Interstate Maintenance & Upkeep

[73shark]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

Nail polish remover takes POR15 off your skin.



Maggie

Good to know. I tried lacquer thinner to no avail.

[Lily&Me]

I had Peterbilt take off the plastic grate-thing, riveted on at the base where the rear doors close, because I wanted to be sure there was no rust developing under there.

There is rust developing under there.....a space a bit crusted with dirt, grime, dog hair and 4 dead stinkbugs. Once cleaned with Marine-Clean, you can see numerous small spots of rust, where moisture imbedded in the crud wore thru the paint.

Have cleaned it, will prep and paint the entire area with silver POR-15.

Ours is 8 years old, and we have had it for 7 years. It has seen well more than the usual travel. This grate-thing has never been removed, so, in retrospect, perhaps should have been an annual part of cleaning and maintaining.

Would probably be good to take a look underneath periodically, and clean it good, to see what if anything is going on where you can't see.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

And so, I cleaned, pretreated and coated the entire area under the rear grate with silver POR 15. That should stop it.

I had thought the grate attached with the rivets I saw, but found when going to put it back that the little square, peg-type things the guy at Peterbilt had laid out actually are what hold it on.

Looks like they would pop out with a screwdriver. I laid the grate back in place and snapped the little pegs in. Voila! This is something I can, and will, do myself.

Clean is good.

Maggie

[bennu36]

Also something that is commonly done in race cars. The less you have to think about at 150++ mph the better

[bennu36]

have been considering getting the scan gage but was afraid it would just scare me. but I might do it anyway, any one using one of these ?

[Boxster1971]

I've had my Scan Gauge installed for about 6 months. Lots of discussion over on Sprinter Forum about pros and cons. So far I like it and find it useful. I keep four gauges up on screen. LOD, a measure of engine loading; Fuel Flow; Voltage and Coolant Temperature.

But then I like lots of info on my ride as you can see in this photo -- too many years in an airplane cockpit.

[bennu36]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

I've had my Scan Gauge installed for about 6 months. Lots of discussion over on Sprinter Forum about pros and cons. So far I like it and find it useful. I keep four gauges up on screen. LOD, a measure of engine loading; Fuel Flow; Voltage and Coolant Temperature.

But then I like lots of info on my ride as you can see in this photo -- too many years in an airplane cockpit.

My fear is that because I really dont know the cause and effect of most of the read outs I would be in a constant state of near panic. But I suppose I should get one and just run with it a while to see what "normal" is then go from there

[73shark]

I've got one but haven't got around to installing it yet. I want to try to mount it on the underside of the hood over the speedo and tach. Plan to cut a block to match the curvature and use some industrial strength Velcro leftover from my HT 110" screen project.

Some of the guys on the Sprinter forum use it to keep the engine load in the sweet spot by downshifting when necessary.

[PSchw]

I got my second on the first was just to big now I am thinking to use a Bluetooth on with the IPhone.
Love is alway good to know what's going on under the hood. Engine load and oil temp as well as transmission temp is what I keep a close look on.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by PSchw

I got my second on the first was just to big now I am thinking to use a Bluetooth on with the IPhone.
Love is alway good to know what's going on under the hood. Engine load and oil temp as well as transmission temp is what I keep a close look on.

What device are you using to get oil and transmission temps? I don't think the Scan Gauge will give me those parameters.

[PSchw]

I post picture tomorrow nor sure who made it but it was a cheap one and has a lot if different pages you can select.

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

What device are you using to get oil and transmission temps? I don't think the Scan Gauge will give me those parameters.

My User Manual says it can measure tranny temp. but some vehicles either can't or you have to do special programming. No mention of oil temp.

[Sebtown]

I have a Scanguage2 on my T1N and it does not read oil or tranny temps. I monitor LOD, RPM, MAP and volts or gph. I think I have improve mpg keeping the LOD below 75% even when it requires higher rpm's.

[PSchw]

Sorry forgot about it. Here it is at least what saw as engine and transmission temp.

[Lily&Me]

To me, guys, this is too much information.

I understand the draw some have to gadgets, but is this kind of thing really necessary to take with you on the road?

We have good engines in these rigs which, if well maintained, should serve us well. Ours is approaching 149,000 miles, and has never given any trouble. It is carefully and religiously serviced.

It's just getting good and broken in, from what we have always been told. If they were fragile and required intense monitoring, we wouldn't buy them. Would we? No, we wouldn't. Why monitor intensely, then?

I wouldn't want to be focused on all of these little readouts, as it would seriously detract from the enjoyment of being out in the Interstate.

There's fun to be had, a country to explore and people to meet! Get out there and enjoy yourself!


Maggie

[PSchw]

Maggie for some of us this is a additional toy and a toy needs gadgets but we still do everything you said. It's for the boring time driving a long stretch highway.

[Lily&Me]

Aaah.

As long as it doesn't stress you out.



Maggie

[PSchw]

No it just adds to the fun.

[Sebtown]

For me the additional information allows me to relax even more and enjoy the trip. I will have to read up on the Ultraguage as I like the prospect of knowing tranny and oil temperatures too. I may get so relaxed I will have to ask the navigator to drive!

[bugsbunny]

It is all about the data and puzzles!