1985 Southwind P30 Header options

[openroadCA]

I have a P30 1985 Southwind with a 454. I replaced one of the exhaust manifolds on one side. The other side has to be done. I know everyone recommends to upgrade to the Banks or Doug Thorley headers. I am trying to spend very little on this RV.

I know you get what you pay for but has anyone tried to just install a set of $150 cheapo headres from Summit on a P30. For the price I am ok if they only last a year or 2. I would have to have the air injection bungs welded in. A good coating and gasket I have a hard time believing they would not work.

Is there a major fitment inssue. there is a lot of room in my Rig so I doubt that a Big block header for a A body or Fbody Gm would not work.

Thoughts.

[openroadCA]

Well I finally got most things done on the rig. I had a bad sway bar bushing and it was very unstable driving. FIrst drive was in a major cross wind down I5. Easy 30-45mph wind. Was white knuckle. Driving back to the storage yard from my shop made all the diff, was tracking nice and strait and seemed very smooth even at 70mph for a short while.

I ended up bending the oil dip stick when I took it out to replace the manifold on that side. Tried to bend it back but its very hard getting it in. I may just get a standard short style dip stick and check from the dog house. I put in 7qts of oil. Seems to be on full mark.

Here is what I did this weekend.

1. Installed new fresh water pump.
2. New Sway bar bushings.
3. New low pressure Hydra boost hoses (was major pain reaching them)
4. Full service to the Onan, new points, plugs, adjusted Carb and Gov.
5. Removed Axle shafts and inspected the rear brakes, new diff oil and gasket.
6. adjusted the parking brake.
7. lubed front suspension.

Everything seems to work well. Roof air etc.

I did notice that the hot water heater seemed to stay on. Water was very hot. Was nervous to let it get much hotter. I guess I can just turn it on when we need it but seems to not be kicking off. I did not see any adjustment. MIght need a new temp sensor. Would think there is a safety shut off.

Plan to take it on a trip after all this work. Next weekend.

The Dorman replacement manifolds seems to be doing well. I used the earls heavy duty gaskets and have retorqued them a a few times

[Daveinet]

Carry an extra set of plug wires with you.

[openroadCA]

SO update. Finally got everything done on the Rig. With new Manifolds on both sides and air injection tubes runs perfect. Sounds super quiet. For the amount of money I have in this Rig I dont mind changing the manifolds at $75 per side on Summit every now and then. Passed CA smog with flying colors. Now onto a few cosmetic fixes. But all systems seem to work, Heater, water heater, Roof ac, Fridge, microwave, and the onan all doing well. There is a dryer tube hook up on the outside, is this the stove hood vent tube? or for the external furnace?

[spritz_55423]

Hi I have a 82 PA P30 454 that had the passenger side cracked manifold when I bought it and took it in to a hotrod shop(also works on MH's)and he replaced it with a new one perfect for a year and then it started to leak again so I took it back and they replaced the gasket with one that has a metal ring around the center of the gasket N/C, they tell me 454's are know for this problem. Anyhow she sure is quite now. They tried to sell me headers the first time but I passed knowing that is still a option.I also had them redo the exhaust in stainless from the mufflers back to behind the rear wheels instead of infront of the tires. Sounds pretty nice @ the tailpipes and I can hardly hear the motor with the doghouse on. I plan on keeping her she only has now 49,000 miles and 260 on the gennie. Heck its not even broken in yet.

[openroadCA]

I lived in tahoe for a couple of years and I agree with you I would never go up the mt rose hwy. No the only route I would take with the RV is I80.

[gswcgi]

If you are going to Tahoe up Hyway 50 which is a steep long grade than I would recommend you do it at night in the Summer. Don't under any circumstances try to run to Tahoe up State Road 341 from 395 in Reno. It is a very steep grade which goes from 4,500' to 8,900' at the top of Mt. Rose!!!! It is extremely curvy, 2 lane and lots of traffic. Good luck.

[Gjac]

I ran ducting to mine when I had the leaking manifold gaskets replaced when I first bought the MH. I ran 2 flex ducting from under the grill to the RH and LH exhaust manifolds. I think some rain water got in and when I checked the following year they were cracked between the ports and were not leaking. I could have run them this way but the engine was still very hot. I replaced them anyway with the ceramic coated Thorley headers. I say this only to say don't make the same mistake I did. Replace them once with some type of Header system. I think Thorley makes a less expensive non-coated header. I no when I was a kid it was popular to install Headman headers that were wrapped with FG to keep the heat down and the noise going out the tail pipe. I don't know if this caused them to rust out sooner or later.

[enblethen]

My engine is offset toward the right side. There is much more clearance on the left side then the right.

[openroadCA]

yea I did check out the body this last time. I did not see any abnormal issues. I went up on the roof it all seemed very strong, no cracks, I ran a hose up there and did not see any leaks. This rig only has 50k miles and was store in a barn for 10 years. Its also a CA Rig.

It terms of fitment. I really cannot see how these headers would not fit. There is far more room there than in a Car or truck. The pipe hook up may need a exhaust shop to cut and reflare the pipes to fit. The pipes can move around a lot. the real issue is going to be can they handle the heat.

I am going to remove the radiator, May replace water pump, and go to a cooler thermostat. This is a carbed motor so I find they run better with a 165-170F thermostat.

It also would not be hard to run some ducting from the grill to each manifold to provide more cooler air. I am 90% sure I am going to run with the stock manifold and the earls gaskets. At $70 a pop, if I have to change them 1 time per year I am ok with that. I am using high quality bolts and anti sieze so getting them on off should not be a major deal.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-674-161/overview/

[enblethen]

These headers are for pick up, SUV, etc.
I am not sure if the headers will fit with out modification in a MH.
Summit Racing

[Daveinet]

Biggest question when choosing to to invest money into the rig is if you have any delamination, which Fleetwood was notorious for back in the 80s. If there are any places where the wall is sagging away from flat, the don't spend a dime more. Run it into the ground till it quits.

[openroadCA]

yea. I am going to take some precautions, Building some heat shields, and I will wrap plug wires with longer heat tubes. I dont plan on any real long trips with this rig. It may go up to tahoe and I think the key is stopping every now an then to let the exhaust cool off a little.

I have a Saab 9-3 modified with 400HP and the turbo an the manifold get cherry red when you run it on the dyno. a 7.4L engine I am sure is making some crazy heat when under a near full load.

I only have $2500 in this rig and its hard to justify $1000 headers for it. I need to get some miles and trips in without a lot of issues before I invest a lot of money.

[gswcgi]

I had a 1985 Allego 23' RV with a 454. I went through 3 sets of manifolds /headers until I went to heavier stainless ones. This has been a 454 problem from day one. Motor homes usually don't have enough airflow coming in to dissipate the enormous heat that is generated. I also burned up spark wire cables and had endless vapor lock issues. It was a nightmare, especially when climbing grades in hot weather.

[openroadCA]

here was the link I found. these look like 4:1 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g9011/overview/

but the price is very nice. Noise is not a major issue for me. I was thinking of adding some heat shielding. I can just put a stock manifold on the other side for $70. So really more thinking of this long term. With any of these headers its going to cost me a $100 easy to have air injection bungs welded into the headers.

I used Freeze Off spray on the bolts on the other side. They all came out without breaking. It did take a lot of torque to break them loose. The trick with the freeze off is to shoot the bolt head for 1 min a couple of times. The idea being you drop the temp to -4F and it shrinks the bolt just enough to get the penetrating oil in the threads.

The other goo news is the passenger side I still have to do has way more room an should be more simple. I also used the earls performance gaskets that I hear are the best way to go on these.