wolfe10

Wayne, I can address the first question. Buy from any Allison dealer the o-ring(s) that seals the dip stick tube to the transmission. Clean that area of the transmission very well so no dirt will fall into the transmission when the dip stick tube is removed. When I resealed the dipstick tube on my Allison, I noticed that the fluid level is quite a bit higher with the engine off-- high enough that fluid ran out the dip stick tube hole when I removed it from the transmission. So, I started the engine, transmission in neutral-- fluid level lower. Gently remove the dip stick tube (only one bolt secures it). Push the dip stick up the tube and retrieve it (or have your assistant do it-- many will volunteer to do that part in exchange for an adult beverage). Slip on the new O ring(s) and reinstall. As always when working under a coach, be sure you have safety stands in place before going under the coach. Driving the rear wheels up on leveling blocks gives more working room. Brett

I am not aware of any problem towing a Cruze manual transmission 4 wheels down. Brett

Heating in hot water-- hot bath temperature will not harm the hose. And, since this is a hose designed for fuel (verify that!), petroleum products should not harm it. A little ATF or oil should ease the hose onto the filler neck if heating alone does not work.

Living in south TX, I understand the "at what temperature do I need to do anything" question. You will have several factors you need to evaluate: 1. Exposure to outside air by various components (like mrboyer's comment about ice maker line). Some of these may be able to be addressed individually-- a light bulb plugged into the refrigerator 120 VAC plug will give you a few degrees higher temperature in the refrigerator outside compartment. Smaller containers/lines are more susceptible to freezing than large ones like holding tanks. 2. How long will it be below freezing? If the day was warm and the below freezing temperatures are for only a few hours, that is quite different than 10 or more hours at below freezing temperatures. Said another way, in many cases it is a judgement call. Erring on the side of caution is perhaps a little more work, but often a LOT less expensive. Brett

Assume you have a front radiator (not DP). If you do this, be sure to use an open mesh screen such as hardware cloth. A regular fine-mesh screen like a window screen can severely block air flow to your radiator. To prove how much air a screen can block, try having someone hold a window screen out the window while you drive 60 MPH. Years ago, when Chevrolet was doing Maintenance Presentations at FMCA Conventions, they spent half an hour talking about air flow to the radiator and why not to block it with any fine-mesh screen. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Why not start by determining what is running down the battery and if there is way you can use a disconnect to prevent/reduce battery draw? Just a thought?

George, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. As suggested in the first post in this thread, contacting Roger will get you the most expert (also free) advice on this subject. While others may be able to assist, I know that Roger has the documentation for the variations in the AutoPark system through the years and can help. Please make sure when you contact him to let him know all the details which he asks for in his post above. Brett

All coaches(possible exception-- a few OTR bus conversions) use 12 VDC ignition and all RV appliances are 12 VDC. Both furnace and dash HVAC fan use 12 VDC. The furnace will be powered by the house battery. Most dash HVAC fans are powered by the chassis battery. To verify which battery powers the dash HVAC fan, turn off your house battery disconnect switch. Turn on the ignition (don't have to start engine). If the fan works, it is powered by the chassis battery. If you are driving, the alternator charges both battery banks, so no worries about fans taking down the batteries. If plugged into shore power or running the generator, the converter, charger or inverter charger charges the battery (at least house batteries-- may or may not charge chassis batteries). If dry camping, indeed you need to monitor battery drain by ALL your 12 VDC appliances and especially by inverter-powered items. Brett

ECM= Engine Control Module The post was not a direct response to the question, but a "work around" for his specific search. Brett

From an article I wrote: Cooling System 101 I just changed out my coolant and replaced all water hoses and belts. Thought I would share the experience. To my knowledge all RV manufacturers use a “low silicate coolant for diesels” with included or added SCA. Coolant needs to be changed per manufacturer’s instructions (usually every 3 years). Additionally the SCA, pH and freeze point need to be checked on regular intervals using SCA test strips and SCA added as needed. The test strips are inexpensive and easy to use. When either the time lapses (time starts when coolant is installed in cooling system, NOT when purchased) or testing reveals an out-of-line conditions like pH or freeze point, it is time to change it. You can avoid all the testing and SCA adding, and go to 6 year change intervals by going to an Extended Life Coolant and get better cooling system protection as well. Whichever coolant you choose, most of the steps are the same. The job is reasonably time consuming TO DO RIGHT, but low-tech. First step is to determine your total cooling system capacity. Your chassis maker or coach maker, not your engine manufacturer is the proper source. Then buy enough coolant (concentrate, not pre-dilute) to make up 50% of that volume. If going back with a coolant that requires additional SCA, purchase that as well. Also purchase 1.5 times system capacity of distilled water for a final flush plus final fill (50%). Turn dash heater to full hot for the rest of the procedure—fan off. With the engine cold or at least cool, drain coolant. On some, there is a drain ****. On others, pull the lower radiator hose. Two Rubbermade 10 gallon storage bin lined with black trash sacks so they don’t get dirty work well. At the end of the whole process, use a coffee can and funnel to pour old coolant into new coolant/water containers for recycling. Our city maintenance shop recycles coolant for free. Refill cooling system with tap water. IMPORTANT: Be sure to remove any air lock from the thermostat housing. Some systems have a hose set up for this—on ours I just loosen the coolant line to the air pump and bleed the air out. Allow engine to warm up (using the cruise control to select idle speed of 1,000-1,100 speeds this up). Run for about 10 minutes at regular temp. If the temp gauge does not rise as normal, you likely have an air block and need to bleed the thermostat housing. Allow engine to cool 20-30 minutes and drain again. Repeat until the effluent color is clear. At this point, if this is the first coolant change on a 2-3 year old coach and you are not changing coolant brands/types, skip right to “Last rinse”. For older systems or when switching types of coolant, add a Cooling System Cleaner. Follow the directions. Run, allow engine to cool, drain and again flush until effluent is clear. The flushing is markedly sped up by pulling off the heater hose (usually 5/8” to ¾” lines) going to dash heater/motor-aid water heater, etc from the water pump. Put a hose nozzle in the hose and let it run until it comes out clear. Run the engine to temperature at least once with tap water. If your hoses are over 3-4 years old, this is a good time to change them as well (before last rinse). Same for thermostat(s). Last Rinse is with distilled water. At $.62/gal at Walmart, it is silly to skip this step and leave your system full of high-mineral content water (there will be several gallons of residual water that you can not easily remove). Run engine for 10 minutes after getting to operating temperature. Cool and drain. Also drain and flush your coolant overflow container and refill with new coolant/distilled water. Add the proper amount of Coolant CONCENTRATE (NOT PRE-DILUTE) to make 50% of cooling system capacity. So for a cooling system with 20 gallons capacity, add 10 gallons of Coolant CONCENTRATE (plus 1/2 overflow container capacity). Top off with distilled water to achieve your 50/50 mixture—it doesn’t matter if you only have to add 1 gallon or 10 of distilled water, you KNOW you have the proper 50/50 mixture. This is also a good time to clean the OUTSIDE of the radiator/after-cooler whether you have rear or side radiator. On rear radiator, most if the debris will be on the FRONT of the after-cooler (accessed from under the bed). On side radiators, most debris is on the outside of the after-cooler (side of coach). If it is just dirt, a hose and regular nozzle is all you need. If greasy or oily, use Joy liquid (dish washing detergent) in a spray bottle. Be SURE to rinse it off completely. You need to insure that the perimeter is as clean as the center. Ya, I know it is easier to see the center, but the fan blades "sling" the dirt to the perimeter. Check belts while you are in there.

James, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. What is your intake manifold temperature? The CAC (Charge Air Cooler) is between the turbo and engine intake manifold. It's job is to take hot air (sometimes over 300 degrees F) and bring it down to close to ambient temperature. The engine was designed to run on the cooled, denser air. If air flow to the CAC is inadequate, the CAC isundersized, etc, yes performance and MPG will suffer and the computer could derate the engine to keep from doing permanent damage. Have you cleaned the CAC and radiator? Next step would be to verify that the hydraulic fan and fan controls are working properly. Brett

Chuck, Yes block heater/no block heater is a decision made by the chassis/coach maker. But, if no 120 VAC "extension cord" coming from the block (normal location on the 3126 is on the driver's side below the turbo) Safari may not have installed or speced one. It would plug into a 120 VAC outlet-- likely in the engine compartment. When the thermostats(s) (later 3126's have two thermostats) are closed, there is a bypass back to the engine, not to the radiator. Shouldn't be an issue with temperatures below that of the opening temperature of the thermostat. But, you will be wasting a LOT of power bring the engine up to full operating temperature with any auxiliary heater. Even with that kind of temperature available, consider just turning it on for a time before starting the engine, but not long enough for the engine coolant temperature to fully reach operating temperature. Brett

Chuck, Are you sure you don't already have a 120 VAC block heater? If not, yes, there are aftermarket block heaters that replace a freeze plug on the 3126. Here is one manufacturer: http://www.hotstart.com/home/products/in-block-heaters/ Enter: Caterpillar and then 3126 side. As far as using your hydronic system to heat the pre-heat the engine, and what would be involved, that is a question for the manufacturer of your hydronic system. and may depend on how your coach's hydronic system is plumbed.

Bill, With an open neutral (lack of neutral) which results in a lack of "reference", voltage on a 50 amp circuit (two hots) can and often does range from very low to very high. Really bad on all electrical components! We ran into this in a nice up-scale park in New England a few year ago. I tested before plugging in and got 167 VAC on the first leg I tested. Sent Dianne up to office for another site/CG electrician. CG owner came out and said no one else had complained. My reply was to plug in my Fluke meter and show him the voltage-- I really didn't care of other were aware of this or not, cared or not, was affecting other sites or not......... I was not going to plug in! Long story short, after 3 days of digging with a back hoe, an electrical contractor found a broken neutral feeding the entire row we were initially on (yes we moved to another site). Strangely (not) others on that row started complaining about blown TV's, chargers, etc. Brett

Yes, both the Corolla and Camry with a manual transmission are towable 4 wheels down, at least through the 2011 model years. I have not seen guides for the 2012, but it is likely that they are as well.

Ken, Can't answer that. Depends on your mechanical skill. Not that tough. But, you do need safety stands to make sure the coach doesn't come down on you!

Rick, What specifically is not working on your coach? The more the details the better we may be able to help.

Your coach will have three RIDE HEIGHT VALVES. They determine how much air (height) is in the air bags. Two on one axle (usually the rear) and on the other axle. The rod that connects the axle to the ride height valve is fairly light-- you could bend it with your little finger. So, checking is reasonable as running over a piece of tire on the road can easily bend the rods. Ride height affects ride, handling and suspension component wear. If the rear is too far out, you can take out drive line components-- 2" doesn't seem like much, but with that very short drive shaft on a DP, it dramatically affects drive line angles. And, as mentioned in my post above, it can shift a LOT of weight from side to side. And on tag axle coaches, adjusting the tag can make a HUGE impact. At a recent Cat RV Club Rally we individual wheel position weighed all coaches. Ended up making major adjustment (we are talking about thousands of pounds) on all but one tag axle coach.

Ken, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. The PSI on your GVWR sticker ASSUMES each axle is loaded to its GAWR. You can get full axle weights at most all truck stops. That will tell you if you are in the ball park. You are absolutely correct about needing all wheel position weights, as ASSUMING perfect left/right weight distribution is not reasonable. Would also suggest having RIDE HEIGHT checked/adjusted before final weighing . It is a good thing to check annually. And if off even an inch or two, can transfer a LOT of weight (Just think how many of your really strong friends it would take to lift that left rear corner two inches)! Yet, seeing a two inch out of spec on a 40' coach may be very difficult.

Thanks for the update. Glad it is back working.

To post a link, copy the link (highlight and hit copy from their website). Go to your post (or click "edit" to change your existing post). Click on the "Link" icon which is just to the right of the 1- 2- 3- just above your post. Scroll over it will cause it to say Link. Paste the link, then click OK. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. In the upper right of this page is a "search" box. Enter "Residential Refrigerator" for some very insightful evaluations of the conversion. Brett

Sorry, but please post a link to ANY engine manufacturer's statement that suggests extended (time) drain intervals when using synthetic oil in a diesel engine.

Several discussions here on the Forum on that subject: http://community.fmca.com/topic/3150-fogged-windows/ http://community.fmca.com/topic/289-fogged-double-pane-windows/page__p__1378__hl__%2Bfogged+%2Bwindows__fromsearch__1#entry1378 http://community.fmca.com/topic/383-cloudy-discolored-windows/page__p__1857__hl__%2Bfogged+%2Bwindows__fromsearch__1#entry1857

The full DOT number is molded into only ONE sidewall of each tire. And each tire sold in NA will have a full DOT number with the last four digits indicating the WEEK and YEAR of production. Check the other side of the tire if there is not a separate molded 4 digit number. Brett