PART 2 1982 Airstream Turbo Diesel 33,000 original miles
So an update on my journey! The MH was placed in a shop in Tyler Tx for 2 months while the shop owner could not figure out why the brakes self applied They replaced the Hydro boost and no change they finally went through the brake lines and found a partially crimped hose they fixed that same problem... It seems the PO had put a new master cylinder on shortly before I purchased the MH and it had not been shimmed properly... So if you have a classic MH The Brake master cylinder has no adjustment and has to be shimmed to the Hydro Boost to draw the brake fluid back and not activate the brakes while driving!
So finally out of the shop the MH liked to wander the road and had a bouncy ride so new shocks were put on (Monroe's) that helped the ride considerably however the MH still loves to wander at speed with any sort of side wind... Pretty Scary actually so I am looking into Steer Safe as a solution the MH has a steering stabilizer as well which needs to be replaced as well.....
One big issue is it makes a noise almost a timed roar vibration once it reaches 62 -63 miles an hr
I have checked the bearings and been told they are fine so I don't know what it is... ?? any Ideas??
The front door which was perfect suddenly decided to sag the top bolts came loose which if you have had problems with can not be pulled out or fixed without surgery on the door frame.... that will be a project shortly... The door closes well as long as you lift a bit..
the Generator which only had 800 hrs went on the fritz and a few mechanics got their hands on it and made it worse till someone decided to change the points and now it runs like a top!
I have trunk lights that don't work.. Got to find which wire is which
the walkway lights suffer the same
and I don't know what the auxiliary lights are supposed to do but they don't work either.
I have a spotlight and it just goes towards the sky I think the switch is half dead........
The engine is great However Airstream thinks you can get Isuzu parts at Chevy dealers and Isuzu is a nightmare when you tell them what engine you have in what. They start laughing.... Come to find out the 6db1a Turbo Diesel had over 50 applications from 73 to 92 and they were all industrial..
I need a service manual for the diesel and the turbo gauge quit working as well.....
Aside from that I have a lot of updating to do however I am including Pics...
Also I do have a few dents and if anyone can point me in the right direction to fix those I would greatly appreciate it
Well I am on the road 1600 slow miles to Vegas from east TX I am dreaming of Steer safe and Gear vendors ...........
Just an aside this MH is going to be put into full time service currently it now has about 34,000 original miles the pics are all of the original interior and carpet........
Justin James
PART 1
Lets see, well today I drove in to Tyler TX met the future PO's at the bank and transfered funds to purchase a 1982 Airstream 280 turbo diesel we went over the details one last time.. The PO promising me that the motor and transmission were in good shape...... well I threw everyone in she started like a top and we took our madien voyage to the Gas station to quickly part with another 200 dollars for Gas it was a 1/4 mile, She drove perfectly so we were going to head south some 90 mile to get the hitch upgraded and clean her up before I took her to vegas.... Well that did not happen 3/4 of a mile down the road the front brakes locked up stranding us on the far side of an intersection. the engine overheated and antifreeze blew everywhere..... Lets just say I was not happy.... I called the PO up... A little bit upset and he came out and helped
Seems there was air in the brakes... Oh and about that time the Speedo quit and of course the transmission started randomly shifting into Neutral... and something happend to the linkage for the Accelerator because it does not fullly work....
Oh who knows what else....
So I was very tempted to hand him any and all paperwork and cancel our deal and I kept looking at the MH and knew how badly she needed a new home where she would get used... So we struck a deal I would pay half of the needed repairs I.E. engine, tranny up to 1200.00 and so tonight she is at a transmission shop.......
So a tad bit random however..... thats the story so I need some help
this is a 1982 280 turbo Diesel
I have the owners manuals service as well... they tell me nothing at the moment that I need to know
1. any info regarding the Izuzsu Deisel motor and Turbo
2. what Tranny is actually supposed to be on these? the GM 475 or 350
3. if the tranny needs to be replaced is there a better one to be had?
4. The brakes for this monster are from what?? What are the part ##'s
5. Has anyone put a banks or other aftermarket system one one of these diesels to improve performance?
ok those are the basics LOL
Oh and thank you Chaplin Kent you have been a help!
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