A simple project turned into a BIG project... I noticed that the coolant tubes were rusting in some areas. Since the coolant was due for a change, I decided to sand and paint the tubes and add a couple of extra coolant site glasses in the expansion tank at the same time. As I started this, one thing lead to another and I ended up doing the following:
Replaced water pump with an updated new style version / replaced the engine thermostat and belt tensioner
Replaced the cracked exhaust manifold, exchanged the turbo (waste gate valve was frozen and turbo oil seals were seeping) went with reman unit
Added gate shut off valves on the engine for the heater core
Reinsulated the doghouse area over the engine and inside wardrobe closet
Replaced the L/Neville alternator & D/Remy starter with new style gear reduction version (This model makes it much easier to reach the top starter bolt as well)
New s/steel flexible exhaust hose and Nelson OEM muffler (still sounds great!)
I’ll try to send some separate threads for some of that work. Many of the links I found in the forums were “old” on some of these subjects.
I started by trying to sand the rusted areas on the coolant tubes but found it difficult to clean well. We have a Redi-Strip vendor here in Chicago that uses an electrostatic process to remove rust w/o sand blasting (less metal loss this way). I checked on just getting the tubes remade locally but found it pricey. Redi-Strip charged $ 105. for both tubes (upper and lower) I then took them to Rino Liner for coating. They coated the outside on all but the last two inches on each end of the tubes. They charged $ 100. I used black epoxy paint for the uncoated portion. The Rhino coating will be more resilient to stone chipping and maintenance free. New Gates hump hoses and ball gate valves for the heater core shut off were done at the same time. One valve is placed inside the frame rail by the oil filter. The other valve was placed outside the frame rail, on the opposite side, by the air cleaner. Both are very easy to reach and operate. I added new silicone heater hoses from the engine to each valve and kept the existing heater hoses to the front of the coach. That can be a future winter project. I used thee old hump hoses as wrap for the coolant tube protection anywhere other hoses / parts come into contact with these tubes. Just used a cutter to trim and cut the rubber to size. It was ideal to solve the issue where HWH leg spring rubs the lower coolant tube just behind the driver’s side rear duals.
Working by myself it took about one week, 3-4 hours each evening. It turned out great and am really happy the repairs and preventative maintenance are DONE!
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