded it out.



Shot some red oxide primer on the parts.



I was trying to decide what color to paint the jack with..
Black was my first choice, but then I had a thought...
A lighter color would be easier to see... for example if it is not retracted or down straight when looking under the MH.
Also oil weepage or leaks would be easier to see...
So...

[dadstoy]

Steve, the jack looks great.

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

Steve, the jack looks great.

Thanks Dean!
I know its part of my affliction, but it made no sense to me to put them back as ugly as they were...

Both of the front ones were kinda greasy, but I did spray them down with WD40 liberally a few times in the last couple of years.
Its time to be sure they are not leaking, when they are reattached in the new positions.
Will be doing the pass side one this evening.

[Myrtle lynn]

Question. I apologize if this was already answered and I didn't see. My levelers work great with the exception of the driver front. It extends and retracts. No oil leaking, but after a night of them being used I have to extend it again. It seems to loose strength. Any ideas?