UNBELIEVABLE Member “BACKYARD” Repairs & Feats & Knowledge

[Happycarz]

 

MODERATORS EDIT & COMMENTS

A simple “switches inoperative” topic morphed into a discussion and such of what members have done in their “barns” or driveways.  One member commented that he just discovered it.  This topic is dedicated to Repairs that pale in comparison to swapping out relays or chasing down an errant switch or device.  A true testimony to the knowledge and skill set in our group…

ENJOY and post your own “exploits”…

Since Ron and I have the same coach, I usually know what he needs. As for your 2009 Camelot, Tom, our coaches are 98% the same.

1% for the MY difference.

1% for the snowflake effect.

[RustyTools]

 

Tom, Tim, Harry , et al - Many thanks for the help in getting the myriad of different - but similar - switches sorted out, and now with photos, dimensions, and part numbers coalescing together, I'm moving forward.  At first, I was a bit hesitant to just run right out and buy a bunch of them because of the confusion I had awhile back when sourcing my air-leveling valves. I found someone on-line who'd posted what they'd replaced theirs with on their coach, so I bought the same ones.  Dunno in the long-run if mine had been swapped previously or the other guys' had, but in the end I had set of non-similar valves (or more likely, "can you say 'snowflake"?). Luckily, traded them to a campground we'd stopped at, and they had a pretty decent recent parts/repair shop.

Harry, even tho we're 'sorta' on opposite coasts, you've been a great 'support group' over the past few years in giving me pointers to nurse my coach back to health, but now I'm not even sure you OWN a coach when I see your nails and fingers are looking so clean and unbruised!  Usually when I'm done for the day, I feel like I slacked off if I'm not bleeding somewhere or look like I was in a coal-mine all day. 😆  Many thanks!

 

 

Some phrases that are apropos:

1) "I'm the only thing that works on this coach 100% of the time"

2) "You can always tell a motorhome owner, they have a screwdriver or wrench in their back-pocket".

 

 

 

 

 

[timaz996]

You are welcome...if I'm the Tim you are talking about. LOL

1) "I'm the only thing that works on this coach 100% of the time"

2) "You can always tell a motorhome owner, they have a screwdriver or wrench in their back-pocket".

You can add carrying a multimeter.

[RustyTools]

Yup, were your ears burning, Tim? 😃   I've learned a lot from your experiences and accomplishments, as we all have from each other as we travel along the bumps and potholes in our journeys. Drive safe!

[Happycarz]

Ron, if you saw me today, you would realize I’m my normal state of “Pig Pen” with the brown cloud following me around. I buy so much Lava and Boraxo soap, I get a discount. LOL

Always something to do on the coach. Current project is a Snow Performance water/methanol injection kit.  
 

6,000 miles ago I had so much blowby, that I took the head off and pistons out. Top of pistons were clean, but the first two rings were packed with carbon. I caught the issue before I broke any rings. Cummins said no honing, but I did use green Scotchbrite using the original honing marks as a guide. Then some assembly required.  Why all the carbon? I don’t idle my engine, I always use fast idle. Dunno. Now have put on 6,000 miles and no blowby. I did everything myself, alone, and spent under $2500. This is the condensed version.

Hence, Snow Performance. I want the water injection to keep the pistons rings clean. Of course I’ll have to try the methanol mixed in, just to see what it will do. Once I have some miles on the new setup, I’ll report the results.

Ron, you should have seen my fingers then! Some scrubbing required.

 

 

[Ivan K]

16 minutes ago, Happycarz said:

6,000 miles ago I had so much blowby, that I took the head off and pistons out. Top of pistons were clean, but the first two rings were packed with carbon. I caught the issue before I broke any rings. Cummins said no honing, but I did use green Scotchbrite using the original honing marks as a guide. Then some assembly required.  Why all the carbon? I don’t idle my engine, I always use fast idle. Dunno. Now have put on 6,000 miles and no blowby. I did everything myself, alone, and spent under $2500. This is the condensed version.

 

You have my respect. Can you share what kind of brute power you used to lift the head inside the coach?

[Happycarz]

I used a cherry picker using only one link and the hook. Then a length of chain on the head secured in two places with next to zero slack. I bolted a piece of flat stock to the head as a handle to maneuver it both out and again back in, around the timing cover, keeping it level.

The head weighs close to 200 pounds.

Putting the head back on, without mutilating the gasket is the tricky part. Common sense, slow movements and a lot of patience is required.

Before removing the head all the pushrods come out except one. The closet floor is in the way.  I just raised the pushrod four inches and clamped it with visegrips.  I wrote myself a note to reverse that procedure going in, otherwise the head has to come off to insert that pushrod.

I keep the coach at home, so I just worked on it for two weeks. No rush. It all worked out just fine.

[96 EVO]

Wow!

That's a major project!

[Ivan K]

Impressive,  so I take it you pulled the head from the outside. I don't think I'd have clearance to do that and would have to build a lift in the bedroom.  Hope it never comes to it.

Sorry to hijack the thread about switches, this deserves its own.

[Frank McElroy]

40 minutes ago, Happycarz said:

I used a cherry picker using only one link and the hook. Then a length of chain on the head secured in two places with next to zero slack. I bolted a piece of flat stock to the head as a handle to maneuver it both out and again back in, around the timing cover, keeping it level.

The head weighs close to 200 pounds.

Putting the head back on, without mutilating the gasket is the tricky part. Common sense, slow movements and a lot of patience is required.

Before removing the head all the pushrods come out except one. The closet floor is in the way.  I just raised the pushrod four inches and clamped it with visegrips.  I wrote myself a note to reverse that procedure going in, otherwise the head has to come off to insert that pushrod.

I keep the coach at home, so I just worked on it for two weeks. No rush. It all worked out just fine.

Harry, There are a few of us on the group who do all their own work.  You got me beat.  I've mounted tires, pulled a turbo, calibrated an electronic turbo actuator, done work on steer and drive axle bearing maintenance but I haven't pulled a Cummins diesel head yet (pulled lots of gasser heads).  The satisfaction of getting a major job done right in your own garage is very rewarding.  Job well done!

[96 EVO]

Yeah, sure happy you got the results you were after!

 

[Happycarz]

Getting the oil pan off was a real treat. The rear cross member/trailer hitch has to come out while supporting the engine. Once that is out of the way, the oil pan can be removed.

I pulled the turbo to check the seals to make sure they weren’t compromised and pressurizing the crankcase. I thought that was easier than the head. Seals were good but I replaced them once the turbo was apart. Off with the head!

 

Ivan, yes it came out the rear.

 

 

[Guest Ray Davis]

This has turned into a great 🧵 and I almost missed it because it's titled about Camelot slide switches, and I have a Windsor. Being a busy, busy man, I skipped on by it.  Then I saw Happycarz aka Harry Martin who I have followed on the other forum for a long time, so I clicked on it, glad I did, as always Harry has good posts.

This may be a good one for Tom to cut out the engine repair into its own thread.  👍

[96 EVO]

I'll bet that engine hoist got a good scrubbing before it was allowed to enter Harry's engine compartment !

[Happycarz]

Thank you for the kind words.

[MyronTruex]

I was all cleaned up for some reason one day and hugged my grandaughter. I told here to not get used to this because the only other time I would be this clean was when I am dead and in a coffin. You should of heard her howl, OH Grandpa!

I wonder how you got the radiator and CAC out of there? Many years ago I thought I would have to take mine out to change the fan to the Source Engineering one. Fortunately I found the hidden compartment area under the closet and changed it through there.

Before I was married my fil to be had me remove head bolts from Cummins engines. I used a three foot breaker bar and my feet planted on the firewall. I don't remember what the torque was set at but it took all my strength to get those darn things to creak just a little bit. I was in great shape and could press 400 lbs with my legs. 

I sure miss him. He knew diesel engines inside and out. He repaired them for a living until the heavy work forced him to take on smaller engines.

Harry, how many miles did you have on the engine? I suspect you have the DPF on yours. Have you ever had any engine ECM flash updates?

Edited October 21, 2022 by myrontruex

[Gary 05 AMB DST]

Ray Davis, I did the same thing. Camelot problems are out of my Ambassador league.

Gary 05 AMB DST

[Scotty Hutto]

Ha! If I tell my darling wife I'm going to be working on the coach and come back with nothing bleeding, she questions where I've been!  Seems I recall a movie years back titled "There Will Be Blood"...  

[96 EVO]

1 hour ago, myrontruex said:

  I suspect you have the DPF on yours.  

Myron, Harry ordered his coach with one of Monaco's last remaining pre- DPF ISL's.

[Happycarz]

I ordered my coach in April 07 through Guaranty RV in Oregon. I was asked if I wanted the ISL400 or the ISL425. “What is the difference” I asked. I was told the ISL425 had the DPF system. Well, being a Guinea pig on so many things during my lifetime, I thought I would pass on this first year “improvement.”  Glad I did, as many folks were having Regen issue with these first Cummins DPF equipped engines. After about two years, when Cummins got the software dialed in, all was good, for the most part. Those first two years were a bear for some folks.  Wisdom paid off!

[96 EVO]

They never gave me the 425hp 😕!

I got the DPF equipped 400ISL. 

[MyronTruex]

I got the DPF and of course it failed just out of warranty. 5K repair while full timing. That gave me confidence for sure. The expensive "platinum/gold plated" extended warranty said NOT. It's an emission issue and right there in the fine print it told me I was had.

They did several ECM updates and tried to clean my DPF but it cracked. There was a huge dumpster full of the filters. I sat next to a customer that was on his third or fourth one on his work truck. Told him as well there was "high idle time". What the heck is a trucker supposed to do.

My regens changed after the new dpf and ecm reprogram. My mileage dropped about 1mpg and my acceleration/hp was diminished. The 400 became a slug.

I have since had it Uprated to 450 hp and it no speed demon now but can get up to freeway speeds at least in one calendar day. 

[Happycarz]

Myron, to answer your question, I had about 79,000 miles on the coach when I started noticing the blowby. I tore it down at 81,000 miles.

Most folks think this engine with the Enviroguard filter on top has no draft tube, but it does.  It is a hard plastic tube the runs from the Envirguard on top of the valve cover to just behind the starter.  And it tends to mist the starter with oil and then dust collects. Just because it is a diesel doesn’t mean it has to be dirty.

The pictures below show the Enviroguard on top of the valve cover. It condenses the oil vapors to liquid so they can be returned to the crankcase Two lines exit that crankcase filter, the smaller one sending coalesced oil to the crankcase and the larger one going to the Jaz bottle I installed in 2009. The larger rubber hose is connected to where the original ½” tube came out. 

With the Jaz bottle, any oil mist is collected by it, not vented out.  The Jaz bottle has a bottom drain and a top breather. Only a drop or two of oil comes out when I check it during my annual oil change. But, now my starter an adjacent areas stay clean.

I decided to cut apart the Envronguard when I once changed it  Not much inside. If the engine is serviced regularly it stay clean and healthy.  
All the crankcase filters are not the same. This style was used 4 or 5 years, maybe more, until EPA 2007 regulations were put in place. 
 

New piston rings solved this issue.
 

 

 

[RustyTools]

I'd forgotten that we are talking with "Mr Clean" himself until I saw the condition of his engine. I dunno how you can find the time, Harry, to keep your coach in such pristine shape - I don't even have time to keep up with what's already broken!

And the write-up for that repair is awesome. 

Kudos to you, brother!

[MyronTruex]

Just some useless information on my "2008" dpf engine.

The cover on mine is red and there is a filter beneath  the full length. Not cheap either. I suspect many people don't even realize there is one there that needs to be replaced.