Click the following links to see some "up to the minute" photos of what's going on out there.
Gene Fisher's Photos
Dan and Teri Gregg's Blog
Seminar synopsis as they happen: Schedule
Monday March 31, 2008
9:00 am --10:00 am Steve Ferguson
Getting Your Coach Under Control
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:35:
Recommends changing lower ball joints after 100K
Bushings, cannot tell if good with out looking at them.
Recommends urethane bushings
Tie rods, 100K miles you will feel bad joints when you take them out and move
some put in a set screw to tighten up the tie rods.
Steering elements
look at steering coupler if Teflon is gone- replace it
look at lower bearing in the bottom of steering column - at bottom of shaft
relay lever - should not go up and down - Lensi sells rebuilt ones
also the other end
Bushing
just take out the rubber , drill holes . heat with torch push out rubber
hammer in the insert , grease with silicone, all done
save the metal sleeves. drive in and you are done
Offset bushings
do not have urethane offset bushings
have to use rubber so can be used for offset, one each in each arm. (back)
Torsion bar
shock sway bar, disconnect
best to use unloaded and remove to bench.
socket - starting to blow out - can be reinforced socket,
Toro and Eldorado's arms need to be reinforced. $100 core charge from vendors.
early coaches were not reinforced.
New boots urethane fit all applications.
NOTES:
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:57
Not necessary to replace ball joints by mileage,
ref. Lenzi, Thoma, Caspro
could be ok even past 300K miles
10:15 am --11:15 am Bob Drewes –
Offset Bushings, Front Alignment
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:09
No handouts
DIY - could not get enough positive caster
Made his own alignment tools
must have front end all good or new
get ride height correct
alignment
caster - deg
camber - deg
toe in - in
tire wear shows misalignment
radial tires should run flat
best settings
toe = 0
saw tooth tire tread show toe problems
1/8 in toe will slide tire 4 feet in a mile
caster
he likes positive caster ? tire forward,not back.
eliminates
unstable steering
constant corrections
wander and weave
road walk
adjust upper control arms
in, out front, back adjustments
some caches can get 3 deg caster, some only 1 deg.
has to be the oem brackets on the frame.....
adjust with a 3/4 bolt with cm washers
if you cannot get 3 deg of positive caster?
information sheet is not correct in the box\
moog k-7104 tow per box, car quest
bushings can be checked rubber
support upper arm with split rings, remove bushings -- he made his own
puller / tool
for positive caster
put offset bushing in front point arrow toward the ball joint
in the rear of arm, arrow away from the ball joint.
push back into arm
alignment tools
adaptor for Alcoa wheel for magnetic gauge held on with bungy cord
poly skid place with grease to metal plate duct tape to floor
turn wheels 20 deg right 20 deg right
REBCO guage - on Summett - Harbor Freight sells one-
get a good one
look up on GOOGLE
toe
spray tire with paint
scribe tires
settings
caster 4 pos both
camber 1/4 pos left 1/8 right
toe 0
questions
load coach, set rideheight
most of this is on Midwest Classics web site
11:30 am --12:30 pm Dave Lenzi
Hubs, Knuckles, Bearings, Linkage
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:20
great handout
basic discussion first
gm picture with colors
often find the axle nut loose
140 to 150 ft lb on axle bolt
use a good bearing that has the clearance printed on it
retainer - holds seal and but also distorts and holds seal races,
spacer in place.
if you do it blind, you cannot see how it is mounted
seal shows in the wrong position. has a new driver that sets the seal
has drawings for a seal driver - make your own
center line of stock wheel 3/8 in from center of wheel, spacers will
not cause bearing damage
Bearing stack drawing
unassembled axial clearance .0085
today all .0095 all today
as soon as pressed into hub, now .001 to .006
original GMC used a drop in fit on old coaches
now building up knuckles so should not be too tight fit.
very light press fit, on a ground fit, about .001 fit.
can be more loose, but need to do the 25k maint on the bearings
seal driver
does not touch the seal, goes in until the seal driver hits the
knuckle assembly
put the race in the knuckle
put in spacer
next race
put bearing in
outer seal
check retainer for flat retainer plate, bend ears back to apply pressure
retainer , make sure there is a gap for the bolt ears, and all the way around
put in the 3 bolts, should be clearance all the way around, tighten evenly
place knuckle over hub , press on with a draw bar
seal should be hitting the face of the cv joint
zerk fittings in the knuckles
wallace used them
cut grove into spacer, holes in grove to allow grease in into space
between bearings
cannot over lube bearings in the front bearings
loosen axle nut push cv joint back
pump in grease out by the seal at cv joint
tighten axle clean off grease,
80k miles so far, never pull bearings
don't mix grease, mobile one, easy to get,
questions
drilling for zerk
30 deg angle - fixture
must hit in middle of spacer
4 holes .08 carbide
timkin new spacers now ground, very hard, grind a grove around spacer
for drilling
now larger also
12:30 pm --12:45 pm Steve, Bob, Dave
Q & A
Tuesday April 1, 2008
9:00 am --11:00 am Dick Paterson
Engine Building Extraordinaire
11:15 am --12:15 pm Gene Dotson/Jim Buchanan
Cool it!
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 12:05
components
balance of tubes and air flow
do not ground the radiator - same potential as the engine
it is grounded by transmission lines
streaks on your radiator is pin holes
don't add too many tubes, need a balance of tubes and fins
turbulence and heat transfer - turbulence is good does not need restrictors\
multi pass not necessary
al vs brass recore - al is $795 re core are $400 plus
brass vs copper, brass better
protect the radiator under the bumper, screen,
new rad, get new hoses , keep spring in bottom hose, use old one if necessary
hoses - corrugated with spring inside hose is ok ,
use new clamps, good ones stainless steel,
re tighten clamps after running the first few times
water pump
look for leaks
will be out of the weep hole
differences - cast original - stamped impeller works as well as the original
engine
change coolant to get new inhibitors
flush when changing coolant
change every 3 years
check freeze plugs for leaks, changed if they are
look at gaskets for leaks, pump, heads, etc
thermostat
high flow - robert shaw- 330-180, 330-195
check that there is no bypass , blow on it to see if it bypasses
4365 from mr gasket, is a bypass - don't use it
do not use dex-cool
put dimple toward the radiator
use prestone with no silicates
50% of anti freeze is ok with distilled water only
check freeze protection - m
13 pound cap with a release lever, stant 11328 - 7 lb, for old rad
shrouds
original was no good, split fiberglass two piece cover the whole radiator
baffles put them in if they are not there, on the sides of the
radiator to the front
foam between the radiator and the frame will improve air flow
fan clutch
15-4644 or ac 15-4208
150 to 170 degrees air the fan starts to turn of
if you see oil at the spring in the front , change the clutch
use only Delco clutch
transmission and oil coolers
flush after a failure , can use brake fluid until comes clean, takes 3-4 cans.
temp gage
original is not much good
don't look at trans output temp, or oil output
look at oil pan 220-230 and trans sump - 17 - 140 deg.
1:00 pm -- 2:00 pm Dick Paterson – Oil and Engine Oil System
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