Need advice: Argosy Motorhome needs motor?

[lost.again]

My 1974 24’ Argosy Motorhome may need a new motor and transmission. It’s been broken down along the road for over a month. During that time it’s had a lower radiator hose, 2 alternator belts, a thermostat, fuel line repair, and head gasket. Now it’s eating oil and I’ve been told the O rings are bad, so a new motor is needed. I already knew a transmission was on the horizon. I’m in Eureka, Ca area, with not a lot of mechanics capable of doing the work- and I’m not even sure if its worth it to do. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Also, is a crate motor a rebuilt motor now? Merits of that vs a regular rebuilt?

[uraljohn]

Your a perfect situation for the install of a "Jasper Engine and Transmission". Jasper is a high quality remanufacturer of engines and transmissions. Located in Jasper, Indiana they are available nationally. Contact them and they will direct you to the closest authorized installer. I have used several of these throughout the years and have been very well satisfied. Great warranty but I never had to use it. Question is how much $$$$$ do you want to spend? Quality is not cheap. Having to do the job twice because of inferior product is even more expensive. Your looking at a substantial investment to "Do It Right".

[bkahler]

You'll get lots of advice on engines and transmissions so I won't say much along those lines. Since your's is a 74 you'll find removing the motor is going to be a challenge. There are two ways to do it, one is out the front and the other is out the bottom.

Pulling from the front is the typical approach and unfortunately in the case of 74-76 Argosies also the most difficult. The entire plastic front grill will need to be removed and it's held in with rivets, LOTs of rivets. Once you get the front grille remove there will be an aluminum structural cross member that you'll need to cut out as well.

Next comes the radiator, transmission cooler, and AC condenser. After that it's just a matter of unhooking all of the misc items and pulling the motor. There are several threads on how to pull a motor out the front for you to review as well.

The other option os to remove the motor from the bottom. This entails remvoing the entire front suspension so whoever does the work will need a lift that allows them to remove the front suspension. In many ways this will likely be the easiest approach although it may not seem like it at first. In my thread I show the whole front suspension being removed and re-installed. However I did not remove the engine out the bottom, mine came out and back in through the front. The transmission is dropped out the bottom.

The 24' Argosy chassis may be different than the 20' Argosy chassis but you may find removing the rear transmission mount to be a challenge. The bolts that hold it in place are not accessible due to the floor structure sitting right on top of the bolts. A good automotive shop should be able to deal with the problem but it is a pain if nothing else.

Regardless of which method you choose you'll find it's going to be a chore and probably a fairly expensive one at that.

Good luck.

Brad

[stoliolio]

Check out classified for '78 Argosy 24 gutted by fire Underpins are good.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by bkahler

. . .
. . . you'll find removing the motor is going to be a challenge. There are two ways to do it, one is out the front and the other is out the bottom.
. . .
Brad

Thank you for your expert advice . . . all over the place . . . invaluable IMO.

Peter

[lost.again]

Thank you for your response. I finally found a repair shop in Eureka who said they could do the work, and there did propose a Jasper engine and transmission. Unfortunately, the price of the engine, tranny, and radiator was quoted to start at $17,500 lowest and more probably in the $22M to $25M range. It’s not feasible to me. I’m going to sell it and hope to find someone who is capable of doing the work themselves or wanting to part it out.

[lost.again]

Thanks for responding to my post. I’ve been working up in the California Redwoods with no internet for the last month, so I’m slow to respond. I finally got a quote for the work. It was from $17,500 to $25M.... which laid me low immediately.

I actually had the owner read your post to get an idea of how to go about it. As he read, he got paler and paler... i think he doubled the price in his mind. Haha. But I’d rather have reality up front rather than in the middle of the job. You did a kindness for me there. Thank you.

[lost.again]

So the general option among mechanics seems to be: its a tough job and I don’t want to do it! Maybe an argosy trailer instead of a motorhome!

Thanks for your comment!

[Goin camping]

I think you should get more quotes.

Check out GM crate motors. New factory engines with warranties.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by lost.again

So the general option among mechanics seems to be: its a tough job and I don’t want to do it! Maybe an argosy trailer instead of a motorhome!

Thanks for your comment!

You will find this is a general theme if you go the motorhome route.

Yes they are built of a standard platform, yes the majority of the parts are readily available and common with other light trucks, but the addition of the motorhome structure and electrics in general massively impacts. This ranges from simply being in the way (the motorhome body was not designed to facility access to engine/cooling/brakes/etc/etc and the floor/frame laid over the chassis preventing access to things like crossmember/mounting bolts) through to chassis components being modified/different versions for the specific application.

This means commercial shops see working on these units as being 1) more time consuming, 2) more complicated, and simply 1) + 2) means it doesn't fit a rapid in/out commercial operation.

In general if it takes 2 or 3 times longer it will cost 2 or 3 times more and commercial shops don't see this as viable - you are just occupying their bay when they could be working on something else.