RE: Rebuild frame do to rust?
Before you start cutting and welding you should discuss this with your therapist? :bYes, but which is more expensive? As with the motorhome, I'm also sure going to a therapist would probably open up its own can of worms.
RE: Rebuild frame do to rust?
I'd probably not consider it if I had not already had most of the under body panels removed and the inside of the frame exposed already. But having seen what is there, there isn't much. Its a pretty clean shot down the inside of the frame. I've already cut and re-welded some of the outside stringers, so I know what is involved there. I am leaning away from replacing the rails. While it could be done, it would likely turn it into a much larger project. It would involve supporting the underside in the same way one would redo a wall in a stick house - couple of 2 X 12 and plenty of support. This coach was hand built including the frame. Being hand built, the construction is very simple.
The idea of spraying NJ into the inside of the frame is not a bad one. The idea would be to prevent the rust from getting worse, not actually creating strength. The frame is OK right now and probably has another 5 good years left in it. I'm looking for a long term solution. What I'm cuaght in is that I need to replace the carpet, and 2 of my barrel chairs - they are getting very ragged. I also had originally planned to drop a 4L85E in it. But, if the coach does not have that much life left, that would be throwing away money. Its not as nice as it should be, so it seems a waste to continue on with out adding these "features" and there is no sense in finishing my goals with the coach if the frame has a limited life.
There is a truck repair place not to far away. They do body work and have done major rebuilding of antique trucks. I'd probably do well to at least talk to them. They are used to finding creative solutions to things.
RE: Rebuild frame do to rust?
Yes, there is a ton of perspective on this. I've had the coach for 9 years, probably put 70k, miles on it. The cut your loses part is not totally out of the question, I've watched early 90s Foretravels for the past 10 years, which is the only thing else I would consider. But then again, there is something about nimbleness and stability - the FT has the stability, but not the nimbleness.
Originally when I started thinking this through, I assumed I would just weld a plate to the inside of the frame and then weld a plate to the outside, and then one underneath. But, I did some pricing of the steel and what I can find the cheapest is complete new box channel. So do I cut the top off the box channel, creating a U and slipping it on the old frame or do I replace the complete frame? or still just weld in 3 plates? Even more important is can I support 1/2 the coach with a frame rail removed?
I've got a pit in my yard, so access is pretty good. I've got 3 house jacks. Seems I'd do well to get some more RR ties for stable support.
There is no doubt this has become a hobby, but how far do I take it? I'm not one of those frame off, fully restore an old classic to mint condition kind of guys. I tend to lean more towards functional than pretty or perfection. I like pretty, but normally have to buy it to get it.
RE: Overdrive
Forget any advice you are given that tells you when to use overdrive based on toad or not toad, hill or no hill. Its the wrong reasoning.
What you need to listen for is if the torque converter is not locking up or is going in and out of lock up very often. It is then that you should shift out of overdrive to protect you trans from overheating. Todays engines turn very slowly, so the torque converter must go into lock up, so it doesn't constantly slip creating heat. This is the ONLY required reasoning for taking it out of OD.
Now, if you want to down shift before you hit a hill, just to get your RPMs up, that's fine, but its not required. One can not define the need to shift out of OD based on if you are towing or pulling a hill, because all motorhomes will act different and conditions will change from day to day. Some days you may have no wind, and other days you may have a head wind. There is no universal answer, you have to listen to what the trans - specifically the torque converter, is doing and make a decision based on how it is responding to the current condition.
The torque converter is what you must protect, so it is what you need to listen to.
RE: Heat exchanger
Suburban sells what they refer to as "motor-aide" which is exactly what you are asking for. The idea works great. I have it on my coach. When you are driving, it gets the water hot. The water heater is insulated well enough that the heat will last over night, so I only need to start the water heater just before I shower the next day - assuming I don't use a ton of water throughout the night. I've also showered while the DW drove.
RE: Rebuild frame do to rust?
So Dave is this a common problem on the Revcons? I know you're active in that group. If it is, what has the others in the group do to fix the problem.It would be hard to judge if it is common because salt is primarily a problem in the Midwest. Revcons are pretty rare in the Midwest, most were sold in CA the south. I'm the only one that I know of. That and unless someone has been underneath and doing things like replacing a holding tank after it was attacked by a deer, they may not notice.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
I don't think it's running lean as there was no pinging on the way to CA climbing the grades using the initial timing that I set. Ya, you might be right. Normally if you are lean you should also see a temp rise as another symptom. Without both symptoms, it may be OK, although more fuel may tend to counteract it anyway. Just thinking out loud.
RE: Winter Camping Pics
This was the trip home yesterday. Fortunately the traffic was light, so we could hold 60 to 65 most of the way. Only had one sliding stop. Kind of scared the DW, as the coach zig-zaged some as we pumped the brakes.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc10/Daveinet/DSC09668.jpg
But it makes for a really cool looking winter sun.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc10/Daveinet/DSC09697.jpg
RE: Rebuild frame do to rust?
2 things triggered this insanity. One is that I did sand blast and paint a significant part of the frame with POR 15 (a product I'm not convinced I'm impressed with) Anyway, there were areas that had layers of metal/rust that came off when I sand blasted. There are also 2 holes that go all the way through the frame on on of the channels. Its still pretty stable now, but give it a few years and it may not be.
One real unknown is the fact that this is box-channel rather than C-channel. While that is much stronger, it is also impossible to tell how rusted it is from the inside out. Since there are holes in the frame on one side, I know moister has collected inside the box channel. Of course the holes are near the wheel well, so I'm sure there has been much road salt contamination inside the frame.
The other issue I've seen is when welding on the frame. There are a few places where I blew right through the frame and other areas where it was real solid. This worries me some about the over all condition of the frame, as it seems impossible to know how thick the metal really is. Fortunately the front part of the frame had plenty of ventilation and is very solid. That and a bad main seal in the old engine kept the front section of the frame in very good shape :). I'm thinking I'll need to weld in about 20' or so. Between the rails has good access. The outside is more difficult as the skin wraps around underneath and attaches to the frame. I think that trapped a lot of water against the frame.
Rebuild frame do to rust?
Ok, this may be the craziest thought I've had to date, but as I've spent more time under my coach, I'm realizing the frame does not have much life left do to rust. I would predict that I probably only have around 5 good years left before the frame structure will be compromised. Having recently dumped almost 9 grand into the engine, as well as adding several other modifications, I'm not in a hurry to give this coach up. So, trying to think of the best solution. I'm thinking of stripping everything off the bottom of the coach, cutting the cross members and welding in new plating around the existing box-channel frame - running almost the full length of the coach. Basically, creating a U-shaped channel around the old box frame. At the same time, I figured I would weld in 6 inch pipe for cross members to ad rigidity. SO, am I nuts? What haven't I thought of? Help me think through some of the issues I'd likely run into. Weight wise, I should be OK, as even when tanks are full and loaded for camping, I'm around 1500 lbs below the chassis rating.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
As for pinging, 2 things to think about.
It is likely you are just running too lean, rather than being a timing or cheap gas issue. I had that issue with my old carb 454. Used to always ping under heavy load until I changed my fuel pump. The new pump ran too much pressure, which made it run rich. It never pinged after that. I eventually installed a regulator which I was able to get the mixture corrected, but it still never had a problem with pinging. Evidently the pressure had been low before with the old pump.
Second consideration is to give it a drink of water. Once the engine is well warmed up, spray/mist water in the carb. This should boil any carbon off the inside of the cylinders. Makes sure it is just a mist and not a stream, you don't want to hydraulically lock the engine.
BTW: Back in the 70s my dad installed a engine monitor computer on our motorhome. We had to special order a larger volume fuel flow sensor, because the one that came with it, was too small for the large engine in a motorhome. Something to just be aware of.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
Higher RPM means better air flow which means better fuel mix. You also are getting closer to the torque peak, which tends to be more efficient as well. The fact that the vacuum is lower is really telling you its taking more air to get the same amount of work done. More air means more fuel. Forget the RPM for a moment. Your throttle is an orifice that will only let so much air go into the engine. If the vacuum is low, that means there is nothing restricting the air flow and there is a lot of air going through the engine. High vacuum, means the air is not flowing very fast - there is a lot of restriction. Less air means less fuel, regardless of the engine RPM.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
Not sure what Carter pump you are using, but I have a Carter pump near the tank. It was the only pump I ran on the 454, it always ran rich and never had trouble keeping up. I now use it as a feeder pump for the high pressure pump on the 502. It has no trouble keeping up with the 502 either. I have measured the pressure and verified it is keeping up just fine and is supporting over 400 HP. I'm sure that 454 is not putting out anywhere near that. Makes me wonder if the voltage is low feeding pump.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
Say, I just took a trip with mine today. I run a chip that I can switch between 8 different programs to run my FI. I set up with a couple of different timing tables. I found the one that was working the best was advancing 48 degrees at around 1200 RPM. Up to around half throttle, I was still around 45 degrees advance, all the way up to 3K RPM. This was optimum for the best power and throttle response. Granted, I have larger pistons which require more advance, but still should give you some kind of indication as to how much advance is appropriate. From what I'm seeing, I'd expect the mechanical advance to pretty much slam wide open as soon as you come off idle. Then use the full travel of the vacuum advance to pull some out, once you get below 8 or 10 HG. But BBC likes a lot of advance especially at low RPMs. The fuel must not mix very well at such low RPMs.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
Steve, if you wind up removing the transmission pan to change the filter here's a little trick my mechanic did on my old p-30. This will allow you to change some of the trans fluid each time you do an oil change. It keeps your trans fluid fresh that way.
Drill a small hold in the pan and then run a sheet metal screw with a rubber washer under the head back into the hole. You can also take the pan to someone who can weld a proper fitting onto the bottom of the pan. Mine had the screw fix which worked well as there is no significant pressure in the pan.if you are going to drill a hole in the pan, mount a trans temp gauge if you don't already have one.
RE: Plant bids farewell to big block
The Ultravan that was based on the Corvair eventually went to a Chevy 350. I'm not sure if the drivetrain was changed when they went to the 350, but there are a handful of ones out there with 350s in them.
On Edit: I should have done some research and I could have answered my own question. The 350 version used a marine V-drive, so it was not a Corviar drivetrain.
RE: Plant bids farewell to big block
The Vortec engines are far from old technology! The problem is government/EPA standards that want us all to be riding bicycles.
I saw a show on RFD TV by John Deere about diesel standards. We are in phase 2, phase 3 starts in 2010 and phase 4 in 2014. It all adds more to the price and phases out current manufacturing.??? Anything that is not direct injection and variable valve timing is OLD TECHNOLOGY. Yes, it is an EPA driven thing, but it has NOTHING to do with size. Current technology does not require as big of motor. The replacement smaller engine has nearly the same torque and more HP. It is well suited to the pickup truck market which is exactly what the 8.1 was for. Contrary to popular belief, the 8.1 was built for pickup trucks, not motorhomes. Smaller motors get better mileage, so it is only logical that GM would use a smaller engine in their pickups, since they can still get the umph out of the smaller motor. While some think that the tiny bit less torque out of the 6.2 is a big deal, I'll bet with the 6 speed behind it, you'll never be able to tell the difference unless you look at the tach. And once it downshifts, it will stomp all over the 8.1L.
RE: The old girl is back - where to start
I'm trying a way to post pictures to see if it works. I'll remove the post, shortly after,if I can.
Didn't work.
http://cid-6880a5492322b10b.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/85%20Apollo/vac%20hose%20routing.jpgIs this what you were trying to post? I right clicked on the photo from the webpage buried in your post and clicked "view image". That gave a correct link to the picture.
http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p7sFbr0zlLp11-QCMv7TLqnp-B8FYzzHrDxiGb3gaBo14E6jOnd3gLHVZWa8stN12RnSwPd1zNwWQHQWAw7oa3g/vac%20hose%20routing.jpg
