Winter Vacation, 2016-2017

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Hey guys!  Now that the elections are over and I can stop politicking...its Winter Vacation time, 2016-2017!!!   

We drove from North Carolina to my sister's driveway in St Marys, GA to visit for a couple of weeks and to make use of her driveway for our yearly maintenance.  Yesterday I replaced all the brake pads after buying a really awesome Kobalt corded electric 1/2 impact driver that was on sale at Lowes for 90 bucks!  Where has this thing been all my life?  It sure made getting those lugs off and on a cinch! 

I checked my air pressures leaving NC, but somewhere between there and GA the inner duelly on the passenger side went flat and I didn't notice until I was doing the brakes yesterday.  The tire didn't look damaged, so I took it down to the local tire place to have it seated on the rim (they had to use the blast can).  When they started to inflate the tire you could hear belts in the tire snap/crackle/pop and big bulges starting to form, so I must have damaged the belts when it went flat and kept driving on it.  Turns out it was leaking from the ancient braided valve extension.  I decided to throw my good Michelin spare on in its place and put the questionable tire in the spare tire holder.  I'll get another one as soon as a can on the way out West. 

Today I'm doing the tune up on the RV, which will entail changing out the spark plugs with R44Ts gapped at .045 (although O'Reilly's insists that the gap is supposed to be .035), and replacing the cap and rotor with an Accel performance cap and rotor.  I am also changing out the coil with an Accel high voltage performance coil that sits right on top of the cap like the stock one, just a tad bigger.  Since it is an HEI ignition system I'm thinking that .045 would be the more appropriate gap, which tends to be what is being recommended on the Chevy hotrod sites.  Any thoughts?  I'm also replacing the ignition control module with a new one.

After that I'll be cleaning the washable air filter and letting it dry to reoil it...and then changing out the fuel filters. 

And then top off the batteries with distilled water.

And then I'll change the oil using Mobile One synthetic (which is what I used last year and it still looks clean!), and replace the Napa Gold oil filter.

I'm going to try to get all of this done today so that tomorrow I can replace the screen in the screen door and then cover it completely with some type of perforated metal to keeps the dogs from destroying it again. 

Tomorrow I also want to wash the rig from the solar panels down and do whatever other little repairs I can fit in...which will leave me the weekend to recover and finish everything, visit with my sis and her family some more...and then hit the road on Monday morning bright and early!

I replaced the wiper motor already and it works great...and I have a spare as well..lol!

Glad to be back guys!

Kev

[joanfenn]

Hey Kevin nice to see you again.

[DRMousseau]

Wow! Lucky you!!! Sounds like some excessive heat damage to that tire, and it has now become a true spare,.. nothing you'll wanna depend on for any distance with typical speeds. But it'll will get ya outa trouble when necessary.

And again, that .045 spark gap is gonna be quite a difference that will simply delight ya. The differences in spark gap changes has ALWAYS surprised me!!!

Need one of them screen guards myself,... grandkids are pretty tough on 'em too!!!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Don't you just love when simple projects like changing your spark plugs turns into an all-day nightmare and spills over into the next day?  Well...that was my day.  I put brand new "high heat" Belden wires on all the spark plugs in Nov, 2011.  They supposedly have a lifetime warranty but I don't have the receipt anymore.  They kept breaking off at the boot!  So as I go along I'm replacing them one at a time with Accel high performance 8mm wires.  I've got 5 out of 8 spark plugs and wires changed, but to get to the last three on the driver's side, I have to jack up the RV and remove the front tire.  It was around 4:30 when I realized this, so almost out of daylight!

I cleaned up and shelved it until tomorrow. 

First thing in the morning Patti and I have to run down to the Florida DMV to renew our RV and truck registrations...then back to my sis's house to keep plugging away at the tune up, etc.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Hey Kev also consider that you have severly overloaded the R/R Outer tire also as it carried the full load for ?? Juat a thought . I installed those expensive wires also but also added asbestos covers from Advance speed section they have protected the wires from header heat for quite a wile now many thousands of miles !  I also have to remove my L/F tire to change plugs or to tighten header bolts  Aint Trucks fun ? Frank

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I'm guessing the valve extension failed right after leaving NC, and then riding on it flat was enough to damage the belts in the tire.  I checked the air in NC and it was fine, and then when we got here it was flat and not on the rim.  Didn't appear damaged until they started filling it. 

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Kev, Do you use dielectric grease in the plug boots when you put them on? That will keep them from adhering to the plugs and breaking off. Won't help if they are crispy though. W%

I had one of those braided lines fail on me too, luckily it was at home and found it before leaving for a trip. I use solid extensions now. I will soon be changing to the Cats Eyes.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

More trials and tribulations...but the spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, super coil, and ignition control module are all replaced!  But there were gremlins!  And it took all day of course!  To get to the last 3 wires on the driver's side I jacked up the RV and removed the front tire...Thank you Kobalt for making such an awesome 1/2 drive electric impact wrench!!!  Once everything was in place and the wires properly loomed and not touching anything hot, I installed the ignition control module with the heat grease it came with, installed the cap, rotor, and the Accel Super Coil, and fired it up!

Vroom!  And nice and smooth at idle.  But this where the gremlins came in.  At RPMs higher than around 2200 it would sputter and backfire and act crazy!!!  I checked my wires again and they were all going to the correct cylinder.  Did I build one or more wires wrong?  What was going on?  Off to O'Reilly's and they explained that I had forgotten to add the ground connection on the coil.  So I thought that was it.  Back home, installed the ground, still acting crazy!!!

So I figured, with those symptoms, they must have sold me a bad ignition control module...so I pulled it and went back to O'Reilly's.  It tested fine on their machine!  What in the world?

I stopped at an Advance Auto on the way back home and they had this neat tool that looks like a pen that you hold next to your spark plug wires and it shows if they are firing or not using induction current.  I reinstalled the new ignition control module and fired up the engine.  Still acting crazy, but the tool was showing me that every single wire was indeed firing as they should.

Hmmmmmm.  I decided to figure it out by process of elimination and got lucky on the first try.  First I put my old ignition control module in...and it ran like a champ!  Perfect!!!  So the one they sold me WAS bad!  I brought it back and they exchanged it for me, I installed it, and we are good to go!

I managed to get a couple of other things done while I was at it:  I replaced the fuel filter at the carb, cleaned the air filter and reoiled it after it dried, repaired the intake hose for the cold air system since it had a split in it near the plenum (It was long enough to just cut off the bad end), and that was pretty much it until it got too dark!

Tomorrow it will be the last fuel filter on the frame rail, and then the oil and filter change (Napa Gold filter and Mobile One synthetic)...and then I have to replace the screen in the door...again...and find something to put over it to keep the pups from damaging it.  And then wash the RV from the top down, especially the solar panels.  And top off the battery water.  We want to hit the road on Monday, but the list is shrinking and definitely doable in 2 days.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Kev, Do you use dielectric grease in the plug boots when you put them on? That will keep them from adhering to the plugs and breaking off. Won't help if they are crispy though. W%

I had one of those braided lines fail on me too, luckily it was at home and found it before leaving for a trip. I use solid extensions now. I will soon be changing to the Cats Eyes.

What are Cats Eyes?

Kev

[joanfenn]

Tire pressure monitoring system is my guess i??

[M & J]

Fenn is correct. Pricey though. http://www.stengelbros.com/truck-and-wheel-parts4

I was considering the Crossfire system.  http://www.dualdynamics.com/products/cross-fire/

[Froggy1936]

Kev Home Depot etc In the ? section I dont remember which one same one as screen doors etc they have panel that will do the job  . You were right to suspect the new part ! Sudden problems always look at whatever was just replaced .  Esp Electrical components   Did you miss the point on the R/R outer tire may be damaged from severe overload ?  Frank

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep.  Checked it and the outer rear tire looks fine.  Now back to work!  I have to do the oil change and oil filter today, the last fuel filter on the frame rail, top off the batteries, pack up all my tools, and then wash the rig from the top down.  That will leave just the screen door project for tomorrow.  I picked up all the supplies I need for the screen door project this morning and mailed out some more catapults.  Fun fun fun!

Kev

[tmsnyder]

Good time to check the timing as well, after new cap and rotor.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

[ClydesdaleKevin]

The replacement ignition control module they gave me was ALSO bad...dammit!  I shelled out an extra 22 bucks for the Accel ignition control module, and all is good in Denmark! Or anywhere else we are going.  Westward ho!  We'll be ready to go this Monday morning!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Not much left on the agenda.  Today I am replacing the screen in the door and in the window next to the door, and then screwing down some "hardware cloth" wire screening over them to protect them both from puppy damage.  After that I'll be washing the RV from the roof down.  And that's it!  We'll be back on the road tomorrow and on our way out to Arizona!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I put in new screens on our screen door and the side window near the door, and then covered them with heavy wire mesh.  So far they seem to be shedding the puppy claws with no screen damage! 






Hopefully this will do the trick!  It is the only screens they damage.  I also washed off the roof and solar panels, and then rinsed off the rest of the rig.

We'll be back on the road by early tomorrow afternoon!

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Safe  travels,, Good luck with the tires , Merry Christmas !  Frank &  Louie

[Rickf1985]

That should keep the screens safe and the puppy nails trimmed at the same time.

[DRMousseau]

Awesome idea to battle puppy claws,... but I'll need something more for grandkid paws!


Also noted that NICE door handle/latch lever,..... does ANYONE know where a handle/lever replacement like this, can be found?

[CapnDirk]

And you can grate cheese!


Quote from recent election.


"Ban pre-shredded cheese!  Make America grate again!"

[ClydesdaleKevin]

And you can grate cheese!


Quote from recent election.


"Ban pre-shredded cheese!  Make America grate again!"

LOL!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So we stayed one last day.  Right after we finish a cup of coffee we'll be on the road!  I-95 South to I-295 South to I-10 West.  And its a LONG drive on I-10 West.  We'll be meandering our way out to Arizona, taking our time as always.  I doubt we'll go much farther than 250 miles in any given day...with days of rest in between.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Have a safe trip.