OK. We didn't make our May 1 target date to leave for Alaska. There was just too much to do. Those who don't want to hear me whine about all the work we have done the last few weeks, please skip to the next post. Those who want to hear the gory details, boldly read on.
By far the biggest chore was coach maintenance. When we bought the coach in Jan 2007 it had 9000 miles on it. Now it has almost 50,000 and the only real maintenance I have done is change the engine oil and filters and the transmission oil and filters. OK, I did change the fuel filters a few times and did a little work on the generator, but suffice it to say there were many systems that were overdue for a little TLC. In the weeks before the work I purchased fluids and filters, almost $700 worth, in total. Dorcas was very helpful. She brought me tools, provided extra hands when necessary, wiped the oil out of my eyes and provided much-needed moral support. She also endured my rants and tirades when things went wrong, which was frequently. Following is a summary of that work:
Change transmission oil and filter: Drain tranny oil, remove primary and lube filters. Reinstall primary and lube filters. Fill 4.25 gallon of TranSynd, a synthetic transmission oil.
Drain Hydraulic Oil: Drain hydraulic oil from reservoir. Open hose at fan controller. Remove hydraulic filters (all three of 'em). Replace 3 hydraulic filters. Replace hydraulic oil: 3.75 gal Dexron III.
Drain and Flush Coolant System: Drain coolant using petcock on radiator and petcock on engine block. Remove engine coolant thermostat. Refill radiator with tap water. Run engine with dash heater on until dash blows hot air. Drain again and repeat 3 more times. Then drain and flush 2 more times using distilled water. Reinstall thermostat. Remove and replace coolant filter. Fill with 13 gallons of Final Charge OAT Extended Life Coolant. Top off with distilled water. Drive coach until the engine reaches operating temperature and top off again with distilled water. This project was by far the most difficult and time consuming. It easily took most of two days off and on. I also had a difficult time determining the correct coolant filter, since the original filter was not compatible with the new coolant I would be using. Then I had to haul almost 50 gallons of old coolant and flush water to the county hazardous waste recycling facility. The good news is that this coolant is good for over 500,000 miles. I doubt I will ever need to flush the system again.
Flush Generator Coolant: Same process as above, but much simpler. The genny coolant capacity is only about 1 gal vs. 26 gallons for the coach engine. The filler neck is difficult to access and the fluid doesn't want to flow into the filler, but eventually it gets there.
Change Generator Oil and Filter: This is pretty simple. Warm the genny, drain the oil, remove the filter. Reverse the process. Piece of cake.
Replace Generator Fuel Filter: The guy who designed the fuel filter ought to be drawn and quartered. Why not use a simple spin-on filter, for crying out loud, like everyone else in the world. Instead Onan uses a cartridge filter that is bolted to a bracket and the fuel lines are affxed using compression nuts. This wouldn't be so bad if the whole assembly were not recessed into a tiny cavity on the bottom of the genny, where you have to lay on your back with diesel fuel running down your arms and into your face. There is no room to turn the wrenches and your fingers and tools quickly become too slick to work. Remember the old STP commercial where you could not pick up a screwdriver coated in STP. Slicker than goose poop!
Replace Generator Air Cleaner: Not too hard if your wrists are double jointed and you have eyeballs on your fingers. You have to work blind, but if you can remember how it came out, you can get it back in.
Other Miscellaneous Items: While not mechanical maintenance I did improve and repair some other items. I replaced the broken Sirius radio antenna, installed a more robust cellular antenna and amplifier and mounted the controller box for the Winegard satellite dish in a cabinet. These tasks all involved routing cable through areas of the coach not intended to be accessible to the end user. They also involved a few more roof penetrations, never something to be taken lightly.
In the meantime we were busy doing more mundane things. We had doctor's visits, we donated blood, we cleaned the basement (well, made a big dent in that project), we washed the coach, we bought new dehumidifiers for the basement and installed them to perpetually drain. In the meantime Dorcas was researching customs and border crossing rules, cellular and internet data plans in Canada, insurance requirements and other such stuff.
This afternoon I confirmed that we had bats in the attic. I had suspected they were there. When one fell down through the ceiling fan and into the hall last fall, that was a fairly strong indication. So I finally crawled up into the attic to see and sure enough, they were there, and they did not appreciate my presence. I could see at least 6 but could hear many more in a space between two walls. I'm not sure how to get them out. There was a gable vent with rotten screen, so it was obvious how they were getting in. I assume I will need to go up there late at night when they are out (I assume they go out each night) and seal the opening. To do this before we leave for this trip would delay us for at least a day. I decided to let them stay a little longer.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. We have finished practically everything that we had intended to finish. We will finish packing the coach in the morning and hit the road as soon as we can get away, hopefully before noon.
Whew!!!!!
By far the biggest chore was coach maintenance. When we bought the coach in Jan 2007 it had 9000 miles on it. Now it has almost 50,000 and the only real maintenance I have done is change the engine oil and filters and the transmission oil and filters. OK, I did change the fuel filters a few times and did a little work on the generator, but suffice it to say there were many systems that were overdue for a little TLC. In the weeks before the work I purchased fluids and filters, almost $700 worth, in total. Dorcas was very helpful. She brought me tools, provided extra hands when necessary, wiped the oil out of my eyes and provided much-needed moral support. She also endured my rants and tirades when things went wrong, which was frequently. Following is a summary of that work:
Change transmission oil and filter: Drain tranny oil, remove primary and lube filters. Reinstall primary and lube filters. Fill 4.25 gallon of TranSynd, a synthetic transmission oil.
Drain Hydraulic Oil: Drain hydraulic oil from reservoir. Open hose at fan controller. Remove hydraulic filters (all three of 'em). Replace 3 hydraulic filters. Replace hydraulic oil: 3.75 gal Dexron III.
Drain and Flush Coolant System: Drain coolant using petcock on radiator and petcock on engine block. Remove engine coolant thermostat. Refill radiator with tap water. Run engine with dash heater on until dash blows hot air. Drain again and repeat 3 more times. Then drain and flush 2 more times using distilled water. Reinstall thermostat. Remove and replace coolant filter. Fill with 13 gallons of Final Charge OAT Extended Life Coolant. Top off with distilled water. Drive coach until the engine reaches operating temperature and top off again with distilled water. This project was by far the most difficult and time consuming. It easily took most of two days off and on. I also had a difficult time determining the correct coolant filter, since the original filter was not compatible with the new coolant I would be using. Then I had to haul almost 50 gallons of old coolant and flush water to the county hazardous waste recycling facility. The good news is that this coolant is good for over 500,000 miles. I doubt I will ever need to flush the system again.
Flush Generator Coolant: Same process as above, but much simpler. The genny coolant capacity is only about 1 gal vs. 26 gallons for the coach engine. The filler neck is difficult to access and the fluid doesn't want to flow into the filler, but eventually it gets there.
Change Generator Oil and Filter: This is pretty simple. Warm the genny, drain the oil, remove the filter. Reverse the process. Piece of cake.
Replace Generator Fuel Filter: The guy who designed the fuel filter ought to be drawn and quartered. Why not use a simple spin-on filter, for crying out loud, like everyone else in the world. Instead Onan uses a cartridge filter that is bolted to a bracket and the fuel lines are affxed using compression nuts. This wouldn't be so bad if the whole assembly were not recessed into a tiny cavity on the bottom of the genny, where you have to lay on your back with diesel fuel running down your arms and into your face. There is no room to turn the wrenches and your fingers and tools quickly become too slick to work. Remember the old STP commercial where you could not pick up a screwdriver coated in STP. Slicker than goose poop!
Replace Generator Air Cleaner: Not too hard if your wrists are double jointed and you have eyeballs on your fingers. You have to work blind, but if you can remember how it came out, you can get it back in.
Other Miscellaneous Items: While not mechanical maintenance I did improve and repair some other items. I replaced the broken Sirius radio antenna, installed a more robust cellular antenna and amplifier and mounted the controller box for the Winegard satellite dish in a cabinet. These tasks all involved routing cable through areas of the coach not intended to be accessible to the end user. They also involved a few more roof penetrations, never something to be taken lightly.
In the meantime we were busy doing more mundane things. We had doctor's visits, we donated blood, we cleaned the basement (well, made a big dent in that project), we washed the coach, we bought new dehumidifiers for the basement and installed them to perpetually drain. In the meantime Dorcas was researching customs and border crossing rules, cellular and internet data plans in Canada, insurance requirements and other such stuff.
This afternoon I confirmed that we had bats in the attic. I had suspected they were there. When one fell down through the ceiling fan and into the hall last fall, that was a fairly strong indication. So I finally crawled up into the attic to see and sure enough, they were there, and they did not appreciate my presence. I could see at least 6 but could hear many more in a space between two walls. I'm not sure how to get them out. There was a gable vent with rotten screen, so it was obvious how they were getting in. I assume I will need to go up there late at night when they are out (I assume they go out each night) and seal the opening. To do this before we leave for this trip would delay us for at least a day. I decided to let them stay a little longer.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. We have finished practically everything that we had intended to finish. We will finish packing the coach in the morning and hit the road as soon as we can get away, hopefully before noon.
Whew!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment