Shade Tree Mechanic Enjoys Great Day in South Carolina

[DriVer]

It was in the low eighties today and I decided that I would tackle my lube, oil and filter out on out pad today and the experience was great. I like working on my motorhome and its fun to do and you get great incite about what's going on when you take to rolling around under the motorhome.

Earlier this month and for quite some time I was experiencing a very faint but distinct odor. I eventually was able to identify it as coolant. Once we were moving and going down the road the odor went away and didn't present any problems during the day's run. The coolant reservoir's level was at its typical position so I saw no trouble there. The odor was most prevalent on the left side of the engine.

After 38,000 miles I wasn't too upset about the issue but I decided I better look into it. The straw that broke the camels back was when I observed a drip spot under the engine. I went inside the MH and removed the dog-house and started up the motorhome. Sure enough it didn't take long for a wisp of steam to rise off the left manifold. Cool, I ain't going crazy! I'm figuring what do and going to a service center wasn't high on my list of things to do at the moment. I did however remember a post from "Horsepower Fan"� about adding sealant packs to the cooling system on Chevrolet trucks which resolved a multitude of problems. Encouraged by what we've seen done here before I set off for Auto Zone. There I found a product called Bars Leaks. I read over the bottle, 11oz. I think, and it said that it was compatible with Dex Cool and all types of cooling systems so I bought it. It wasn't a lot of money either.

I returned home and the first thing that I needed to do was to get the thermostat to open because you can't stop a leak in the engine if the entire product is sitting in the radiator. I removed the radiator cap behind the air intake tuba and I waited for 15 or so minutes until I felt that the thermostat opened. The biggest clue there was when the coolant level dropped in the filler neck when the T-Stat opened. The Bar Leaks is mostly comprised of pellets in a liquid vehicle and they melt when exposed to cooling system temperatures. I had to force feed the pellets down the filler neck since it's fairly horizontal. Once I fed the entire bottle of product into the radiator I restored the RC-33 radiator cap and I let er' run for a half hour more.

The next morning we were ready to leave for Florida so I added a tad of Dex Cool up to the cold line and we were off. When we left that morning there was no more coolant odor and later that day and next morning no spotting under the engine. Ta-da! All set.

I've since spoken to Workhorse about the product I added and they said that was fine and warming up the engine before adding the product was essential. I was also told that GM and others add stop leak pellets to their engines cooling systems before they even leave the factory so a bit more isn't going to hurt.

I'm feeling good about doing my own repairs on my motorhome. Now some 6,000 miles since my last LOF, it was time to make a move on doing the service on the motorhome.

What got me moving in that direction was the case of 6 quarts of oil I picked up at Costco. I opted for the 10W-30 Mobil 1. I know good choice!

Well I have a case of oil and so what, still a quart short. A couple of days later I stopped by Auto Zone and picked up a 15qt, sealing drain pan and an extra quart of M1 and an M1-111 filter. While there I looked at grease guns but there wasn't anything there that I wanted to buy so I skipped it for the moment. I just pilled all that stuff in the back seat of the car and it sat there for a couple of days. I did enough work for a day I said after all I am retired.

A couple of days later I got up enough energy to go to the local parts store to check out some grease guns and they had the grease gun I was looking for. They showed me a Lincoln hand pump grease gun and they said it was the best product that they've sold! Excellent! Now I can work the jaws on the tip and still pump the gun. This gun is amazing. It provides 7,500 psi by hand and I certainly was able to work the tip with my free hand. This gun has it all over a conventional lever pump grease gun that needs 2 hands to work the gun. I picked up a tube of the red Valvoline sticky grease, excellent choice again if I say so.

I was dying to try this thing out but you should have seen me trying to load the grease cartridge into the gun, you would have laughed yourself silly. Man what a display of how to mess up by the numbers. The thing even whacked me in the fingers! I wasn't going to be defeated by a grease gun so I finally got the back cap screwed on and I had more grease on me than there was inside the gun.

Leaving the grease gun on the ground for the moment I crawled under the MH to take a look at the filter. Well I tell ya, that can was wet! It had oil dripping down from the side but none on the ground. I'm wondering at this point if this could be part of the reason why I'm adding oil every couple of thousand miles. I'm thinking that an engine shouldn't be burning or using synthetic oil to that degree so I'm going to keep an eye on that from now on to see if that was the reason.

I'm looking up at an oily filter so I crawled out and went to look for my strap wrench. Missing, what else is new! So it was off to the store again but this time I committed to finding a filter socket. Back to the Auto Zone I found one sitting on the shelf and it fit the M1-111 perfectly. $7 bucks later we were outta there. Back home and on the ground, under the engine, I slipped on the filter socket and used a 6 inch 3/8"� extension and a 3/8"� Sears ratchet and I began putting a little counter clockwise wrist into removing the filter. Well go figure the filter wasn't even tight! I could have probably reached up there and removed the thing by hand. See! Doing this stuff gives you a lot of incite about what going on like I said.

One thing that I forgot about after I had oil everywhere was the ol' awl through the bottom of the can routine which I will do the next time for sure. When I picked up the filter out of the box I immediately noticed that the gasket wasn't seated in its groove all the way. It's a good idea to check this before inserting filter. I used a bit of drain oil to lube the gasket and observing the instructions on the can, it plainly shows via icon 1.25 turns to tight. Once I had snugged up the filter I used my socket and I was able to tighten it exactly 1 and ¼ turns. Not too tight but way tighter than you could ever put this thing on by hand. By now the crankcase had been draining down for about an hour while I went to the store and all and it was still dripping. The size of the head of the pan bolt by the way is 15mm. I restored the pan bolt and gave it a good one handed twist with by Sears ratchet and it was on there I guarantee. You don't want to go gorilla on that aluminum pan.

Now that I'm under here I decided to finish up the lube job so it was time to use my new Lincoln. Sweet! I love it. Wipe the zirk clean before applying the jaw from the gun. Break off the tip by bending it toward the side. It comes right off that way. When the tip is squarely on the zirk you pump the gun with one hand and the grease just flows.

The hose on this gun is very flexible. I bet it's something like a ¼"� ID or less because it was so easy to work with. There were no fittings that I couldn't attach the jaws to. The key is listening for the spit. Where it doesn't spit you observe for the grease flowing out of the dust covers or from the joints. The right side king pin from the lower fitting was a bit tight but the grease came right out from a bolt mid way up the king pin toward the front of the vehicle. That gun sure puts a lot of pressure on the zirks. (Yes I did take some of the weight off the front suspension with my jacks)

The left side has 3 fittings the right side 5 fittings the drive shaft has 6 and the Z-bar has 1. That's 15 fittings. All present and accounted for. I forgot to lubricate my emergency brake release spring but I'll get back under there at some point and give it a bath.

Add "6.4" quarts of M1, turn on key, switch IP to oil pressure mode, ignition! Observe pressure briefly 47 psi, & check for leaks. I got a little bit of rattle out of it for about 10 or so seconds but it diminished and then went totally away. I crawled under the MH and looked up at the filter, perfectly dry! I ran the motor for about 20 minutes then I shut er' down. I let the engine sit for awhile and stuck it and the level was right at the full mark. I put all my stuff away and there we are all done.

I hope this will encourage you to get all your own stuff, give you the will to crawl around under your motorhome, take a good look around and fix the thing yourself.

Well it's off to Florida again on the morn of Monday. We'll be at the Orlando WIT Rally and then we'll be going over to the MIL-WIT Rally at Lazy Days. Finished there its back to the beaches of South Carolina, 18 miles from home and the NC State WIT Rally in Ocean Lakes.

Busy busy but we'll be here if ya'll have any questions about DIY!

[DriVer]

It was in the low eighties today and I decided that I would tackle my lube, oil and filter out on out pad today and the experience was great. I like working on my motorhome and its fun to do and you get great incite about what's going on when you take to rolling around under the motorhome.

Earlier this month and for quite some time I was experiencing a very faint but distinct odor. I eventually was able to identify it as coolant. Once we were moving and going down the road the odor went away and didn't present any problems during the day's run. The coolant reservoir's level was at its typical position so I saw no trouble there. The odor was most prevalent on the left side of the engine.

After 38,000 miles I wasn't too upset about the issue but I decided I better look into it. The straw that broke the camels back was when I observed a drip spot under the engine. I went inside the MH and removed the dog-house and started up the motorhome. Sure enough it didn't take long for a wisp of steam to rise off the left manifold. Cool, I ain't going crazy! I'm figuring what do and going to a service center wasn't high on my list of things to do at the moment. I did however remember a post from "Horsepower Fan"� about adding sealant packs to the cooling system on Chevrolet trucks which resolved a multitude of problems. Encouraged by what we've seen done here before I set off for Auto Zone. There I found a product called Bars Leaks. I read over the bottle, 11oz. I think, and it said that it was compatible with Dex Cool and all types of cooling systems so I bought it. It wasn't a lot of money either.

I returned home and the first thing that I needed to do was to get the thermostat to open because you can't stop a leak in the engine if the entire product is sitting in the radiator. I removed the radiator cap behind the air intake tuba and I waited for 15 or so minutes until I felt that the thermostat opened. The biggest clue there was when the coolant level dropped in the filler neck when the T-Stat opened. The Bar Leaks is mostly comprised of pellets in a liquid vehicle and they melt when exposed to cooling system temperatures. I had to force feed the pellets down the filler neck since it's fairly horizontal. Once I fed the entire bottle of product into the radiator I restored the RC-33 radiator cap and I let er' run for a half hour more.

The next morning we were ready to leave for Florida so I added a tad of Dex Cool up to the cold line and we were off. When we left that morning there was no more coolant odor and later that day and next morning no spotting under the engine. Ta-da! All set.

I've since spoken to Workhorse about the product I added and they said that was fine and warming up the engine before adding the product was essential. I was also told that GM and others add stop leak pellets to their engines cooling systems before they even leave the factory so a bit more isn't going to hurt.

I'm feeling good about doing my own repairs on my motorhome. Now some 6,000 miles since my last LOF, it was time to make a move on doing the service on the motorhome.

What got me moving in that direction was the case of 6 quarts of oil I picked up at Costco. I opted for the 10W-30 Mobil 1. I know good choice!

Well I have a case of oil and so what, still a quart short. A couple of days later I stopped by Auto Zone and picked up a 15qt, sealing drain pan and an extra quart of M1 and an M1-111 filter. While there I looked at grease guns but there wasn't anything there that I wanted to buy so I skipped it for the moment. I just pilled all that stuff in the back seat of the car and it sat there for a couple of days. I did enough work for a day I said after all I am retired.

A couple of days later I got up enough energy to go to the local parts store to check out some grease guns and they had the grease gun I was looking for. They showed me a Lincoln hand pump grease gun and they said it was the best product that they've sold! Excellent! Now I can work the jaws on the tip and still pump the gun. This gun is amazing. It provides 7,500 psi by hand and I certainly was able to work the tip with my free hand. This gun has it all over a conventional lever pump grease gun that needs 2 hands to work the gun. I picked up a tube of the red Valvoline sticky grease, excellent choice again if I say so.

I was dying to try this thing out but you should have seen me trying to load the grease cartridge into the gun, you would have laughed yourself silly. Man what a display of how to mess up by the numbers. The thing even whacked me in the fingers! I wasn't going to be defeated by a grease gun so I finally got the back cap screwed on and I had more grease on me than there was inside the gun.

Leaving the grease gun on the ground for the moment I crawled under the MH to take a look at the filter. Well I tell ya, that can was wet! It had oil dripping down from the side but none on the ground. I'm wondering at this point if this could be part of the reason why I'm adding oil every couple of thousand miles. I'm thinking that an engine shouldn't be burning or using synthetic oil to that degree so I'm going to keep an eye on that from now on to see if that was the reason.

I'm looking up at an oily filter so I crawled out and went to look for my strap wrench. Missing, what else is new! So it was off to the store again but this time I committed to finding a filter socket. Back to the Auto Zone I found one sitting on the shelf and it fit the M1-111 perfectly. $7 bucks later we were outta there. Back home and on the ground, under the engine, I slipped on the filter socket and used a 6 inch 3/8"� extension and a 3/8"� Sears ratchet and I began putting a little counter clockwise wrist into removing the filter. Well go figure the filter wasn't even tight! I could have probably reached up there and removed the thing by hand. See! Doing this stuff gives you a lot of incite about what going on like I said.

One thing that I forgot about after I had oil everywhere was the ol' awl through the bottom of the can routine which I will do the next time for sure. When I picked up the filter out of the box I immediately noticed that the gasket wasn't seated in its groove all the way. It's a good idea to check this before inserting filter. I used a bit of drain oil to lube the gasket and observing the instructions on the can, it plainly shows via icon 1.25 turns to tight. Once I had snugged up the filter I used my socket and I was able to tighten it exactly 1 and ¼ turns. Not too tight but way tighter than you could ever put this thing on by hand. By now the crankcase had been draining down for about an hour while I went to the store and all and it was still dripping. The size of the head of the pan bolt by the way is 15mm. I restored the pan bolt and gave it a good one handed twist with by Sears ratchet and it was on there I guarantee. You don't want to go gorilla on that aluminum pan.

Now that I'm under here I decided to finish up the lube job so it was time to use my new Lincoln. Sweet! I love it. Wipe the zirk clean before applying the jaw from the gun. Break off the tip by bending it toward the side. It comes right off that way. When the tip is squarely on the zirk you pump the gun with one hand and the grease just flows.

The hose on this gun is very flexible. I bet it's something like a ¼"� ID or less because it was so easy to work with. There were no fittings that I couldn't attach the jaws to. The key is listening for the spit. Where it doesn't spit you observe for the grease flowing out of the dust covers or from the joints. The right side king pin from the lower fitting was a bit tight but the grease came right out from a bolt mid way up the king pin toward the front of the vehicle. That gun sure puts a lot of pressure on the zirks. (Yes I did take some of the weight off the front suspension with my jacks)

The left side has 3 fittings the right side 5 fittings the drive shaft has 6 and the Z-bar has 1. That's 15 fittings. All present and accounted for. I forgot to lubricate my emergency brake release spring but I'll get back under there at some point and give it a bath.

Add "6.4" quarts of M1, turn on key, switch IP to oil pressure mode, ignition! Observe pressure briefly 47 psi, & check for leaks. I got a little bit of rattle out of it for about 10 or so seconds but it diminished and then went totally away. I crawled under the MH and looked up at the filter, perfectly dry! I ran the motor for about 20 minutes then I shut er' down. I let the engine sit for awhile and stuck it and the level was right at the full mark. I put all my stuff away and there we are all done.

I hope this will encourage you to get all your own stuff, give you the will to crawl around under your motorhome, take a good look around and fix the thing yourself.

Well it's off to Florida again on the morn of Monday. We'll be at the Orlando WIT Rally and then we'll be going over to the MIL-WIT Rally at Lazy Days. Finished there its back to the beaches of South Carolina, 18 miles from home and the NC State WIT Rally in Ocean Lakes.

Busy busy but we'll be here if ya'll have any questions about DIY!

[Petro]

DriVer;

Great post. Were you able to determine where AF was leaking on your engine? I also have a few drips under the left side on the concrete after sitting a few days. I can't find a leaking connection.

Don

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Petro:
I also have a few drips under the left side on the concrete after sitting a few days. I can't find a leaking connection. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>There's a NPT plug between the #2 and the #4 cylinder and sometimes this plug might be the source of a little annoying drip after awhile. the Bars Leaks put a stop to it. Look for the Radiator HD Stop Leak, PLT11. Follow my directions and you should be leak free. I used a rolled over piece of coat hanger to push the pellets through. It isn't easy but you can get it done.

[al koffman]

Surprised you didn't pre-fill the filter. If you did you would not hear any "rattling" at all. I know there are some that do and some that don't pre-fill, somehow it just "feels better" to pre-fill.

[rogueii]

Driver:
Good post! I know what you mean. I just did the first Amsoil Torque Drive Synthetic transmission change yesterday--let it drain down overnight and refilled today. The ATF I drained looked pretty good, clear-Ruby Red. The magnet on the spin off filter only had a small amount of fine mud like particles.
QUESTION How much driving do I need to do before doing the final change? I got just over 10 quarts out.
On another Note. I do all my own general maintenance, and for safety, I raise the rv on the jacks and place four stantion jacks under the frame, in case the hydraulics don't hold. My belly is to large to fit under on the creeper, if the jacks should fail......Well, today when I went to take the stantion jacks out, the front drivers side was to tight to remove. The jack must have settled a little. Started the engine and raised up fine.
I use two 7000LB stantions in the front and two 12,000 lb stantions in the back.

I also use a Famuto Quick Drain oil valve, for two years now. It has a nipple, I just put a hose on it and open the valve and drain into a 2.5 gal gas can and take the oil to Autozone to dump. I have the clip lock on the valve, to make sure it dosen't open accidently. I was able to change the oil three times on the trip this past summer. When the engine cools down , I put paper towels and a plastic bag over the filter and remove it--no messy hot oil.

I haven't gotten the books out yet, but would like to know how often the fluid in the jacks need to be changed?

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by al koffman:
Surprised you didn't pre-fill the filter. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Well me to, but that has little to do with the rattle. The filter fills in about 1/4 of a second or less so that's not really a big deal. I bet the filter is filled up even before the engine fires up. Now that's fast.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rogueii:
QUESTION How much driving do I need to do before doing the final change? I got just over 10 quarts out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Start up the engine and drive it around for about 2 to 3 miles (if that) and then drain it again. All we're trying to do is flush out the torque converter. That doesn't take anytime at all to do, you could probably drive around the block and clear the converter. It should take 10.3 quarts, do not overfill. Change the spin-on filter again BTW.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I haven't gotten the books out yet, but would like to know how often the fluid in the jacks need to be changed? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>That's a fluid you don't have to change.

[rogueii]

Thanks for the quick response. I love this forum. You can get answers to most questions.

I actually measured the fluid I drained and replaced it with the same amount. I brought two new spin on filters for this project and will change it again.

Two years old 20,000 miles and running on all synthetic. see you in TN.

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
Start up the engine and drive it around for about 2 to 3 miles (if that) and then drain it again. All we're trying to do is flush out the torque converter. That doesn't take anytime at all to do, you could probably drive around the block and clear the converter. It should take 10.3 quarts, do not overfill. Change the spin-on filter again BTW. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Driver,

20 years ago I used to drop the bell housing pan, rotate the flywheel until the converter drain plug was at the bottom and then remove the plug to drain the converter. No more drain plug on the converter?

A good truck shop will power back flush the tranny and converter nowadays which wouldn't leave a mixture of used and new oil in the converter. I've heard high praises for power back flushing so far. Whats your take on this option?

Regards,

Neil

[Mahlon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Petro:
I also have a few drips under the left side on the concrete after sitting a few days. I can't find a leaking connection. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>There's a NPT plug between the #2 and the #4 cylinder and sometimes this plug might be the source of a little annoying drip after awhile. &lt;snip&gt; </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That plug in the left cyl head (yes, left, at least on my 2003 engine) plugs the unused coolant temp sensor hole in that head. The corresponding hole in the right head (again, in my case) has the actual sensor installed in it.

Which brings me to my story...

I had a small coolant leak on my engine for the longest time, but couldn't find it. When I took the coach in for some warranty work a while back, they located the leak at the coolant temp sensor. Later, when I took the sensor out to look at it, I was astonished to find that I could unscrew it by hand!

DriVer, I think you should check the tightness of the plug & sensor in your engine. Those are the only two spots that I know of where coolant can come from on the cylinder heads. Leakage from the sensor on the right side is difficult to see because it's partialy obscured by the oil dipstick tube, exhaust manifold, spark plug, etc.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by NeilV:
20 years ago I used to drop the bell housing pan, rotate the flywheel until the converter drain plug was at the bottom and then remove the plug to drain the converter. No more drain plug on the converter? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The Allison transmission's torque converter does not have a drain plug.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">A good truck shop will power back flush the tranny and converter ..... What's your take on this option? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I would be a little leery of having a truck shop do the power flush BUT that said let me say this. Allison has what are called Regional Service Centers that go by the name of DDA or "Detroit Diesel Allison". Now a DDA has the power flushing equipment and I had mine done at the DDA in Middletown, CT early last year.

If you're thinking about changing your fluid in your transmission, that would be the way to go. While you're there the Allison guy usually will check the NSBU and run the gearbox through the gears and check for problems. Finding none "most often" you can get your motorhome back in about a couple of hours or less.

Thanks for the question!

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mahlon:
.... when I took the sensor out to look at it, I was astonished to find that I could unscrew it by hand... I think you should check the tightness of the plug & sensor in your engine. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Ah yes, a very good suggestion! Now when I have the time I will get around to it but in the meantime the Bar's Leaks is working perfectly.

The right way to do this is to drain the block down, remove the plug, Teflon wrap it, restore the plug, tighten, refill the cooling system and check for leaks.

I just don't have the time to do that right now especially since we're on the road so much and the Bar's Leaks works. But I'll get around to it.

Thanks for the suggestion and solution; it's what makes iRV2.com's Workhorse Forum second to none.


Bar's Leaks HD Pelletized Radiator Stop Leak - Part Number PLT11

Bar's Leaks heavy duty radiator stop leaks are available in two forms. The liquid version is the original pelletized radiator stop leak. The tablet formula is used by many OEM manufacturers and professional mechanics to seal internal, external and coolant-to-oil leaks. Both products are specially formulated to seal larger leaks better than other stop leak products. Compatible with both conventional green (silicate-bases) and extended life red/orange or yellow (OAT) antifreeze. Lubricates water pump seal and inhibits the formation of rust and scale.

[abarkl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rogueii:
I haven't gotten the books out yet, but would like to know how often the fluid in the jacks need to be changed? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Power Gear recommends changing the ATF in their systems every 2 years.