Community Forums

TDiGuy · 03-08-2010, 11:27 AM

HI all,
I have oil leaking from the air chuck in the engine maintance bay... (where the fuel filter and dipstick and stuff is located)... I have 90lbs of air pressure. Is this normal? Does this mean that i just need to use the air dump switches at the drivers seat or should i just open the two valves in the bay next to the chuck?
Thanks in advance
jeff

Jim Stewart · 03-08-2010, 11:32 AM

There should be no oil in the system. It could have moisture (dirty and looks like oil) in it and if there is a large quantity, I suppose it could leak there. If it is leaking anything, it is also leaking air and should not.

I do not know what type of water ejectors your system has on it, manual or automatic. If manual, you need to find it and release the moisture. You should also have an air dryer and desiccant filter. Have you changed that filter, if not, that could be clogged.

TDiGuy · 03-08-2010, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart

There should be no oil in the system. It could have moisture (dirty and looks like oil) in it and if there is a large quantity, I suppose it could leak there. If it is leaking anything, it is also leaking air and should not.

I do not know what type of water ejectors your system has on it, manual or automatic. If manual, you need to find it and release the moisture. You should also have an air dryer and desiccant filter. Have you changed that filter, if not, that could be clogged.

Thanks Jim,
You gave me the courage to open one of the valves next to the air chuck and about
a table spoon of water came out... so I opened the other and a teaspoon of water
came out and lots more air with a little water in it.... one seem to be high pressure and one low pressure... so i ran down the pressure and decided to start the engine to pump it up... well when it reached 110lbs on the gage I went back out and the chuck was hissing... I think I found the leak... played around with it and it leaked a little dirty water and finally got it to stop... So my question: is this a regular chuck or
is it some kind of release valve?

Jim Stewart · 03-08-2010, 04:06 PM

If it has a little key on the end that you turn to open and air comes out of it, it is a release valve. It is used to drain all of the air out of the system. You have either separate manual water ejectors or automatic ones, they are on the bottom of the MH. If manual, you have to turn a valve or on some, they have a ring in the back that you pull to release the water ejector valve. If automatic, it should have done it on it's own.

If you have that much water, you probably have an old desiccant filter (filter usually underneath) that is for an air dryer. It probably needs to be changed.

tom wilson · 03-08-2010, 07:01 PM

change the air dryer.

TDiGuy · 03-11-2010, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart

If it has a little key on the end that you turn to open and air comes out of it, it is a release valve. It is used to drain all of the air out of the system. You have either separate manual water ejectors or automatic ones, they are on the bottom of the MH. If manual, you have to turn a valve or on some, they have a ring in the back that you pull to release the water ejector valve. If automatic, it should have done it on it's own.

If you have that much water, you probably have an old desiccant filter (filter usually underneath) that is for an air dryer. It probably needs to be changed.

HI Jim,
Thanks for your help. I got under it yesterday and traced the lines to the tank.
One comes off the bottom and the other from the middle. Could the one that comes from the bottom be the water ejector? I do not see a desiccant filter... Only the oil,
fuel, engine air and a fuel water seperator... The engine one is huge. I would guess
it is 14" in diameter and 20" long... the airpipe to the engine is 6". Could the Desiccant filter be inside the engine air filter? Where is yours located? I did not look up by the front axle because it is so far away...
jeff

FleetMan · 03-11-2010, 10:18 AM

Oil in the air system is usually caused by a bad air compressor. Oil is getting past the rings in the air compressor and is being pumped into the system. Changing the air dryer/filter/dessicant will not solve the problem.

Jim Stewart · 03-11-2010, 11:04 AM

Jeff, you may have to call Monaco about the type and location of the ejectors, below is a picture of a Meritor Air Dryer with Desiccant Filter. Mine is located up under the frame on the rear passenger side, in front of the axle. It is hard to see. If in fact you did have oil instead of dirty water, it could be from the compressor as described in the post above. It seems like you had a large quantity for it to be the oil from the compressor.

FleetMan · 03-11-2010, 08:39 PM

The oil lubricating the air compressor is engine oil. Theoretically, an air compressor with bad rings could pump out the contents of the entire crank case. I've seen a few of situations like this in my fleet maintenance days.

TDiGuy · 03-11-2010, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FleetMan

The oil lubricating the air compressor is engine oil. Theoretically, an air compressor with bad rings could pump out the contents of the entire crank case. I've seen a few of situations like this in my fleet maintenance days.

Wow... the water is diffinently dirty... if it is leaking it looks minor at this point...
I had a leaking chuck that I repaired today and what came out looked like just
water today... Today was rainy so i was not surprised... Thanks for the
heads up. I will keep a close check on the oil... Tomorrow I will look for
the filter again... Do they sell rebuild kits for the compressor?

FleetMan · 03-12-2010, 09:58 AM

"Do they sell rebuild kits for the compressor?"

If air compressor replacement is required, a rebuilt unit which is available from most any heavy truck parts supplier is usually the most cost effective way to go.

embmac · 03-14-2010, 06:48 PM

Your air should purge automatically when your compressor reaches purge pressure. Your purge unit should be located underneath and somewhere forward of your transmission. The actual purge outlet is a black plastic housing on the bottom of a cast silver looking container about 8"-10" in diameter. The easiest way to remove this is disconnect the hoses attached to the canister, remove the bolts attaching it to the frame, take it to a work bench, disassemble it, remove the dessicant core and coalesent filter, clean the canister good, install new driers, and put it back on motorhome. I just finished doing this to my Winnebago Journey. It wasn't giving me a problem, but I figured it was time. It was pretty dirty inside. When you buy the driers, it will have instructions with it. Hope this helps.

Twomed · 03-14-2010, 07:16 PM

Hi..we had a 99 Safari Continental 8 air bag chassis Magnum by SMC. There was no filter on that chassis, the thinking being that onlly suspension was air powered with the hydraulic brakes. It is important that you drain the water frequently, more humid weather will produce more water. You are correct about the lower valve line having more water, that is the primary end of the tank. Look closely the tank is actually two ends welded together. Also that tank powers front and rear suspension. That is why she kind of rolls a little because it takes some pumping to refill air released by leveling valves when running. The air was "dirty" to some degree on mine from new until 150k when I sold it, no problem. Simple system as all it does is air bags. Hope this helps.

TDiGuy · 03-16-2010, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twomed

Hi..we had a 99 Safari Continental 8 air bag chassis Magnum by SMC. There was no filter on that chassis, the thinking being that onlly suspension was air powered with the hydraulic brakes. It is important that you drain the water frequently, more humid weather will produce more water. You are correct about the lower valve line having more water, that is the primary end of the tank. Look closely the tank is actually two ends welded together. Also that tank powers front and rear suspension. That is why she kind of rolls a little because it takes some pumping to refill air released by leveling valves when running. The air was "dirty" to some degree on mine from new until 150k when I sold it, no problem. Simple system as all it does is air bags. Hope this helps.

Thanks a bunch... I looked again today and there is no filter... traced the air lines all
the way to the front... I did see the hydraulic brake resevoir ... I would not have that
if I had air brakes would I?
Now did your Safari have air parking brake?
Mine does... The fuel tank says Safari 88.5gal on it... lol