Community Forums

MartySQ · 09-27-2014, 08:36 PM

agree with dogpatch... My 88 Honey ended up with a rebuilt engine after a few things went wrong... 1st was coolant smell interior we had fixed ( Don't remember what they said at the time... second was a wiring harness, 1/2 which was rodent chewed causing troubles, then the rebuilt engine... and whalla... crossing all fingers and toesies... we made it to Yellowstone and back... Arkansas and back, so far no troubles, and hopefully in November down to gulf region in TX and back! You will get there... give it time...Positive thoughts you way... and thanks for giving an older rig another chance and keeping it out of the landfills!

Davdeb1 · 09-27-2014, 09:44 PM

It will get better.. If the belt fails one more time I would never go back to that repair facility. I know, you feel they did the work and they owe you the proper repair,
Ignore this feeling, and just move on.

jerseybigfot · 09-27-2014, 10:43 PM

Check for rust and pitting on the v belt pulley sheaves. i had 2 older rigs that would through a belt often. half the time i could not find the belt. later started to check it every 100 miles and found the belt loose from wear. polishing the rust off helped. replacing the pulleys cured the problem on the last rig.

Textronics · 09-28-2014, 12:55 AM

We do have agreement from the shop it is in now that there is something making it throw the belt. It hasn't been to the same repair place any 2 of the 3 belt breaks because we've been on the road the last 2 times when it went. We'll see what they find about why the AC Belt keeps popping. Looking for pitting or rust wouldn't be something I would look for. Thanks for the tip. If we can get ahead of it, then I'll start doctoring her up and see if we can't make her really shine! I do appreciate the encouragement. Without it I might throw in the towel too soon!

Gocoffeer · 09-28-2014, 06:29 AM

TEX..belt eating AC pumps fall into certain categories....pulley not in same location as with previous non-belt eating pump. This can be a longer or shorter shaft on pump or there was a pulley replacement along with pump and pulley is not positioned similarly OR....pulley is not the same as the other. Belt alignment (belt path) and pulley dimensions are imperative to basic operation. With that being said...the mechanic will be figuring out where things went wrong soon enough...as you are frustrated and angry....I am sure the mechanic is feeling both foolish and wasteful.

Medico · 09-28-2014, 06:50 AM

I wonder how many miles on it. Many coaches that have too low miles will have problems. These coaches need to be run. Sitting too long (for example a 2001 with only 40K miles is pretty low mileage. It sat quite a bit) is detrimental to any coach.

In the OP's case I would have to agree that a belt alignment is off or a wrong pulley is used. However, unless you do the bulk of repairs yourself, you maintenance and repair costs will be high. After all you are using an almost 30 year old vehicle. Just like any other motor vehicle, a 30 year old RV will need more maintenance and repairs than a 10 year old vehicle. You might very well find that parts are difficult to find, especially for the non-chassis systems.

Good luck in finding a competent mechanic to solve your problems. Once they are solved you should have a great time with this lifestyle.

Hikerdogs · 09-28-2014, 07:21 AM

Another thing to consider as a reason for the AC belt breaking is a bad clutch bearing. If only the compressor was changed and the pulley/bearing assembly was transferred from the old compressor it's possible the bearing is going bad. They can run smooth until one of the balls gets stuck in the race. Then the pulley stops instantly almost always breaking the belt and taking another one wit it.

Have the mechanic roll the compressor pulley over by hand. If there are rough spots or sticking have them replace the bearing. It's a relatively easy job. I've one hundreds over the years for the same reason you describe.

Textronics · 09-28-2014, 10:37 AM

They were talking about the compressor or a bearing, so that's exactly what we are looking at. Frankly, I hadn't thought of a rig having too few miles on it. This one has about 36,000. So, apparently it HAS sat a lot. It has good maintenance records, but something wasn't treated right to have a cracked head which necessitated replacing the engine. I'd love to be in a newer rig, but it's just not in the cards. Our next excursion is scheduled for November. Hopefully, we'll get to do a local weekend jaunt or two between now & then.

Hikerdogs · 09-28-2014, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Textronics

They were talking about the compressor or a bearing, so that's exactly what we are looking at. Frankly, I hadn't thought of a rig having too few miles on it. This one has about 36,000. So, apparently it HAS sat a lot. It has good maintenance records, but something wasn't treated right to have a cracked head which necessitated replacing the engine. I'd love to be in a newer rig, but it's just not in the cards. Our next excursion is scheduled for November. Hopefully, we'll get to do a local weekend jaunt or two between now & then.

Overheating is most often the cause of a cracked head or cylinder block. The cylinder walls are thin so the cooling system has to be in top shape to keep the temperatures within the working range.

If the temperature gauge starts to move out of the normal range or the light comes on shut it down as soon as possible. It doesn't take long to crack the head or block. Again I've replaced several blocks and countless numbers of heads. In almost every case the customer hadn't been paying attention to the gauges (but then again who looks that closely?) and by the time they noticed the light was on the head was already Junk.

Keep a close eye on the coolant overflow tank. If it starts to go down and there are no noticeable leaks it's generally a cracked head. Coolant leaks into the cylinders and is vaporized instantly. However it leaves a sticky glycol residue that if not caught quickly will eventually cause a piston ring to catch and start scoring the cylinder wall.

Textronics · 10-01-2014, 11:36 AM

Update: the serpentine belt is put back in place so the RV is drivable. It will now be taken back to the shop that replaces the AC belt as the current shop now has reliably duplicated the problem & the AC belt will not stay on. The reason to take it back to the AC shop is so they can eat the cost of fixing this. Yes, the joys of owning an older vehicle. I just have to remind myself that we chose this cause we knew we couldn't afford a new rig and because I wanted to spiff up the inside and make it ours. That's still on the list. My first interior project is to replace all the counters with Corian. I need to find some scrap to do that with. The floors will get done next summer by Ernie. I'd love to fix the corner DH scrape against a post at the gas station and repaijt as all the paint has oxidized. But, I digress …. Back to the AC shop it is. I want to do a dry run with it before we take it to,Arkansas next month.

DaveFL · 10-01-2014, 01:57 PM

This post caught my eye, am I driving a classic, an antique or junker? 40k about right for a 2000 but by records some years better than others. Serpentine belts to me says newer rig. If it was v belted excuse could be they changed designs and modified v belts using the same numbers. My 454 is serpentined, carburatorless, has had it's share of problems. including lower manifold gasket disintergrating(crap plastic), a/c compressor replaced, all brake pads replaced and calipers, fuel pump failure and the newer design autobrake failing in our driveway.
Great suggestion to do short trip after layup or work, our last trip passed the short trip to check the gasket install, to sit a couple of weeks and fail by locking the emergency brake in the driveway, after cleaning and packing for the long planned trip. Starting to think lemon., not money pit as I have been the installer but to lose a season of camping due to mechanicals is a bummer, at least we have two seasons and hopefully we will be on the road for some of this fall season.

RELHUB · 10-01-2014, 05:40 PM

I too have owned older vehicles & RV's. If you are handy and can spare the time to do Repairs and Maintenance then older RV's can be a great value. If not then they can become a money pit and with so many bad shops around it is hard to find someone you can trust. I can see how you can quickly become disillusioned with your RV. I hope you find a better shop, once the rig is running well you can start enjoying your RV

Textronics · 10-01-2014, 05:42 PM

I'm certainly going to start reading up on what needs to be done. I wish I had a Chiltons. They used to be the "Bible" on fixing your vehicle!

Don and Barb · 10-03-2014, 04:43 PM

It sounds like they over tightened the belt, or the pulley's are out of alignment. I've never seen a vehicle with a fan belt and a serpentine belt. I thought the purpose of the serpentine was to run all of the components.