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  4 button dometic thermostat

Posted by: rheavn
02-05-2019, 09:18 AM
Forum: Parts Swap/Giveaway/Sell
- Replies (3)

Does anyone have one that you replaced?

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  Generator Blower Motor Mount

Posted by: jdkskyking
02-03-2019, 07:14 PM
Forum: Generators
- Replies (17)

Happy Super Bowl Sunday Everyone!!

The following will be a story of a idea I got today because y Packers are losers and team two the KC Chiefs came up short... read on about my idea if you have nothing else to do... I’ll include pictures to make this more interesting...

Today I took a break from “everything” to make an attempt at cleaning up my shop and putting tools back in their proper place. 

I’ve got the generator blower unit out of my rig and it’s sitting right in the middle of one of my shop’s bays. So ever time I walked around it... it was on my mind. 

Last year when I first saw the generator blower system it just struck me as an odd design. Once I saw it running I knew something just wasn’t right. The belt was flopping everywhere and the motor was bouncing up and down like it was on a small trampoline... The vibration ran throughout the coach and of course there was the sound.... I’m not telling many of you anything new. 

I’ve alread got the direct drive unit and will soon be ready to start the install but today, designing a better mouse trap was on my mind. 

When I stepped back to take a look it was clear to me things were not aligned properly. I marked up the picture to illustrate my point. The HEAVY motor was not supported evenly and this caused it to lean. When I took a closer look at how the motor belt tension was accomplished I knew this setup would never be optimal. 

So today I decided to modify the way the motor mounts to the fan. 

In my next segment I’ll post some pictures of the motor and its mount.

Disclaimer: 
I’m not an engineer 
I’m not a designer 
I’m not a fabricator 
I’m not a welder
I’m just a dude that likes to work on things and try new stuff

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  Dash Air Thermostatic Expansion Valve

Posted by: Richard
02-02-2019, 05:29 PM
Forum: Air Conditioning
- Replies (5)

My dash air became inop because of a plugged thermostatic expansion valve. Classic symptoms were very low suction pressure and very high high side pressures with no cooling. Simple diagnosis but not so simple of a fix.

First challenge is to remove the old TXV. In my 99 it is in the bowels of the lower dash area. I finally gained limited access by removing both the HWH control panel and the rear view monitor. After evacuating the system, don't snigger I have a reclaim unit, I removed the TXV. The hunt was now on. No identifying info. It was made by Parker Hannifin, but they sold their automotive biz years ago. After two days of looking at expansion valve catalogs and surfing the interweb, the valve was identified. A Four Seasons 38872 is a workable replacement. You can get one here. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C2...UTF8&psc=1

I also replaced the dryer, a rather generic part, but try getting one at the local parts house without a make model and year of car. I used this one  Four Seasons 33321. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DC...UTF8&psc=1

I discovered a lot of debris at the filter dryer so I decided to flush the system. Holy moly, I got about a teaspoon, no exaggeration of grit out of the system. No wonder the TXV was stopped up. I suspect the original filter drier failed in some manner. 

Pulled a vac for a couple of hours, no leak down. Pumped up with N2 and no leak down. Put in 3.5 lbs of liquid R134a on the high side without the motor running. I let that sit for an hour. Then cranked the engine, and put in about another 8 oz of vapor on the low side. Ambient temp was 75. Low side was a steady 12 psi, and high was 175 psi. The gauges had never been this steady before. Vent temperature was frosty ! Oh yeah, I did put replacement PAG oil in for what I captured on the flush. 

Total refrigerant capacity for the system was very close to 4 lbs 134a. 

So, in addition to the part numbers. The primo lesson was if you tear into the dash air system, flush it, or you may be going back for rework soon. 

I will tweak the refrigerant level if necessary when the weather gets warmer. 

Hope this helps you someday.

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  Alternate Muffler Replacement

Posted by: Richard
02-01-2019, 07:06 PM
Forum: Drivetrain
- Replies (14)

Sad I recently had to replace the muffler on my 99 Newell. The original was the Riker model as documented in other threads. I could not find the Riker on line, and I wondered if there was a financially efficient solution than ordering one from the mothership. 
   
   

I did not want to use a straight pipe, and I really didn't want to do any major welding or modifications that would prevent the use of the original style Riker. 
   
I opted to use this round muffler. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F2N...UTF8&psc=1
   
You also need a elbow to transition out of the existing flex tubing into a horizontal run. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N65...UTF8&psc=1

You need two clamps  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073ZD...UTF8&psc=1
     
   
And a short piece of round tubing to make an exhaust tip. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079VF...UTF8&psc=1

I used an angle grinder to get the length and angle right.

I used two generic muffler hangars to support the muffler at the elbow, and at the exhaust tip. Total modification to the coach was to drill one hole for the aft hangar. 

Initial results are the sound is no louder than the original muffler. I will report on maximum turbo boost, fuel mileage, and jake brake sound when I have some miles on this setup.

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  new member

Posted by: truman
02-01-2019, 05:43 PM
Forum: Please introduce yourself
- Replies (10)

hi all ! just bought my 1995 newell #395 in Arizona afew weeks ago and drove it back to Connecticut..2800  miles on my first trip
of course I make afew beginner mistakes but it was a safe and fun trip
glad to be aboard !!

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  Slide pin lock

Posted by: pestes
01-31-2019, 07:41 PM
Forum: Slides
- Replies (29)

Does anyone have part numbers for HWH slide pin locks? Not sure if there are different types but mine have limit switches inside of them for detecting whether the pin is engaged or not.

I have one that seems to have a slight leak. Also wondering if they are serviceable, ie can I just replace a seal inside of it?

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  Re-dye Steering Wheel

Posted by: bikestuff
01-31-2019, 10:08 AM
Forum: Interior Things
- Replies (3)

Gurus,

After recovering my dash, the only ugly thing that I can see from my drivers seat is the steering wheel.  

   

Time to fix that.  I sent a piece of the new material (ultra leather) to the folks at Leatherique.com.  I told them that I was doing a steering wheel and to send me what I need.  They sent me three bottles.  (Prepping agent, custom Dye, and a clear coat finish).

First step was to tape off the plastic.

   

Next, I used the prepping agent and a piece of 1200 grit wet-dry sandpaper to gently remove the old dye and dirt.  Even though I went slowly, it took off a good deal of the old dye.  I started wondering if I was getting in over my head.  I let this step dry over night.

Next, time to apply the dye.  The dye is a water based pigment that really wants to separate into solids and liquid.  I emptied entire bottle into a plastic pot, and then used a little distilled water to rinse out the bottle.  Then I mixed slowly for several minutes.  Finally, I took about 1/3 of the bottle and diluted it about 20% with distilled water.  More on that next.

With the dye a little watered down, I was able to start applying to the wheel.  I opted to use fairly nice acrylic brushes (3/8”) to apply the dye.  I really went slowly and did not apply very much dye at one time.  I probably put 4-5 coats of dye on altogether.  (Let each coat dry to the touch).

I put several extra coats on where I had a little suede leather developing.  (More about this in lessons learned).  Here is second coat while wet

   

After letting the dye dry overnight, I put on several coats of clear coat.  I let each coat dry for 2 hrs.  The clear coat is kinda shiny, but putting light coats on tends to minimize that.  I also used the fine sandpaper between coats to knock down any rough patches.  (Not sure that was legal, but I did it so I wanted to let you guys know).

Here is the result.

   

Lessons Learned:
1). Re-dye of leather in the coach is totally doable.  It is not a no-brain process, but if you are careful and take your time, the results are pretty impressive.
2).  For steering wheels it is not necessary to remove the wheel.  (I toyed with the idea of putting new leather on the wheel.  I am glad that I went in this direction.
3).  There are several Leatherique videos on the inter-webs.  They are your friend.
4).  Leatherique makes two products that I did not use, but wish I had.  One is called rejuvenator.  It is a slop on and wait product that brings life back to old stiff leather.  The other one is called filler and would have been better on the suede areas on my wheel.  You put that product into rough / cracked patches and then sand down prior to the dye process.
5).  I am not sure how this process would be on large areas of leather (like the middle of the dash), but it totally works for small repairs and steering wheels and the like.

Enjoy!
Bill

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  Tag/Hub/Spindle/Rotor failure

Posted by: PlazaGuy
01-31-2019, 07:48 AM
Forum: Suspension/Tires/Wheels
- Replies (9)

A week ago last Monday (Jan. 21) we left Brownsville headed for Rudy Leggett's place in Baycity so he could work on our AquaHot System. We had been without heat and hot water fortunately for only a few days.  Right around Woodsboro, TX the Tag Axle bearing failed causing the tire to blow.  We contacted a tire service and fairly quickly a guy with a tire showed up.  He had trouble loosening the bolts, but when he finally got it off (naturally the rim was ruined), but the most serious problem was that the Hub was about to fall off.  It was seriously cracked. We drove to Victoria and got a guy that was knowledgeable to come with better equipment than the tire guy had and after several hours finally he got it off using an air chisel. Got everything off, including the spindle, so right now there is nothing back there except the housing.

We finally got off the side of the road into a service station parking lot, ruining one of the drive tires in the process, and then eventually to an RV Park in Victoria last Friday. We've been looking for parts since then and the part numbers that we were able to identify were not getting us anywhere, called Newell a couple of times, and finally talked to Jim Ghering who was able to look up an old invoice that had part numbers and (old) prices from 2008 for what I need. These parts cross-referenced to Prevost parts.  

Still have not had any word from the Service Center (which fortunately is right across the highway from the RV Park).  Jim emailed those to us just yesterday and they haven't contacted us with anything positive yet.

We are posting the invoice that Jim emailed to us which include those parts for those that have the independent rear Tag Axle Suspension. Our coach is a 2002.

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  Stackable Washer/Dryer Repair

Posted by: RussWhite
01-30-2019, 01:21 PM
Forum: Interior Things
- Replies (5)

Hoping for some hits from a guru that has faced repairs to their Kenmore stackable washer/dryer.

My 1999 model has the shower/tub on one side of the rear bath, and a set of cabinets on the other one of which contains the stackable washer/dryer.

Here is the dilemma:

My dryer has stopped producing hot air.
I have ordered a new element, both thermostats and a new belt.

I have removed the pieces holding the dryer in place.
Now it looks like a dead end to me.
I have  a 24” wide isle between the tub and the face of the opposing wall where the washer/dryer is.

The washer/dryer is 27.5” deep according to the specs.  There is very little room between the top of the washer/dryer at the ceiling – 9”

I believe I need access to the back of the unit to do the repair.
I see no way to get there.  Even if I pull it out all the way against the tub, there is no way for it to be moved as 3.5” remain in the cabinet.

There is a vent fan above the unit and I suppose with a whole lot of work that could be removed.  I don’t know whether that would allow me to drop in behind the washer/dryer but that sounds like a terrible idea.

Thanks for any thoughts.  I have not called Newell as I consider that a last resort.   Russ

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  new napa parts room auction ending 1/30/2002

Posted by: encantotom
01-29-2019, 05:34 PM
Forum: General
- No Replies

https://www.cunninghamauctions.com/

this is really interesting.  a short term auction for rooms full of new bus parts.  for mci, prevost, vanhool, volvo.  a napa supplier went out of business and they are selling entire rooms full of new parts with shelving.  i just looked to the two rooms of parts in vegas online.  there is a pdf that lists all the parts by part number and name.  i just looked at a few, but there was a detroit diesel air compressor that i saw the same one on ebay for 2600 bucks.  rotors, pads, everykind of big bus parts.  

probably not a ton for ours, and i am sure big bidders will come in at the last minute but the two rooms in vegas were at 260 bucks just now.  19 hours left.  

if i was home and able, it would be an interesting buy at the right price to sort through and keep applicable things to newells and sell the rest.  there are similar sites in california i didnt look at

tom

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