Community Forums

Mike Brown · 03-24-2023, 08:31 AM

Good morning all! Looking at purchasing a 2002 Fleetwood Flair. Price is in the right neighborhood. Has 138,000 miles on the 454 Chevy engine, oil changes every 3000 miles. Has some body damage down the drivers side, got too close to something. The 138,000 miles on the motor concerns me a bit. Not looking at major trips, just local lakes and such outings. Interior pics seem to show it in decent shape for age and miles. May make the trip to get a first hand look at it this weekend. Just looking for some advice on purchasing an older Motorhome. Thanks in advance! Mike

Mike Brown · 04-01-2023, 07:23 PM

Gee, thanks folks. Peace Out.

1972VWbus · 04-01-2023, 07:32 PM

A compression test will tell you whether the engine is tired.

donr103 · 04-01-2023, 07:32 PM

Are you able to replace the engine if it blows yourself ? Can you do most of maintenance ? Most likely a big project.. How did you make out? Did you go and look?
Good luck and keep us posted

Isaac-1 · 04-01-2023, 09:55 PM

That seems odd, I would have expected an 8.1L in a 2002 model

Arch Hoagland · 04-01-2023, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

That seems odd, I would have expected an 8.1L in a 2002 model

Took the words out of my mouth.

paulwang · 04-04-2023, 01:44 PM

I have a 2000 Fleetwood Flair 30FT. With less than 40,000 miles, it still runs strong. I do all the maintenance work by myself. Don't have any significant mechanical problems. I replaced the shocks, front and rear. The brake pads are still original ones, I checked them last year.
Since it's too old, the colour is fading significantly, rubber seal around the windshield is getting brittle.
It didn't get a lot of use in the past years, but tires still cost a lot of money to replace.
If you are a handyman, and the price is about right, go get it. Stay away if you have to pay someone to maintain it.

Tech Writer · 04-04-2023, 04:57 PM

Does the engine have a carburetor or fuel injected? If it has a carburetor, that engine has a reputation for burning spark plug wires near the spark plugs where the very hot exhaust manifold surrounds them. Also, the exhaust manifolds had a reputation of warping and cracking. All of that was true with my 1987 Bounder. With about 65,000 miles I couldn't keep up with those problems and traded it in on a new 2000 Bounder which, with 144,167 miles gave no problems. The Ford has a wider wheel base and was much more stable on the road. I don't know if the rig you are considering is the old narrow wheel base or the newer wide wheel base. I would tend to pass on the narrow wheelbase. No matter what brand or size RV you will be affected by wind; some much more than others.

If the Chevy engine in the motorhome that you are looking at is fuel injected, even though the engine physical configuration is about the same, you should have less or no manifold and spark plug wire problems.

Check the date code on each of the tires and inspect them. If the tires are over seven years old, have cracking in the sidewalls, have a lump in the tread (tread separation) or any bulge in a sidewall, the tire(s) must be replaced. If you belong to FMCA (recommended) they have good discounts on various brands including Goodyear and Michelin. It might be worth it to hire a qualified RV mechanic to perform a full inspection.

paulwang · 04-04-2023, 10:31 PM

It's a fuel injection engine, Vortec. I changed the spark plug wires last year, but there is no problem with the old wires. There was a fuel pressure regulator leak a few years ago.

paulwang · 04-04-2023, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tech Writer

Does the engine have a carburetor or fuel injected? If it has a carburetor, that engine has a reputation for burning spark plug wires near the spark plugs where the very hot exhaust manifold surrounds them. Also, the exhaust manifolds had a reputation of warping and cracking. All of that was true with my 1987 Bounder. With about 65,000 miles I couldn't keep up with those problems and traded it in on a new 2000 Bounder which, with 144,167 miles gave no problems. The Ford has a wider wheel base and was much more stable on the road. I don't know if the rig you are considering is the old narrow wheel base or the newer wide wheel base. I would tend to pass on the narrow wheelbase. No matter what brand or size RV you will be affected by wind; some much more than others.

If the Chevy engine in the motorhome that you are looking at is fuel injected, even though the engine physical configuration is about the same, you should have less or no manifold and spark plug wire problems.

Check the date code on each of the tires and inspect them. If the tires are over seven years old, have cracking in the sidewalls, have a lump in the tread (tread separation) or any bulge in a sidewall, the tire(s) must be replaced. If you belong to FMCA (recommended) they have good discounts on various brands including Goodyear and Michelin. It might be worth it to hire a qualified RV mechanic to perform a full inspection.

I have had my last set of tires on my MH for nine years, with no cracks, and a lot of treads left. I parked inside for a few years. The tires were too old, so I changed them last year.

Tech Writer · 04-05-2023, 02:38 AM

Assuming other routine maintenance has been performed on schedule it should have a lot of miles left in it. If it has not been done, it is probably time for a new serpentine belt and possibly new coolant hoses. Also, if it hasn't been done, the break linings should be checked and brake fluid flushed and replaced. Transmission should have filter replaced and be power flushed. Watch them do it. You will be amazed at how much lighter in color the new fluid is compared with that which is flushed out. I always did my own oil and filter change which is easy. Use the coach's leveling jacks to raise it up and for safety raise a jack stand under each of the four corners of the chassis. Be Safe! While oil is draining, lubricate the chassis. Make sure to check the chassis information so as not to miss any Zerk fitting. Those in the drive shaft universal joints can sometimes be hard to find and hard to engage the chuck of you grease gun. Have one that takes grease cartridges and a lever. It should have a flexible hose, not a solid metal tube. Always wipe clean each fitting before connecting the grease gun chuck to it. Sometimes it takes a lot of pressure to force grease into a fitting. Don't overdue the amount of grease but use enough that old black grease oozes out. Have a bunch of old rags (preferable cotton for absorbency) with you to wipe oil drips and to wipe reasonable clean around all greased chassis parts.