American Coach: Projects on my 1997 American Dream

[GlennLever]

Originally Posted by ronspradley

That does make sense. Now where on the engine is this puppy hidden?

ronspradley

Configurations very, on my 325 Cummins it is located in the housing that the oil filter is screwed into, on the drivers side.

This is located just below the turbo.

If you follow the oil line from the turbo it will lead you right to it.

[GlennLever]

So...I have a race this weekend so I wanted to get a jump on putting the refrigerator back together.

Here is the burner and igniter as they were removed.



I took everything apart and soaked the pieces in alcohol, good thing I have a blown mechanically injected alcohol burning front engine dragster.



I examined the orifice carefully for obstructions. Do not try and pock something through the hole in the nozzle, look carefully at this photo there is a clear (maybe mica) washer in the end of the nozzle)



There is a very small hole in that washer.

If you look at the nozzle from the other end against a light the hole looks quite large, it is temping to try and find something that size and clean the inside of the nozzle, DON'T DO IT



So after soaking everything, I used a scotch bright pad to go over all the pieces and reassembled the burner. By that way this dumb thing is put together with metric nuts and bolts.



I cleaned the end of the igniter with some emery paper and adjusted the igniter gap to 3/16 of an inch.



I ran a vacuum cleaner over the whole inside of the case, tapped gently on the chimney until no more rust pieces fell out.



The Thermocouple still has not arrived yet, but as it is not that much work I put the burner back into the refrigerator. I also cleaned the ground to the spark coil. I fired the unit up and it started the first time.



I had been concerned that there was no drip tube to catch the condensation from the coil inside the refrigerator, turns out America Dream had a better idea than hanging it out through the cover, there is an internal drain, note the yellow tubing.



So...I will stop here and wait for the new thermocouple to arrive, install it, clean the frame, apply new silicone, and put the cover back on.

Next will the hot water heater, as it is also temperamental, some times it will not fire either and we have to use the electric heater in the hot water heater, which means running the generator and it takes a long time to heat up.

I'm cleaning up the outside frame and the more I clean the more it appears the frame was not originally sealed with silicone, but a material more like plumbers
putty. Any thoughts?

Any advice on cleaning and adjustment of the burner in the hot water heater, How do you adjust the mixture of gas and air on the burner?

[ronspradley]

Originally Posted by GlennLever

Configurations very, on my 325 Cummins it is located in the housing that the oil filter is screwed into, on the drivers side.

This is located just below the turbo.

If you follow the oil line from the turbo it will lead you right to it.

Thanks. I will look today.

ronspradley

[MrMudstud]

Originally Posted by GlennLever;

Any advice on cleaning and adjustment of the burner in the hot water heater, How do you adjust the mixture of gas and air on the burner?

When you take it apart, it will be easy to recognize the setup. On mine, there is a round perforated housing that covers the burner tighten down by one screw. Loosen the screw and move the housing until the flame is nice and blue. No big deal. Much easier than working on your frig.

[GlennLever]

I have two problems now with the refrigerator.

1) The thermocouple arrived from Dometic.



The invoice has the correct serial number, model number and product code on the invoice.

The thermocouple however is way to long.



The one in the burner is only as long as the black anodized tube on the new one. The tube ends there on the original one and the wires make a 90 degree turn and run in back off the gas solenoid. The new one will not fit as the copper tube would need to run right through the gas solenoid.

I have called Dometic, they are sending a second one at no charge, and they think it is bagged incorrectly. I looked one up on fee-bay and it looks like the one that Dometic sent me.



2) I have the dreaded extra parts left over. I do not understand it. I took pictures the whole time, I was very careful, but I have this bracket and screw left over.

On the bracket the screw fits like it should be in the hole, there is only one hole, and it is not threaded.

The underside is sort of clean like it was up against something. The bracket shows no sign that the screw was ever installed in the bracket (no clean areas or scratch marks).

The screw is a machine screw, not a sheet metal screw.
I have reviewed all the pictures I took while taking the unit apart, I have taken the unit apart twice now and can find no place where this would have gone.

It does look like there should have been a bracket on the end of the burner to hold the thermocouple in place but there wasn't one when I took the unit apart. This bracket will not fit in that location.







Went to the races this weekend and the refrigerator worked great.

[GlennLever]

Ok....so....with the last update I left everyone hanging on the edge of their seats with this problem with the extra bracket and screw.

I would like to say that I have the perfect solution to the answer but I do not, I do have a partial solution.

enblethen provided a parts break out of the refrigerator. Atwood Water Heater manual

Below is pictured the important page.



1)It shows the "short" thermocouple I need, and the reason why (the long one will hit the gas solenoid).

The problem is the part number associated with the short thermocouple is the part number on the long one I have received. I just hope the new one that is coming is the correct one and the first one was bagged incorrectly. My thinking is it will be the same and the part has been superseded. The only good part of this is the old thermocouple is working just fine.

2) In the parts break out there is the angle bracket and screw that I had left over (it is circled in red, in the diagram above).

The perplexing thing is the bracket I have left over does not fit in that spot, and the machine screw does not go into the hole on the burner.



So I made some modifications to the bracket, I drilled a new hole and created a slot for the wires on the thermocouple to come through.





So here you see the burner apart for the fifth time, you can see the screw hole is offset from the thermocouple, and the collar on the thermocouple. The new hole in the bracket lines up with the original hole in the burner, and a new stainless steal screw has been found that fits the hole, and the new slot in the bracket fits over the thermocouple, but not the anodized collar on the thermocouple, so the thermocouple is now retained in the burner.



Old bracket in the new configuration screwed in place.





This new configuration was tested this weekend and worked.

The next project is already in the works, and some pictures have been taken, but racing comes first.

[NHRA225]

Glen,
Did all that a couple of months ago -- the best temps I can see is 36 in the Fridge and -6 in the freezer !- I'm ok with those numbers.
Let us know what yours are .

[GlennLever]

Originally Posted by NHRA225

Glen,
Did all that a couple of months ago -- the best temps I can see is 36 in the Fridge and -6 in the freezer !- I'm ok with those numbers.
Let us know what yours are .

I'll have to get a thermometer and check it.

There is an adjustment range from 1 through 5, it set on 5 it freezes stuff in the refrigerator.

[GlennLever]

Next project, let's, move inside.

The bedroom has a ceiling fan in it. The brackets that hold the fan blades are cracking and breaking.





I called Fleetwood, and they said they did not put fans into motor homes until 2001, well that leaves me out as this is a 1997.

I could find no manufacture or model on the outside of the fan any where, so let's take it apart and see what we can find.



Look at that, there is a customer service number!



I called them up and what a present experience, they sent me the parts fro free!



So off come the fan blades.



Time to swap over the new brackets, the old ones are literally falling apart.






All done.



So...if Fleetwood did install this fan they did a really bad job. Note how the wires are being crushed under the mounting bracket. I am truly amazed at the terrible quality of work I fine done in Motor Homes. Once again I have found that if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.



Note how the wires have been crushed. The insulation has not been compromised so I will reuse the feed line.



I'm not happy with the mount either. What was done is these bolts were feed through the ceiling, the 1/8 inch lauan, and the A/C chase, and this is what was holding the fan up.



So...time to make a backing plate to spread the stress of the hanging fan and the motion it produces, both going down the road and when it is running.



I upgraded the bolts to 1/4 inch grade 8 bolts, and will put washers on the fan bracket side, run the bolts up through the original holes in the lauan and the metal A/C chase, then through the backing plate and double nut it so the nuts do not work loose.



Now we need to move the hole for the wire so it does not come out underneath the mounting bracket.



I used a box cutter to cut the carpet on the ceiling away from the area where the hole needed to be drilled, and of course it slipped and I cut my thumb pretty good, I should have gone for stiches, but I have three buttery fly stripes holding the cut together.

As the wire is going through the metal A/C chase a gourmet is needed.



So now the wire is protected from the sharp metal edge of the A/C chase and has been moved out from under the mounting bracket, the way it should have been done in the first place.



Now the mounting bracket is back up in place and I could probably hang from it. The wire is in the clear.



The fan motor is hung off the bracket and new wire nuts were used to connect the wires, who ever did the original install did not strip enough insulation of the wires and the original wire nuts were tightened on the insulation, not the wire.



The outside housing is put back up.



The fan blades are attached and the fan is tested, all works as it should again.

[zmotorsports]

Very nice Glenn. That is awesome customer service. Especially 17 years later and a different owner.

Mike.

[GlennLever]

Originally Posted by zmotorsports

Very nice Glenn. That is awesome customer service. Especially 17 years later and a different owner.

Mike.

I agree, GREAT customer service. I cannot say the same for Beam Central Cleaning Systems, see this link.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/cent...ns-218933.html

[GlennLever]

New shocks went onto the front axle today.

We have been experiencing a bouncy ride (up and down).

Gillig part number 53-35885-000N which is Koni part number 881458SP2

This is an adjustable shock

How to adjust Koni shock



The problem is neither Koni or Gillig could tell me what the adjustment should be. Koni suggested it should be full soft and then go from there, (if not happy take it back off and adjust it firmer).

When the old shocks were removed I was unable to find what they were adjusted at, the adjustment mechanizem seem broken (these were stock replacement shocks). The old ones were shot! Next to no damping of movement.

I took a stab at it and went full firm and then backed off on full rotation and then enough to line the mounts up. (firm is clockwise) There are about five full rotations of adjustment.

I have been on a short highway test drive and the ride seems much better.

[GlennLever]

It seems that I am having problems completing projects due to lack of materials. (Dometic cannot seem to get me the right thermocouple for the refrigerator (old one does still work, but the end is burnt off), no one has parts for the plumbing of the central vacuum, I need a new two to one tail light module for LEDs (there is a difference)).

No one stocks stuff any more, everything has to be ordered.

We are leaving next week for the finial NDRL race of the season and I do not want the exhaust blowing back on the rear valance. A temporary repair was needed so this is what I did.

This is what the tip coming out of the rear valance used to look like.



It was a four inch tip, and I'm thinking that when I do the finial repair it may get enlarged to a five inch tip.

On the way back from our last race the tip fell off, and it became apparent that the muffler extension pipe needed to be replaced.



If the tip is to be enlarged to a five inch tip the hole in the rear valance will also have to be enlarged. We will look into what needs to be done to do this and then make a decision as to if we will enlarge it of keep the original size. Your input on this topic is welcome.

So...the first thing that needs to happen is to get the old extension pipe out of the muffler without hurting the muffler.

The clamp is soaked with PB Blaster



The clamp came right off and I was able to reuse it for the temporary fix.



I cut the extension pipe off leaving about an inch sticking out of the muffler and with a air chisel started to knock the pipe inward on the inside of the outlet of the muffler.



I was able to get the cut off piece out of the outlet of the muffler without damage to the muffler!



So I have a model to make a new tail pipe extension from.



I went shopping and was not able to get the pieces necessary to fabricate a new tail pipe extension.

Cook Brothers has ordered all the pieces I will need (two four inch 90 degree bends, one five to four inch reduction, and one chrome tip).

The parts will not be here for a week and a half, and I have no obligation to buy them. The larger tip extension may still happen, and Gillig is still trying to fine the correct part from a vender.

As stated earlier, I have a trip next week so a temporary fix is needed. To that end one five inch 90 degree bend was purchased.



The temporary fix looks like this (I was able to save the new clamp for the finial fix and reuse the old clamp for this temporary fix).



Boy the Motor Home is dirty, I will stop at a Blue Bacon on the way to the race next week.



There is a HUGE difference in the sound, if you are standing by the exhaust the ground feels like it is vibrating. You can hear the difference in the Motor Home, but it is not bad. I do want it quite like it was. You would not think that just that rear pipe would make a difference, but it does.

[GlennLever]

So while working on the vacuum project (I will post pictures later) I found another example of shoddy workmanship.

I paid Caledonia RV $1,800 to replace all the old rope lights in the Motor Home.

They original plugged one of the lights into the hot water heater electrical outlet. This outlet was not hot when the inverter was on and you would obviously want the lights to work when camping on the generator or inverter.

Directly below that compartment is the compartment which contains the inverter.

So their solution was to drill a hole between the two compartment and then run the 110 volt line through the hole.

The problem is they used no rubber grommet and the wire is rubbing against the sharp metal on the edge of the hole. I will have to fix this along with many other problems with their workmanship.

It will be detailed here as I correct the workmanship problems.

The thing I have learned is you have to do it yourself if you want it done right. It is truly a shame the RV world is pledged with this type of workmanship.