Few Repair/Maintance questions for new RV owner

[soloblazer]

hey everyone, i have rented Motorhomes in past, and also owned campers, so late last year we decided to buy our first MH, we bought a 97 Fleetwood Flair 31', we got a heck of a deal so couldnt pass on it. We used it a few times last year locally to see how everything work and what did and didnt work, but i have a few things i need some info on before starting repairs.

1. i have a slight vibration, not in steering wheel, but just in general, the passanger seats vibrates if no one is in it, from about 20mph up. i had all the rear tires balanced. i have not had the front ones done yet, but could be next?

2. The rv seems noisy on the inside when going down the road, just all around noisy, i have road in other rv of same age and older and they seem like they are alot quieter. is this normal for the flair?

3. It seems like this is very common issue i have read tons of forums, but i have a exhaust leak, not sure if its a cracked manifold or bad gasket yet, but will this hurt to leave like this for a little while as it seems expensive to fix at least from the shops i have talked to her in NC.

4. I also have the issue of the temp getting hot when pulling mountains or hard acceleration. i dont think it ever overheated as never heard or saw and boiling or overflow. it runs about 200-210 normal and up from there on hills. i have changed and flush radiator and also added water wetter, also changed thermostat.

5. The engine AC unit, when i got it i could turn the AC on and it would sometimes squeal like crazy so i wold turn off and turn on and it would start to work fine and blow cold for 5 mins then start to squeal again. i changed the belt and it work for about 5 min trip then it started to squeal and eventually broke belt. When it started to squeal the compressor still was turning, so it was locked up and is not locked up now. but could it be the compressor bad or what?

sorry for all the questions, but thanks in advance for the answers.

[soloblazer]

Sorry for not getting back sooner, have been working alot here. anyways what i have done...

I put some CLR in the radiator and let it sit for about a hour, then i flushed it out, no i didn't let it get in the engine, i unhooked both hoses. flushed it out and tried it, what i got was about a 50% improvement in the coolant, doesn't overheat at idle now, and only gets about half as hot as it used too. i also cleaned what i could in between the radiator and ac condenser. I am going to try it one more time, CLR is cheap, and only took about 10 mins to it, other then the hour wait while soaking. if this doesnt help it more then i am going o replace radiator, just triing to keep from pulling the radiator out. getting about a 25 degree change from in and out. Other then that everything seems ok.

And on the fan note, its a chevy not the ford, not sure if that matters on the fan thing, but the fan and clutch are doing a great job, it cools it right off.

[WILDEBILL308]

Also be aware there are different fan clutches. You want the Heavy duty/sever dutey fan clutch.
Look hear
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-2799/overview/make/ford
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fss-36951/overview/make/ford
I would also look at a high flow thermostat.
Bill

[WILDEBILL308]

I don’t know if you have tried this, spray the radiator and the stuff in front of it with simple green or dawn dish washing soap (it works better on a warm engine) and let it set for a while. Next hose it off with a LOWPRESHER spray if you use to much presser you can damage the fins on the different coolers. Next build a duct that forces all the air coming through the grill through your radiator. Do a search poor cooling and airflow is a common problem.
Bill

[Gjac]

Also check in between your condenser and radiator for dead bugs and dirt buildup I made a tool that gets into that space to flush out that space with water. You may be able to just slide a piece of flexible plastic or Al in between the to to see if anything is there and knock out the big chunks then spray with a hose.

[soloblazer]

Ok, so there should be more like 40+ degrees difference from input to output then? i will try to clean it first without removing and see what happens

[Gjac]

The way I tested mine was from inside the dog house I stared at the top and went across the top every several ins. I had to hold the fan clutch with a rag and re position it to take the readings. Working my way across and down in about a 2 in grid pattern I took readings until I got to the bottom. What I found was a 52 degree difference from the inlet on top to the outlet on the bottom and no cold spots especially in the center of the radiator. I am told the the center,area where the electric fan covers is the likely area for clogging. I have had several brand new thermostats that would not open or only partially open right out of the box. Always test in boiling water first. I change anti freeze and chemically flush first then flush by removing the thermostat, replacing the housing and forcing water into the system through the lower radiator hose. I made an adapter to do this. If you put a pail underneath you can see what comes out of the radiator. Also when you remove the cap the water should flow freely out the bottom inlet, if it kind of gurgles out it would indicate some restrictions. Hope this helps you out.

[cbr46]

220 in / 205 out? I'd expect a much larger delta than 15F. Same for idle (190 - 172 = 18F). Somehow that radiator isn't doing the job. You can feel air rushing through it, right?

Can you pop the cap and see the fins inside the radiator? If you can't get a peak maybe you can shoot a photo with your cell phone then look at that. Don't forget the flash (and say 'cheese').

You can also pull the lower hose and run a garden hose through it. That will tell you if it's flowing but that doesn't mean the inside isn't covered in scale acting as an insulator.

Just some thoughts . . . .

Good luck!
- c bob

[soloblazer]

Ok, update on Radiator tests i did this evening.

I started the motor and let it idle for 10 mins, checked gauge and it was just under 210. steady. Used IR temp gun and on input it was 190 on the hose where it enters radiator and 172 where it exited the radiator on the hose. it was pretty constant around the radiator (at least were i could hit which was not a huge spot.)

Next i pressed the gas and held it about 2k rpms for about 2-3 mins and the temp started going up, it went half way from 210-and the red. Temp readings at the input to radiator was now 220 and exit was 205.

I didnt get to drive it and test, but thats what i got so far.

Also yes the electric fan was running, and yes the clutch fan kicked in when started warming up.

My guess, and only my guess, is that the radiator is cooling, but may be clogged and not letting enough water flow threw the engine? am i close?

What should i try next to test. Looks likes it going to be a pain to remove radiator so dont want to do that except for last case.

I am planning a trip cross country in late July to Colorado, so need to get this fix up. I appreciate each and everyone of your thoughts and ideas.

I have been on many forums on many different things, and the RV and Boat forums always have the best people and most help, RV.net is great.

[soloblazer]

Thanks for the info, i have not checked it with a IR gun, but there is no way really to do that, i cant see the front at all because of the AC cond. and the back is blocked at the bottom.
Going up any grade it rises in heat, until the clutch kicks in and it will go back down.
just put a new thermostat in it and didnt change anything at all.
There are fins in the front grill which push air into the radiator.
The only things in front of the radiator are the ac cond. tranny cooler, and electric fan.
I made the electric fan come on all the time and its new as well.
When sitting at idle it will climb up to 220-230
When you level out after a hill or going down hill it goes to 210.
Fan clutch is new as well
This issue is getting worse over the last 8 months since i have had it.
Yes tires have been switched.

[Gjac]

Sounds like you are making good progress. I assume that you rotated the tire that was out of round to the back. Before you go through the trouble of pulling the radiator I would do a radiator check with the IR gun to see if there are any blockages indicated by cold spots. From what you describe it sounds like a normal 454 operation. If you provide some more detail as to what is happening someone might provide better incite. After a hill climb does it come back to normal range? Does it over heat at idle? Sounds like your fan clutch works the way it should. If you pull the radiator and replace it with the same OEM you may still have the same results. If you do pull it I would go with larger cores and or more rows. Check your thermostat first in boiling water does it open up enough? Anything blocking you radiator air flow (my overflow tank was). Do you have any air dams forcing the air coming through the grill into the radiator and not around it or under it?

[Big_Katuna]

Price a new rad. For all the trouble to pull it, why mess with something as important as running cool. That motor should not go above 190 up long hills. Mine didn't. Glad you are figuring it out.

[soloblazer]

Ok, generator was pulling from chassis battery and it was not getting good connection, now its great.

Vibration is all but gone, starts a vibration now about 65-70 mph. after 75 mph its gone. any ideas?

have leak in one of my skylights. i bought some Eternabond Tape and going to tape up all the skylights and vents. unless someone has a reason of why not too?

Has anyone replaced just the vinyl part of the awning? mine has a couple holes and is faded and was thinking of just replacing the vinyl as its pretty cheap compared to the whole new thing?

Just took it on a trip this weekend, and man the new airbags, shocks, and bushing made all the difference, couple hundred dollars and few hours of work, and it rides nice.

I think my next thing is to replace radiator, as it still climbs up in temp when pulling a hill, until the clutch on can kicks in and it goes down, even climbs up sitting at idle higher then i think it should, i guess i could take the radiator off and try flushing cleaning it out???? Anyone pulled the radiator off one of these? how big of a job is it?

thanks again for everyones help, you guys are great.

[WILDEBILL308]

soloblazer wrote:
UPDATE:

Ok, so i got the new front shocks on, the old ones were shot. you could compress them and they wouldnt come back apart.

Also i jack it up and test for out of roundness of tires..

1 rear tire and one front tire where a little out of round, maybe about a 1/4". the rest were dead on. would that little bit cause a vibration? or is that within spec?

Another question is, the previous owner but 2 6v golf cart batteries as the cabin batteries. would i be better to put 2 deep cycle 12v batteries instead?

Also on the generator, about every 2nd or 3rd time i try to start it it will click over but doesnt seem to have the juice to start the generator? if i click the button a few times it will spin and start right up. any ideas?

You are making progress.
You are actually better with the 6 volt battery’s as they will have more capacity and last longer.
I would clean all the contacts and connections the check the battery it is hooked up to. Some use the coach and some use the engine battery.
I think your tiers are problem close enough, it might be internal, have you checked the dates on the tiers?
Bill

[Gjac]

Bill, I would mark the 1/4 in out of round areas on the 2 tires with chalk and move the good tire to the front. Then install the 2 bad tires at 180 degrees from each other on the rear same side. I think 1/4 is too much. Sometimes the tire shops can fix this by remounting the tires on the rims after rotating them.