I need to get better at checking the fluids of our coach.
We heard some weird noises coming from around the front wheels while driving, and couldn’t figure out what was causing it for a while. Since we were heading towards Red Bay at the time, I contacted Bay Diesel and made an appointment for them to investigate.
We eventually guessed that it was related to power steering. When I looked in the power steering reservoir in the engine compartment, it was completely dry:
Oops.
I refilled it with Dexron III (as required) and kept an eye on it; sure enough, the level dropped during drives:
When we arrived at Bay Diesel, they wasted no time lifting up the coach:
They found and repaired the power steering leak, from a hose under the rig:
They also inspected the entire underside of the coach, with special attention on the engine, and found cracked clutch and tensioner brackets; common issues with this vintage of coach:
So they replaced them with better, stronger brackets. Here’s a comparison of old and new brackets:
Rebuilding the clutch assembly:
They also lubed the various lube points:
A nice thing about Bay Diesel is that they were happy for owners to hang out in the shop. I wandered around under our coach and took lots of photos. Here are a bunch of pictures, starting at the front and working my way backwards:
Front with the generator partially out:
Entry step:
From in front of the front wheels:
Independent front suspension:
Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer:
Back of the generator:
A small void behind a front mudguard, with a junction box for the ground effect light strip:
Behind the front wheels, with air horns and generator exhaust:
Under the basement storage bays:
Under the wet bay, with hot and cold low point drains, Aqua-Hot coolant overflow, and Aqua-Hot exhaust:
Under the wet bay, with my sewer outlet and the fresh water drain:
Rear wheels and engine area:
A couple of techs inspecting the engine:
Oil pan, with a non-concerning minor leak:
The engine:
Allison transmission:
Drive shaft; this piece was removed when our coach was towed back in 2023:
Other side of the transmission:
More engine bits:
Side radiator gearbox and fan:
Rear of the engine:
Finally, the rear of the coach:
Fascinating!