1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[bkahler]

Gunter,

The 86 345 that I dismantled had a pressure transducer back by the compressor that sent an electrical signal to the gauge.

So to answer your question it's an electrical signal not air pressure directly to the gauge.

Brad

[Keyair]

Good job Guys, as that was a question I had.
I have a pressure gauge with twin needles I planned to install with one monitoring the tank pressure and the other the airbag pressure.
I guess I will have to run some air line from the rear when I get around to doing that, which will probably be when i get under to replace the bags.
I have a nice little compressor that I plan to install with a small tank up front, and have a similar gauge and some kind of controller allowing me to see and control the front airbag pressure.
Something like this:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/air-26161/overview/

Apparently, you have to be careful to NOT link the bags side to side, as this can cause roll instability.

One day...

Yesterday was a good day with a slew of items off my list.
Headlamps are in and connected, but i have a wiring issue with the headlamps... when low beams are on, the hi beams glow slightly, so I assume a ground issue.
The wiring was a mess going in, with brass crimps exposed, so I might just cut it all out and install a HID conversion. That will bypass the headlamp switch, and supply full power via relays in one hit.

I did "test fit" these Bi-color LED light strips between the headlamp, and grill... They are white and amber, so I plan to run with the white on, when ignition is on, and amber linked to blinkers.



One of my PS/Hydroboost pressure hoses arrived. The Autozone system says there are 2 flexible pressure hoses but my MH, only has one... between the PS pump and Hydroboost. The Hydroboost to PS gearbox is hard piped. On the one that arrived, the shape of the metal ends is different to the MH... I hope the 2nd one is correct!
The 2nd pipe and the PS pump should arrive today, so this morning I will be cleaning up the brackets and stuff in preparation!

Also... the electrical gremlins continue...
This "Water in Fuel" lamp on my dash, is a diesel only thing... yet it is lit... and flashes with my blinkers... LOL. I think I will take the bulb out!

Oh, anyone know where to get a replacement black dash rocker switch???

More later!

[Keyair]

Poured with rain all day today, which is great for California... Not so good for fixing Airstreams...
But, when life gives you rain... look for leaks!

Pass side bedroom wardrobe... Tick.
Pass side bedroom cupboard by the compressor... Tick.
Drivers side rear corner...Tick.
Kitchen Maxfan... Tick... Oh wait, maybe cos I left it open a couple of inches.
Closed it, dried up the wet, and will look again tomorrow.
Good news is nothing around the rear tank vents, or cockpit side windows, or windshield upper. all were resealed. Yay!

Back to Autozone, to get the PS pump, Hydroboost hose, Pulley remover, and new drive belts.

Looks good.
Duralast #31-225.



Comparing old to reman unit.



Here is the only difference...
The mounting stud on my old unit is a different place to the one on the reman unit. A simple swap.



The PS pressure hose that arrived today looks good too!

[PeterH-350LE]

Looks like that pulley slipped right off

[dadstoy]

Steve, when I replaced my pump a few years back, I bypassed the "Autozones" and got the parts at the independent parts house that I have used for most of the MH running gear parts. Every replacement part was an exact match. There is only the one high pressure hose and the rest is low pressure hydraulic hose. For better or worse, I also installed a filter in the low pressure return line to the pump.

I know that you know this will be the case, but when I replaced the pump and started the engine, it took a bit of time to work the air out of the system. It took so long in fact that I thought the replacement pump was bad, then all of a sudden I had steering!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gunner

For those with the air compressor gauge located at the dash, is there an air line from the compressor to the gauge or is there a another method to transmit the air pressure to the gauge?

FYI, here's what the air pressure transducer looks like. Unfortunately it has NO part numbers or identifying information on it.

[Keyair]

Nice..... lack of info Brad...
I guess I will be running 1/4 airline for 30'!

Today update...

PS pump was all ready to go on.



Over to the MH, I went, picking up 4' of 3/8 PS return hose on the way.
I have enough to plumb the PS filter in later!

Removed the original PS Pump to Hydroboost hose, and it was good.



Installed the new pump, hoses.
5 word sentence for 3 hours of hard graft!

Installed new belts... the only one that was good was:
Crank-PS-WP...
Crank-PS-WP-AC, was too long...
Crank-WP-Alt-AP was too short... but more than that, the Air Pump pulley did not line up with the other 2. No idea why... back to the drawing board on getting that right! Maybe the pulley or brackets... or eveything! Ugh.

Anyway, put the original belts back on, and buttoned it all up.
Had the front on stands, so filled the PS reservoir, and turned the steering back and forth, and pushed the brakes, and after a while the whining and grumbling stopped, and I have brakes and steering!

It was dark when I finished... No leaks(so far), and I was able to drive the MH back and forth under its own power!

Tomorrow, I will wrap a few items up and go for a testdrive!

[gunner]

Originally Posted by bkahler

FYI, here's what the air pressure transducer looks like. Unfortunately it has NO part numbers or identifying information on it.
Attachment 254484

Where is the transducer located; between the tank and airbags or compressor and tank?

[bkahler]

Steve, here's a right up I did for the v-belts on my old 84 310. I went through several different iterations of belts before I finally settled on the right combination.

Hopefully this might help you a little:

---------------

Rear means to rear of coach
Front means towards radiator
WP = water pump
PS = power steering

Get the first two belts in place and lined up with appropriate grooves before any tensioning. Then tension the PS pump first, then the A/C pump and then install the alternator belt and tension it.

Order of installation:



Gates 7410 (41-5/8" long)
1st belt - PS to Crank
Rear groove of PS pump pulley to rear groove of crank pulley.
Tension PS using 1/2" ratchet connected to top bracket of power steering pump.


There is one tension bolt on the top of the PS bracket that uses a 3/4" wrench.
There are two pivot bolts on the bottom side of the PS pump. The wrench size is 15mm. They will need to be loosened before removing the belts and tightened after the belt has been tensioned.

Gates 7585 (59-1/8" long)
2nd belt - A/C to PS to Crank to WP
Rear groove of A/C pump to rear groove of WP pulley to middle groove of crank pulley.
Tension after step 1 (PS pump) has been tensioned, Tension using A/C pump adjuster.
Note that the A/C pump has two grooves. The front groove (closest to radiator) is not used.

Gates 7495 (50-1/8" long)
3rd belt - Alt to WP to Smog pump to Crank
Front groove of WP pulley to front groove of Crank to single groove of Smog pump to single groove of Alternator pulley.
There is one bolt that uses 1/2" wrench at the top of the alternator bracket that will need to be loosened and one pivot bolt on the bottom side of the alternator that is a 9/16" wrench size that will need to be loosened. The lower alternator bolt is accessible from inside right front wheel well. Be careful not to loosen bolts on smog pump which is right below alternator.
Tension by using a pry bar on the Alternator. Tighten the top bolt first and then the lower pivot bolt.
Beware of lower part of smog pump bracket. Before tensioning, the belt can get blow this bracket and then when you tension the belt it will be caught. The belt will then squeal badly. Not safe to drive with the belt caught light that.


Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gunner

Where is the transducer located; between the tank and airbags or compressor and tank?

It was located close to the compressor under the bed. The is a 345 with an east west bed and the compressor was located in the right rear are.

[Keyair]

Thanks for the info Brad.
I will compare what I have to what you used. Who the hell knows what mods have been done!
I was puzzled by the 2 grooves on the AC compressor, and I think I had it in the front groove, so just as well it was too long!

I was saying to Peter, that my Smog/Air pump is a puzzler. I took that pump from a '85 454 powered suburban at the Junkyard that must have been a Federal smog unit because all the CA smog 454's were electrically triggered by then. I took everything. The pulley is offset forward by maybe 1/2" compared to the crank and alternator pulley. I had not been able to fit the pulley before because the belt was in the way. The pulley is offset to the pump side, but reversing it would make it worse. Will try to find another pulley.

[bkahler]

Steve,

I wasn't able to correctly sort out the belt order on the 310 after all the belts broke while on a trip until several years later when I was fitting the belts to my Argosy motor. It was at that point I realized why things weren't lining up correctly on the 310. I made the changes and all was good on the 310 after that.

Keep in mind I have a couple of smog pumps with pulleys.

Brad

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by bkahler

FYI, here's what the air pressure transducer looks like. Unfortunately it has NO part numbers or identifying information on it.
Attachment 254484

Here is a VDO site with pressure senders but it's all greek to me other than 150PSI would cover my compressors output and 1/4" NPT would match my lines but what is a floating ground....dual floating ground, warning points and all the other gobbledygook specs?

Pressure Sensors & Switches | Sensors | VDO Instruments and Accessories

Pressure Sender 150 PSI 1/4-18NPT 29/20 | Pressure Sensors & Switches | Sensors | VDO Instruments and Accessories

Maybe someone should start a whole new thread on gauges, electric or cable, sending units and pressure senders for our rigs.

Cheers
Tony

[Keyair]

We have the "Extra Gauges" thread over in the Mech section... I guess that's appropriate.

[Keyair]

Happy Holidays everyone!

Finally had time to post my update from yesterday.
PS pump looks good, and not see any leaks, which will be the first time since I owned her!

Installed the Innovate Fuel/Air meter and calibrated it.
Temporarily installed it where the inside/Outside temp gauge was...


It is telling me that I am way fat or rich at idle at between 13/ and 11/1 and it drops to 10/1 or 9/1 at 2000rpm no load.
It should be 14/1 or 15/1 at idle and similar at a light throttle.

Research tells me that it maybe the fuel pressure too high(which is), So I will reset that tomorrow. Or failing that, it might be the float level is set too high, or the power valve sticking or leaking. Having dropped a screw into an intake before(retrieved!), I will pull the carb off to check the latter!

[Keyair]

Did some reading and online diagnosis for my Quadrajet...
I am more educated now... maybe...

Armed with my new knowledge, it was an interesting day yesterday.
Double checked my Fuel Pressure.
My Injection pressure tester is way to high, and its first increment is 5psi.
With the rear electric pump on, it was reading closer to 10, so lets call it 8/9psi.
With the pump off, it was maybe 2psi.
Way to high... they suggest 4.5psi for a quadrajet.
Installed my Holley FPR and gauge, which reads to 10psi.
The gauge it seems, is DOA, and will have to be returned, so I set my FPR at just under 5psi.


I instantly noticed my A/F ratio come up from 12/1 to 18/1 and the engine stalled out. I had reset the idle mixture screws almost all the way in to try to lean out the mixture before. I reset them to 2 turns out from seated, and the engine restarted fine. Some minor adjustments had is reading 14/1 which is ok, but the engine was still not sounding great and had a high speed vibration and was hunting.
It was better for sure, but not right. I checked my choke was off, and held a steady 2000rpm, and I was still 11/1 A/F.
Then I noticed a slight weep of fuel around the accelerator pump.
I had just read that this is a sure sign the float setting to too high. This results in the fuel level being to high and "Spilling" out through the jets and bleeds rather than being pulled by vacuum.
Pulled the carb off the manifold and brought it home.

On the bench, I took off the hat, and had a quick look at the float level...
Cant check the level, and photgraph, so float is black thing in the middle.


It should be 3/8 down from the top of the casting... and mine was not.
My fault, but I hope this will make it right.

[wxbuoy]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Nice..... lack of info Brad...
I guess I will be running 1/4 airline for 30'!

What about tapping into the airline that is under the drivers side panel forward that goes up to the air horns? This way you can pipe in a valve to secure it if your air horn diaphragms ever get stuck!! That's what I plan on doing since I need to replace the solenoid that opens and closes when the steering wheel horn section is depressed...

[wxbuoy]

Lots of great work! I need more time to absorb it all!!

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

What about tapping into the airline that is under the drivers side panel forward that goes up to the air horns? This way you can pipe in a valve to secure it if your air horn diaphragms ever get stuck!! That's what I plan on doing since I need to replace the solenoid that opens and closes when the steering wheel horn section is depressed...

I dont have airhorns....

[Keyair]

Pushing hard to wrap up the last few details before I hit the road for the storage swap.
Doghouse redo with MLV underway.


Checked the float level... way off... no idea what I was thinking!
Done, at 3/8" or 9.5mm.


That reset, I buttoned up the carb and refitted it.
Rechecked the fuel pressure, and its about 5psi.
Started and ran better, but something is still not right.
I can get 14/1 Air/Fuel now, but at 2000rpm its still too rich at 12/1. Also i cant get it to idle at less than 1000rpm.
Better a touch to rich than too lean!
Good enough to move.

That wrapped up, I fixed the headlights(ground wire was loose).

Then got up and fitted my new LED Clearances.
Looking great!