Community Forums

twinboat · 09-04-2019, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaffeekid

Everything being equal at this time I would let that old sleeping dog lie.�� Tire wear or shimmy of the front end would be a give away. Next time you have the front tires off the ground one hand at 12:00 the other at 6:00 o'clock on the tire push and pull in a rocking motion. Any movement indicates the bearings need to be inspected.
As for clamping the hose that's the way I do it, every mechanic I've seen service the brakes on my 18 wheeler that I drove for 1.2 million miles did it the same. If you want to do it a different way, go for it.

In 35 years of heavy equipment repairs, on road and off, I never did, or find a reason to, clamp an air brake line. I worked In a big shop and no others did it either. Caps, plugs and couplings do a better job.

Do what you do, but don't suggest its OK to crush hydraulic brake lines.

marjoa · 09-04-2019, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

Caps, plugs and couplings do a better job.

Hey twinboat,
I hope you know, I've always appreciated your opinion. Concerning this thread—and what we're talking about here—can you elaborate a little more about what you mean of "Caps, plugs and couplings do a better job" as an alternative to—clamping the hose.

I'm not sure I understand these other options fully. Can you please elaborate?

Just trying to learn more.

twinboat · 09-04-2019, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marjoa

Hey twinboat,
I hope you know, I've always appreciated your opinion. Concerning this thread—and what we're talking about here—can you elaborate a little more about what you mean of "Caps, plugs and couplings do a better job" as an alternative to—clamping the hose.

I'm not sure I understand these other options fully. Can you please elaborate?

Just trying to learn more.

Refering to 18 wheelers with air brakes, almost every air fitting terminates in pipe thread. If the brake chamber is leaking, remove the line and cap it. Don't crunch the line with vice grips unless you plan on replacing it. Thats only to get you to a shop.

If a line gets a hole, in many cases, the line can be cut and trimmed and a air line coupler can be fitted.

Our tow and service truck carried all kinds of fittings to patch up air lines.

Chaffeekid · 09-04-2019, 07:42 PM

It's a rubber hose check any brake service mechanic, working on a hydraulic brake system and they will use a clamp to squeeze the hose. Google hydraulic brake clamp. Enough said.

marjoa · 09-04-2019, 09:14 PM

thx guys.

Chaffeekid · 09-05-2019, 05:44 AM

Take a look at this its what a lot of people use.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lisle-23000...s/362624419432

twinboat · 09-05-2019, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaffeekid

Take a look at this its what a lot of people use.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lisle-23000...s/362624419432

I thought you said " enough said "

How can it be wrong to hang the brake caliper off the hose or kink it, because it may damage the hose, but its OK to crush it with locking pliers or clamps.

I would never crush a high pressure hose.

NITEHAWK · 09-05-2019, 06:30 AM

Gunny Jim, was hoping to see pictures of your RV because of curiosity on my part.
We had a 1997 Georgy Boy Class C with the 460 engine.
Loved the quality of the Georgy Boy part. The Ford parts not so much.
Transmission went bad THREE times, once a year!!
Also found out the exhaust manifold bolts were pulling out of the heads. Turns out the previous owner had someone try to weld steel to cast iron. We found that out from the Service Manager--that we were sure lucky we traded it in B4 the bolts pulled out all the way. Turns out the Heads on the 460 RV engine are very special and very hard to find!!

When we finally traded it in on a Foretravel we were getting 4.5 MPG!!!

NITEHAWK · 09-05-2019, 07:52 AM

A thought for you.
While up at Day Lake in WI in our Georgy Boy our boat trailer lights shorted out the rear lights on the Georgy Boy. The Ford dealer in Hayward had his mechanics looking for hours for the fuse in the RV. No luck. Then a Ford factory rep came by. He said the fuse for the rear lights was located UNDER the battery box!
Who would have ever thought of that?

Chaffeekid · 09-06-2019, 06:21 AM

Hey Nighthawk, one of the things I did after acquiring the GB, was drop the Transmission pan, drain the stuff that was in there, install a new transmission filter and of course new fluid. Seems to shift and run great.

One of the nice things about our Georgie Boy, is it was never modified in any way. Still had the old analog tv's everything stock. It did have some leaks in the past, and must have set outside for sometime, as the vinyl stickers had faded badly. However, looks like about 2 years ago, someone installed a brand new rubber roof, stopped all the leaks, no interior damage, a couple of stains that Insta-gone takes care of.

Haven't yet taken it on a long enough trip to check the fuel mileage, but that will change, as we are leaving for northern Illinois Saturday. Won't be pulling anything as the Diodes in the Jeep have went south. New ones on order from E-trailer.com but they won't be here in time. I think I blew them when I also installed a trailer tow wiring kit in the Jeep, which was powered, and did the diodes in. I get power all the way up to the diodes input, but nothing on the output. Although, they do allow the OEM voltage to get through, all the lights work, but not from the motorhome, which I have checked six way from sunday

The only pictures I currently have were taken with a cell phone and go upside down when I post them

So you have to stand on your head to view them

Ps don't have that problem with the fuses, they are in the big fuse box under the hood. Yes, sounds like placement of the fuses were somewhat of an afterthought on yours.

NITEHAWK · 09-06-2019, 06:28 AM

WOW, looks nothing like our old Georgy Boy!!
Ours was the typical class C look--like someone dropped a truck camper onto a Ford van.
The taillights fuse was the only one under the battery. Weird, huh?
Very nice looking rig by the way.
Hope you get a lot of enjoyment (and use) out of it.

GypsyR · 09-06-2019, 07:51 PM

Many people clamp brake hoses, many don't. I don't. Brake hoses as they age soften from the inside out. Sometimes some of the inside of the hose will form a sort of "flap" which causes what is sometimes called "check valving". In essence when you press the pedal you apply a lot of force and the fluid easily pushes past the flap. There is very little pressure from the brakes (discs in particular) to push that fluid back again. Sometimes that flap restricts it to the point it actually blocks the fluid's return. This makes the caliper drag or "stick" Resulting in lots of heat and various damage, according to how long it is driven before being noticed.

The reason most shop manuals (and professional mechanic seminars/publications) say not to let calipers hang by the hose or to crimp or kink the hoses is because doing has been found to cause internal hose damage. So those mechanics who pay attention to such things (and care) no longer clamp brake hoses. There are still mechanics around who hold a personal code of "do no harm" to a customer's vehicle. It may be they are outnumbered by the ones whose main concern is getting the current vehicle out ASAP so they can wheel in the next job. If you look up "flat rate" pay you can see why the second type is pretty prolific.