Community Forums

sheridany · 02-07-2019, 05:00 PM

i am having my 12 month freightliner service done at a FL center that has an RV division. They found something today as it was conveyed to me over the phone that there are 4 brackets that are connected to or on the rear drive axle and they mentioned "vride" and two of them had fallen off. This is as much as I got.

I asked how significant was this finding and they said not enough to cause any real damage or an accident.

Can you one of you experts break this down for me exactly what this is and if it is significant or not. I am not an advanced mechanical person so forgive me for my lack of knowledge.

I have never noticed anything while driving it so I can only think it was a matter of time before something might have happened.

Thanks in advance for your help.

C.Martin · 02-08-2019, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheridany

i am having my 12 month freightliner service done at a FL center that has an RV division. They found something today as it was conveyed to me over the phone that there are 4 brackets that are connected to or on the rear drive axle and they mentioned "vride" and two of them had fallen off. This is as much as I got.

I asked how significant was this finding and they said not enough to cause any real damage or an accident.

Can you one of you experts break this down for me exactly what this is and if it is significant or not. I am not an advanced mechanical person so forgive me for my lack of knowledge.

I have never noticed anything while driving it so I can only think it was a matter of time before something might have happened.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm not sure I could identify what they are talking about from your description.

First, the Chassis is covered for three years...so they'll fix this at no charge unless the damage/loss was caused by a "road hazard"...

Second, your Freightliner Chassis is well documented. They have access to secure.freightliner.com website. There is a section called PartsPro. Ask them if they can't send you a screenshot highlighting the brackets that are missing. It will show a drawing on the left...and the component parts number listing on the right. I'm sure we would all like to see where these four brackets are to see if we need to inspect them... They should have the part numbers on the invoice after they fix the chassis as well. I'm sure we would all like to check. Seems weird for a relatively young chassis to have parts fall off already.

A lot of us do our own service work...and would have no idea what brackets they are talking about. We simply change filters, fluids, grease zerks, clean, and check condition and torque settings on a few items. I wouldn't know a missing bracket, unless it was still dangling loose from the frame.

Wish I could be of more help; but it seems you may be the one helping us --- by sharing this information. Thank you!

Chief Alen · 02-08-2019, 04:55 AM

Very, very interested in this thread having the same coach as the o.p year younger.

At Gaffney last October they found my trans cooler leaking they swapped it out.

lostinfla · 02-08-2019, 05:16 AM

While at Freightliner Gaffney 2 years ago year, I mentioned that I had a clunk when changing direction at slow speed like in a parking lot. I'd have sworn it was coming from the front end. They found it was one of the V ride brackets that are connected to the top of the differential was loose. They repaired it and the noise went away. If you check the Freightliner site, you can see a drawing of the system and how it's connected. I would pull it up and ask the mechanic just exactly which links "fell off". All these parts control the location of the rear axle, so I would think if something "fell off", you would know it immediately.

lostinfla · 02-08-2019, 05:20 AM

sheridany · 02-08-2019, 09:41 AM

I went to FL this morning and spoke with the tech. The part in question is below and apparently the bolts can loose and in turn stripped the threads. FL warranty said tap the threads. The FL shop advocated for something better. At this point they sent the part below but there is a discussion about “upgrading” to the newer vride. The tech indicated that path is a significant endeavor and might not make the most sense.

ptw · 02-08-2019, 09:45 AM

Here is a picture of the V-Ride suspension from the Camp Freightliner Student Manual.

sheridany · 02-08-2019, 11:44 AM

The part in the picture is called the "v-rod assembly bracket" part number A16-20375-000. in researching further, I am not able to figure out where it goes from the schematic but I am thinking this is one of the four brackets that possibly holds the vride system in place. It's hard to tell. The tech did say once all the brackets were failed if it were to happen, the rear drive train would have play in it and not be driveable.

C.Martin · 02-08-2019, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheridany

The part in the picture is called the "v-rod assembly bracket" part number A16-20375-000. in researching further, I am not able to figure out where it goes from the schematic but I am thinking this is one of the four brackets that possibly holds the vride system in place. It's hard to tell. The tech did say once all the brackets were failed if it were to happen, the rear drive train would have play in it and not be driveable.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

Attached is the screenshot from PartsPro...for my V-Ride chassis... Includes the same part.

I hope the illustration makes it easier to see where the part is.

Funny...while I was touring the FCCC assembly line last year...a Winnebago owner was remarking that the same part on his chassis hadn’t been torqued properly during assembly and he had a loud pop and jolt when starting off. Guess the pumpkin was rolling all around back there.

Again...I cannot over emphasize how appreciative I am for you taking the time to share this with us. Thank You!

lostinfla · 02-08-2019, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheridany

I went to FL this morning and spoke with the tech. The part in question is below and apparently the bolts can loose and in turn stripped the threads. FL warranty said tap the threads. The FL shop advocated for something better. At this point they sent the part below but there is a discussion about “upgrading” to the newer vride. The tech indicated that path is a significant endeavor and might not make the most sense.

When the factory fixed my "clunk" they also upgraded the system by installing a new U shaped cradle that supports the rear axle. I couldn't tell the difference visually.

sheridany · 02-08-2019, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.Martin

Thanks for keeping us updated.

Attached is the screenshot from PartsPro...for my V-Ride chassis... Includes the same part.

I hope the illustration makes it easier to see where the part is.

Funny...while I was touring the FCCC assembly line last year...a Winnebago owner was remarking that the same part on his chassis hadn’t been torqued properly during assembly and he had a loud pop and jolt when starting off. Guess the pumpkin was rolling all around back there.

Again...I cannot over emphasize how appreciative I am for you taking the time to share this with us. Thank You!

This is excellent. Thank you! Also, thanks to everyone who assisted in this thread. I am waiting to hear what the course of action is they are going to take. I will know early Monday and will post an update when I know more.