Winter Vacation 2013-2014

[Froggy1936]

Kev That would be a very major undertaking. And then there is maximum height to consider + the harsh ride would destroy the flimsey built styerfoam house. Your engine should go 300,000 K mi without a major problem The trans is as tough a 3 speed as is made And untill you have made the repairs to the rear you dont know how extensive they are . Like previously mentioned better to stay with the devil you know ! Frank

[ibdilbert01]

Back on page 3, that pic on the bottom looks a lot like my truck!     


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8bwi2Pm_JU&list=UUUo7ezHht2hfimrQ92RoIbQ&feature=c4-overview

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yeah, I know...just thought it was a neat idea.  If the sides came out like a conventional RV slide, I'd be all over it!  The swinging wall system shot it down for me more than anything else.  If I was to even think about the flat bed setup, I'd get one of the ones already set up with the steel cage for canvas, troop transport style, and just build an RV around the steel cage.

I did find our camera cord, so I'll be shooting some pictures of the cracked rear coil spring holders in the back and sending them to MorRyde today, to see if they'll warranty them either under the recall, or because of the fact that they probably failed because of the wrong springs they sent me a couple of years back.  If they won't warranty them, I'll find out how much replacements will cost.  Installing the new ones doesn't appear all that difficult as long as one has a coil spring compressor.  By the way, the passenger side let go completely on the way to Safford and is just hanging there by the shock and the nylon strap I installed, and the driver's side looks like its just hanging on by a couple of scraps of metal.  Not too far from here to Apache Junction, AZ, but this rig will have to be repaired before we leave the Arizona Renfaire, that's for sure!  I'll post the pics for you once I take them.

If the repair isn't under any warranty, then I have some choices to make depending on cost of parts.  If they are prohibitively expensive, then my thoughts are to possibly convert the back of the RV back to heavy duty leaf springs...especially if I can figure out a way to incorporate the trailing axle into the leaf spring configuration...or else it would look pretty goofy with empty wheel wells on both sides...lol!

A super duty Chevy diesel truck of around the same year was another thought I had to use as a donor.  I wonder how hard it would be to convert the front independent suspension to a leaf sprung 4x4 axle?  Hmmmmm...

Anyhow, first things first, and the first thing is to troubleshoot and repair the vapor lock issue we are having so we can get to Apache Junction without any issues...so I'll be working on that in the next few days.  Gotta be a loose wire, bad OP sender, or bad relay. 

On the Blazer yesterday I tried to fix the blower motor and heater, but the whole switch assembly is toast, so I'll have to find another complete switch assembly before I can proceed on that...but while working on it I found the CD player plug, plugged it back into the CD player, and now we have music...lol!

Today, besides playing with the pups and going to the hot tubs, I'll be taking the pictures and sending them to MorRyde, and then I'll troubleshoot and possibly repair the wipers on the Blazer.  Might be the switch since it turns weird, but if I can get them working even at one speed that would be great.

And that's about all we'll be doing today.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Kev you can make a coil spring compressor with a threaded 3/8 or 1/2 in rod depending on how strong the spring is and some angle iron. Also i beleive they can be purchased already made up with hook ends NAPA Etc .  Frank

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Autozone and Advanced Auto have them for loan with a deposit, so that would probably be the way we'd go.  They are very heavy coil springs, probably heavier than the ones in the front of the coach.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Tried troubleshooting the wipers on the Blazer yesterday, but I'm pretty sure the column switch is toast.  I'm going to be playing with the wiring on this thing for some time to come it seems!

This is what I'm working with:



As you can see, its a brand new powerplant, with all new goodies on it, but this thing was installed in a hurry just enough to get it running and the lights working.  See all the cut wires hanging everywhere else?  Yep, I'll be tracing things down and figuring out what goes to what for a long time.

At least they did the engine and transmission right!  And the lift was done professionally as well.  They even welded in the requisite braces around the frame under the steering box:



The rest of the lift was done very well, with even the driveshaft lengths and angles done just they way they should be.  And the custom exhaust was done for stream and wash crossings:



The brown you are seeing isn't rust, its dried mud and desert dust...nothing but clean paint underneath the dirt.  So mostly its wiring and cosmetics we'll be dealing with.

As far as the rear suspension goes on the RV, we still haven't heard back from Mor/Ryde.  This is the spring box completely failed on the passenger side:



Today I'll probably try to get the horn working, and maybe try to bypass the column switch for the wipers to a temporary toggle switch so at least they'll work on one speed.

Other than that, its hot tubs and puppies!

Kev

[circleD]

Kev, Chevrolet's have had issues with wipers for along time at the computer board under the hood.  That year I'm not sure where it would be but maybe d/s of brake booster.  The part that houses the board has 3 screws holding it in.  Sometimes tapping it will make it move but not work indicating the issue. Ive seen that you have spent a lot of time taking the dogs out to fertilize  on your trip.  I just put my 12 year old GS down last week and I was still getting up to let him out for a few days after because of habit so enjoy your poop patrols while you can.

[ibdilbert01]

I'm surprised Mor/Ryde hasn't returned your call.   I called them a few weeks ago about my issues and they were more than helpful.    The guy I talked to was  Todd Obergfell,  574 293-1581  extension 224


If you can find a local weld shop, they should be able to fix that springbox pretty easily.    i??

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep Dilbert, its Todd that was communication with me before, but once I sent the pictures I haven't heard back from them yet...but its only been a few days so I'm not upset yet.

I'm sure I could get a welding shop to fix the spring boxes, but want to see if they'll warranty it first...my guess is that because they sent me the wrong springs a couple of years ago and we were sagging so badly in the back because of it, that it overcompressed the shocks, which caused them to bottom out and push down on the spring box, eventually cracking it.  Even after putting the right springs on, the cracks were still there and that eventually caused the failure.  Either that, or its a bad design from the getgo...lol!  Still waiting to hear back from them.  It does look like I can remove the spring boxes and that the axle will still stay put as long as we are parked...so if I decide to have a local welding shop do the repairs (and have them reenforce the heck out of them), at least I know the axle will stay put and we won't have to worry about alternative living arrangements while the repairs are being made.

Didn't get anything done on the Blazer yesterday...and there is no computer of any kind on an 85 Blazer, so that wouldn't be the problem with the wipers.  I'm guessing the switch itself since there are wires going to the wiper motor.

I'll probably play with it a little bit today, but other than that, its hot tubs and puppies again!

Kev

[Stripe]

You're making me miss my old K-5...  Loved working on that beast. Best 4x4 I ever owned.  Not a thing on it that I couldn't fix once I had a look at it..  And no chiltons either..

[chicknnhead]

Kevin I think what circled is trying to say is that the wiper motors themselves have a circuit board. I'm into mid 80's Monte carlo Super sports. they have the same problem the circuit board goes bad on the motor which controls the delay wiper. once the small board goes bad no wipers at all. if you remove the small black cover it should be there, small green board.  now sure K5's are the same but I would thinking gm wouldn't change to much in wiper motors

[M & J]

Chickenhead is correct. Its the board that controls the 2 speed and self park. Most often the solder joints break at the board edge and they will not work, not park or have a mind of thier own. I've reflowed the solder on both of mine.

[jkilbert]

Too bad you can't convert your trailing axle to an air ride setup. I only though of this because I was following a garbage truck here with that setup behind the drives

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Lets see what Mor/Ryde has to say.  STILL haven't heard back from them, and I've been emailing them every couple of days.

I still like my army truck idea...lol!   

Kev

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I seem to recall you had a the rubber springs replaced at Mor/Ryde a few months back.  How come they discover this failure then?  Did something they did then cause this to happen now?

Dave

[HandyDan]

I wondered the same thing.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

If you look at the pictures, you can see that a lot of the cracks are rusty, so they've been there a while, while the others are fresh and clean metal...recently broken when if recently failed catastrophically. 

I didn't notice it myself back then, and I'm under the rig all the time.  My guess is that the first set of springs they sent me, the wrong ones that caused the back end of my rig to sag even more that before I replaced them, caused the new shocks attached to spring boxes to over compress, in effect making them hammers that kept pushing down on the spring boxes.  This would have lead to stress cracks.  I didn't notice any cracks until I was in my sister's driveway in St. Mary's, GA, and while they looked bad, they didn't look bad enough to fail they way they did.

Once they raised the height of the rear axles and replaced the shear springs with the right ones, the rig was now sitting nice and level, and the shocks had plenty of travel...but the cracks were already there hiding in the surface rust.  Its the only thing I can think of that could have caused them to fail, since now it sits higher, has more shock travel, and the springs...until the boxes broke...were under even less compression against the boxes.

They still haven't replied to my emails, so now I'm starting to get annoyed.

Anyhow, didn't do much yesterday besides play with the pups, read, and enjoy the hot tubs.

Today we are making an early steak dinner/lunch and sharing it with the camp host Bud and his wife.  They are super nice people and shared 50 gallons of water with us since they went into town for it...they drove their truck right up to our RV with 55 gallon drums of water in the bed, and filled our secondary tank and one of our 7 gallon drinking water jugs.

After an morning dip in the hot tubs, I'm going to look for the oil pressure switch and relay on the RV and see if I can't troubleshoot the recurring pump failure.

Then its an early dinner with Bud and his wifey.

I'll let you know what I find out from Mor/Ryde and what I find out with the electric fuel pump.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Hmmm. From a Co. That in the beginning seemed to go out of there way to be helpfull, Now are silent does not bode well !  A repair and reinforcement by a welding shop would not be a very difficult job . And would be a lot easier than a replacement box .  Frank

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep Frank...but I still want to see what they say at Mor/Ryde.  I gave them all week to call me back or write back, so Monday I'll give them a call at the office.

Found the fuel pump relay and sender on the RV, and even found a way to use a different relay via a search on Google on a Barth website.  So I'll be playing with that tomorrow and let you all know how it turns out.  The actual detailed post on that and what I found out is on the chassis board under Chevy.

Dinner was great, bellies are full, time to take the pups out and watch some telly.

Kev

[circleD]

Yea! What chicknhead said. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Its amateur weekend at Hot Wells Dunes...lol!

A whole slew of people rolled in for MLK weekend, with fancy rigs and expensive 4 wheelers...and they are all running their generators 24-7, acting like drunken idiots at night, and making huge fires and burning through all their firewood in a single evening.  Yep...amateurs!

Anyhow, after a morning soak in the hot tubs...gotta beat the amateurs and their snot nosed kids...I'll be working on the RV all day.

The mechanical fuel pump finally gave up the ghost, and the electric fuel pump relay...an unobtainable part...also died.  So I'll be installing the new mechanical pump today and figuring out the wiring to rewire the electric pump through a different relay and maybe a toggle switch on the dash.

Gonna be a busy mechanical day...yuck!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

We hit the hot tubs early, then got back and I worked on the RV fuel pumps.  Did some electrical troubleshooting, then installed the new mechanical fuel pump, which went AMAZINGLY smooth and easy, even with removing the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer to gain access to the pump.  Took all of 3 hours, and that was working slow with a few breaks.

Got done early, so played with the dogs and let them socialize with the camper's next door and their little dogs.

And that's it!

Tomorrow I'll be running new 10 gauge wires for the electric fuel pump through a relay.  Should be fun...lol!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Mmmmm...coffee...

Today I'll be running the new electrical wire to the fuel pump and tying in the new relay...not sure which wire is the power lead at the fuel pump, but that should be easy to figure out.  Our gas gauge works, so I'm gonna snip one wire, then check the gas gauge...if I snip the wrong wire, the gas gauge won't work, so I can just splice it back together and use the other wire for the power...lol!  I've gotta 50/50 shot of snipping the right wire on the first try.

Shouldn't take too long to do all this, although if I get it all wired and the fuel pump doesn't work, I'll have to check my spares and see if they work, and if not run into town for another one...although it should work, since it worked for a short time yesterday before blowing a fuse.

I was going to call Mor/Ryde today, but forgot it was a holiday, so I'll have to give them a call tomorrow morning.

I'm hoping they'll see the spring boxes as a warranty issue, but if not it shouldn't be too expensive to get a welding shop to fix them and add reenforcements.

So its coffee first, then back to work on the fuel pump wiring.

Kev

[legomybago]

If you snip the wrong wire you could blow up!!

[Froggy1936]

Kev i think the fuel sender wire is tan  Frank