Monaco Bosch Brake problems

[dwaynedmonne]

I have a 2000 Monaco Knight, one that was an early model. I have had radiator problems from the get go, now have a copper one, should last better. The aluminum just does not hold up. Now the brakes are a problem. The Bosch calipers have been a problem from the start as well. Had two hang up in the first 3 years, Monaco replaced them under a recall for several coaches. Now have another caliper that hung up, gets very hot and melted the ABS sensor as well. Bosch does not support the problem, Monaco is also bot interested in the problem. I see that the original recall is still in place, @ NHTSA 02V278000 the details can be found. Has anyone elce had the problem since the recall? I have started a push with the NHTSA for a new recall for this issue. If you have the problem please jump on board @ NHTSA, 1 888 327 4236.

Dwayne M

[jolly1]

I have an 02 H/R Ambassador which was in the recall. They replaced all calipers and turned the burnt rotors. Today I replaced the tires and noticed all the rotors have hairline cracks and one has a crack all the way thru one side. This tells me my brakes must still be getting hot. I have 34000 miles on this MH and have not traveled in the mountains.

[UFO Pilot]

What chassis do you have? There is a recall on Bosch calipers on Workhorse chassis.

[dwaynedmonne]

My coach has the Roadmaster chassis. I too have few miles (32K), and I use the engine brake as much as posible to keep the service brakes from having to do all the work. After writing to the VP @ Bosch, i finally got a call back from a guy in Bosch, he was quick to state that Bosch would offer NO help for this problem. Wants me to go back to Monaco for help. At least he did give me a name and number to call. Will contact her this week. I talked to the NHTSA people who did take the information and will do some investigation on the problem, however not sure what the outcome will be.

Thanks for the reply.

Dwayne

[jolly1]

wthomas1, I have a Roadmaster chassis. I would like to change the rotors myself, but can't find any info on how to start.

[Jobert]

Until recently, we had a 2001 Ambassador 38pbt on the R4 chassis. When we purchased it 1 year old, it had the recall done already, but not well. It was missing a washer on one wheel bearing and the bearings had not been torqued to spec so we had trouble with abs sensors pushing out and lost a wheel seal in the rear and all bearings replaced at about 30k miles. After all the rear stuff replaced, was taken care of at our expense, new bearings and seals in rear, everything was good. Bearings front and rear torqued and tightened to spec and life was good. At about 50k, locked up a front caliper on the expressway in Houston. Replaced with rebuilt calipers and when sold with 80k, all was OK. Tech said that problems with the calipers were because of the phenlic pistons, they swell up with heat but do not go back down after cooling and eventually, depending on heat and time, will lock the caliper up. Rebuilt ones for front came with stainless pistons and when sold at 80K this year, were working great. The rear calipers were still the recall replacements from 2002 recall and were seemingly ok. The new Monaco will probably have no responsibility in the matter as in the trailing arm issue ongoing. If you have the calipers replaced with rebuilt, specify stainless steel pistons. Hope this may help, Happy Trails Bert

[dwaynedmonne]

Thanks Bert. Did you have any problem finding the rebuilt calipers? I have had 3 that have locked up, and it is not a good feeling. Yes, the new Monaco does not want to hear of the problems, nor does Bosch.

Dwayne

[Jobert]

No, we did not have any further issues with the calipers after replacing the fronts with the Stainless pistons. It was working fine when we sold it this last february and I would expect it to go along ways with out any other issues. I do not know why the rears did not have the same problem, but they were fine from the time of the recall, except that the bearings had not been tightened correctly, causing other problems in the rear. Hope this might help, I would try to stay away from the plastic pistons if at all possible, it is way to expensive of a job to do every couple of years. Happy trails Bert

[natural2740]

I have a 2001 Monaco knight, 30k mi. had a problem when I bought coach with 27k mi. on it. After driving it home 150 miles with no problem, then drove 20 miles and brakes froze. After replacement of ABS sensors and check of brakes, have found the same phenolic pistons.
I bled brakes and replaced fluid with Dot 4, drove Minnesota to Arizona and back last winter with no problems, and none since.
After talking to mechanics, they further suggested bleeding brakes if coach sits for months, before striking out as it helps to get rid of moisture in caliper area.

Brakes are hydralic with electric boost pump on master cylinder.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by natural2740 After talking to mechanics, they further suggested bleeding brakes if coach sits for months, before striking out as it helps to get rid of moisture in caliper area..

Although a "bleed" would displace water in the immediate area of the caliper, the mechanic is not competent if that is their only recommendation. Rather than suggest "bleeding" they should have recommended that the system be "flushed periodically" There's BIG difference.

Observing that a hydraulic system is its own worst enemy when it sits for extended periods of time is a fact that many MH owners are now subscribing to.

[wvet2001]

I have a 2001 monaco knight and just had the brakes replaced, for 4000.00 the guy before bought it new but took it back on recall in 2002 they did nothing so i tried to get monaco to fix it after i found out the rotors and all was cracked, they told me they had went bank repurt and nothing i could do so like i say i jusy paided 4000.00 to have braked done now after 30 miles the abs light and warning light is on so the guy that put the roters shoes and all checked it out and told me it was a module would cost me 1200 for it , could get me a used 1 for 450.00, think im going to get a second opinion. will

[wvet2001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvet2001 I have a 2001 monaco knight and just had the brakes replaced, for 4000.00 the guy before bought it new but took it back on recall in 2002 they did nothing so i tried to get monaco to fix it after i found out the rotors and all was cracked, they told me they had went bank repurt and nothing i could do so like i say i jusy paided 4000.00 to have braked done now after 30 miles the abs light and warning light is on so the guy that put the roters shoes and all checked it out and told me it was a module would cost me 1200 for it , could get me a used 1 for 450.00, think im going to get a second opinion. will

[Jobert]

wvet2001

My guess is the wheel bearings are not tight enough. This was part of our experiences with our 2001 Ambassador. They have to be torqued to at least 80 lbs. If the ABS light was not on when you had the brake work done, I would guess this to be the first area to look at. On ours, once all four sets of bearings were tightened to specs, we did not have that problem any more. The fronts especially can be problematic. If you go underneath, on the back of each wheel set, you will find the sensor, it has a black wire coming out of it about the size of cable tv wire. Gently pull out the sensor away from its socket, then sharply press it back in and you should hear a metallic click. DO NOT PULL ON THE WIRE!!!! Once you have reset all four of them, restart the vehicle, drive the vehicle, and the light should go out in 1-4 miles of smooth road. Try not to go over any steep driveways or sharp bumps while doing this, do it in a rest area on the freeway so you can get a clean rolling start without bumps cause a bump may jog the loose wheel bearing if that is the problem and then it will not reset. The reset method is per Monaco tech. Hope this might help, if not come back here for more. This worked for us and was taken care of by a Monaco Tech after the recall had been done on ours, but not very well. If the ABS light was on before the brake job, it may have fried a sensor if one of the calipers stuck and overheated, there is a way to check each sensor with a multimeter, but that is not in my area of expertise.

Hope this may help, Happy Trails Bert

[dwaynedmonne]

Good information Bert. I too had my ABS light come on after having the calipers replaced. I had installed a (BLINK SWITCH) so I can run a diag of the ABS. The blink code was a 31, which was an air gap problem on the right front wheel. The shop had pushed it out away from the wheel, and it will not work there. A gentel tap and it was replaced close to the tooth ring on the disc. The ABS light went out as soon as the speed reached 4 MPH. WABCO, the mfg of the ABS system provides good help and has reading material that was helpfull for adding the blink switch as well as a list of the blink codes. Check the sensors first. By the way, I did use my meter and checked and recorded all the ohm readings that ae listed for thesensors and control valves. Not too hard to do if you have used an ohm meter before.

Dwayne