Community Forums

jbenalpine · 07-26-2016, 11:55 AM

I had read of that there is 1000 hrs of run time or 5 yr service to replace the water pump belt. My generator has about 160 hrs but is 16 yrs old. I was trying to find a procedure for my unit in an Alpine on how to access the belt, but could not find anything.
Here is what I did and it may help someone else:
1. Remove bolts to the top and side panels (only the top and back panels will be removed, sides stay in place). The generator needs to be slid forward in the cradle to get to lower two bolts on the back panel.
2. Remove 4 each 1/4-20 mounting bolts from bottom base that hold the generator in the cradle.
3. Support the generator (vrs the cradle that holds the generator) with garage floor jack with rollers to lift weight off the cradle
4. Slide generator forward with a pry bar to get to two remaining lower bolts out of the back panel
5.Remove the back cover by sliding up, this can be tough but do-able. Be aware there is sheet metal tabs on the bottom that catch on the insulation of side panels
6. To get belt off, remove the upper pulley to get old belt off
7. To put the belt back on, reinstalled the upper pulley, thread belt on to upper and then spun the lower pulley to guide the belt in to the groove
8. Reassemble the covers
9. Position the generator back and install mounting bolts.

BTW my belt was not cracked but loose like it had stretched to where it might start to slip.

Hope this helps

Old Scout · 07-26-2016, 06:31 PM

Good explanation but be aware that genset mounting in the slide cradle varies by model year. 2003 an earlier coaches have a hydraulic slide; 04 and newer have an electric slide that has much less substantial rails. Also note, on my 03 anyway, I didn't have to remove genset cradle bolts --just remove bolts from top and back panels--but agree, back panel is really difficult to raise up and remove.

Rich and Cork · 07-26-2016, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Scout

Good explanation but be aware that genset mounting in the slide cradle varies by model year. 2003 an earlier coaches have a hydraulic slide; 04 and newer have an electric slide that has much less substantial rails. Also note, on my 03 anyway, I didn't have to remove genset cradle bolts --just remove bolts from top and back panels--but agree, back panel is really difficult to raise up and remove.

I did mine a few years back and I did not touch the cradle bolts.

hunter27h · 06-01-2017, 03:11 PM

The gen set has 8650 hours and still seems to be doing well, but I have done service during the 4 years that I have owned the coach and the PO seemed to do regular service.

I decided that since I couldn't find records for the water pump belt being changed that it might be a good idea to do that.

I purchased the belt, air filter, and thermostat from an online site, but they are oem parts.

Once I ran the slide out, and removed the top cover, the easiest part, I went underneath, removed all of the bolts except the bottom two on the rear cover, now why in the world would any engineer put two bolts behind support plates?

After a few minutes of discussion with the genset, the tires, the birds that were "I'm pretty sure they were laughing at me", I decided to make a slight modification to the support plates. I retrieved my 3/4 inch metal hole saw and drilled through the plates in line with the lower two bolts, put the socket on them and removed them, pushed the back plate up wiggled it out, laid it aside, proceeded to change the belt, which took less than 10 minutes. the total job took less than 30 minutes, and I am old and slow. I did spend sometime thinking about the two holes, and finally came to the conclusion that they would not affect the overall purpose of the plates, nor affect the structurel integrity in any manner. If I can do it, anyone can..

azpete · 06-04-2017, 12:02 PM

with 8650 hours, i would have replaced the glow plugs at the same time.
i did mine on a 2005 itasca meridian, at 6700 hours. i dropped it out the bottom and ran cables and hose so i could run it outside the coach.
removed the shroud and did all the repair work. i also flushed the radiator and added new fluid. maybe didnt need it, but as long as i had it out, i did the whole thing.
man what fun doing it by myself.

hunter27h · 06-05-2017, 01:05 PM

The only method that I could see to get the genset out of the coach was upward, and as easy as it is to get the top cover off, getting to glow plugs should be relatively easy, maybe not, but I did change the coolant, following instructions I found on the internet, the oil and filter, and the thermostat, so hopefully I am good to go for a while yet. Still cranks and runs good, no noticeable smoke or noise.