Community Forums

Marcosdad · 06-13-2014, 02:59 PM

In my service confirmation email from Spartan, I was told that they have the "fix" for the power steering.

brobox · 06-13-2014, 03:56 PM

Nice to see that things are moving along quickly at Spartan for us Entegra owners that have had the steering problem. Ted Cook (the designer of the Travel Supreme) from Entegra accompanied my coach to Spartan and they worked hard on it until a fix was working. That was just a month ago, glad the testing is done on both models and kit are becoming available.

Swenster · 06-13-2014, 06:22 PM

After ours was fixed I was told that with our success they were going to make the fix known to all. It now works great. They forgot to screw down the dipstick cap on the top of the canister and oil came gushing out. I guess the 44 point check isn't 100%. Charlie was great in figuring out why oil was all over the driveway.

C310 · 06-13-2014, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

Steve, are there many of the Aspires that have the growling/pulsating steering problems? Heck one is too many, it is aggravating especially if yours is doing it at high speeds too.

Chuck, mine is when stopped or slow speeds. Nothing noticed at high speeds thankfully. Not sure if all are affected the same. Steve

brobox · 06-14-2014, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C310

Chuck, mine is when stopped or slow speeds. Nothing noticed at high speeds thankfully. Not sure if all are affected the same. Steve

Steve, most are at low speed and only noticed when parking. Mine was one of the bad ones that had low speed and a pulsation in the wheel in a gradual 45 MPH curve in the road. When my MH went back to Spartan they used my problem coach as the guinea pig as they had been waiting for one with all of the problems to work on a fix that would fix all issues and not just one.

I saw the print out from Spartan to Entegra where they changed the hydraulic hose several times with different sizes and materials. Then valves where changed in the power steering pump that would stop the "power steering whine" people were experience. However some of the bad ones was a pulsation felt in the steering wheel. I know they spent over two full days with changes and test drives working on the fix. I heard it was a pretty complicated process.

Nowabeachbum · 06-19-2014, 03:41 PM

This has become an interesting topic. I am currently at Spartan and have had the "fix" done and undone. First understand, there is no real problem! The "vibration" is as a result of Spartan going to a much more robust gear driven hydraulic pump. The bigger pump was needed to get more from the radiator fan.
Some coaches have a higher speed vibration from a "pulsing" they found occurring in the hose and their fix for that is replacing the hose. If you have that, I would suggest you have them change the hose. It does go the entire length of the coach. The low speed vibration "fix" is not a fix but more of a trade-off. Their fix is lowering the pressure relief in the steering from 190 to 160. By doing this it makes hitting the relief less noticeable. The trade-off is that it will weaken your coaches ability to static steer(move the steering wheel without moving the coach). I had mine done and took it for a test drive. It was definitely quieter but then when I began to back it in, I couldn't move the wheel from it's opposite lock position, back around until I started to move the coach. I was on asphalt. I've been in some tight campgrounds where lock to lock steering without moving the coach was essential so I had Spartan change it back.
For those of you that have the low vibration and thought of it as no big deal (like I did) until you started reading about it here, I would recommend you skip it. Others will have to make up their own mind.

DSL417 · 06-19-2014, 03:46 PM

Thanks for the discussion Gary...we have a low speed moan (more than vibration)...they had said that it was normal. After all the discussion in the thread, I considered going back to Charlotte for an adjustment. probably will rethink it with your discussion.

Swenster · 06-19-2014, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowabeachbum

This has become an interesting topic. I am currently at Spartan and have had the "fix" done and undone. First understand, there is no real problem! The "vibration" is as a result of Spartan going to a much more robust gear driven hydraulic pump. The bigger pump was needed to get more from the radiator fan.

Some coaches have a higher speed vibration from a "pulsing" they found occurring in the hose and their fix for that is replacing the hose. If you have that, I would suggest you have them change the hose. It does go the entire length of the coach. The low speed vibration "fix" is not a fix but more of a trade-off. Their fix is lowering the pressure relief in the steering from 190 to 160. By doing this it makes hitting the relief less noticeable. The trade-off is that it will weaken your coaches ability to static steer(move the steering wheel without moving the coach). I had mine done and took it for a test drive. It was definitely quieter but then when I began to back it in, I couldn't move the wheel from it's opposite lock position, back around until I started to move the coach. I was on asphalt. I've been in some tight campgrounds where lock to lock steering without moving the coach was essential so I had Spartan change it back.

For those of you that have the low vibration and thought of it as no big deal (like I did) until you started reading about it here, I would recommend you skip it. Others will have to make up their own mind.

They cured the low speed growl on ours but on top of replacing the hose they replaced a valve in the pump. Steering works perfectly. Normal sensitivity and it responds as you would want. Can't wait to drive it to Montana mid July to Labor Day. Trout fishing is great by our secret cowboy town. Love driving it now.

hogdriver · 06-19-2014, 10:43 PM

Gary

Do you know if they changed the valve in your pump like Swenster's? I'm reading one person likes the fix and another did not.

brobox · 06-20-2014, 05:38 AM

I can only add my experience. My steering was one of the really bad ones that Spartan was waiting to get at their shop to try the "new" part(s) on. My steering was pulsating at low speeds and high speeds up to 45 MPH. Much worse than some with the annoying growl while backing into a camp space. Mine was uncomfortable to drive. Ted Cook drove my MH from Entegra to Spartan and couldn't believe it.

I read the faxed report to Joyce and they did change different valves and hoses to get the correct combination for the "fix" on mine.

Why some units have problems and others do not is beyond me. Gary's post made a lot of sense of why the problem is there on "some" units, but I still can't understand why it is worse on others. I drove another forum members Anthem and his also pulsated in a 20 MPH curve, but not as bad as mine. I am with Gary, if yours isn't broke don't fix it. You may not like the "new" feel if you are use to the old one. Mine on the other hand was a 100% improvement.

Nowabeachbum · 06-20-2014, 05:45 AM

There is only one fix. They change the hose and change the relief pressure. It will probably respond differently depending on how you use it. I only had an issue bringing the steering wheel lock to lock on asphalt without moving the coach. I just wanted people to understand that it has a potential downside and the fix can be trade off.

brobox · 06-20-2014, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowabeachbum

There is only one fix. They change the hose and change the relief pressure. It will probably respond differently depending on how you use it. I only had an issue bringing the steering wheel lock to lock on asphalt without moving the coach. I just wanted people to understand that it has a potential downside and the fix can be trade off.

I totally agree, and I never had my coach long enough to see if it would turn post to post without moving the coach. I still can't understand why some coaches don't have a problem and others do with the same components installed at the time of manufacturing. Your explanation was great on what was causing the problem.

MRUSA14 · 06-20-2014, 08:33 AM

I just had the fix done and so far I like it. Noise and vibration are basically gone. I have not tried to static steer, but I hate to do that anyway because it can flat spot the tires and tear up the asphalt. I had a problem static steering once before and I found that even the slightest of movement fore or aft would allow complete steering.

brobox · 06-20-2014, 02:46 PM

Gary, you are correct, there is no more static steering. I just picked up my MH and tried it, the MH does have to be moving to turn the wheels, but ever so slightly. It is probably something I wouldn't have noticed until I got in a spot where I needed it if it had not been pointed out. If the steering noise is minor, I can see where it might not be a good trade off.