armand – Page 17 – gmcmotorhome

Picked up the tranny and delivered it and the coach to the shop

On Wednesday, June 6th, I drove to Green Valley to pick up the tranny from Steve Ault. He originally had the tranny rebuilt in Colorado when he lived there in 1997. It was done by a known good shop along with 3 other trannys that Steve had at the time. The others were used successfully in other coaches but this one sat in storage until 2 years ago when Steve asked another GMCer (I forget his name) to take a look at it since it had been sitting for so long. I actually helped Steve move the tranny from his coach to the other guy’s at the GMCWS rally at Las Vegas. A couple of seals were replaced because they were starting to dry out but otherwise the tranny was again pronounced ‘good’.

On Thursday, June 7th, I delivered the coach and the tranny to ‘Next Generation Automotive’ (formerly Friedenberg Automotive) in Tucson. Jared is one of the new owners (I think the other guy’s name is ‘Truth’ so I have to trust them I guess) and I left him with instructions to flush the cooler, add the vent and hose (the tranny appeared to be threaded for a pipe fitting), use synthetic fluid (12 quarts), and put the temp sensor I provided into the bung in the pan (the old tranny didn’t have one and temperature is probably what killed it). I also asked Jared to check the engine pan for leaks while the tranny is out since that is the only way to get at some things. Jared asked it Monday was OK for completion and I agreed.

On Friday evening Jared called me and reported that the new tranny was in, he was waiting for the synthetic fluid to arrive – apparently this is not a high demand item – and the coach would be ready on Monday.

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Progress and some luck on the tranny

I am still struggling with how to get a transmission – from Manny or Applied GMC – and how to get it installed. I used to have a mechanic that I trusted but he sold his business and is gone somewhere. When I started this I had asked for suggestions from Steve F., Carl S. and Dan G. Carl has a mechanic but he doubted that he wanted to do the job so I didn’t bother calling him. Steve didn’t personally know anyone in Tucson but, based on Dan G.’s experience suggested Friedenberg Automotive in Tucson. I had already talked to Dan and knew his opinion. Dan, a fellow GMCer loves the place and the former owner, John, (now retired) and recommends them because they helped him with a bad engine on their GMC last year.

I had called Friedenberg – now called Next Generation Automotive – last week (twice) but they never called me back. I called them back today with the intention of asking John to recommend someone but they were now not so busy and said they could help me. They will charge me 5.5 hours – the best price of several I have gotten while I was waiting for them to call me back. They penciled me in for Thursday morning this week.

Now for the luck. Yesterday (Sunday) I called Steve Ault, a former GMCer who lives just south of Tucson, looking for a suggestion of where I could have this tranny swap done. It turns out he has a freshly rebuilt transmission in his garage and wants to sell it. He made me a great deal and there will be no shipping charges. I will go pick up the tranny in the next couple of days. Steve also has the hoist setup that is needed to hold the engine up and lower the tranny.

Stay tuned.

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Time for a new transmission – again

I finally got the courage up to tackle the transmission problem. The problem was: “did I do any damage to the transmission?”. I had let the transmission run very low on fluid and it got hot enough to discolor the fluid from it’s normal red to a sort of brown color. I could have just changed the oil without removing the pan – I am told it can be done (no drain plugs in OEM transmissions) – but I figured that if I did anything bad I wanted to know and the only way to find out would be to drop the pan and look for bad stuff – pieces of metal or something else.

Pieces of a thrust washer?

I pumped most of the oil out of the pan using a Harbor Freight “transfer pump” that I paid $8 for and then removed the pan to find lots of pieces of metal (see the photo at left).

I called JimK and sent him this photo. He didn’t know what it was but suggested checking with Manny (the GMC transmission guru). Manny is not positive, but is pretty sure, the pieces are from a “thrust washer” and the transmission should be replaced. The strange part is that Manny does not think that the heat alone could have caused the thrust washer to fail, if at all. He suspects a vibration somewhere like from a loose pinon gear or a misaligned transmission. I am hoping he can figure it out once he gets the tranny back after I replace it.

Still trying to figure out how to get this done. The one good guy that anyone knows of in Tucson has retired and the guys who took over for him apparently have no interest in doing this.

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Resting and getting ready for our summer trip – bringing you up to date

Since we returned from our Spring trip to California and Nevada I have been resting a lot and working on the GMC a little.

The first thing I did was fix the driver’s side exhaust manifold gasket. Seems that the process of cutting out the old mufflers and pipes and installing new ones was the culprit as far as causing new exhaust manifold leaks. The exhaust manifold gaskets are “Remflex” brand and I love them because they are so easy to install and they work. The reason that is the case is that they are thick and soft so that they don’t take a lot of torque and they conform to bad surfaces. Being thick and soft makes them susceptible to damage when someone is pulling and pushing on the exhaust pipes and that is what happened. All fixed now.

The next thing I did was tighten the air conditioning fan belt because it was screaming when I turned the
A/C on. I tightened it to what I thought was “spec” but it still chirps when I turn the A/C on so I bought some belt dressing. It comes in a spray can now (I used to use sticks) and I have not tried it yet but I am sure it will be fine.

The next big thing that needs to be done is to find and fix the really bad transmission leak that has been bugging us since that transmission was installed. I decided that I would use some fluorescent dye in the transmission fluid and see where it was coming out. Well, either I didn’t use enough dye or I am missing something but I never could see any fluorescent oil no matter what I did. I put the stuff in and mixed it up by running the transmission in gear while up on jack stands. I ran it for about 15-20 minutes and put about 15 miles on it without a load then checked with a black light and nothing was visible even at night. Next, I took it off the jack stands and drove it about 20 miles including a 7-mile long hill but still no fluorescence. I did see some heavier oil flowing from the bottom of the dip stick tube though so that is what I am thinking is the source of the leak. That and the pan gasket.

Today I bought a new pan gasket and transmission filter. I also bought a “transfer pump” at Harbor Freight so I can try to pump the oil out of the transmission instead of taking a shower in it. JimK says to use RTV at the base of the dip stick tube since O-rings don’t do well in there. Tomorrow I will try to drain the oil and fix the dip stick tube and the pan gasket. Wish me luck.

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Saw Mom, made it home, a new problem

We spent the night in the WalMart parking lot at the new Surprise store. We went to sleep at about 10:00 and I was awakened at about 11:30 with loud engine noises from an 18-wheeler that decided he had to park next to us instead of anywhere else in this huge new parking lot. He was settling into his sleeper for the night and was running his engine to keep his A/C running – it was not a reefer truck, just a flatbed with a load. I got up and moved away from him but I could still hear it all night – and it was too hot besides. Not a good night.

We went to Mesa to see Carol’s Mom for Mother’s Day where we were joined by her youngest brother and his girlfriend. We had a nice meal, visited for a couple of hours and headed home.

All seemed well but we smelled something going up the last hill toward home and the transmission was acting a little odd – not shifting, and slipping. When I went to unhook the tow car I discovered that everything had a thin film of oil on it. When I got back home where we had parked to unload there was lots of transmission oil (it is red) all over the place – a bad leak. *(&)%$!!!!

A little note on something I noticed on the way home. Our Rostra electronic cruise control had been acting badly the whole trip. It was cutting out a lot sometimes and then not others. It was turning itself on, accelerating occasionally, just acting wierd. From the moment I changed the ignition module yesterday it has worked perfectly. I am guessing that electrical noise produced by the failing module was what was causing the cruise control problems.

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family

Surprise and our problem finally solved

Surprise is where we are. The brand new WalMart at the intersection of the 303 loop (yes, it is functional) and West Waddell in Surprise. Surprise seems to be the only town in the valley that allows you to stay at a WalMart. The last time we came through we stayed at the one on highway 60 at Sun City. They are in Surprise too but much smaller and noisier – this one is surrounded by fields.

Last night I took the small filter out of the carburetor at the suggestion of Steve Ferguson. I decided that Steve was probably figuring anything the big filter in the back didn’t get was too small to worry about and I agree.

When we left this morning we got some gas and headed out for US-93 to Phoenix. We got to Henderson before trouble hit. It was the same failure except now it was getting much more pronounced. I decided that I would skip worrying about fuel and switch to looking at ignition components so I installed the spare coil I carried.

We didn’t get very far – Boulder City is just a little farther down the road – where it acted up again. Now it is either the big fuel filter in the back or the ignition module – 50/50. I gambled (this is Las Vegas after all) that it was the fuel filter. This was not a good decision for a variety of reasons – like I had a module and didn’t have a filter for one.

I found an Autozone and bought a filter and some dielectric grease (not all in the same trip though) so I could reuse an ignition module that now is my spare. Once the new module was installed we were on our way.

To sum that up… it was the ignition module.

The ride was scenic – you have to like desert terrain and plants – and uneventful. They are working on the road but they mostly don’t get in the way – especially on the weekend.

That brings you up to date with us at WalMart.

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family

Red Rock Canyon at Las Vegas – who knew?

We were looking for a little something to do besides The Strip and we read about Red Rock Canyon which is managed by the BLM. It is a one-way road through an area with great hiking (we didn’t) and rock climbing (not us) and scenery you can see from your car (our choice).The burros in the last 3 photos are wild. There are signs saying that feeding them or the wild horses would be rewarded with a $500 fine but we saw someone doing it anyway.

We went back to the Strip afterward and rode the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris Casino and watched the fountains at the Bellagio three times, including one from the top of the tower.

I forgot my camera for our last venture on the Strip so only photos of Red Rock Canyon.

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family

Las Vegas – cars and a great show

This visit was mostly about seeing “Jersey Boys”, the show about Franky Valli. The story is about his life and music – mostly about the music. It is amazing how many hits he had as part of and in front of The Four Seasons.

We finally got to see the show last night – Carol has been wanting to see it for years. The music was great, especially the guy who played Franky. He sounded just like him. The others were good too so the music was fantastic.

We did have an issue with our seats. The theater said the show was sold out and the only tickets available were the very back of the theater. When show time came, however, only about half the seats were filled. I think that the thing to do next time – we might do this again – would be to buy the seats at the theater instead of online. We would probably get better seats.

Not since our visit to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana have we been to another auto museum. Today we visited “The Auto Collections” at the Imperial Palace Casino. Some of the cars are for sale and others are just on loan from various collectors around the country. It was only $9 for both of us but the ticket taker told us that there are coupons online for free admission – we had looked but didn’t see them. Here are my photos:

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family

Las Vegas and Some Rest

We finally got here at about 2:30 after a short day – it seemed long but was only about 3.5 hours. The weather got a little hot – 93 degrees coming into the city – but with the new vents we didn’t even turn the A/C on.

We are staying at the Oasis RV Resort where we had a GMCWS rally last year I think. The place is really nice. We went to the pool but the water was a little suspect and it was populated by a lot of cigarette smoking French Canadians – seems like they all smoke constantly – so we didn’t stay long.

The coach ran well but still a lot of noise and some faint sputtering when under heavy load like on a long hill. I plan to change or remove that carburetor filter before we leave but will leave the exhaust manifold gasket until we get home – the noise is not that bad.

Tomorrow we have tickets to “Jersey Boys” in the evening and we plan to take a walk and go to the car exhibit at “The Auto Collections” at the Imperial Palace Casino. Supposed to have over 300 collector cars on display. I’ll try to get some photos.

We plan to stay here until Saturday when we’ll drive to the Phoenix area to see Carol’s Mom and Pop on Sunday. Right now, our plans are to spend the night at the WalMart in Surprise – not much else available.

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family

The Middle of Nowhere

We are in an “RV Park” in Tonopah, Nevada and we have no internet – at least no usable internet. Everything was working fine when we got here but within a few minutes both our Verizon Air Card and the RV park’s wifi could no long communicate long or reliably. Seems like who ever is providing the data connection to the internet from this town is out of order. I will use a local editor until we have internet again – maybe tomorrow.

The first thing we did this morning was gas up – $3.93/gallon – just outside the RV park. It looks like the long, steep climb over Donner Pass reduced our average some but we are still up over previous trips.

We left Reno – actually Sparks it turns out – at about 9 or 9:30 and headed out to Tonopah which is about half-way to Las Vegas on US-95. The weather was really nice in the low 70’s and the road was smooth and in great shape – nowhere near as boring as some people have said. The only thing wrong was all of the noise from the driver’s side exhaust manifold and the periodic poor performance which I am beginning to think may be the fuel filter in the carburetor. Steve F. suggested strongly that I take it out but I have yet to do it. I am still thinking that the exhaust manifold can wait unless I have time and it gets too irritating. We’ll see about the performance problem.

We arrived in Tonopah at about 2:30 at the only camping in town – in back of the Tonopah Station Casino, Hotel, and RV Park. There are 20 spaces which are $20 per night with full hookups and they have discounts. It seems as though there should be more camping since this is right in the middle of nowhere and only half way to anywhere – Reno/Sparks and Las Vegas.

Tonopah is a small mining town in a small mountain range in western Nevada. The mountain range is small but I think we are at about 4000 feet of altitude so not that small. I am curious about what goes on here. It looks like the mine is still somewhat active and we could hear a periodic roar from some kind of equipment. I thought it was maybe some kind on mining method but then I saw that we are at the corner of Air Force Road so it may be some sort of engine testing. We also saw a Naval Underseas Battle Facility or some such name north of here. Lots of sparse landscape to do testing of funny equipment in Nevada.

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April/May 2012 - Casa de Fruta and Family