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I built many a hot rods in my many years and owned and operated big rigs. And one thing I learned was pre trip and post trip inspection and the times I was complacent, it cost me big money and time loss = even more money lost. You cannot play around with maintenance.
Just recently I was installing a large piece of stainless steel plate to attach the air line leveling valve (s) bracket to. So as I was trying from underneath to install the plate I had a hard time getting in between the frame rails because I cut the piece with no room to spare. So installing this plate it hit the brake line and it snapped like a stale bread stick. I was trying to get the motor home ready to take on a long trip. The point is the brake line was rusted out and unsafe. What I’m saying is it was unsafe to drive. This curtailed my plans. What’s important is pretrip inspection.
Most motor homes spend a lot of time sitting. My motor home only has 69000+ miles on it and its a 1979 model. Well it sat 35 years averaging 2000 miles a year. So basically its a driveway queen. Rust or corrosion is the number one killer of mechanical equipment. Winter is hear and I’m waiting for spring to fix it.
What I want to say is when you have to repair a brake system to me make it better then original when ever possible. So the it rests in researching what is better then original with out going broke. Its good to make a pro and con list of the components you are replacing over stock parts. And it depends on how dire you need to get back on the road is.
Computers have made the task of finding the best parts for the price and performance, you will not believe that often there’s not much difference in price, but a huge difference in quality.
Now what the difference in material of today are superior then original. So dealing with brakes or other vehicle issues one most make a conscious effort in improving the performance. Understanding brakes have to pull several tons of a class a motor home down to a stop and slow it down going down a steep grade some time towing. So brake rotor type, pad or shoe material is key. One awesome place to look into Super Steer they have some serious upgrades for p-30 & p-32 chassis as well as other makes and models.
Since this has happened the broken brake line, I’m going to upgrade my entire brake system, with new stainless steel brake lines, new 4 piston brake caliber’s, new slotted rotors and aluminum hups, new wheel bearings, new racing braided stainless brake hoses. New hi performanc master cylinder and dot 5.1 silicon racing brake fluid.
Now it’s key to inspect your steering and springs/airride, steering components and the all neglected shocks, shocks play a very important role in stopping control and distance, I have Monroematic gas shocks I wanted Bilstien shocks but opted for monroe, I’m looking into over load coil over shocks for the rear for more stability. Remember brakes, suspension, steering and tires your whole life depends on it. And always do a detailed pre trip and not a cursory look over your very life depends on it. Harbor freight has a cheap mechanics creeper
for $30.00 so you can get under and roll around instead of on your belly, get a good head lamp it far better then a flashlight. Use a pocket knife
scrap the rust off your brake lines, tap on them. Check all your hoses and brake lines.
Pippi did you get the link I sent you about the transmission cooler oil pan its really slick, it has cooling 6 tubes running thru the transmission pan allowing fresh air to pass thru the tubes and it has higher fluid capacity and a drain plug, which the factory pan does not. The problem with the shops that change the fluid out at these oil change places do a clown job changing the fluid now is they don’t take out the filter they flush out the trans through the trans coolent lines.this is a half baked Idea. Because the transmission has a filter there for a reason. And back fishing the system does not address the filter, the filter must be replaced to assure efficiency and clean system. Motorhomes have a lot of road conditions that effect the transmission such as mountains especially out west have long extreme grades and hi head winds or both, places pressure on these transmissions,
Hi Bob, I didn’t get a link. Can you post it here, please? I’d love to read it. At the top of the white area where you type responses, there’re a bunch of buttons with abbreviations and such. The third one in says LINK. You can use this to create a link over words or you can just paste it in.
I’ve heard that about shops not changing the filter or somehow doing a flush without dropping the pan and therefore not even getting near the filter.
I’m planning on doing this on my own soon; dropping the pan and replacing the filter and fluid. Do you have any tips?
Also, I’ve heard older rigs like Rhea (1992) shouldn’t get the transmission fluid flush as it can be bad for them. Do you have any words on this?
Hello, Pippi my computer is kaputs so I’m using my Android to write these blogs so I can’t use the features on this page so I’ll tell you where to search.
Changing your transmission fluid. by, Popular Mechanics.
Has an article on line answering your questions and the also have illustrations
On how to do the basic the procedures.One thing I would like to explain that for most people would take their vehicles to the shop. Especially an r.v. one is convenience the other is fear, The reason an individual who owns an r.v. should and must know how to work on their r.v. is-
(1) to get over their fear.
(2) shop rates are ridiculous ranging between $75,00 to $150,00 an hour.
(3) it helps you understand the systems and mechanical components of the vehical, and to get a grasp of how long it takes to repair a problem so if you have go to a garage you’ll understand what’s involved so you won’t get ripped off.Pippi I don’t know what kind of hand tools you have,it important that you have a decent set of hand tools. Sears has craftsman tools that are good (novice) quality hand tools. You arewrenches o need a min 1/2″ drive ratchet, a set of standard sockets. Note Sears has complete sets in packages that have rachets and wrenches so find a set that will meet you needs. Also a must have is a quility torque wrench a must have.
This job should be simple fairly simple and a little messy. Because factory transmission pan don’t have drain plugs. In your paper work that you are supposed to have when you buy your motorhome you should have a manual for every system and equipment that came in you motorhome and or a build sheet. You need to know what type of transmission you have don’t geuss, if you don’t call the manufacturer of your motorhome or a dealer who sells you Moho,they will go off your serial numbers and tell you what you have.
When you get the new pan gasket, my preference is felpro, I recommend Gorilla Snot gasket adhesive, any top brand auto parts store carry these products.
Get a oil drain pan, large capacity they are cheap to buy. A good investment is a mechanics creeper, that will save you a lot of discomfort while working underneath the motorhome, remember these tools you will be using over and over, as you work on other systems and mechanical repairs, like oil changes. Also many auto parts store either have tool loan or rental programs.
Fallow the instructions laid out in the arrival that I mentioned above and be careful to not over tighten the trans oil pan bolts when reinstalling, or bend the pan edges when removing the pan you may need a puddy knife or a flat head screwdriver to loosen the ban. When using the adhesive you only need a thin layer on both side of the gasket make sure the holes line up, I usually put the bolts in on the reverse side on the gasket until the adhesive sticks and remove the bolts the butter the top with adhivsive,
Its very important to complely clean the trans oil pan completely, you want it clean enough to cook Christmas dinner in it. Before installing the gasket or adhivsive. Make sure you have plenty of clean rags. When taking out the bolts remember this poam, righty tite’ty, lefty loose’y. Turn right to tighten and left to losen the nuts or bolts. Sometimes I used the poam when I get brain stall. When bolting in the pan or any thing that attaches two metal parts using multable bolts or nuts you must use a crisscross patern tobtightin it up failure to do this is not only evividence that your lazy but it will lead to leaks or mechanical failure, this the part is secured evenly, also as you are first bolting the pan in by bolting the for corners in first but only finger tite, then the remainder the same, then using the rachet getting them snug you can use the torque wrench to tighten them down to factory specs. The filter is easy to change just 1 or 2 bolts after taking the filter out wipe with a clean rag any contaminates from around the area where the pan gasket touches on the transmission itself. After reinstalling filter and pan, refill transmission, with factory crecomended type transmission fluid or higher quality synthetic recommend for you transmission type.
Note: Pippi I will try to send you info on the various trans cooler oil pan with air cooling tubes, addional inexpensive types of trans coolers as well. Please hold off on you project until I send you the info, you’ll be impressed. The 1# thing that destroys automatic transmissions is heat.
Also in the next sigment we’ll talk about engine oil coolers/installation. Special screens over and above your oil filter.
I dont know if you have a Turbo 400 or a 4l80. However either are the easiest transmissions to work on. If it has a plug drain the fluid into a pan. If not you just loosen all the bolts except 2 at opposite locations and with both loose take one out while holding the pan and letting it tip into a pan. After enough has drained that you can take out the bolt and maneuver it out. Don’t drain all of it you will want to see what is in the bottom of it. There will be a magnet there also and will have a grey powder type material attached to it. That is normal. If there is any shiny silver or gold colored material that is very bad.
Clean the pan out with brake parts cleaner until it is dry and clean including especially the sealing lip around the diameter of the pan. Also clean in the same manner the trans sealing diameter so that there is no material left on it. After you have removed the filter and installed a new one you can spread out new rtv on the pan lay on top of that the gasket and on top of that spread out RTV again. and Install on trans. tightening opposite bolts on the pans. They don’t need to be very tight. It is better to install all of them first so that they align easily.
Fill with Dexron IV. I would use synthetic if you plan to use the motorhome as it will run cooler. Check level while hot.
This is great info. I would add one thing to a transmission oil change and that is a bottle of lube guard additive. This is used by most pro shops.
Fantastic info! My pan doesn’t have the bolt drain but comes fully off to drain. Thanks for sharing! I’ll get to this soon enough 🙂
Hi all! When I decided to go full time in my 1987 Winnebago, I purchased new tires. The old ones looked good, but they were OLD. Every tire made within the past 10-15 years has a date code molded into the sidewall. Check them. Also, while at the tire store, I asked them to flush the brake fluid. Brake fluid is
“Hygroscopic” which means that it collects water from the atmosphere. Old brake fluid will rust out your brake lines causing them to fail. It will also cause your brakes to stick in place, reducing their effectiveness. (Hard pedal, not enough stopping power). If the brake fluid is, say, 5 years old or older, it should be on your list to be replaced. You can do it yourself, with a helper, but any brake shop should be able to do it without too much expense. Nothing special, just like a car or truck. Of course your mileage may vary. 😉Hukmut, it’s good your going through the brake system, your right the brake fluids like d.o.t 3 absorb moisture and rusts out your brake lines a gunks up you master cylinder and calipers. Sitting is the worste thing you can do to any piece of mechanical equipment, springs go bad electrical corodes up, tire rot and in general very thing in life such as people and vehicals need exersize.
Buy D.o.t. 4 silicone racing brake fluid is the best. You need to check every inch of your brake soft and hard lines, I thought my hard brake lines were in good shape visually looked good until I was working on my air ride ans had to move the brake line out of the way a few inches, that’s when the brake line shaped like a bread stick, it was rusted out internally. I’m currently changing “every” thing out, which required a lot of research on my part and some suppliers such as Super Steer Inc. because of the age of my motor home being an 1979 Airstream p30 chassis to determine the exact chassis and brake suspension type. I am replacing all soft and hard brake lines in stainless steel and braided stainless steel. The supplier that’s as I write this is shipping the custom silver zinc coated drums, rotors and calipers with hi performance metallic brake pads, the rotors are custom machined slotted cross drilled and camphered just like racing cars, over 30+% grater braking then stock brakes they run cooler and cleaner. Even the front wheel spacer 7″ is silver zinc coated by the mfg to resist rust. I have replaced 95% of the suspension, new springs with inner air bags ball joints, rear air bags, wheel bearings, all shocks replaced with Monroe gas shocks, I just ordered silicone rear sway bar bushings and brackets. My next project is the hi performance front sway bar and silicon bushings. Super steer steering bells and steering arms, tires. Also I ordered a high cappacity transmission oil pan with cooling air tubes to be installed as sone as it comes in the mail which will add 50 degree drop in trans temp and I’m also adding a trans cooler radiator and cooling fan and engine oil cooler. I would also recommend changing the rear differential fluid with a synthetic blend oil so it will run cooler and ware better, I also ordered a aluminum differential cover to replace the old 14 bolt steel cover so it will run cooler and disapate heat. “Heat is a killer” for lubricated components.
I’m also looking into a new invention for fuel economy that heats the gasoline and converts it into a vapor that’s supposed to increase your fuel economy by at least 4 times you can find it on you tube.
The goal is to make your vehicals safer and more efficient than factory new.
Bob, I’m sure you’ve met your goal if not surpassed it to hit the category of stealth/ninja/blackops efficiency. I’m always amazed at how much you do and all your knowledge. If we only had USP ports into our brains to immediately transfer knowledge. 😉
Thanks Pippi your pretty darn smart your self and very funny.
Pippi, most of my parts have come in I need just a few more parts to have what I need, hunting down the right parts was kinda tough, the mechanic seen the new custom brake rotors and drums said he was quite Impressed. I can’t wait to see it all together, I got the transmission pan with the cooling air tubes and my urethane bushings for my sway bars. the other day, I’m on the road trucking so I’m 1600 miles from home I’m trying to get there soon As I can,if I do I’ll get pictures for you. Pippi I still have to put in my 2 new 200 psi air compressor(s) and the 5 gallon aluminum air tank, air dryer, the guy who fabricated the mounting cross member didn’t do it right so I have to get a new one bent up to install the air tank and air dryer to the frame rails, this will be better then factory original. Which was over complicated and inefficient, underpowered. Airsteams have spring Jet rear air ride with truck style air bags. And air bags in the front coil springs. When it all works right it rides like a real land yacht, I just hope it’s not the Titanic.
Pippi I’m not trying to brag about the stuff I’m trying to do just trying to do it the best way possible and I hope to share these improvements with others to upgrade their motor homes, I learn a lot from other people and try to consolidate as much as I can, I know my limitations of what I can do. Pippi you seem to brave out and do it any ways for that I say good job.B.j.
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