Dad's Toy

[dadstoy]

I pulled the carb today and took it apart. I found a couple of problems, made the fixes and reinstalled the carb. Runs good as usual just hope it passes smog this time.


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[dadstoy]

We are planning our next trip...to Yosemite!

[Keyair]

Dean, your MH looks better and better every time you post a pic.... you should be proud!

Did you find the oil leak on the genset?
Is it a Kohler?

Good luck with the Smog... dreading my day in front of the Test man...

[Isuzusweet]

Beautiful rig Dean! Just one question....Is the exterior original? Mine doesn't have the burgundy pin stripes yours has or the grey paint work around the windows. Were they an option I wonder?

Just curious, as we in Ontario Canada (not Ontario California) had smog testing instituted in the mid 90's. Originally if the car was older than 20 years, it became exempt from e testing. The government has now done away with that exemption, so all cars post 1987 need to be tested for life. If you have a heavy duty diesel it needs to be electronically tested every year, for light duty diesels the e tester just looks at the exhaust for smog.

Does California have an eventual exemption time limit on smog testing?

Cheers
Tony

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Dean, your MH looks better and better every time you post a pic.... you should be proud!

Did you find the oil leak on the genset?
Is it a Kohler?

Good luck with the Smog... dreading my day in front of the Test man...

Hi Steve and thanks!

There is not much more I can do on the interior, but wish I could get the exterior in better shape. I would like to strip the roof and paint it with some white reflective paint. With the water shortage up north, I can't use any water to strip and clean the roof.

The genset is an Onan. I believe the oil leak came from a loose oil cap.

I finally passed the emissions test with flying colors. It was running rich (high CO) at 2500 rpm's. I pulled the Q-Jet apart and saw one of the primary metering rods was bent as well as the metering rod hanger. Since I'm the one that rebuilt the carb a year ago, it was me that bent the rod when I put the top back on. It ran good this last year, but of course it was running rich. I straightened out the hanger and the rod and I was very careful this time around in putting it back together. The test mechanic said he has rarely seen a 454 run so clean! That was good news because it also means that it's not burning too much oil!

Even though I like breathing clean air here in calif, getting this thing smogged is a pain! It took three trips into town which is $50 in gas each time! Second trip it passed, but the shop could not get the computer to accept the MH. The computer kept saying that the MH required an enhanced test which would have been correct if I registered it in the Bay Area. But the MH is registered up north at the ranch property and all worked two weeks earlier with the DMV computer. We thought it was some sort of address mixup all of a sudden, which of course wasn't making sense. I concluded that since it failed the smog two weeks earlier, it got flagged in the system as now requiring an enhanced test. So third trip into town was to go to a STAR rated smog station.

The enhanced test requires a dyno test, but large vehicles are exempt from that. Only other difference is a bit more visual inspection of the carb and vacuum hoses and of course an $80 fee instead of a $40 fee...someone is getting rich!

I really wish I could put a different carb on the MH, but no one makes a Q-Jet replacement and no other carb is legal in Calif. I have a pretty good understanding of the Q-Jet and if it is properly setup, it does work just fine.


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[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Beautiful rig Dean! Just one question....Is the exterior original? Mine doesn't have the burgundy pin stripes yours has or the grey paint work around the windows. Were they an option I wonder?

Just curious, as we in Ontario Canada (not Ontario California) had smog testing instituted in the mid 90's. Originally if the car was older than 20 years, it became exempt from e testing. The government has now done away with that exemption, so all cars post 1987 need to be tested for life. If you have a heavy duty diesel it needs to be electronically tested every year, for light duty diesels the e tester just looks at the exhaust for smog.

Does California have an eventual exemption time limit on smog testing?

Cheers
Tony

Thank you Tony!

The exterior is not the original. My MH is an '82 and it originally had the wood grain stripe. My dad had it redone with the '92-94 paint scheme. He loved telling folks the MH was a '92. I really like the '92 scheme myself. The attached pic was probably taken in the late '80s and that was my mother.

Calif used to have a rolling 20 year program meaning anything older than 20 years (or maybe 25) was exempt. The state did away with that some years back and know all vehicles newer than about '74 require smog checks, except for diesel vehicles older than something like '96(?). So yup, every two years, I have to have the MH smogged. As of a couple years ago, all smog stations in enhanced areas have to have a dyno as well.

So it means I have to keep all the emissions equipment on the MH and in good shape! My MH is the federal model so that really only means the air pump and the Q-Jet carb.


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[Keyair]

Sorry to hear you went thru that silliness Dean.

I think I can answer the smog cutoff issue in detail because I researched it...

Up until model year 1974, there were requirements for emissions, but no Catalytic Converter was required.
In 1975 for passenger vehicles and light trucks they were required to have them, as well as a raft of other emissions equipment .
As a result, the rolling 25 year exemption stopped for vehicles from 1975 onward. It kinda makes sense to me... even tho I don't like it.

It is my understanding, that in CA you could take, say the emissions equipment from a 1990 Suburban, TBI fuel injection system, electronics, fuel evaporation system, and exhaust system as far as the catalytic converter, and bolt it to the MH... it would be inspected and approved by a Smog Referee, and once approved, it will be tested as a 1990 model year.

I think you are correct on the Diesel cutoff year Dean, no smog required. If you put say a 2005 Cummins 24v Diesel in it the smog test would reflect the running gear smog test... if that makes sense..

There is a good reason why I have 5 smog exempt vehicles!
Two from 1973, two from 1974, and a 1984 diesel Mercedes!

[dadstoy]

I'm outfitting the MH for our 20 year anniversary which we will be spending in Yosemite...


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[Vycan]

Pretty!

[cwf]

Very Nyce.. I have been watching, admiring... well done... well done...

Oh.. and nice work on the AS too!

[Isuzusweet]

As Red Green says....."If they don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy".

Very sweet job Dean. Congrats on 20 years. My 20th is next year and I'm hoping for a cross country tour.

Cheers
Tony

[wxbuoy]

Are your design service available for hire? Spectacular! The glass of shiraz makes it.


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[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Vycan

Pretty!

Thanks Vycan!


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[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by cwf

Very Nyce.. I have been watching, admiring... well done... well done...

Oh.. and nice work on the AS too!

Thanks for watching and admiring cwf!


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[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

As Red Green says....."If they don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy".

Very sweet job Dean. Congrats on 20 years. My 20th is next year and I'm hoping for a cross country tour.

Cheers
Tony

I guess I'm lucky...handsome and handy! LOL

Thanks Tony


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[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

Are your design service available for hire? Spectacular! The glass of shiraz makes it.


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Thanks. And thanks for not calling out my "cheap" bottle of Shiraz! LOL! The "two buck chuck" brands are all I can afford after owning an Airstream! I'm itching to do another Airstream motorhome project...I want to see if I'm more then just a one hit wonder!

Can't wait to see what you are going to do with your MH!



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[cwf]

I think I can do some of what you did... and realize there are things I just can't do anymore... Might as well go camping... =)

But, if the 'fever' ever bites, it will take lots of stitches and therapy..

[dadstoy]

Well, here is some of my progress today...

MH has a driveshaft vibration at about 65mph. Not to bothersome since I usually drive between 55-60. I dropped the rear driveshaft section this morning to check the U Joints and the center bearing. All the U Joints feel good. Center bearing also feels good. I couldn't actually pull the rear driveshaft however. I can pull the slip joint out only about an inch and it won't come any further. Anyone know what the deal is here?

The only thing is see or feel is about a 16th of an inch movement in the parking brake hub/trans yoke. I'm wondering if that is enough to cause the vibration at 65mph? I will have to remove the parking brake at some point since I have a leak at the rear tranny seal.

When I drove into town a couple weeks back for the smog check, I noticed a slight brake noise under about 5-10 mph, so I took a look at the brake rotors and pads. Both sides of all rotors look good. It is almost impossible to see the pads, but I can see the pads a bit on the front...they look new! Only a few thousand miles since brake job! Crossing this one off the list.

I took the little portable BBQ out of the outside bin, disassembled and cleaned it. Fired it up to test. I know we can know BBQ the ween's and steak dinners!

I built my third gen-turi today. First one was with leftover 4" pipe. After Burning Man last year, I tossed out a lot of crap..just no place to store it all. The 4" gen-turi went to the dump as well. For Burning Man this year, I made a 2" gen-turi, it worked but I really felt a 3" was the way to go. I'll test it tomorrow. I really do need a gen-turi. I can't run the Onan genset for more then 10 minutes without exhaust setting off the CO detectors. Oh, I lined the bottom six inches with a piece of sheet metal I had sitting around. My 2" deformed a bit from the exhaust heat!

I put together one of those cargo carriers for the rear hitch. I know but please don't judge me too harshly! LOL I think it is going to be a bit better to not carry my portable generator and gas inside the MH this trip!

I also put a new carpet on the outside step. It amazes me how quickly I go through those.

I still have a long list of to-do's, but they are mostly small items.

In stead of posting this, I should be watching my home town team kick ass at the World Series...that would be the Giants of course! But, I find watching baseball on TV just isn't my thing and besides its just so much more enjoyable sitting in the captain's chair of the MH with a cocktail in hand and listening to Carole King on the stereo!



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[dadstoy]

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[cwf]

The top photo.. is that a pillar block.??.. i wonder if that bearing is going..?