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SamSter0077 · 08-28-2012, 07:08 AM

I bought a 2006 Winnebago several months ago and love it. Last Friday my wife called me and told me the A/C wasn't working. She said it "hummed" but wouldn't start so I was thinking Start Cap.. well, when I got home and pulled the cover off... all it took was spinning the fan shaft by hand to loosen it up enough to start and work (never touch it when it's plugged in!). Crisis averted.. we continued to our destination by the beach for some fishing.

2 Days later on the way home, I notice the RV pulling to the passenger side. When I press the brake, it would pull to the driver side. I assume it's a tire going flat or something so I pull over at the next large parking lot. Get out and look, and the tire pressures look fine?? When I touched the wheel on the passenger side it was FAR too hot to touch. hmm... I compared it with the Driver's side and it was hot, but not nearly as hot as the passenger side. It reminded me of an old Dodge Caravan I bought, it was 10 years old and only had 30k miles... the same thing happened to it right before the passenger caliper locked up and started actually smoking while driving on the freeway. Turned out the car sat too long and the caliper was just stuck..

So, we limped it another 15 miles home (lucky us!) and took it apart. The Caliper looked like it was from Mars or something, covered in red dust and rust.. ok, that confirmed my suspicion. I was thinking "oh crap, where am I gonna get this part?".. I called my local O'Reilly's and damned if they didn't have it in stock.. oh, and it was $40.00 with core trade in.. wow! Cheap too! So, I got it and changed it and argued with the wife while trying to bleed the brake system (she wasn't pushing and holding the brake hard enough..) and fixed it. Took it for a test drive, everything checked out.. SWEET!

This morning, I decided to google it and turns out this is an extremely common problem with the E450 chassis. I read that I needed to change the brake fluid because it gets too much moisture in it and corrodes things.. I read that the pistons are an inferior construction and probe to sticking when hot.. I read that the hoses are crap, buy OEM parts to fix it.. I am sure the RV'ers that have had this issue have read all the same things. Can anyone confirm they had the problem, fixed it and never had the problem again (hopefully you kept the RV long term)?

My concern is it will happen every x number of years.. just curious if anyone here can shed some light on it.. it's totally new to me! Thanks in Advance!

nightriderrv · 08-28-2012, 07:40 AM

Happy your OK and made it home !!!! I would change the other one too and just do a complete front brake job pads, cut rotors then you know it's correct and change the fluid. As for the fan on the A/C they will do that when it set up for a while mainly after the fall/winter storage season just a little spin is all it takes like you found out also check for dirt dobbers and wasp nest those critters love those squirrel cages

hfein1 · 08-28-2012, 09:44 AM

Also check passenger side rubber brake hose. A partially blocked hose will restrict flow both ways and cause the symptoms you described.

SamSter0077 · 08-28-2012, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightriderrv

Happy your OK and made it home !!!! I would change the other one too and just do a complete front brake job pads, cut rotors then you know it's correct and change the fluid. As for the fan on the A/C they will do that when it set up for a while mainly after the fall/winter storage season just a little spin is all it takes like you found out also check for dirt dobbers and wasp nest those critters love those squirrel cages

Critters is right, thanks for the tip. I have never had this before.. guess that is what happens when you keep it outside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hfein1

Also check passenger side rubber brake hose. A partially blocked hose will restrict flow both ways and cause the symptoms you described.

it looked fine, and functioned perfectly during a drive. I guess we will find out for sure during the labor day weekend. I have a feeling the heat from high usage played a role as well.

mrv8outboard · 08-28-2012, 08:33 PM

Also part of the problem is the caliper bracket. Did you get the caliper with the bracket and hardware or just the caliper? The pads hang up in the bracket. At least remove it and glass bead it. Use some extreme ceramic brake grease on the slide areas of the pads and pins. Replace the flex lines and flush/bleed the brakes.

winnymini · 08-29-2012, 05:01 PM

Went trough the same problem 2weeks ago on an 05 E450. Had the callipers pads rotors turned bearings packed and hoses replaced. Got lucky and only had to wait till monday to get it fixed. I refuse to work in the RV park. To dangerous

RVNYORKIE · 08-30-2012, 07:36 PM

I am going through the same thing right now, recently had the rear rails cleaned & lubed. Returning from our last trip a few days ago and the transmission down shifted on a perfectly flat highway. I told my wife it felt like the engine was struggling to pull, at the next exit we both smelled something hot, at the next intersection the brake pedal felt different. We were thankful to be very near home. When we stopped in our driveway, both rear wheels were very hot and smoking. I was told by two very knowledgable-experienced brake mechanics that moisture had caused the calipers to freeze up, they needed replacing along with the pads and refacing-replacing the rotors. I changed and flushed the brake fluid several months ago, it was as black as dirty oil, hoping to avoid what I m doing. Three brake mechanics have empathized how important changing and flushing the brake system every couple years is. We are having trouble identifying the correct disk parts we need since it has disk brakes and Ford says my VIN left them with drum brakes??? We well need to ID the correct parts after we tear it down, that is better than getting the incorrect parts.

SamSter0077 · 08-31-2012, 09:46 AM

(sigh) looks like this is a common problem after all. Need to flush the brake fluid now, and lube the Caliper Brakets/slides real good (thanks for input Guys!). Yesterday, we are loading the RV for this weekend and the slide out awning get caught.. now the little Hexagon arms are bent. so... we will be camping all weekend without being able to slide out. I guess it could be worse, I just hope change those extension tubes are all that is needed, something tells me I should probably just replace the whole thing because I will up doing it 6 months later anyways..

Bart Anderson · 08-31-2012, 10:30 AM

I can testify to the need to change the brake fluid every couple of years. Lost brakes ten miles out of Blairsville Ga on twisty road. Limped into the first garage in town and he had to change the fluid and take off all six tires to check pads rotors and calipers. Back on the road next morning and only $175 poorer. Me thinks that was a good deal, especially since I boon docked overnight in his parking lot!

Bart Anderson

baraff · 08-31-2012, 06:32 PM

Looks like this is something I'll be doing too, at 63,000 miles I'm not sure our brake fluid has ever been changed.
I'm still trying to understand though how brake fluid can get dirty and absorb moisture since it's a closed system.

Bart Anderson · 08-31-2012, 06:42 PM

Not sure either but my rv has about 28000 miles and the brake fluid sure went bad

R2Home · 09-02-2012, 10:33 PM

I found out a long time ago that it was not that much more to replace the rotors rather then turn them. Chances are that there will still be 'hard' spots in them, that will just cause more headaches.
Brake fluid is something that takes a beating, that most people never think about. I have had are 'normal' vehicles changes and attempt to change the brake fluid in them about every 3-5 years.
Being that we now have a DP with air brakes we have different issues to work on. Still, they too take a lot of abuse.

RVNYORKIE · 09-03-2012, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2Home

I found out a long time ago that it was not that much more to replace the rotors rather then turn them. Chances are that there will still be 'hard' spots in them, that will just cause more headaches.
Brake fluid is something that takes a beating, that most people never think about. I have had are 'normal' vehicles changes and attempt to change the brake fluid in them about every 3-5 years.
Being that we now have a DP with air brakes we have different issues to work on. Still, they too take a lot of abuse.

I agree and I am sure that's what I will end up doing. I replaced everything on the front except the rubber lines, they will be replaced along with the rear brake replacements. I have a relative that is a brake, suspension, frame and front end mechanic, he also operates a used car lot and changes-flushes the brakes on every car before he sells it. Thank you for your advice

SamSter0077 · 09-03-2012, 08:18 PM

Well, for the record I bled the brakes and replaced the faulty Caliper (pass frnt) only (27k miles). I took a trip this past weekend for labor day, and all went well. I am going to bleed all the crap out of the brake lines after purchasing a bleeder, 75$

Do it yourself brake bleeding - YouTube

I felt every wheel after driving 4 hours to camp (lots of brake usage on the way). They all felt the same except the right rear was a little hotter than the others, not scolding like the left front when it locked up. I plan on doing a flush of all the old fluid and seeing if it still feels hotter. Motive makes a neat Brake bleed kit (you can get a cheapy from harbor freight for $24.95). They make a Ford kit for $74.95, will let you know how it works.

On a side note, the camper across from me had A/C trouble this past weekend. I just happened to have the correct Start Capacitor for his A/C unit. It was a Sunday in a little town, and he was a full timer. Can you imagine how awesome it was to get the much needed part from the camper across the street? lol Guess we threw it in the camper for some reason.