Community Forums

EngineerMike · 07-03-2006, 04:43 PM

Opening the radiator panel was easy as stated above.
But now it's time to change the oil on top of the radiator

I think I got to it B4 the lines got cooked, but there is a leak in the larger diameter valve fitting assembly & it's starting to drip down the intercooler.
Also got a good look @ the LR leveler fitting & its definitely rubbing on the intercooler supply (3" alum. tube). Gotta get that fixed too. Time to schedule a mini-homecoming.
Good thing for warranties, or I'd hafta break out the big sweaty wad of money

jerry davis · 08-08-2006, 06:55 PM

Finally had all the hydraulic hoses replaced on my wardrobe slide. The shop that did the work relocated the speed valve and most of the excess hose to the battery compartment where the temperature is more normal than on top of the radiator. They also installed heat shields on the hoses that must stay over the radiator. Hopefully this will solve the rear slide hose problems.

Again, I strongly suggest that alpine owners of 05-06 models check the hydraulic hoses located on top of the radiator.

Jerry Davis
05-06 36'FDDS

Audrey & John · 08-09-2006, 04:27 PM

Well, we got our bedroom slide hydraulics fixed AGAIN!

On Tuesday morning at WRV service we noticed what looked like fresh oil on the radiator.

This time, WRV put on the heat shield that should have been there in the first place and replaced one of the lines. The dealer had fashioned a shield solution, but one of the lines had already bubbled. I'm not sure why the dealer didn't get a shield from WRV in the first place - seems like he was having a hard time getting it at the time. We'll follow up.

Our jacks had also gone out over the weekend. The needle valve had gone bad.

I guess we're pretty lucky that these things happened in the during our factory service visit. We're hoping anything else that's gonna fail will please fail this week while we are here! (knock on wood).

Audrey

Cedar41 · 08-09-2006, 06:04 PM

Might as well try to get a good deal on a water pump while you are there. Also, go buy hydraulic filters while you are there. Get several as you have to replace 3 at at time and they say every 6 thousand miles. We ordered them and got a good price from Cummings Northwest but had to pay large shipping charges to get them to Texas. So buy a dozen or so $7+ each. WRV wants twice the price as Cummings.

Glad you are getting all fixed up, we will be that way soon.

Lana

EngineerMike · 08-10-2006, 09:46 AM

Aud- What does the "heat shield" look like? I did the install of what WRV sent, which basically fastened the lines to the underside of the floor so they didn't rest on the radiator. They didn't send anything that actually shields heat, just a coupla rubber-wrapped clamps that screw the hydraulic lines up to the underside of the floor, and a black plastic sleeve in two parts about 9" long each. I'm wondering if that will be enough. Mike

Audrey & John · 08-11-2006, 07:11 AM

EngineerMike - I don't know what it looks like. They had put the radiator cover back on after they did the work. I'll try to remember to ask today.

Audrey

Audrey & John · 08-11-2006, 07:36 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Cedar41:
Might as well try to get a good deal on a water pump while you are there. Also, go buy hydraulic filters while you are there. Get several as you have to replace 3 at at time and they say every 6 thousand miles. We ordered them and got a good price from Cummings Northwest but had to pay large shipping charges to get them to Texas. So buy a dozen or so $7+ each. WRV wants twice the price as Cummings.

Glad you are getting all fixed up, we will be that way soon.

Lana </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi Lana

Ooops - somehow the hydraulic filters are not on our service list and Cummins NW did not replace them when they did our 10,000 mile/annual service last month. Cummins has set things they do at each annual/10K interval.

After reading some posts, John concluded that 15,000 miles was satisfactory on hydraulic filter replacement.
http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9686094452/m/...311005011#3311005011
http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9686094452/m/...=380100297#380100297

We don't do our own filter/fluid replacement. Without a homebase to do such work - it's really too hard as a fulltimer. We just pay out the nose for someone else to do our "greasemonkey" work.

Cummins Rocky Mountains has Coach Care facilities in Albuquerque and El Paso. We were pretty happy with the annual service at Albuquerque even though it took a little longer than expected. They were very thorough and did a good after work inspection.

We don't have room to carry too many spares (except for fuses and extra towing system parts). When we get ready to go to Alaska we'll stock up on some engine belts, etc. I hope our water pump doesn't go out!

After being here at WRV, we've concluded that their prices on parts/spares is high. Better to go with a normal retailer or someone like Cummins for standard off-the-shelf parts.

Audrey

jerry davis · 08-11-2006, 01:43 PM

Mike, what you got from WRV for your hydraulic lines is exactly what they sent me. Supposedly,the plastic parts are to keep the hose ends from acting like a heat sink. The shop that installed mine covered the ends with the plactic halves and attached them to the slide floor.

What was interesting is that they moved the speed valve and as much hose as they could next to the hydraulic ram located in the battery compartment. This seemed like a real intelligent move on their part. Don't know if this was their idea or WRV. Knowing what I do about customer service at WRV I suspect it was the shops idea.

Jerry Davis
05-06 36' FDDS

Audrey & John · 08-12-2006, 09:20 PM

EngineerMike: Those parts look like what we have. The goal is to protect the metal fittings/connectors from the heat. We got curious and had time to take the radiator cover off and take a look today. I will post photos shortly.

Audrey

Audrey & John · 08-13-2006, 04:15 PM

Here are some photos of the repair and shield for the hydraulics under the bedroom slide.

Here is a larger view of the top left section of the radiator after you take off the cover. The shielded hydraulic connections are in the upper left hand corner, and the excess lines are tacked onto the bottom of the bedroom floor.

Close-ups of the shielded hydraulic connections. These are the two U-shaped black plastic pieces that are tied together to form a sleeve. The sleeve is then bolted to the underside of the floor with a clamp. It's these metal fittings that are most sensitive to the heat from the radiator.

The excess hydraulic lines are clamped to the underside of the floor above the radiator. Here is a view of the center and right side of the radiator above which the lines are fastened:

Hope these photos help!

Audrey

EngineerMike · 08-14-2006, 01:12 PM

Aud- Thanks for the 5 thousand words. I got the same package of parts, less a couple-three smaller clamps and no instructions of any sort. Naturally I didn't divine the use of the plastic U-gizzies, so I have a bit of retrofit on the retrofit to handle. Thanks for the inside scoop.
I was expecting actual heat-sock type material like hot rodders use on components next to exhaust pipe which I think would be both better and easier to install, but I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it.

jerry davis · 08-14-2006, 03:00 PM

It still seems to me that moving the excess hydraulic lines out of the radiator area and relocating them to the battery compartment makes a great deal of sense. There is now very little line left near the radiator on our coach.

05-06 36"FDDS

Ted III · 08-17-2006, 02:32 AM

Eng Mike, There was little thought about including instructions to you for the plastic sleeves for the correction of th heat issue with the hoses. In all honesty we just assumed that you designed them.I doubt in all sincerity that you will have any problem installing them, but that is no excuse for WRV to forget the instructions.

BruceJaxn · 09-06-2006, 09:11 PM

Audrey & John,

Has your slide/hydraulic problem been resolved? We have the same problem. Our 2006 Alpine 36 FDDS (new in Jan '06) has had 3 previous hydraulic problems related to the rear slide. The last problem was a hose leak near the radiator. One hose leaked and another had bubbles or other sign of weakness. WRV instructed Cummins Denver to replace all the hydraulic tubing. Two months later, the front end of the rear slide wandered out about an inch while driving. In trying to retract/move the slide, we ended up with the front edge out 6" and the rear edge fully retracted. The Cummins Denver dealer declined to work on the slide, suggesting we take it to the factory. Fortunately we have an appointment there in late September. The WRV Tech Support was very helpful (as always) in helping us with roadside engineering to stabilize the slide so we could drive 700 miles home (and soon another 1200 miles to the factory).

Amazingly, the coach handles well even with the 6" protrusion, though my mileage suffers.