dadstoy
Not a Newbie
Posts:43
Registered Users
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| 02/17/2008 3:00 AM |
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I made the long trip to Oregon today to pick up the motor home ('82 280 Chevy 454) and drive it to Northern Calif. I spent a few hours checking everything out. Looked underneath from front to rear. Actually all looked in better shape under there then I thought it would. I topped off all fluids and started it up. I let it warm up and began checking for leaks. Well, I have a power stearing fluid leak, a fairly bad one. I can't see exactly where the fluid is coming from...it is dripping from a hose...very hard to see exactly where this hose is coming from and where it is going. BUMMER! Darn thing ran great over Christmas on my trip to the coast. Our plan was to head south at 8am in the morning. Tomorrow is Sunday and Monday is a holiday. At of now I guess I'm going all the way back to Calif without the motor home! I will look again in the morning to see if I can pinpoint the leak but I dont think things look good. Time for a beer.
Dean
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Balrgn
Moderator
Expert
Posts:805
Registered Users
Southern NH
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| 02/17/2008 7:22 AM |
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| That is a bummer! Keep us posted...? |
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1977 Argosy 20
454 V8 Gas
Southern NH
Maintenance Analyst
www.balrgn.com |
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Jim Elliott
Camper
Posts:64
Registered Users
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| 02/17/2008 1:03 PM |
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Dean, If you can find the hose (or whatever) that has the leak just remove it a have
a hose shop rebuild a new one with the old fittings......Doesn't take them long.
Jim |
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Airstream345
Site Host
Classic Master
Posts:1335
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 02/17/2008 2:28 PM |
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Dean,
There are three main hoses to deal with on the power steering (hydroboost system). One is a large, simple low pressure hose that connects the remote power steering fluid resevoir to the pump itself (this is held on with simple hose clamps and is standard size hose from any parts store). If you can see that this is the hose then it's pretty easy and cheap to replace.
The other hoses connect at the back of the power steering pump. One is high pressure from the pump to the hydroboot unit and the other is another low pressure line. The high pressure line runs from the pump to the hydroboost which is located just in front of the brake master cylinder (this pressure provides power steering AND brake boost so don't under any circumstances attempt to drive it until you correct the leak). There is then one more high pressure line that runs to the steering gear box in bolted to the frame rail in front of the hyroboost.
All of these lines can be purchased an AutoZone, Napa, etc. It is best to bring the lines in for replacement as there is some confusion about which lines will fit and many of the store will not understand the difference between a standard chevy pump and the hydroboost used on motorhomes.
Here is the rub. Getting these lines out of the back of the pump is best done with the pump removed and on a bench. The pump "can" is think metal and too much torque can easily destroy your pump. Getting the pump off is a HUGE job as it's almost impossible to reach and requires a lot of dexterity and patience. (I one replaced mine in the parking lot of a junkyard in late December in January....not fun).
Some of these parts are not on the shelf at the parts stores. One option might be to purchase a rebuilt pump ($50) along with all of the hoses from your local store, then bring it with you up to pick up the motorhome. Then you can remove the entire old unit and just replace it and turn it in for the core when you get back (or keep it as a spare).
Let's hope it's not the high pressure side and you simply have a leaking host from the resevoir to the pump. That can be done in 30 minutes with parts from WalMart.
Good luck and keep us all posted. |
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Steven Webster
1986 Airstream Classic 345
Host, ThisOldRV.com |
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dadstoy
Not a Newbie
Posts:43
Registered Users
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| 02/18/2008 10:59 PM |
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Hi All,
Thanks for the replies to my post! Well, the MH is safely at it's new home in Red Bluff Calif and I am back home in the SF bay area. After concluding, with a 99% certainty, that the power steering fluid leak was the reservior hose and not the high pressure hoses, we took a calculated gamble and drove the 350 miles from Eugene Oregon to the foothills west of Red Bluff Calif; it's new home. Steering and brakes worked very well the whole trip! All this put us about 6 hours behind our schedule, but we did finally make it.
It was an awesome drive over the snow covered mountains with blue skies and the setting sun! Along the way, we stopped and looked at a rebuilt '59 22ft Airstream trailer that Revitalized Trailers in Gold Hill OR (the Airstream polishing guy) has for sale. A friend of mine is interested in buying it.
I have lots of details to tell about the trip. I'm absolutely beat so I will do so in another post. Enjoy the attached picts!
Dean
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Balrgn
Moderator
Expert
Posts:805
Registered Users
Southern NH
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| 02/19/2008 6:47 AM |
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Very nice!!
Looks like a great rig, cool pics.  |
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1977 Argosy 20
454 V8 Gas
Southern NH
Maintenance Analyst
www.balrgn.com |
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COOPERHAWK
Moderator
Expert
Posts:843
Administrators
East Central Minnesota
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| 02/19/2008 11:03 AM |
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Very nice looking rig. Now the fun begins upgrading it. Oh, come on. Its gonna be fun. |
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1985 Airstream 345 Turbo-Diesel
VFW,Legion, NRA
FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor (Retired)
http://www.cooperhawk.net
mailto:jimcooper@cooperhawk.net
"People are okay in ones and twos. After that number they tend to choose up sides and wear arm bands and berets." |
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Krashdragon
Not a Newbie
Posts:35
Registered Users
Frostbite Falls, Ohio...near Cleveland
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| 02/19/2008 11:49 AM |
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Way cool!
Nothing quite like that first drive n the "New" RV!
Take care and have fun!
mary |
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dadstoy
Not a Newbie
Posts:43
Registered Users
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| 02/20/2008 11:56 PM |
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Getting the motorhome to it's new home was one of the last major tasks in settling my father's estate. When I decided to keep the motorhome, I was a little uneasy about its condition and a little nervious about driving it south. Last weekend the weather over the pass between Oregon and California cleared and so it was time to make the trip.
We drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Eugene Oregon to pick up the Airstream. Even though I took the MH on a trip to the coast over Christmas and it ran great, I spent about a half day looking over everything that I could think of to do.
I crawled under the MH from one end to the other. I was actually surprised at how good everything looked! About the only thing I saw that I didn't really like were various wires that were not run in a very clean manner. One of my projects sometime in the future will be to wrap and secure some of the wiring. Some wires that run into areas above the metal floor are simply run through holes in the metal floor without using grommets or anything else to protect the wire from chaffing and shorting out. These are original wires that were run by the factory!
I looked over all I could of the engine and topped off the fluids. I added about a half quart of oil and about a half gallon of anti-freeze. I knew that the power steering reservoir was low. It was low when I made my short trip to the coast last Christmas. The power steering and brakes were working just fine. There were three small bottles of power steering fluid in the garage, so I know my father had also been added fluid. I brought the fluid level up to the "cold" mark on the reservoir dip stick.
I started the engine, I let it warm up and checked for leaks. The power steering fluid was leaking a lot. I knew if the fluid was leaking from any of the high pressure power steering lines that our trip would be over. The next morning I spent a couple hours trying to determine exactly where the fluid was leaking from. What a pain this was! It is basically impossible to get good access to the power steering pump and the brake master cylinder. Taking the front driver's tire off would help, but I had no tools and no jack for that. There is a metal panel between the wheel well and the left side of the engine. This is the panel that has an access hole in it to get to the brake master cylinder reservoir. It has four bolts holding it in place. I could get to three of the bolts, but not the forward upper bolt. This bolt is behind the headlights and it is absolutely impossible to get to. The only way I think you could get to this bolt might be to remove the headlight molding and headlights on the driver's side.
Well, it certainly looked like the leak was coming from the power steering reservoir hose leading to the pump. This made sense since there was no prior leak but now it leaked once I topped off the reservoir. I made a calculated decision that it would be ok to drive the MH to California. I figured that the leak would stop once the fluid level dropped in the reservior hose. It leaked a long time! Power steering and brakes worked well. It will be a real pain to change the filler hose. It will be difficult getting to the hose clamp at the pump end. The driver's side of the rig has fluid spots all down the side. If I can't get these spots off, I will certainly regret driving the MH with the leak.
It was really fun driving the motorhome to it's new home. The weather was good and there was lots of snow on the mountains between Oregon and California. It was quite a site as the sun was setting.
I don't know how accurate the fuel gauge is so I stopped twice to fill up. On the first stop, the pump shut off at $75 since I was using a credit card. I also filled up the propane tank before I headed into the foothills west of the Redding area. The attendant asked if I knew the size of the tank. I said I didn't. He figured it might be a 50 gallon propane tank. Does anyone know what size tanks Airstream put on these rigs?
We easily maintained 60-65 miles per hour (about 3,000 RPMs) and only dropped down to about 50 on the long uphill grades. The engine really runs great.
On the way south, we stopped Revitalized Trailers in Gold Hill Oregon which is just a few miles north of Medford. These folks are in the business of polishing Airstreams. I don't think that I will ever do this to the MH though. We stopped to take a look at a rebuilt 1959 22' Airstream that they have for sale that a friend of mine is interested in buying. The only real issue that I saw is that the door does not seal at the top and bottom. It was kind of fun taking a look at this trailer. When I was very young, my parents had three different trailers. A Mallard and then two Airstreams. I think the last one was probably a 1965 28'. We moved to California in it in 1967. So of course it didn't surprise me when my parents moved to Oregon about 20 years ago that they eventually bought the 28' Airstream motorhome.
We finally reached our destination about 9:30 pm on Sunday and by then I was beat. It was time to cook dinner. I had used the microwave oven a few times over the past few months on my trips to Oregon, but I hadn't used the stove. Wouldn't you know it, not a match in the place to light the burners! Well I found a neighbor and borrowed a lighter. The MH is still winterized so I didn't hook up the water and sewer. Actually the place where I am keeping the MH is a 1300 acre membership property and we have 100 full trailer hookups! Oh, the MH has these awesome exterior rear facing lights, one on each side. They really helped in seeing for backing into the site.
The next morning I moved the MH to a better site, but one that is not very level. Years ago my dad had a leveling system (three jacks) installed and so I tried it out. I will have to get blocks to put under a couple tires though. We tried to level the MH just before we needed to head for home. I had the door open and when we were all packed up to head home, we tried to shut the MH door. The door latch was off just enough to prevent the door from closing. So, I had to raise the jacks. Have to get those wheel blocks or pick another spot when I go back up there.
I can't wait to visit the MH again at it's new home. It will stay there for the majority of the time; on a spot for 90 days and then on to the storage lot on the property for 7 days before I can put it back on a different spot. I have to get a few things fixed and then begin planning my next real trip in it. I also have to find the right places around Redding/Red Bluff to have repairs done. Is anyone familiar with this area and can recommend any place that would know what they are doing with this chassis?
Well, that's my story of getting my "new" motorhome to it's new home!
Thanks
Dean
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COOPERHAWK
Moderator
Expert
Posts:843
Administrators
East Central Minnesota
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| 02/21/2008 9:27 AM |
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| I think the propane tank on my 345 is 38 gallons. Not sure about yours though cause I have a diesel and the genset runs on propane so it might be of a different size. |
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1985 Airstream 345 Turbo-Diesel
VFW,Legion, NRA
FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor (Retired)
http://www.cooperhawk.net
mailto:jimcooper@cooperhawk.net
"People are okay in ones and twos. After that number they tend to choose up sides and wear arm bands and berets." |
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