zmotorsports

Thank you. I appreciate the comments. I realize there are pre-fabbed ones available now but I just wanted to show those that have the capabilities that one could be built will a little time and materials.

This is the inductance heater that I have, although a much older version. It works well in some applications but many times accessibility render it useless. https://www.theinductor.com/induction-heater-tools-store/mini-ductor/mini-ductor-ii As for exhaust manifold warpage, in my exhaust manifold and turbo replacement video in the library I show how to measure for sealing surface flatness and what I've found to be the limits for what gaskets can get away with. I won't lie anything on an engine with not than .004" clearance as I've found you'll be doing it again in sorry order. I used to set them up on the milling machine and flycut them flat but for the past 15 or so years now I just use my belt sander with 120-grit belt. Works faster and gets it dead nuts flat as I show in my video. I've even seen brand new manifolds (green) over my .004" limit.

That surprises me. I replaced all 10 of my air springs in March 2021 and went to my local FleetPride and they had several in stock the remainder they had the next day from the warehouse. I used Continental (Contitech) brand as that is what we use on our OTR trucks at work and they have held up well hauling 80k-120k pounds daily.

Personally, I'm a Kroil fan. Aerokroil to be specific. Started using it 35-years ago when I entered the industrial maintenance industry and have been a fan ever since. When I had to remove my exhaust manifold I soaked it down a couple nights before the work was to begin and I didn't end up breaking any more fasteners than the two that were already broken. Last year when I had to rebuild the turbo on my 2006 Duramax, I soaked the fasteners down a couple night prior and I was able to remove all 12 fasteners without a single one being broken. On the Duramax forums all I had read about were people breaking fasteners when removing their turbos so I was either very lucky OR Kroil works. 🤔 If you will be removing to replace gaskets, I highly recommend replacing all of the fasteners with OEM Cummins fasteners. I am not a fan of reusing the exhaust fasteners after that many heat cycles.

I'm not sure what could cause a valve to drop that could be related to the compression brake. I would think even if the adjustment was incorrect, I can't think why it would cause damage. I would ask the same questions as Ivan. Was the adjustment skipped and you don't know what the lash actually was? Or was it a fluke scenario where a valve keeper failed and allowed the valve to drop contacting the piston and resulting in the severe damage?

Actually, air springs for these chassis are quite common and easy to find so I wouldn't be too worried there.

Most of the Monaco's I've dealt with from the late 90's through mid-2000's have had direct tank fill utilizing a fill door. Our previous Beaver on Gillig chassis was leaking when we purchased it at 9 years old. I replaced it upon first purchasing the coach with Gates 2" fuel hose that I purchased from my local NAPA store. It's stiff and not easy to work with but is good hose and held up well until we sold the coach.

Thank you Harry. I will have to see if I can find those pictures as the ones on the forums were lost when tinypic shut down. That may be a good one to do a quick video on with an explanation of how they were made.

Glad it was helpful.

In this video I demonstrate how to properly service an Allison 3000 Series transmission that is found in a vast majority of Monaco coaches. The process is nearly identical with the Allison 4000 Series transmission, but you will want to refer to your factory service manual for proper filter selection and capacities.

If your Aqua-Hot has more serious issues and needs more than just an annual maintenance routine, this video may be for you as it shows a deep teardown and replacement of components all the way to the fuel pump and blower bearings.

In this video I show how to replace an exhaust manifold and turbo on a Cummins ISL engine in a Monaco coach on Roadmaster S-Series chassis. The early Cummins ISL engines are known to break fasteners or worse, have the exhaust manifold crack and/or break. While turbo issues are less common, I show how to inspect, and replace necessary and you are already in there for other repairs.

Here is a video that shows the rebuild process of a Roadmaster Sterling towbar. Many of Roadmaster's towbars are similar in construction so the rebuild will be very similar to several models.

I was reminded that this may be a good video to share for those owners who flat tow Jeeps or other toads with aggressive tires as it may be helpful to assist in reducing or eliminating rock chips on the back of coaches.

Thanks for the warm welcome David. I am looking forward to being a member of the forum and hope I can contribute in some small way as well as continue to learn. I watch and follow the WOG (Wanderlodge Owners Group) quite closely as I had a friend who owned several Wanderlodges over the years and was able to work on them for him occasionally. I have always been impressed on their forum the shear wealth of knowledge and skill possessed by the coach owners. I had often dreamed of being a member of such a world class organization where people really cared for and shared knowledge and information about their older coaches and it seems I may have found what I have been longing for. Like many other owners of these older rigs, I am quite passionate about our coach and the work that goes into maintaining her. It really is a labor of love and something few people truly understand or can relate to. Thank you.

This is an old video of mine but I show how I corrected an incorrect thrust angle with the drive axle on our 2003 Monaco Dynasty on the Roadmaster S-Series Chassis. The coach had a pretty severe pull to the right and after having it checked several times by a "professional" shop and was told it was within specification, I chose to address the issue myself. I used a lazer to determine that the drive axle was out of position in reference with the steer tires by about 5/32". Even with that small amount and it technically being "within spec", it was enough to cause handling issues and I chose to correct it by removing the driver's side drive axle and tag axle control arms (trailing arms) and lengthening them. I went just a 1/32" more bringing the amount I lengthened the arms to .125" in order to compensate for road crown as we generally travel via 2-lane country roads and less on interstates when possible. This helped tremendously to hold the coach to the center line when traveling our country's backroads. Also, at about the 4-minute mark in the video I show the supports that I have added to the drive axle's vertical suspension mounts which have a known issue on early Roadmaster S-Series chassis. I noticed in 2008 on the 2009 model year coaches on the Roadmaster S-Series chassis that they came with a large vertical gusset from the manufacturer, so I duplicated it and added it to our 2003 Monaco Dynasty making it comparable to the 2009 model year S-Series chassis as a preventive measure.

Here is a video depicting my process of installing a replacement skylight in our 2003 Monaco Dynasty as I chose to go a slightly different route in the execution.

This video shows how to measure and install the Guardian Plates from Talin Manufacturing on a Monaco Flat Floor slide room.

This video shows how to properly measure for and install the Guardian Plates from Talin Manufacturing on a Monaco Raised Floor slide room.

Here is a video that I did a couple of years ago when I installed a FASS fuel system on our 2003 Monaco Dynasty in an effort to better protect the Cummins CAPS injection pump.

For those Monaco owners who have a plastic coolant surge tank, you may wish to fabricate or have fabricated, an aluminum surge tank to avoid potential cracking and age related issues resulting in coolant leaks and inconveniences. Here is the video I did a few years ago showing the fabrication of my coolant surge tank on our 2003 Monaco Dynasty.

Here is a series of videos that I made while fabricating and installing the front Watts Link on our 2003 Monaco Dynasty. These are older videos, but they are still viable for those interested in making this upgrade to their Monaco coach. Part 1 Part 2. Part 3. I also believe these are now for sale by a gentleman named Mike Hughes @ monacowatts.com monacowatts.com

Here is a video on performing the routine service on an Aqua-Hot unit.

Thank you. I appreciate the comments and glad it was helpful.

Thank you. I appreciate the welcome and hope I can help as well as continue to learn. Not sure why other than either an anomaly during the assembly process OR excessive wear from something in the valvetrain. It's been my experience that the vast majority of the time the clearances decrease under normal circumstances and only increase if there's excessive wear or possibly a fluke. Good thing you caught it nonetheless.