[SNDPuhlman]

Hello All,

My wife, Deanna, and I purchased #1215 from the factory in August of 2018.  It's our first Newell but not our first motorhome.  We have been RV'ing for all of our 27 years married and set a goal long ago to work towards owning the best.  I found 1215 on the Newell website and knew It was the one for us.  There have been many bumps in the road but we are very hands on, "gearhead" minded people so we have learned quickly about many systems onboard.  This forum has been INVALUABLE to us as we have worked through our issues, small and large.  I thought it was time to quit lurking in the shadows and enjoy the forum as a member, actually a first in itself for me in any forum.  Who knows, maybe I can help someone, sometime down the road!  Glad to finally be aboard and an official thank you to all!

[encantotom]

welcome and i look forward to your experiences. the great thing is how so many gurus have helped so many gurus...

tom

[HoosierDaddy]

Welcome Scott and Deanna!!

[Fulltiming]

Welcome Scott and Deanna. I am certain that since the number of owners of coaches in the 2006-2015 range on this site is increasing, you will be able to provide invaluable experience and insight.

[Richard]

Welcome ! Glad you decided to come out of the shadows.

Just want to echo what Mike said, we really need for owners of modern era coaches to add their experiences in diagnosing, repairing, and using their coaches.

[SNDPuhlman]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome!  I actually find myself more impressed with the Newell every time I am pressed to diagnose a new issue.  As we all know, our coaches are highly engineered and working on them really places that in the forefront.  I look forward to asking questions and sharing any insight I may gain along the way.  

Great to be a part of the Gurus!!

Scott,

[ian1959]

Hi Scott

I have #1218 here in the UK, so ours must have been going through the factory at the same time, mine has the ZF 12 speed though, you may want to check as your engine code should be C15 Acert which is different to the C-15.
Was yours the one for sale with the stacker trailer a while ago? the paint job looks amazing! Mine has covered nearly 200,000 miles most of it by it supporting the Nascar series of there in the US, over here mine has been the the 24hr Le Mans and is currently placed at Spa francochamps for the 24hr event next week.
I'm hands on and have really learnt a lot about the coach and the complex systems, there will always be a surprise.
One piece of advice if you have not already done it Pre purchase is get and engine oil sample done regularly, an oil change and filter is very very cheap insurance and the sample report vital.

Regards

Ian

[SNDPuhlman]

Hi Ian,

Great to hear from across the pond!  Mine is definitely the Acert engine, actually a "MXS" serial number.  It was not the one advertised with the stacker trailer though.  I was told by Newell that it was one of the 2008 show coaches so it was specified by Newell for that model year.  The paint is in extremely good condition showing only mild road nicks on the lower surfaces.  I really enjoy keeping it that way. It currently shows 109k miles. I do very regular maintenance and really enjoy at least attempting to fix whatever issues arise.  So far that has included a new engine radiator, cracked charge air cooler, all CAC flexible boots and clamps replaced, hours of air leak searching and fixing, roof air replacement, hydraulic pump replacement, and the lists goes on and on.   The one job I did not tackle was a front slide(the biggest one in my coach) seal replacement.  That was handled by Oregon Motor Coach in Eugene, OR and they did an incredible job!   Your thoughts on oil analysis are spot on for anyone with a diesel engine.  I have personally had an oil analysis prolong an in frame rebuild on one of my semi trucks nearly a half a million miles by giving us the chance to replace main bearings instead of the entire engine!   

Please stay in touch, Ian, as will I.  Our experiences keeping these beautiful machines up to spec will most likely help a lot of other folks.  I know I'm in debt to the people here for all they have helped we with over the years, without even knowing it!

Scott,

[ian1959]

Hi Scott,

Why did you change the hydraulic pump? I'm asking as I'm just replacing the pump drive shaft (an Eaton Vickers pump) as the splines were badly worn, the drive gear (which also does the transfer pump on the timing cover front) splines were worn internally too, so I am replacing as a matching new mating pair, this gear is a Cat part, interestingly I asked my Cat dealer how many were in stock? 36 in the USA and 19 in the European warehouse so it looks like its a much used part!! and an easy job to replace too.
The replacement gear supplied by the UK Cat dealer from Belgium held stock ordered Wednesday 14/10/20 8.30AM in my hand in London 1.30PM Thursday! Genuine Cat part (made in India)

Regards

Ian

[SNDPuhlman]

Ian,

I found out the same thing!  All parts associated with that pump are wear items.  It appears the pump shaft is not lubricated by the engine oil.  My pump was stripped of its splines on its input shaft literally as I backed out of our shop after the radiator and CAC repair.  I backed straight up went to go forward and turn only to meet what felt like a locked steering box.  I quickly found no cooling fan turning and new it had to be the pump or pump drive.  It was off, as you mentioned, very easily and my local cat dealer had it on the shelf.  My actual drive gear and internal splines looked fine and meshed good with the new pump.  I may have suffered some other problem like a locked pump but after removal the pump still spun ok.  I replaced it out of caution for what may have been going on inside.  It's my plan to remove the pump and grease the splines every other oil change as preventative maintenance.  At least that will give me peace of mind as to it's condition.  I must say the first pump went over 100K miles before failure so keeping an eye on it should be good insurance.  Especially as easy as it is to remove.