Being an inveterate "Messer With Things that are Probably Okay the Way They Are", today I wrapped up (by road testing) a series of improvements (my word) to StaRV II.

The program was to increase longevity and to give extra margins to the drivetrain in the eventuality I'll pull a toad.

These mods will interest only those who have:

1. A Dana 80 diffy, and/or,
2. A GM 4L80E tranny, and/or
3. A GM/DD 6.5L TD

1. As mentioned before, in June I replaced the differential cover with the cast aluminum one from Mag-Hytec; this increased the lube capacity by about 60%. The diffy is flipped side-to-side and front-to-back.

At first, I thought this would preclude the use of the Mag-Hytec cover, but then in a fit of overcoming stupidity I realized that the stock cover was also upside-down (DUH!), and that the Barth/Spartan manual for fill level was also wrong. The solution to this dilemma was quickly figured. Fifteen minutes of "adaptations", and the superb cast aluminum Mag-Hytec cover went on.

2. The tranny pan was installed without conscious thought, and this added about 3+ qts capacity to the transmission. I also installed a transmission temp gauge. While the stock pan had no way to monitor temp, watching the the coolant temps in long grade pulls indicated lower temps.

3. The installation of a complete upgraded cooling kit from Kennedy Diesel was the third segment. There were a few snags. Installing the water pump pulley and fan spacer onto the new, high capacity pump caused the first. The fit was tight for the spacer, and the result was that instead of the spacer and pulley snuggling contentedly onto the flange, the flange crept up the shaft to join those components. Pressing the flange back to its original position, despite extreme care, caused the pump to bind. A quick trip to NAPA, and a replacement pump was much more cooperative.

Now on a GM 6.5L TD, the water pump is mounted in a very creative way. While there are several bolts securing it to the block, there are five securing it to the timing chain cover, so that too, had to be removed. Then, according to the manual, a special anerobic sealer was appropriate for mounting the cover to the block. Neither the GMC nor Chebby dealers had the part., but Permatex makes one (ever spent $10 for gasket goo?). That problem solved, the water pump went on to the cover (paper gasket) and the cover to the block without incident.

Then there was the issue of the thermostat housing. The original housing (actually a manifold) attached to each cylinder bank, and the single thermostat output to the upper radiator hose vertically. The GM high capacity thermostat manifold has TWO thermostats, and outputs 45 degrees to the rear. This interferes with the throttle/cruise control bracket, so the Kennedy kit includes a new bracket. This took several test fittings to get cut/slashed/caressed to where it was properly configured.

In addition, the injector return lines had to be re-routed, and the fast-idle arm and the solenoid had to be removed; the fast-idle solenoid was dead already, so no issue there.

All the necessary redneck engineering having been done, flashing up the engine went nicely. But the tensioner for the serpentine belt appeared to be overly busy. Shutting down, I noticed that the belt could work the crankshaft drive pulley from one stop to the other with little resistance. This pulley has a ball bearing and a rubber insert that dampens pulses in the serpentine belt; if the rubber gets weak or the interface gets tired, the pulley stops dampening and just rotates from mechanical stop to mechanical stop: not good. A quick trip to the Chebby dealer got a new pulley (exotic design - $246), and all is well.

So StaRV II hit the road for 20 miles today and passed with flying colors, and the temp on long grade pulls barely nudges the temp gauge.

So tomorrow I'm gonna clean my fingernails.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Being an inveterate "Messer With Things that are Probably Okay the Way They Are", today I wrapped up (by road testing) a series of improvements (my word) to StaRV II.

If the above statement is true, you will NEVER have a time where your hands will be clean for long!! Ask me how I know!!

Good report Rusty!

Thank you! I don't expect them to stay clean! The only remaining "dirty" work is to replace the exhaust crossover pipe with a mandrel-bent one (again from kennedy Diesel) and possibly replace the turbo downpipe - although this coach already has an oversized exhaust except for the wrinkle-bent crossover.

The only current projects are a divider curtain to cut off the rear of the coach so the engine A/C has less volume to cool, and to reglue joints in the doors under the sink.

Just so long as you have all of that grease off your hands before you touch ANY of that Astrogear!

LOL

Susan

I wear white gloves, of course!

Meet the newest member of the family, a Tak TOA-130. A friend in WY heard I was on the list for a TEC-140 and offered his TOA at a price I couldn't refuse - another friend was hot-to-trot for my SV-105, so the deal is done.

Did you make Cherry Springs? Any plans for other star parties this year - I have PSSG in three weeks, and Chiefland in November?

Today, I got finished with the last of the major mechanical things to be done to StaRV II: Replacement of the spring bushings and shackles. This is, of course, beyond the capabilities of most of us, so I had it done at Tampa Spring in Ocala, FL. In addition to replacing the bushings and the shackles, Tampa Spring replaced the U-bolts and straight bolts as well - without being prompted.

The rubber in the old bushings (Spartan chassis, leaf springs on all 4 corners - 12 bushings, total) was basically shot, and I'd say it was certainly due. The cracking and wear was evident from the outside, so I was aware of it, and had bought the parts back in June.

I'd suggest any Breakaway owner with a coach older than '94 inspect the bushings - you may be dismayed with what you find. And even more dismayed with the price...the parts from Spartan were ~$252 and installation with the extras was ~$692 (and the TS techs earned every nickel). Using my usual gauge of cost, this is about 38 case-equivalents of Stella Artois Belgian beer...

I'll be doing the same thing this winter Rusty, I think some of my rear end wonder is coming from worn out bushings, I have a lateral bar from the top of the diff that I am replacing as well. I have the bushings from Spartan already. I am making up a tool to press them out and new ones in. I may have the springs re-arched while I have them out. There is an excellent spring company that can check and verify springs per the part number, Talking with Spartan parts people, they uprated the front replacement spings to 7000 lbs now, will be an interesting exercise.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
...and the TS techs earned every nickel.

Agreed! I would have subbed out that job to the local spring company here. They have the presses and could even re-arch the spring. It's a job I wouldn't do on my coach.

quote:

Originally posted by MWrench:
I am making up a tool to press them out and new ones in. I may have the springs re-arched while I have them out. There is an excellent spring company...

Save yourself the aggravation. You'll make more money working on other jobs in the same amount of time you would spend doing that thankless job.

Bill N.Y.

Ed, I agree with Bill N Y, even if you still have your shop. You'd need heavy duty jacks and jackstands, and at least one helper.

I have all the jacks, stands and supports needed, don't have extra hands but a lot of transporting equipment used to moved heavy parts around the shop.

I have done this type of work for many years and enjoy it. There are times that I farm out some of the work but not often.

Thanks for the suggestions

Good luck, Ed!

On another note, Sometimes It's the Simplest Things.

During my return from Nebraska and Missouri in August, I noticed that the coolant from the surge tank wasn't returning to the radiator. I thought this was a radiator cap issue, so replaced it.

Two rpound trips @ 120 miles each to Tampa Spring for suspension bushing replacement (once to replace, the second trip to check and retorque the fittings) showed the new radiator cap didn't fix the issue.

I finally traced the air leak (the radiator as it cooled, instead of sucking from the surge tank was sucking air). What I found is that the newer radiator caps' top gasket wasn't sealing, probably due to a slight amount of wear on the fitting. On my Breakaway, the radiator has a plastic top tank separate from the surge tank.

Actually, the first hint came on my way to carlflack's in July - after climbing a fairly steep hill, the serpentine belt slipped; checking the engine compartment showed coolant had splashed out of the tank onto the pulleys. I thought at the time I'd failed to secure the cap. But that wasn't the case.

Adding a second gasket behind the first on the top cap seems to have cured the problem...