Another Winnebago Adventure

Elandan2 · November 10, 2010, 12:26 PM

Well, after being home for a couple weeks and having had some restful days, I am ready to sit down and relate our latest cross country adventure. We regularly take the Winnebago from British Columbia to Ontario to visit family and it gives me a chance to help my business partner with production, building valves for our company. This year would be the eighth trip from BC to Ontario for the Elandan and although I couldn't get any vacation until the fall, we were all set to go.
After having had the summer to go on some local trips and repair any defects, it seemed that everything was in good working order. The day finally arrived and we were off! Leaving early, the first stop was, as we all know, the gas station. But being so early, it was difficult to find a full serve station. I have found out the hard way that credit card companies do not like you swiping your card more than once at a gas station and the pre pay in BC law is a pain. Anyways we found an open station on the way out of town and gassed up.
Leaving town, Tracy had commented on how the mh seemed to be running better and climbing the hills faster. I was pleased that all the new parts were helping out. New carb, new wires, exhaust manifold gaskets, etc.. That didn't last long though. As we progressed, things kept going from bad to worse. Missing, backfiring, losing power, poor mileage. Suffice to say after two hours, we turned around for home to try and fix the problem.
After arriving in town, we filled one tank at the same station and headed to the house. Upon arriving, I began trying to diagnose the problem. The deeper I got, the worse things seemed to be. After two days, we had changed out every component on the ignition system, put the old carburetor back on and although it was running better, it wasn't 100%. With that we decided to go anyway.
To say the least, our trek was filled with excitement. Backfiring, loss of power was the normal, a few mountains I didn't think we were going to make it over, but the good old 440 kept running. With Tracy pointing out the burned asphalt on the shoulders where the last mh owner "lit the match", the miles (slowly) rolled by. Starting, that was a different story. Every morning, while trying to leave early, the mh didn't seem to want to cooperate until absolutely everyone in the area was awake. I think there are campgrounds we should avoid for a while!
We finally arrived in our old hometown of Niagara Falls and decided to park at my mother's for a few days in order to get the rig running properly. By this time, I had determined that the valve timing must be out due to a jumped timing chain (unlikely as it has a double roller timing chain) or stretched so far it is affecting the performance. So during a monsoon, I changed the timing chain and starter from underneath the mh. After a couple days, with engine running better, but not perfect we moved to a local campground and began to relax. Riiight!! I worked on that thing almost every day and then when I wasn't, I had Dupree work to do. Not a very relaxing vacation.
Anyways, the days ticked by and we had a chance to catch up with family and some of our friends, and before we knew it, the day had come to return to leave. Early in the morning, after waking everyone in the area up, we got out on the road. Other than some popping and not alot of power, it was running better than on the trip over so I wasn't too worried. Silly me!! About three hours into our day, the engine backfired and quit. Coasting over to the side of the highway, I took the doghouse off (only for the thousandth time this trip) to find the choke jammed shut and all the linkage gone. Unbelieveably, I found the linkage in the air cleaner including the smallest screw on the carb. Wrapped all that up in a paper towel and got the choke opened and we headed to Windsor, to see if I could fix it. After a few more choke jamming backfires, we pulled into a parking lot and I dug into this repair. After finally getting back together (lost a part in the exhaust crossover, and had to go buy amagnet to get it out!), I was going over everything and found the #7 plug wire off. Oh oh, wonder if that has been part of the problem. The plug wires are in those socks to protect them from the heat and it is not immediately apparent they are off the plug. At any rate, I crank up the engine and it seems to be running better. Off we go, over the bridge to Detroit and head west.
We ended that day in Rockford IL and spent the night at Walmart. The next morning, after a relatively smooth startup, the engine stalled and then the starter wouldn't work. Great! Sunday morning, new starter quit, the exhaust has to be dropped to get it out, shaping up to be a fine day. After a few hours of waiting for daylight and headscratching, I decide to crawl under so I can tap the starter while Tracy cranks the engine. Well, with the first turn of the key, there is a big spark from the field coil ground. Oh look, this fantastic starter, with the great warranty doesnn't have a rivet hoding the grounds in place. Perfect!! Well a twist with a screwdriver and voila, the starter is cranking. Off we go.
After that, the trip went relatively smooth, other than having to crawl under almost every morning and pry the field coil ground to get the starter to work, having to dig into the dashboard at the Little Bighorn Battlefield to jury rig the gauge choke back on so the gauges would work and struggle up the mountains because the secondaries wouldn't work properly on the carb (I wish I would have brought the new one with me). We finally pulled in the driveway at home on the day the insurance was running out. That day I changed out the carb, set the timing with a timing light and took it out to fill it with gas for the winter. Sure, runs perfect now, almost lays rubber (yeah).
Tracy said to me, "Next year I guess we'll have to go in the car or fly" and I told her no way, the mh is not going to win, we're taking it east and it is going to like it!!

Oz · November 10, 2010, 07:29 PM

I don't think I can find any other words at this point other than... wow!

LJ-TJ · November 10, 2010, 09:17 PM

:)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao Boy what an adventure, Ya know why I'm laughing

Everybody on this site knows the L.J and T.J. can feel your pain. Ben there, Done That, got the tee shirt, but after five years of fix'n it sure is sweet to finally get in turn the key and have her tick like a singer sewing machine and know it's fixed right because you fixed it yourself. Now travel'n in the old girl is a real joy. Grand Canyon here we come

LJ-TJ · November 10, 2010, 09:28 PM

P.S. Guy's if ya ever break down in the States do what ever you can to limp into a NAPA. Ain't knowbody got more experience with brake'n down it the States like Lauren and I and I can assure you any of the NAPA shops we've been to have gone above and beyond to help us and get us back on the road and at a fair price. Shoot a week ago we broke down in Alliance Ohio and they delivered the alternator to the Wal-mart parking lot and then let us go up and pay them. Yeh I can't wave the NAPA banner high enough. They sell real America Parts to.

4winds · November 11, 2010, 06:25 PM

Wish I had thought about NAPA when the CEO was giving me fits getting out of Texas. Our stories whould make a good joke book.

Elandan2 · November 14, 2010, 10:43 AM

What I forgot to add is that I now believe that a big part of the problem was the fuel that I picked up at the beginning of our trip (water).
The amazing thing with these old rigs is the ability to keep them running. What do you do if your mass air flow sensor, throttle position sensor or better yet, fuel tank mounted fuel pump, packs it in on your fancy new gas rig somewhere in the middle of Montana? We have the advantage of being able to carry the few parts which tend to fail and can effect the repairs on the side of the road if need be. Not so easy with modern computer controlled engines and transmissions.
For us, this is the way to travel, and one horrendous trip is not going to discourage me!

LJ-TJ · November 14, 2010, 11:52 AM

So if you want to cover your but and the opportunity arises and you can see your way clear here's a few things you might want to stuff in the back of the rig in your just in case box.
Winnebago Travel Kit.

Hm? Spare:
Electronic Module $74.05
Starter Relay $23.06
Coil $42.62
Plug Wires $48.05
Fuel Pump $43.35
Distributor $103.35
New Plugs 8 $24.16
Voltage Regulator $8.50
Alternator $117.50
Starter $126.00
Ballast Resister $10.20
Oh yeh! and a spare fuel filer.
D:oH!

OldEdBrady · November 14, 2010, 12:17 PM

I carry parts, tools, etc., in the old trailer. SWMBO complains about all the space I use, but, if I ever need something on the road, and it's at home, what good does it do us there?

Naturally, I don't have to carry the stuff for a motorized rig, but there are still things these old girls--motorized or not--need from time to time.

Elandan2 · November 14, 2010, 12:35 PM

Yes, but add to that the plethora of electronic sensors on a modern chassis and then, you still need almost all those parts listed. I believe in preventative maintenance and have only once broken down on the road prior to this trip. That was the pump seal on the transmission let go in Rapid City in the summer of 2000. We were stuck there for 5 days, had the pump seal replaced and the radiator recored (seeing as it was beginning to run hot) and were on our way. Friends of ours bought a brand new rig on a Ford chassis, the transmission quit on their first trip to Northern Ontario and they were there for two weeks waiting for a replacement. Sure it was under warranty, but the inconvenience is not very pleasant. I have replaced everything on that chassis other than the rear end gears and differential bearings. Rebuilt the engine and transmission in 1985 and they are still running strong, knock on wood!! Would I do it again, you bet, the fun and enjoyment we have had from that rig has been and still is second to none. And like TJ-LJ put it, there's nothing like knowing you fixed it yourself.

Elandan2 · November 14, 2010, 12:37 PM

Sorry LJ-TJ!