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Old 07-15-2021, 05:04 PM   #1
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Spray of black greasy stuff all over my tow vehicle from my MH.

I posted a few weeks ago about the guy that did an oil change and charged me $381 for the air filter (Freightliner says it's $90.) (He also charged me $3,000 labor for putting new parts in my generator, but that's another story.)

Now I have another problem, and I'm not sure if it's from the oil change or the service I did the following week.

I went to a truck repair place to have my brakes replaced. The guy told me I should do the drums since I'm doing the brakes. When I was on iRV2 to ask about the air filter, I saw a thread about air bags. A couple years ago, last time I had the brakes done at Freightliner, they said a couple of my air bags were leaking. I had not replaced them then. My coach is a 2006 Fleetwood Discovery 35H, so it's about 16 years old. Reading that thread scared me enough to go ahead and bite the bullet. So I told him to go ahead and do the air bags as well. All told, it was $2,600 with labor for brakes, drums, and air bags.

Here's the problem. I picked up my MH on Friday, and on Monday I left for Phoenix (from Las Vegas, NV). I wore gloves to unhook my tow vehicle and didn't notice a lot, but a day later noticed a black greasy residue on my car door handle. After 3 days, I drove from Phoenix to southern Calif. When I got on the freeway, it was stop and go, and I noticed a shuddering in the brakes and a pull to the right. I continued driving and got to Calif. When I went to unhook my vehicle, there was a black greasy residue sprayed over my entire car, and the tow hitch was covered in it. I was parked in my spot for several days, and nothing leaked from the RV to the ground during that time.

I'm going home Monday and wondering if it's safe to drive that far. I also need an idea of who to call out for a possible error. The shudder isn't there anymore, but the RV still pulls a bit to the right. So there's definitely an issue to take it back to the brake guy. But where the heck did all that black gunk come from?? Oil change, brakes, or just pure coincidence and no connection to either?

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.
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Old 07-15-2021, 05:22 PM   #2
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If the gunk is a dry powder, it could be brake dust - especially since your indicating your getting a pulling shutter.

I would get that fixed before I went very far. The heat generated from a sticky brake caliper can cause a fire.
And its not uncommon for older coaches that have not had their brake systems flushed every 2-3 years to have caliper sticking/hanging issues.

If the gunk is wet, it’s very likely a fluid of some type - I would get under the coach and look for wet areas, check your transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and engine oil. Open the hood and look for oil wet hoses for your transmission cooler and power steering.
Less likely but needs to be checked, your coolant level.

Others may have good thoughts as well.
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Old 07-15-2021, 05:29 PM   #3
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Could be crank case oil due to overfilling or diesel fuel from a leak in the fuel line which could eventually cause an engine compartment fire.
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Old 07-15-2021, 08:43 PM   #4
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If you are a Diesel Pusher I would look for the breather tube sometime referred to as the slobber tube. I this is a first time event and you had a oil service I would suspect the breather was altered allowing the residue to escape so it is now getting on your tow.
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Old 07-15-2021, 09:50 PM   #5
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A leaking wheel hub or axle seal can make a tremendous mess & if it contaminated your brake lining, could cause uneven brake feel during application.
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Old 07-15-2021, 10:49 PM   #6
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Is the cap on your sewage tank?
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Old 07-16-2021, 06:48 AM   #7
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Already mentioned earlier. Very common to have a dipstick not be properly calibrated/marked. Should be filled manufacturers quantity then remarked/calibrated. It's been discussed several times of DP being over filled 2-3 qts. using dipstick. Even read old thread that owners manual was wrong and owners finally caught on after 2-3qts lost ,stopped spraying out slobber tube.
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Old 07-16-2021, 07:54 AM   #8
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While correlation does not equal causation, seeing you recently had an oil change I'd vote for an overfilled crankcase. What you described is what happens if the crankcase on my engine is filled with the amount of oil listed in the manual. On several engines Cat updated the capacity to a couple quarts less than original values.

I suggest you take a look at the fan side of your radiator stack for that oily film. wouldn't hurt to give it a quick clean using Simple Green Extreme (not regular) If your slobber tube was blowing out oil mist, it can coat the radiator stack giving something for dust and dirt to stick too eventually plugging the fins.

Some of us have gone one step further and made an oil catch can out of an old plastic jar which the slobber tube goes into to.
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