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congotalk · 11-07-2013, 12:34 PM

The title says 2001 the plate for the chassis says 2000 which I understand however there was some big changes in the engine between those two years. The ad said when I bought it had a 8.1 but for some reason I think the vin number has it to be a 7.4 if that's possible I'm thinking this. The motorhome only had 13500 on it when I bought it and I put about 1500 miles on it. This past weekend after about 200 miles on the interstate at 70-75 on cruise the mh started to loose power like surging after coasting a long for a mile or two (engine never died) I pulled of and looked under the hood and could see nothing jumping out at me. Took off about another 60 miles no problem. Stayed the weekend headed home about 150 miles into it the same thing happen for a mile or two than made it home with no other problem. Cleaned it up started it to move it to the storage yard the service engine soon light was on. The first red light I stopped at the engine acted like it wanted to die and the tach needle was surging up and down. No problems every starting. Any thoughts on issues here and will this mh have a plug to check the codes or is to old. Thank again and hope to be back on the road soon. Mitch

larry08i12 · 11-07-2013, 12:58 PM

I have a 92 Pace Arrow 37J and I had the same problem last year as you had. Come to find out, the oil sending unit went out or was going bad. I took it to the garage and they said that the oil pressure was good when hooked up to their manual gauge but when they hooked the sending unit back up, the oil pressure on the gauge was very low. As what I am understanding, the motor will shut down, lose power, etc if the oil pressure drops below a certain set point. They put a new sending unit on mine and all has been working fine. Maybe the same thing is causing your loss of power? A loss of oil pressure? I am no expert though. Hope this might help in some little way.

Arch Hoagland · 11-07-2013, 01:03 PM

I'd for sure clean the MAF sensor and replace the air filter.

UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center I use the UltraGauge for my OBDII reader.

You will find the OBDII port under your dash close to the steering wheel. You will have one of them.

edgray · 11-07-2013, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by congotalk

The title says 2001 the plate for the chassis says 2000 which I understand however there was some big changes in the engine between those two years. The ad said when I bought it had a 8.1 but for some reason I think the vin number has it to be a 7.4 if that's possible I'm thinking this. The motorhome only had 13500 on it when I bought it and I put about 1500 miles on it. This past weekend after about 200 miles on the interstate at 70-75 on cruise the mh started to loose power like surging after coasting a long for a mile or two (engine never died) I pulled of and looked under the hood and could see nothing jumping out at me. Took off about another 60 miles no problem. Stayed the weekend headed home about 150 miles into it the same thing happen for a mile or two than made it home with no other problem. Cleaned it up started it to move it to the storage yard the service engine soon light was on. The first red light I stopped at the engine acted like it wanted to die and the tach needle was surging up and down. No problems every starting. Any thoughts on issues here and will this mh have a plug to check the codes or is to old. Thank again and hope to be back on the road soon. Mitch

MITCH:
First let me WELCOME you to iRV2.com.

Regarding your chassis, the VIN sequence can confirm some of your concerns. The 8th position of the vin is for the engine; a "J" = the L29 7.4L motor and a "G" = the newer 8.1L motor. The 10th vin position is for the chassis model year; it will be a "Y" for 2000 MY or a "1" for 2001 MY. ALSO, you want to know "which" Workhorse chassis you have. If the 6th position is a "3" or a "5", then you have a P32, but if the 6th is a "6", then you have a W series.

Regarding the engine performance troubles, it could be any number of things, from a dirty MAF or fuel filter to a weak (or overheating) fuel pump. As others have suggested, a code reader/scanner connected to the OBD II port may show some codes, but ultimately you may need to find a dealer with a Tech II scanner to properly diagnose the problem.

Because it seems the problem was intermittent I suggest you re-think and determine exactly what "changed", which may help narrow down the issues. For example, did you stop long enough to allow a cool-down, or did you fill up the tank between episodes?

Good luck finding the problem, lets hope its a simple fix like a dirty filter. Please let us know the resolution.
Ed