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kartvines · 10-12-2010, 09:18 AM

OK, next questions, I guess I now need to buy a repair manual for my motor-home engine, which is a 454 Chevy, being the Motor-home is a 83 Pace Arrow, P-30.

So before I waste more money, what book would provide me the closest data related to this engine, being it is in a motor-home, will any engine repair manual for that year work, or do I need to dial it down to a model?

I am able to tackle more repairs and service items if I have a manual which will provide me with step by step directions.

My reality is I don't know what I don't know, and I do not want to learn on this motor-home, where mistake are to costly, and defeats the whole purpose we bought the motor-home. I am able to read and follow directions.

Folis Jones · 10-12-2010, 09:46 AM

I too have been searching for an applicable manual for our '85 Winnebago Chieftain that is on a Chevy P-30 chassis. We had a mysterious total engine power loss recently, all efforts to restart failed. After it sat for fifteen minutes it started right away then died again. I guessed it was a fuel delivery problem.

Once it was towed to a repair facility they poured gasoline in the carb and started right up? It did not fail again but now I don't trust it. Apparently this model does not have "in tank" fuel pumps and relies on the engine driven pump. We are having a new engine pump put on since the one found on it was an old "AC" which hasn't been made in years. We can only hope that was the culprit.

Since there are no in-tanks pumps, and the unit is 30 ft long should I put a low pressure "booster" fuel pump somewhere in the main fuel line?

Kind regards,

Folis

Folis Jones Racing
Suffolk, Virginia
1985 Winnebago Chieftain
Lotus Seven racing car

Nick-B · 10-12-2010, 02:39 PM

kartvines,
The 454 engine in the motorhome chassis is no different from the 454 they put in the trucks so a truck manual covering 1983 (or so) should be good. If you are interested in information on the chassis, then you'll need to find a P30 chassis manual.

Folis,
A booster pump mounted close to the tank would be a good idea, however I would also recommend a fuel pressure regulator, mounted near the carb, since those old Quadrajet carburetors are sensitive to too much fuel pressure. You want enough pressure to supply the engine under load but not so much pressure that the fuel pushes past the needle seat causing it to run rich at idle.

Clay L · 10-15-2010, 01:42 PM

Helm Inc Service Manuals, Owner Manuals, Wiring Diagrams, Service Bulletins - Helm Incorporated had a factory service manual for my 93 454 engine and P30 chassis. You might try them. After looking at the site I called to make sure I had the right part number and they were very helpful.

richvkansas · 11-04-2010, 07:48 PM

Until last year, we had a 86 Komfort 34' MH on a P-30 platform. Fortunately, it came with an owners manual. I believe it was a basic P-30 van, partial vehicle manual. But as to your post re: fuel. We were just about in Indianapolis when the engine died. I looked and the fuel pressure was "0". It sat for a while and started right up and off we went again but only for a few miles and back to zero---and again one more time. Well, we were towed in after several hours of testing by a young mechanic who was determined to find the problem, did. There is a frame mounted "slave" fuel pump and filter about midway back to the fuel tank on the P-30 van. This was the problem however it is kind of hard to diagnose if it is the problem. When the engine is running, the high pressure or engine pump is providing fuel and all is well. When you hit the highway speeds, more fuel is needed and the slave pump kicks in pushing fuel forward keeping the pressure up. Initial testing revealed nothing but the mechanic noticed the slave pump would not run when the engine was just at idle. Apparently the front pump can pull enough fuel from the tank on its own. So, he segregated the pump by hooking it to a battery causing it to run continuously and then routing temp fuel lines so it pulled fuel from the tank and pushed it right back in. This mimics the slave pump working at highway speeds. Sure enough, about 45 minutes later, it overheated and shut down. He let it cool down for an hour or so and repeated the test with the same results. He replaced the slave pump and filter and we were on our way with no further problems. Not sure it is your problem but it might be.