Pace ARROW

Good advice JR.....my fan makes so much noise when engaged I thought the trans dropped a gear when I first got it....it has at least 2 stages of engagement ...even at 60 if it gets hot.....

There is an adjustable modulator for that tranny. You could make shifting adjustments. Don't know if the adjustable modulators are still available.

Noise I objected to in my 1989 34ft Pace Arrow was the smog pump. It screamed so loud at 55 mph it was very annoying. I installed a hose on the smog pump & ran it all the way back to the rear of the MH. Another thing I disliked about that MH was the rubber Moryde rear springs. Mine were replaced about 5 times on warranty. The generator heated up the cargo door & it warped. Had to mount piece of aluminum angle on door to make it stay closed. I bought a heavy duty switch like in cupboards & mounted in generator compartment & ran 2 power lines so I cold use both A/Cs at same time on shore power. After mods was pretty nice MH. If it wasn't for those Moryde springs I'd probably still own it. I tried to get a spring dealer to mount leaf springs under it but no one would do it. It always sagged a little on one side.

Very interesting WYO... the dealership did a valve job on this PA cause it sat so long a valve froze...they left off the clamps to the air pump and when I was climbing a big grade in NV it went into open loop and blew the main hose off the AIR system...with no air to the manifolds it warped the living s&^$ out of them and they started leaking.......long story..... have replaced them and built a dual system....when I tow I stay in 3rd....no OD...my fan is so loud its alarming...between the lockup converter and the fan noise you don't know what the h*** is going on...

I agree with the fan being locked, giving you the perception it is screaming. Fan noise is extreme.

You can also count your rear end ratio, lift a wheel off the round and spin it. Count the rotations of the driveshaft, compared to the rotation of the wheel.

I never thought of the fan. The noise that is coming from the engine arrea is loud. It does soun like a fan running. Maybe it is the fan. It just sounds like the engine is running at a high RPM. HUMM... I will have to check that. Should the fan move free woththeengine off? Thanks again for everyones help.

To clarify-:D It does not matter if I am pulling a trailer or not it sounds like the RPM's are high. Im not lacking power, just sounds like I am running it at high RPM's. The fan talk makes me think--- it does sound like a airplane under my bonnet. So if the fan is not functioning correctly would it be making noise? It has had a recent tune up. New plugs and wires, cap and points. I also had the exhust manifold fixed. It was leaking. I can drive faster than 55 but just sounds high. I have two fans. One on the engine and a set of electric fans in front of the radiators. Again thanks. I have not went campong because I am afraid of it breaking down.

The fan should have a clutch that is thermostatically controlled. At normal operating temperature, the fan should be disengaged. The fan still spins, but comparatively slow. IF you pull a long hill, the radiator temp will rise, heating the thermostat on the fan clutch. This engages the clutch and it will sound like a 747 at take off. Its possible someone removed the clutch, or it could be just seized. NAPA should have a replacement.

If it is getting into 3rd gear it should be running at the RPMs General Motors thought it needs to be running to pull the loads it is specified to pull. It should be geared for about 2600 to 3000 RPM at highway speeds, a little more than that to top speed.

You could get RPMs down about 20-30% by installing an aftermarket overdrive, but then it might be struggling to maintain 55 mph, and shifting in and out of OD to maintain that speed. A lot will depend on grade and wind speed and direction. A 0.80 overdrive tends to be more useful in the 60-70 mph range, where RPMs are back up high enough to generate the HP needed to go that fast.

You are not going to cruise 55 mph at 1000-1200 RPM in a gas motorhome, the way you do in a modern V-6 or V-8 passenger car, which has an engine capable of putting out six to ten times the power needed to maintain highway cruising speed.

Same thing in sub-compacts, engines sized closer to actual need. My Honda Fit turns 2750 in top gear at 55 MPH, 3200 to 3600 RPM at my usual highway speeds. My small-engine pickup truck is in the same RPM range.

Saying it is "screaming" if running at that speed is confusing. Makes us think you might be stuck in second gear, running 4000 RPM.

If you are turning a fan, the fan noise will be very loud at RPMs as low as 2000. At 55 mph, unless you've just finished climbing a 10 mile 6% grade, the fan should be freewheeling. The designed failure mode for thermostatic fan clutches is to engage the fan. Maybe you need a new fan clutch?

My pace arrows all ran at 2800-3000 RPM at 55-60 MPH. I'm betting your fan needs a new clutch, If clutch is always engaged, it makes the engine sound real loud. Could be wrong, but I thought a tach was pretty much standard equipment on your rig.

It does not have a tach. I also went out and the fan turns freely with the engine off. Could it turn freely and have issues when it gets warm?