Getting parts for my 87 Chieftain on a John Deere Chassis

[Jkountz]

Hey folks I just found this forum and Im glad I did. Hopefully someone can shed some light on some of the mysteries Ive encountered since I bought a 1987 Chieftain last October. Its in the Ford/John Deere chassis and getting parts has been very interesting to say the least. I love the look on the guys face at the parts counter when I tell them what I have. Many times they tell me straight out that I must be wrong, Ford and John Deere are two different companys. REALLY > > Wow thanks parts guy, I never would have thought about that!!
Mine is the 460 engine. 31ft Chieftain. Im currently right in the middle of an engine swap and it was going well until I tried to find an oil pan. Mine had the small issue of a rod sticking through the side of it. The replacement pans Im finding are not nearly as deep and have no place for the dipstick. My pan has a threaded hole for the dipstick. Thats just one of the issues Ive encountered. I bought a brand new 460 to replace the blown one. Other than the engine I also need to fix the park pawl or tang since the unit has no Park right now.
The other issue is the fridge, I smell ammonia when I run it so it looks like I may need to replace the cooling unit soon. Im afraid to run it to see if it actually cools down.
So there ya have it, if anyone has any comments or advice on the issues Ive stated here by all means shoot one at me, Im all ears!!

Thanks!!

Jim

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[Oz]

Wow, that must've just made your mouth drop and wonder how in the world were you going to be able to deal with that JD chassis!  Great to have you with us, no doubt you are as unique as old Ed Brady is... um... old and this will be a learning experience and resource search for everyone.

[tiinytina]

Welcome almost neighbor!  We've got some awesome hound dogs as members who can find just about anything. There is even a special place on the forums for posting special needs/parts etc.  We'll just have to find you a magic junkyard!

Yes on the fridge, sounds like you have a pinhole leak. Ammonium perchlorate is used in them. Surf the forums with the search feature for possible fix.

oh and now you do have to name your bago.....

Cheers
Tina 

[Jkountz]

Well now it seems I have yet another problem. When I had the unit towed to the place thats doing the engine it appears my driveshaft fell into some sort of black hole and was never to be seen again. They took it out to tow and now its gone. So add that to the list of things to fix!! Whoo hoo!!.

PS Tina, the wife says we have to actually ride in it before we can give it a proper name. She says it will come to us once we can get her going down the road!!

[tiinytina]

had time for a little googling.... John Deere chassis production was bought by freightliner... and they may have some parts still floating around out there. Also found this link...http://www.winnebagoparts.com/chassisparts.php
which claims to have help and support for all Winnebago chassis...

Tina

[Jkountz]

Wow I couldnt log into this forum for a long time but now it appears to be back again.
UPDATE:
Got the new motor in, found a driveshaft and finally got the unit home. Now were cleaning and checking everything out, got a few small trips planned to test the water so to speak. I do have an overheating issue, not major but it does seems to be getting pretty warm when putting along slowly or going uphill. Thats normal I know but the weird part is it seems that once it goes up to a certain temperature, it wont cool back down. When idling or going down the road at say 55 or so, the gauge stays in the 10 o'clock position. When driving slowly just putting around it goes straight up to 12 o'clock and will stay there not coming back to normal operating position. I plan to get a "real" gauge with some actual numbers on it so I will know exactly whats going on. Everything is new so I dont have any idea why it would be running hot, if it is in fact.
AAAAAAAAAnyway, sorry for being so long winded here, Im just happy to finally have it going again and look forward to doing some camping in it soon!!

[Oz]

That's some major progress and great to hear!