Community Forums

gvette85 · 03-27-2019, 06:38 AM

Coming home Sunday in our 04 Dolphin the serpentine belt broke.At first I heard a noise under the motor cover and the battery light and buzzer came on.All of a sudden I had no power steering and the brakes were very hard to mash.I managed to wrestle it to a gravel parking lot and get stopped.A very "puckering " experience !! Thank goodness my BIL was following me in his MH and went to get a new belt.As it turned out the GM 8.1 uses 2 different belts,a 103" or a 108".The parts man was sure it was the 103".Yeah you guessed it,the first was too short,had to return and get the 108".No fun changing on the side of the road but with belt in hand and rented tensioner tool, it only took a few minutes to replace. Just another adventure in the books !!

HJLowell · 03-27-2019, 06:42 AM

Congratulations for handling it.
Yes
Another day on the road.

Will you now carry a spare
108" belt ?

Bob_C · 03-27-2019, 07:01 AM

And tools?......

drdarrin · 03-27-2019, 08:03 AM

Mine would not be any fun at all to change on the side of the road, so I changed it when I crossed 100,000 miles on the truck. Still carrying the old one and the tools, just in case.

J Birder · 03-27-2019, 09:21 AM

Back when I was in a class B, I broke the serpentine pelt near Sheridan Wyoming. It was getting dark and starting to rain, so we just had it towed.

They dropped us off in the local salvage yard, and then came back in the morning and installed a new belt.

It was my most unusual camp site ever.

Joel

mobilemike · 03-27-2019, 10:26 AM

Belts are a regular maintenance item. If yours went unchecked and broke you should be looking into other long term maintenance items that got missed too. Its a warning.

Arch Hoagland · 03-27-2019, 10:44 AM

Was it the original belt?

Gary RVRoamer · 03-27-2019, 10:54 AM

Too bad the parts guy didn't have a tape measure - could have saved a lot of effort.

Actually, you were lucky it was either one, since RVs are often equipped with unique belts and hoses. There is no standard serpentine for an engine - they are all installation dependent. Parts retailers like Autozone or Advance rarely have parts info for a Workhorse chassis, or even a Ford F53 for that matter. They usually give you a part that fits a van or pick-up.

firedoc · 03-27-2019, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobilemike

Belts are a regular maintenance item. If yours went unchecked and broke you should be looking into other long term maintenance items that got missed too. Its a warning.

Other long term items such as what? Honestly, what should I be looking at?

HJLowell · 03-27-2019, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firedoc

Other long term items such as what? Honestly, what should I be looking at?

1. Hydraulic fluid and filter.
My reservoir holds 5 gallon and I change the filter and fluid annually.

I have seen rigs with 100 thousand miles on them and had never changed the hydraulicfluid.. The fluid looked like milk.
Then they wonder why the hydraulic motors fail prematurely.

2. The coolant filter
I change mine annually, needed or not.

3. Slide out hydraulic fluid. If your is hydraulic???
Mine is and I change it every 3 to 4 years.
Guys that dont come on here and talk about plugged valves and having them fail.
Rendering their generator slide out inoperative.

Proper greasing of ALL zerks
Your brakes may need a special grease

These are just a few examples

Re Packing or checking front wheel bearing oil ?
Annually

mobilemike · 03-27-2019, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firedoc

Other long term items such as what? Honestly, what should I be looking at?

Engine:
Tensioners and idlers. Water pump. Upper and lower radiator hoses. motor mounts. fuel filter and water separator filter. Oil leaks . power steering pump leaks and hoses and new power steering filter. Transmission fluid and filter change. Air filter. Fuel leaks of any kind. Rotten or cracked fuel hose.

AnotherMike · 03-27-2019, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobilemike

Air filter

People never change the filter... I can't tell you how many times I've pulled a friends air filter, banged it on the sidewalk and knocked out tablespoons of dirt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobilemike

Fuel leaks of any kind. Rotten or cracked fuel hose

YES! That does happen! When I got my old MH there was a Carter electric fuel pump by the 80 gallon fuel tank and an engine driven mechanical fuel pump on the side of the 454 engine. The jumper hoses from the tank to the Carter, and from the Carter to the metal fuel line and from the fuel line to the mechanical pump were old and cracking and when you ran the Carter there was gas seeping through the cracks in the hoses (yes, a gasoline fire waiting to happen).

So I had a couple of friends drop the tank and replace ALL of the rubber hoses in the entire fuel system. Later the mechanical fuel pump started leaking gas through the weep hole. So I swapped the pump (a half-day project due to limited physical access and old age...)
Everything works now,except for the fuel gauge! (they forgot to hook the wire back up to the sender) So now I have to drop the tank again. Not looking forward to that!

I'm 68 and don't bend as easily as I used to. I'm looking for a pointer to a decent mobile mechanic in the Los Angeles area.

jimmy braden · 03-27-2019, 03:32 PM

ProTip, if two belts are called out buy both and take the unused one back after operational again..

2002guy · 03-27-2019, 06:21 PM

A 2004 rig I would replace the radiator/heater hoses when your home and have some time to figure out what they are, IMHO skip the big chain auto stores and find a GOOD Napa they'll figure out what you need it's not always easy, then save the old radiator hoses if they have any life left in them for get home use if needed