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mexicanpiloto13's avatar
mexicanpiloto13
Explorer III
Jun 24, 2016

Power steering just failed in 1998 Monaco Dynasty

Hi all, while we are stranded along the road waiting for a tow truck in the Sierras I thought we could get some good advice from the knowledgeable people in this forum. We were driving along and heard a grinding noise in the engine compartment, very loud and then pulled over to the side of the road just as the power steering failed. I noticed there's a motor that drives the radiator fan that seemed to be producing a lot of noise the fan is not working and was jerking a little like something was trying to engage. Does anybody have any thoughts on what the problem is? I suspect the hydraulic lines for the fan motor now have metal in them and maybe got into the hydraulic pump and lines. Monaco tech support says there are three internal filters in the large hydraulic reservoir in the engine compartment and I'm hoping that caught all the junk before ruined the big hydraulic pump. A gentleman I called at Source Engineering, referred to me by Monaco, said that that hydraulic pump is a two-stage pump.....one side does the fan and the other does the power steering. he also indicated how important it would be to flush the system but says it's very rare for the hydraulic pump itself to go to get toasted. I understand the parts are pretty hard to get for an RV that's a 1998 Monaco. I'll know more in the morning when the mechanics take a look at it. Any thoughts from your experiences would be helpful. Thanks. Broken down, but with a beautiful view.
Class A

8 Replies

  • barmcd's avatar
    barmcd
    Explorer
    Jul 05, 2016
    That's good news. Care to share the cost of the repair?
  • mexicanpiloto13's avatar
    mexicanpiloto13
    Explorer III
    Jul 04, 2016
    Final verdict on why our power steering failed, just as we heard a grinding noise. The compressor had ground itself up. On the Cummins 8.3 engine, the gears turn the compressor, which has a drive shaft and turns the hydraulic pump as well. Britt's Diesel in Bishop installed a new compressor and everything worked. They were super smart folks. As a precaution, they took off the rear plates on the engine and inspected all the gears for damage. they tell us we were very, very lucky, no further damage was done. Had we run the engine for a little bit longer, we could have been into heavy duty repairs. New hydraulic fluid was added, and and and engine oil and filter change were also done as a precaution.
  • mexicanpiloto13's avatar
    mexicanpiloto13
    Explorer III
    Jun 28, 2016
    Mechanics are working on our Monaco Dynasty with Cummins 8.3 engine 1998 to figure out what the grinding noise was and why we lost our power steering. preliminary findings indicate that compressor shaft and bearings completely trashed, wobbling inside the casing. This drive shaft then went into the hydraulic motor and powered that, which is why we lost our power steering right away when the grinding started. the other end of the compressor goes into the engine gearbox and is powered by that. it doesn't look like those gears are damaged at all, but they're still evaluating the parts so far. We will probably get an oil change with filter to get any metallic flecks out of the oil, new Holset compressor. and worst case scenario, they. take off the plates at the back of the engine and examine the gear drives for damage. No indication of that so far.
    Thanks
  • ricelake922's avatar
    ricelake922
    Explorer
    Jun 24, 2016
    Hello. I have a 1996 Monaco Dynasty that I had a lot of problems with the power steering pump. You can have the pumps rebuilt and I am aware that Monaco can find you a new pump that will require some hose reconfiguration but it can be done.
  • mexicanpiloto13's avatar
    mexicanpiloto13
    Explorer III
    Jun 24, 2016
    The mechanic just had me run the engine and he believes the problem is in the compressor for the Cummins engine on our Monaco Dynasty. apparently the compressor has a shaft that drives the hydraulic pump and they won't know till they get it apart what the culprit is but I'll let you know. There's some heavy-duty clunking going on inside that case unfortunately. thank you.

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