Brake pads for P30 Chassis

[muzikman45]

I need to get my drum brake pads for rear, and disc brake pads for front replaced. They are cracked and "overheated" as one mechanic told me. But he found problems everywhere else that he didn't want to touch the motorhome. Oh well! I'm doing it myself. My question is I don't know what brake pads I need. I called an auto parts store and they didn't have my motorhome listed in their system so they couldn't tell me. Anyone have any ideas or where I can find out?

35' 1987 Country Coach Mark V
P30 Chassis
454 gas engine

Thanks!
Dave D.

[falconbrother]

Personally, I am skeered of rotten tires. Having had a blowout on the interstate I can tell you that it sucks. I would get some tires before I got out in traffic, especially the fronts as the crash risk goes up with a front blowout. If you're budget is tight you're still better off with some Chinese E rated tires than with way too old and expired tires of any brand.

[Deano56]

i believe I bought my brake pads from Rockauto because of good prices for premium pads, I have pads front and rear. I replaced all belts on my P-30 this past fall and it was a knuckle buster, you have to have a extra long armed ratchet to loosen up the power steering pump, at least on mine. Spring replacement is best but, if you don't have the funds and don't plan on driving the country, new bags will suffice. Many on here have replaced all for corners with new bags and have been happy. Thats great you have a hanger to work in, wish I had the same, especially in this cold Illinois weather

[Deano56]

i believe I bought my brake pads from Rockauto because of good prices for premium pads, I have pads front and rear. I replaced all belts on my P-30 this past fall and it was a knuckle buster, you have to have a extra long armed ratchet to loosen up the power steering pump, at least on mine. Spring replacement is best but, if you don't have the funds and don't plan on driving the country, new bags will suffice. Many on here have replaced all for corners with new bags and have been happy. Thats great you have a hanger to work in, wish I had the same, especially in this cold Illinois weather

[muzikman45]

enblethen wrote:
Many of the items are pretty simple to repair.
I do not understand why the shop would not want to work on the brakes. Nothing in your list would be a n issue. It would be very expensive.
I would suggest replacing the front coil springs with the ones from Henderson Line up in Grants Pass, OR. They do away with troublesome front air bags.
Harmonic balancer is fairly easy. You can borrow tool from O'Reilly auto parts to remove it.
I do not know why South Colby is located.

Thank You! Great suggestions and confidence building. 🙂

South Colby is outer Port Orchard, WA. across the Puget Sound from Seattle, WA.

[turbojimmy]

enblethen wrote:
Many of the items are pretty simple to repair.
I do not understand why the shop would not want to work on the brakes. Nothing in your list would be a n issue. It would be very expensive.
I would suggest replacing the front coil springs with the ones from Henderson Line up in Grants Pass, OR. They do away with troublesome front air bags.
Harmonic balancer is fairly easy. You can borrow tool from O'Reilly auto parts to remove it.
I do not know why South Colby is located.

Yes - a rig that old is only worth saving if you can do the work yourself. With that list, you'll exceed the value of the motorhome instantly by paying someone to do it.

Harmonic balancer will theoretically come off with a puller. I tried on my "new" engine because I wanted to replace the front seal while the engine was out. I couldn't get it off so I left it alone.

I second the coils. No need to mess with air bags - I plan to do that in the Spring. Henderson wants you to weigh it, preferably all 4 corners. Makes sense but kind of a pain.

Brakes are easy. Belts are easy. I'd hate to see a motorhome become a permanently-parked apartment!

EDIT: Air injection tubes: people just plug them off. If you don't have emissions inspection you can eliminate the air pump and the tubes.

[enblethen]

Many of the items are pretty simple to repair.
I do not understand why the shop would not want to work on the brakes. Nothing in your list would be a n issue. It would be very expensive.
I would suggest replacing the front coil springs with the ones from Henderson Line up in Grants Pass, OR. They do away with troublesome front air bags.
Harmonic balancer is fairly easy. You can borrow tool from O'Reilly auto parts to remove it.
I do not know why South Colby is located.

[muzikman45]

muzikman45 wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Most step vans are lighter then the stripped chassis.
I use the Brake Best C149 ceramic. Some cannot take the heat.
On my 1993, I use the base.

What is the problems elsewhere for his reasoning for not working on the rig?

3. Harmonic Balancer coming apart

Will be watching the Harmonic Balancer and saving up to get that replaced asap.

[muzikman45]

enblethen wrote:
Most step vans are lighter then the stripped chassis.
I use the Brake Best C149 ceramic. Some cannot take the heat.
On my 1993, I use the base.

What is the problems elsewhere for his reasoning for not working on the rig?

1. Numerous electrical issues
2. system is overcharging with regulator
3. Harmonic Balancer coming apart
4. All belts need replacing (except the serpentine belt I replaced myself)
5. Exhaust air injection tube rusted out and leaks (not manufactured anymore and hard to find)
6. Front tires heavily dry rotted.
7. 1 rear tire off rim, bead seal broken. (Inspection mechanic fixed)
8. Both front air bags blown, rear bag leaks.
9. Needs complete all around brakes, overheated and cracked pads (major)
10. Tag axle hub wet and rusted inside.

Mechanic said this would cost us $1000's (plural) in parts and labor. His 16 years in RV repair and 35 years in auto repair experience, he suggested not putting a penny more into this thing. He said we could ease it around town to empty tanks, but this motorhome can be used as a guest room for somebody, but not for traveling.

On a good note, my father-in-law who is an FAA mechanic and maintains his own vehicles and RV, after inspecting it himself yesterday says there isn't anything on this list that is un-fixable with a little elbow grease. He said most of it's just regular maintenance stuff. Tires aren't as bad as mechanic made us think, but they should be replaced before going over 1000 miles. Belts are in fact in good shape, and I have spares if any of them break. I just replaced the Serpentine belt a month ago so I'm not sure how hard this mechanic looked. He didn't really have a lot of room for an RV anyway so I'm thinking he just didn't want the job, which is okay. The more I learn my RV myself, the better.

So I'm taking it to my father-in-law's hanger and will be working on it together with him. Will save me a LOT in labor costs for sure.

[turbojimmy]

Check out Rock Auto for parts. Select P30 chassis. They will list the parts as "Motorhome" or "exc motorhome".

There are 2 types of calipers, but I think the pads are the same irrespective of the caliper. I'm pretty sure the pads are the same all around (front and rear), too.

[2bzy2c]

I really can't blame the mechanic for not wanting to get involved. A rig of that vintage is bound to have other issues. Master cylinder, brake lines, all rubber components brake related. The rotors and drums will have to be resurfaced assuming there is enough metal left to legally resurface. Otherwise you will have to get new drums and rotors. Pretty big $

Are you sure you want to do this yourself? It could be a daunting project.

[ets1996]

Call Brazels in Centralia, Wa. I had alot of brake and chassis work done there when I lived in Tumwater. I was happy with the work done on my P30 Rexhall.

[enblethen]

Most step vans are lighter then the stripped chassis.
I use the Brake Best C149 ceramic. Some cannot take the heat.
On my 1993, I use the base.

What is the problems elsewhere for his reasoning for not working on the rig?

[falconbrother]

If you're not sure about doing this job you might consider taking it to a heavy truck place. The guy that worked on mine the last time had those rear drums off in like a minute flat.

And, I also never know which to pick, "Step Van" or "Base". At NAPA there is no motorhome chassis option. I have had the best success finding the right part at Advance Autoparts.

[mike_brez]

Maybe This will help.