Pudgy Camper Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I'm finally getting around to changing my hydraulic fluid and filters after having this coach for a year and getting it caught up on maintenance. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because there's been a head scratcher discovery around every corner on the mechanical side of this coach. The previous owner neglected regular maintenance and I've spent the last year correcting things. Anyways, I pulled off the reservoir lid and noticed that the all thread rail, (not sure of the technical name- the rail that the 3 internal filters slide over inside the reservoir), is cocked to the side. It doesn't appear to be bent, it's not loose and I don't see any signs of damage. I'm guessing it's been like this from the factory and from my research, this is not normal and all others are straight up and down in the center of the reservoir. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm wondering if I should remove the reservoir to better understand how it's constructed and straighten the rail if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 i THINK there is supposed to be a WING Nut holding the filters in place.  MANUAL SAYS ….10-489.  All three stacked.  Cover plate on the top….wing nut attached. The top plate isn’t critival.  It is a Nelson assembly.  PN should be stamped on it.  Go from there.  Who knows…stupidity, assembly error, whatever. Fix it….  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 37 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said: i THINK there is supposed to be a WING Nut holding the filters in place.  MANUAL SAYS ….10-489.  All three stacked.  Cover plate on the top….wing nut attached. The top plate isn’t critival.  It is a Nelson assembly.  PN should be stamped on it.  Go from there.  Who knows…stupidity, assembly error, whatever. Fix it….  Yes the picture was taken AFTER I removed the wing nut, spring washer, flat plate and 3 filters. All of that was in place and functioning correctly as far as I could tell. But I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why the rod/rail assembly is crooked to one side. I'm thinking maybe that the hub in the bottom of the reservoir that the rail is welded to, is pressed into the reservoir and maybe came loose some how? I will inspect closer and go from there. I was just hoping some guys would chime in, and it would end up being one of those mysterious Monoco installations where some coaches were "built like this and some were built like that" for no particular rhyme or reason. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 https://www.ebay.com/itm/185306438476?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gIYQRYUQQ9y&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=VM5LL0dXQ4S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY  Defense rests.  No idea how it got bent.  My single one is true and straight….never seen a picture of one with the attaching rod bent like that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 Is the bottom flat? and do the ports make sense, like the center port goes to the inlet to the hydraulic pump and the rest are returns? It looks like the filter could have been offset so the port on the right is the center of the filters, but that could be discoloration from welding, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 2 hours ago, Benjamin said: Is the bottom flat? and do the ports make sense, like the center port goes to the inlet to the hydraulic pump and the rest are returns? It looks like the filter could have been offset so the port on the right is the center of the filters, but that could be discoloration from welding, etc. The bottom of the reservoir has a slight outward concave to it. The filter rail guide thing is dead center of the reservoir at the bottom, but leans to one side. I will inspect more tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 (edited) So after a closer inspection of the exterior of the reservoir, it appears the far right bottom connector hub is indented, causing the center hub (the hub that has the 3 internal filters attached to it), to lean to the side on the inside of the reservoir. I'm guessing some knuckle head dropped the reservoir at some point and then just went ahead and installed it, not knowing that someone would be scratching their head 20 yrs later when the internal filters are hugging the left side of the reservoir. So my decision now is....... Do I just leave it alone, since it's obviously worked for the past 20 yrs. Or....take the reservoir off the coach, put it on my press and see if I can push the dent outward, correcting any issues, but potentially opening the door for leaks down the road? In the pic below, it's pretty obvious that the right fitting hub has been pressed up, ( by dropping, causing the center hub to press up at an awkward angle Edited June 18 by Pudgy Camper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 I doubt you can fix the tank, but as long as the bottom filter has a sealed contact with the bottom I think you can just leave it. When I changed my filters I did like you've done, I completely drained the oil so I could get a good look at the bottom. From memory the filters mate to a raised flat portion. So as long as you get a good seal I think you'll be OK. If not i suggest changing the tank. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 4 hours ago, jacwjames said: I doubt you can fix the tank, but as long as the bottom filter has a sealed contact with the bottom I think you can just leave it. When I changed my filters I did like you've done, I completely drained the oil so I could get a good look at the bottom. From memory the filters mate to a raised flat portion. So as long as you get a good seal I think you'll be OK. If not i suggest changing the tank. Thanks, Jim Yeah the bottom filter appears to seal tight to the bottom flat hub. So as long as the new top filter isn't pressing up against the side of the reservoir, (the original filter was close, maybe 1/4“ from rubbing the side of the reservoir), I may just leave it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Pudgy Camper Posted June 19 Author Solution Share Posted June 19 (edited) So I ended up using a 2x4 and small sledge hammer to take some of the dent out of the bottom of the reservoir. It only took a couple good whacks from the inside and now the filter rail sits a lot straighter. Its definitely not perfect but at least the top filter wont be rubbing on the inside of the reservoir now. Thanks for the input guys! Edited June 19 by Pudgy Camper 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 12 minutes ago, Pudgy Camper said: So I ended up using a 2x4 and small sledge hammer to take some of the dent out of the bottom of the reservoir. It only took a couple good whacks from the inside and now the filter rail sits a lot straighter. Its definitely not perfect but at least the top filter wont be rubbing on the inside of the reservoir now. Thanks for the input guys! Amazing what a little ingenuity and also SELF CONTROL, when using BRUTE FORCE or "I'm GONNA FIX THIS", will do. GREAT job. Clean it up and monitor. Acetone works great, carefully used as all suggest...in the old days, I can't count the number of auto parts, valve covers, gears, bolts, brackets, etc. that I cleaned with Regular Gasoline.... AND I STILL CAN Talk and Breathe... That fitting was part of the stamping process. SO, metalurgically, you should be fine. IF NOT, Mr. JB Weld is at your command.  Drive on.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superpro14 Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Pudy Camper could you supply the make and part number for the 3 filters, or any one else, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 8 minutes ago, Superpro14 said: Pudy Camper could you supply the make and part number for the 3 filters, or any one else, Thanks I apologize for the format of the following text. This is a Cut and Paste from our Parts List. There is also a Fleetguard number for it. Don't have it...but you can use the rest of the numbers and do a CROSSREFERENCE and get them. BE AWARE....there are TWO DIFFERENT CANNISTERS or RESERVOIRS. The SINGLE and the TRIPLE. The filters ARE DIFFERENT. The SINGLE is as follows. This is from my own personal file. There is USUALLY a steel stamp on the side of the Nelson cannister. One is the Part Number and the other is the FILTER. BUT if you notice.... My original filter was stamped as 83804. BUT, Fleetguard bombed on that. Finally found that there was, in the Fleetguard system the same number...but the added the "E". The Cummins dealer had NO crossreference...until I found the "E". BINGO....they worked. Hope this helps. @Frank McElroy I THOUGHT that I had added the single filter information when I curated the Parts List. It may be in there, but my FIND search (83804) only found it in the 08-09 Maintenance section. Look at the text for the Nelson. I think there needs to be a note for the SINGLE filter stack added to match the 3 stack design... Thanks... Nelson Fleetguard 83804E Nelson 83804 Stamped - FG 91417   LF637   Supercedes 83804E  HERE IS THE THREE STACK INFORMATION....from the PARTS LIST.... The main filters for the Dynasty and Windsor and older Exec and Sigs is the Nelson 84101b filter The reservoir uses three of them. Donaldson P550698 appears to be a direct sub for the Nelson filter.  If you have the round hydraulic reservoir by the engine access door that is 21 inches tall, the hydraulic filters are Nelson 84101b. There are three of them in the canister - stacked. Some Diplomats use Nelson 83213d or NAPA 1487 or Donaldson P55487 or Wix 51487 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 Yep Tom nailed it. My filters ended up being the 84101B and my gasket was 99955A. I ordered them from Moderngroup.com and everything shipped was about $75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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