armand – Page 2 – gmcmotorhome

Bluegrass on the Beach at Lake Havasu – we made it!

This was our 65th trip in the GMC – long and short – but it seemed a lot like our first. It seemed like that because there were two “we didn’t get there” trips in the last four tries. There have only been 4 total since we bought the GMC and both of the others were when we first got it. Our 65th trip was supposed to be to Blythe and the Pacific Cruisers’ bluegrass rally in January but the GMC’s brakes failed just as we were getting ready to go. That problem was solved with a newly rebuilt booster and lots of help from the legendary Dave Lenzi. Another factor making me a little anxious was the newly “adjusted” FiTech electronic fuel injection system that has been giving me trouble for the whole year I have owned it. It would not be a “we didn’t get there” factor because I can easily reinstall my carburetor which I carry with me but wondering if it was fixed or not was another “anxiety” factor. The last item on the list of new things was the insulated fuel tank upgrade – would it help?

We took about 6 hours of 60 MPH driving to get to Lake Havasu State Park where the “Bluegrass on the Beach” festival was being held. The camping arrangements were to be dry (no hookups of any kind) camping for up to 4 nights and daily admission to the music venue. We have gone to only a couple of other bluegrass festivals but with dry camping and music we expected the “usual” low prices. When we pulled up to the gate they said “Welcome! That will be two twelve. Cash or check only.” Two twelve!! $212! Holy moly. It turns out that the bands are all very good and several had to travel across the country from the East coast so quality probably explains the high price. The thing we were also surprised about was the lack of jamming. The number of RVs parked at the festival was surprisingly large but there was about the same number of jam sessions as there is usually at the Casa Grande festival in January. But there was jamming and it is fun – like sitting around the front porch with family.

So, the GMC-portion of the trip was good. It ran great, there are a couple of FiTech issues with tuning (I hope) and I will be tweaking settings as we go along to try and correct those. The fuel tank insulation, in spite of the low temperatures (low 80’s at the most), seemed to make a difference. All three times we filled up with fuel the gurgling and bubbling was almost gone – venting seemed much better and there was no pressure in the tanks when I removed the cap (very slight at the first stop but barely noticeable).

Bottom line: We made it there and back and feel better about the GMC.

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Winter 2016-2017

Insulating the fuel tanks

Hot fuel is a big problem with GMCs. Not only does it cause what I call “the vapors” (vapor lock is a specific type of vapor-caused failure which we don’t really see) but boiling fuel is corrosive and dangerous. It has twice peeled the paint around the fuel-fill opening on my new paint job. In October, on our return trip from our attempt to get to Coos Bay we were driving on the Interstate in Southern Arizona with the outside air temperature at 93 degrees Fahrenheit and we smelled gasoline. I pulled over to see what was happening and heard my gas cap venting – again! I took my laser IR temperature gun and found that the front of the front fuel tank was 155 degrees and the bottoms of both tanks were 139 degrees. In putting together a seminar about “the vapors” a couple of years ago I found that “Winter” gas can boil at about 140 degrees.

The heat that elevated the tank temperatures from the ambient 93 degrees to 155 degrees is coming from the engine compartment, the exhaust system, and the hot asphalt which is only about a foot away. The engine, using the FiTech EFI and Fuel Command Center, was running great but the fuel was producing lots of vapor. The usual story line is that the fuel/vapor separator and the charcoal canister are supposed to take care of that vapor and you should never have pressure in your tanks and definitely not be venting through your gas cap. If you do develop pressure in your tanks you must have a blocked vent line the story goes.

I think that is BS. The opening in the fuel/vapor separator is about 1/16″, maybe slightly more but not much. I opened mine when I got home from that trip because I thought there must be something wrong with it. There is, it is inadequate for today’s fuels and the GMC’s design. There are approximately 20 square feet of fuel in those tanks and that much boiling fuel cannot be adequately vented through a 1/16″ opening – that is obvious to me. The gas cap is designed to vent at 2 PSI (minimum) for safety reasons.

My friend, neighbor and fellow GMCer, Dan Gibb came up with the idea to insulate the tanks with a modern high-tech material called Ceramic Fiber Blanket Insulation and some roofing metal panels. We had heard of some other GMCer who covered his tanks with aluminum diamond plate and claimed it had solved his vapor problems. Dan found and bought all of the materials for the project (both his and my coaches) and we made the panels and installed them on my coach this week. It took two of us about 16 hours to make all 4 panels and to install them on my coach – Dan has a newly discovered fuel leak that has to get fixed first. [Note: long after installing the insulation I developed a leak in my rear air suspension system. Turns out we nicked the air tubing while installing the tin material eventually causing a significant leak. Fixed by replacing all three lines from that point to the driver’s side air bag.]

Below are photos of our project. The photos of the uninstalled panels and the drawing are by Dan. The panels will be installed in his coach after a recently discovered fuel leak is fixed:

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Between Trips, Technical Topics

Auxiliary Vacuum Pump Setting

February 10, 2017

In my last post I said I didn’t like the way my vacuum switch was working. I bought the adjustable switch from Dave Lenzi and he said to adjust it so that my pump turned on at 16 inches of mercury and off at 18 inches. I did that but because my engine only pulls 15 inches, the pump turns on every time I use the brakes. I asked Dave about this and he said that the booster works best at 16 inches or more and that a normal engine should be able to pull about 18 inches at sea level. He said that for each 1,000 feet of altitude above sea level that number will go down by 1 inch. I am at about 2,600 feet at home. That would make my vacuum at sea level be almost 18 inches and my pump would not be coming on anywhere near as much.

Dave’s advice is to let the pump run and keep the vacuum up where the booster is the most effective. I told him I would heed his advice and leave it the way it is.

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Between Trips

Auxillary Vacuum Pump Installation and Test and FiTech Test Drive

February 8, 2017

Dave Lenzi’s vacuum switch arrived today so I installed and adjusted it. It is set to Dave’s instructions to turn on at about 16 inches of mercury and turn off at 18 inches. It all works but I don’t think I like the switch range because each time I use the brakes the vacuum pump turns on because the engine only produces about 15 inches at idle. I will email Dave and ask about turning it down a little. The one note is that I had to get a booster check valve and disable it in order to get a good tight connection to the booster. My straight 3/8″ to 1/2″ adapter leaked because it was designed for hose rather than the grommet that holds it in the booster’s opening.

I took the coach for another test drive after getting the vacuum pump working and it ran good. Not perfect yet but getting close assuming that the FiTech unit is actually “learning”.

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Between Trips

FiTech Is Back and Fixed (I hope)

February 4, 2017

Last evening we were out in the street at our weekly Friday evening neighborhood meeting which is on our street but around a corner and out of sight of the house. I had left a note on our front door asking the Fedex driver to please leave the package containing the FiTech unit. The note contained the Fedex tracking number, my name, cell phone number and my signature. At about 5:30 or so a Fedex truck came around the corner from the direction of our house. I stopped the driver and asked if he had dropped the package as I requested and he said “no, I need a ‘direct’ signature” which means he needed me to sign his little hand held device. He even wanted me to go back to my house so he could drop the package there – I talked him into giving me the package out in the street – tight procedures for valuable packages I guess.

Anyway, there were no notes in the package and the only sign that something had been done was a small vacuum hose connected between the un-ported vacuum connector to the fuel pressure regulator on the side of the unit. I reinstalled the unit in the coach this morning and took it for a ride. It ran very well with almost no hint of any issues – almost because it did a little hesitation early in the ride but by the time I drove about 6 miles it was running very smoothly. I hope it is fixed – we plan to use it a little around town before taking it on a trip in about a month.

The replacement vacuum switch (the first one quits working sometimes) for my vacuum pump arrived today and I may try messing with it a little but I think I’ll just wait for Dave Lenzi’s switch to get here.

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Between Trips

FiTech and Brakes

12:30PM, Friday, February 3, 2017

It turns out that UPS dropped off my unit at FiTech at about 9:39AM on Wednesday and then Fedex shows the shipment being ready for pickup at FiTech at 12:26PM, less than 3 hours later. Cody, from FiTech, was supposed to call me yesterday with info about what was found wrong with it but so far, as of 12:30PM on Friday he has not. I did talk to him late yesterday and he assured me he would find out what happened and let me know. I called there this morning and talked to Bryce, another of the tech support guys, and he knew about the unit and that I was looking for answers. He promised to call me back but, so far, he has not either. I am thinking that it must be some sort of manufacturing defect that they saw immediately and corrected. Why else would they be reluctant to tell me?

Back to brakes. Dave Lenzi (he is an amazing designer and machinist who makes and rebuilds GMC parts) suggested that I reconfigure my vacuum pump setup to keep the pump from cycling and running unnecessarily. What he suggested is that the vacuum sensing switch should effectively be sensing the vacuum on the booster side of the check valve because, otherwise, a leak in the check valve in the pump itself will cause it to keep running. I made that change by removing the check valve from the booster port (Dave’s rebuilt boosters have dual ports) and replaced it with a 1/2″ to 3/8″ straight adapter, used 3/8″ hose to get to the vacuum switch, then back to 1/2″ for the vacuum check valve that was in the booster. I am buying Dave’s adjustable vacuum switch and adding a vacuum gauge (I got one from China for $5 on Amazon) so I can adjust it to come on at 16″ and turn off at 18″.

4:45PM

I just got an email from Cody at FiTech that basically says that they could not find the problem. Says they put it on the test engine and “did not find a major fueling issue like you stated” but the put it on the “test bench” and ran a bunch of tests, burned new code into the ECU and then tested it again. It ran “flawless”. If it ever arrives like it is supposed to tonight I will reinstall it tomorrow and give it another try.

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Between Trips

The FiTech Mystery Deepens

February 2, 2017

I have decided to try to actually use this section on my site as a log (blog?) of what is going on because I manage to forget when things happen and in which order. With this first entry of this type I will try to catch up on what has happened lately.

The FiTech mystery of today is why my FiTech throttle body is on its way back to me after being at the FiTech shop for less than a day. I sent it to them using an RMA and following all of their requirements like including a copy of my original invoice (I bought it directly from them?) and by filling out a standard form that Cody, their tech guy, sent me with the RMA#17-052 filled in. I sent it via UPS on Monday, it arrived at FiTech yesterday (2/1) morning and they sent it back to me today via Fedex. The only reason I knew it was on the way back was that I got an email message from Fedex. Cody did not know why they would have sent it back and he promised to call me right back but so far, 2 hours, has not.

I’ll go back a couple of weeks and recount what has happened. First thing was that from the very beginning of using the FiTech system I had a definite, measureable (1/2 second?) hesitation when hitting the gas pedal, especially when it was cold. Many times I had a hard time keeping it running at idle. I called FiTech many times (20 or so) and was told to try a lot of things like adjusting IAC Steps at idle, changing the ACC (accelerator pump) settings, and probably others. They asked if I checked for vacuum leaks, I could not find any leaks.

It did turn out that my brake booster was leaking vacuum. I figured this out because my vacuum pump ran when it should not need to and with the engine stalled (happened quite a lot when cold) I had no brakes. I ordered a rebuilt vacuum booster from Applied GMC and a new vacuum pump from a guy on eBay. After a very difficult removal and replacement of the booster and the pump, the pump would hardly shut off because the booster was leaking ‘internally’. Applied replaced the booster with another rebuilt and this one actually failed while I was driving and I had no brakes a couple of times. I ordered a rebuilt booster from Dave Lenzi and I returned the second one to Applied. Dave explained what was probably going on and it involves the bracket that holds the master cylinder and the booster to the upper part of the dash. I am still working with Dave to improved the booster/pump configuration but my brakes work great now.

With the booster and the associated leaks fixed I still had issues with the FiTech unit. It was actually getting worse. One of the symptoms I could see via the FiTech Handheld unit was that the engine was running rich most of the time. A possible reason for this, according to advice and research, was an ignition problem – misfires. I decided that maybe my ignition module was going bad – they can fail in some mysterious ways and it is really hard to determine if it is fuel or ignition related. My fellow GMCer and good friend, Dan Gibb, had wanted a little tutorial on how that was done so I called him and told him my plan to swap the module on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, with Dan watching and listening, I replaced the ignition module. It made no difference. The engine would hardly idle at all. With everything I knew to try exhausted I was drawing a blank when I thought of the perfect thing to try next – swapping his FiTech unit for mine. Dan agreed to give it a try – I had let him borrow my FiTech Command Center when his was not working so he was returning the favor. We drove to his house, uninstalled his FiTech unit and installed it on my engine and all of the problems I have been fighting with the FiTech unit went away. It ran like a new car. We took it for a test drive and I could not believe how great it was. I tried it again on Sunday morning when the temperature was in the 40’s and it did not have any problems that were constant with my unit.

Monday morning I called FiTech. Cody answered the phone, I explained what was going on, and he sent me the RMA stuff. Below is what I sent back with the unit:

Problems:

Does not respond to throttle – seems like accelerator pump issue if it was a carb – has been doing this from day 1 – vacuum gauge dips to “0” but no engine response for measurable amount of time
Idles rough and sometimes stalls in idle – hot or cold
Stalls and even backfires back through TB when throttle applied at low speed – cold
Runs rich – has hard time matching target AFR – hot or cold
These problems have gotten worse over time
I have adjusted IAC Steps multiple times. Each time it has needed readjustment after driving for a while.
I have restored factory defaults multiple times with no help.
A friend has the same vehicle and engine with a FiTech 400 model (I am not using spark control) – we moved his unit from his vehicle to mine and all of my problems went away. It ran perfectly.

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Between Trips

FiTech Notes – updated January 24, 2017

1/24/2017

Please note that the adjusting screw on the FiTech unit that is manipulated during the IAC Steps setting is the screw on the left side in FRONT of the throttle body – NOT the one on the left side that controls the butterflies.

11/12/2016 – Changing settings using the Handheld display

If you are changing parameters using the handheld unit you must do a “send to ECU” for each individual change on a screen. If you do not do that only the last change made on a screen will be sent. I verify each change with a “read from ECU” right after I make it.

11/9/2016 – Making changes to fix poor idle and stalls with advice from Randy VanWinkle

I have talked with several who have recently installed the FiTech and they have been having some problems with a good idle and with some hesitation / stumble at initial tip-in and during transition from coasting back to acceleration. Armand Minnie sent me a log capturing some of his issues including an occasional stall. In looking at the log, it showed that the AFR was pretty rich most of the time. When I install the FiTech, I noticed that the AFR settings for idle, cruise (1100, 3000 & 6000 rpm), as well as WOT were set by default too rich for our engines. The FiTech system is targeted at the hotrodding crowd that run aggressive cams and generally are wanting to be much richer so the engine will idle and cruise smoothly. Our engines run quite well at close to Stoichiometric (14.7 to 1 AFR). So for my install before I started, I changed the AFR values. I set the idle AFR to 14.5 erring toward the rich side. For cruise AFR, I set the value to 14.7. I think you could go slightly more lean but not really knowing the FiTech, I didn’t want to go any leaner at cruise unless I could monitor exhaust gas temperatures and because I wasn’t going to see this install after I left, I stayed conservative. I believe I set WOT AFR to 12.8. This guy I did the install for wasn’t going to be in the mountains with long hard pulls so I didn’t worry too much about this value. If you anticipate doing any mountain driving that will have long hard pulls, I would consider 12.4. On our Howell / EBL systems, we start at 13.8, but the system continues to go richer the longer you are under heavy load. I have seen it get down to the low 12s. The cruise and WOT AFRs are at 1100, 3000 and 6000 rpms. IIRC, I set all to the same number. Started and ran great without any hesitations, stumbles or coast / acceleration transition issues. I’m thinking that the self learning was having trouble getting everything sorted with starting values so much richer than what our engines require. Armand made changes to the accelerator pump parameters [I had to set all of the setting to +45] as well as decel open IAC [+10] parameters that helped but didn’t solve all the problems until he made the AFR changes I suggested above. Hopefully, this might help some who are installing the FiTech.

11/8/2016 – Making the log recorder work

If you want to record and retrieve a log file on the handheld then you must make sure the log directory is set up correctly – mine was not and the factory default file (see the first item in the note below) does not have it set up either. Plug the handheld into your computer via a standard usb cord, navigate to the log file folder and delete the “dashboard” folder. The handheld will then reinitialize that folder and record files in it.

11/8/2016 – This note was provided by Bob Miller who got it from Cody at FiTech:

Resetting to a stock calibration:
From the main menu go to the very bottom and select Write Cal To ECU. Once in this menu scroll down to the second to last selection, it should say Default v8 T195. Once on this file select it and it will download to 100 percent. After this is done it will revert to the main menu. Now go to Go EFI Initial Setup, then Engine Setup, now input all of the parameters that are needed for your application, making sure to save each one individually.

After you have entered your information and saved it go up and select Dash Board. Once in dashboard turn the ignition key off and wait for all the data to black out. Once this happens turn the ignition key to the on positon and start the car.

IAC Steps:

Turn the driver’s side throttle adjustment screw IN (clockwise) half a turn to start with, with that done turn the key on and go to dashboard and find TPS and make sure it reads zero. If not, then shut the key off and wait for the numbers to go black then turn the key on again. Once that reads zero start the vehicle and find IAC Steps on dashboard. This number needs to be within 3-10 at warm idle. If the number reads zero then slowly turn the screw OUT (counter clockwise) until the IAC steps reads between 3-10. If the number is above 10 then shut the vehicle off and turn the screw IN as stated above and repeat the process until the IAC steps are between 3-10.

Reset Learn:

All Fitech EFI systems have learning procedures that the system uses to adjust the active fuel tables it is using for operation. Sometimes if there are outside problems such as bad misfires, exhaust leaks, or any other situation that could cause poor readings on the O2 sensor, the system will try to compensate in order to keep the car running. If this happens it alters the fuel map in ways that may not be optimal for proper running the engine normally.

To reset the learn is a very easy procedure. Go into the Go EFI Initial setup then find Reset Learn. Once in that menu find Reset All Learn, highlight this and push right on the joy stick to go to #1, then save that to the ECU by pressing IN on the joystick. Once that is saved go back to the main menu, and then up to Dashboard and select it. Once on dashboard turn the key off and wait for the numbers in the value side to go black. This mean the system has saved. You have now reset the learn function.

Cranking fuel adjustments:

With the key on go to the Go EFI Tuning menu, find Crank and Warm up. There you will see three cranking fuel selections. For cold starts add or subtract fuel from Crank fuel 65f, for hot starts add or subtract fuel from crank fuel 170f. Changing these settings should help with your start up issues along with setting the IAC. A good starting point is to change the settings in intervals of 10 to find which way you need to adjust the system to work better.

Accel pump/ Fast Accel adjustment:

If the system is having a hesitation or bogging issue, and you IAC steps are between 3-10 at warm idle, then your next step would be to adjust the accel pump function to increase or decrease the fuel added on acceleration. To start with turn the key to the on position and then find Go EFI Tuning on the main menu and press enter. Then find Accel pump and press enter. You will see a menu with multiple different settings, you need to focus on the Accel pumps (20f, 65f, 170f) and Fast Accel (20f, 65f, 170f). These setting adjust how much fuel, at varying temperatures, the system injects when you accelerate. Accel pump is used for any normal throttle input, Fast Accel is for any fast throttle inputs or Wide Open Throttle.

Hesitation: If the vehicle has a hesitation (when you step on the throttle and the engine does hangs and/ or almost dies and then suddenly take off) this normally is a lack of fuel so you would fix this by increasing the Accel Pump (for normal throttle input hesitations) or Fast Accel (for fast throttle or WOT inputs). You would make changes starting in increments of 10, to the temp range that you are finding the issue to reside in.

Bogging/engine loads up/slow to respond: If the vehicle is bogging (when you step on the throttle and the engine is slower/sluggish to come up to a higher rpm) this is normally caused by over fueling. To fix this you would need to reduce the amount of fuel it is injecting as an accel pump shot. To do this this decrease the Accel Pump (for normal throttle input hesitations) or Fast Accel (for fast throttle or WOT inputs). You would make changes starting in increments of 10, to the temp range that you are finding the issue to reside in.

Choosing a cam selection:

Cam selection is based on vacuum load of the engine. Cam 1 is for 15Hg or above, Cam 2 is for 10Hg to 15hg, Cam 3 is 8Hg to 10Hg, Cam 4 is 8Hg to 6Hg. These are estimates and you may need to switch between them if the vacuum load is between two different cam settings to get the engine to run better for your application.

Idle Return:

If the engine is not returning to idle quick enough for your liking or is dropping too quickly and killing the engine then you may need to adjust the rate at which the injection system comes to an idle. To do so you need to go to Go EFI Tuning, then find and select Idle Control. Once in this menu you will see several settings, the only one we are going to work with is Decel open IAC. This number should be at zero as a base setting, by going negative you are reducing the amount of time it takes to return to Idle, and by going positive you are increasing the time it takes. Normal procedure of adjustment is to add or subtract 10 to start with and then adjust it to your liking or what the engine needs. Then once the setting is input save it to the ecu by pushing the joystick IN, the handheld will show Send To ECU Successful. Once this is done make sure to go back to the dashboard and turn the key off until the numbers clear out on the value side. This shows that the system has saved.

AFR Target Adjustment:

AFR: Air Fuel Ratio. Some vehicles may have greater needs for fueling that the self-learn may not be able to adjust in a great enough amount to operate correctly right out of the box. The injection unit is always trying to maintain a targeted AFR throughout its operation. It is either adding or taking away fuel at any given time from its current fuel table in order to do this. The AFR target is what the computer is constantly adjusting for (the higher the number the more lean the mixture, the lower the number the more rich the mixture is), but some engines need different fueling depending on the CID and cam they have. To adjust these numbers you must go to our Go EFI Tuning menu then to AFR targets, typically adjusting any AFR target should be done .01 at a time either up or down as the AFR has drastic effects on how the engine runs

Once in this menu you will see 10 settings you can adjust. Number 1 is for Idle AFR which can range from 13.4 to 14.7 on average depending on the engine. Adjusting this setting will help idle quality and takeoff from an idle. The 1100, 3000, 6000 at 45kpa cruise are your cruising AFR ratios, these can vary from 13.8 to 14.7 on average depending on the engines needs and your desired fuel economy. The cruise AFR only effects cruise so it will not affect your acceleration or other AFR settings. WOT 1100, 3000, 6000 are your acceleration enrichment settings and are used for adjusting the desired fueling for accelerating under either part throttle or WOT. The average for these settings only ranges from 12.4 to 12.7, any accelerator needs beyond that will require one of our technicians to go over with you. Boost 1100, 3000, 6000 180kpa should stay within 11.5 to 11.7 on most engines with boost, any further adjustments to your boosted AFR settings should be brought up with one of our technicians.

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Technical Topics

We Didn’t Make It to Coos Bay This Time

We didn’t make it to the Coos Bay rally this time – instead, we experienced the difference between the Classic GMC Motorhome community and all others and, overall, had a pretty good time to boot. On Thursday, September 29th, the third day of what was to be a three-week trip to the Fall 2016 GMC Western States rally at Coos Bay our engine basically disintegrated just outside of King City, California.

It was our plan was to visit friends and family in the San Jose area and then more friends and family in the Sacramento area before joining a caravan to the rally. Just 5 miles short of King City, where we planned to spend the night at San Lorenzo County Park, we heard some loud “crackling” sounds coming from the engine. In just a few seconds I pulled over to the side of the highway and shut the engine off while noting that none of the instruments indicated any trouble. Looking around though, I saw large clouds of steam billowing out of the exhaust pipe in the back indicating at least a blown head gasket and possibly worse.

I called Good Sam Roadside Assistance and told them that I had some engine damage and needed a tow to “the nearest, willing and qualified service center”. They did their usual, trying to find a place to tow us for some major work. Back in 2007, at the end of our first year with the GMC, we broke down with a loud engine knock in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Good Sam did find a qualified service center about 90 miles away and did not hesitate to tow us there for an engine replacement.

This time they seemed to be less interested in “qualified” and were more focused on “nearest”. They said they had found a place that was only 5 miles away in King City and their only requirement of the service center was that it was “willing and qualified” (apparently, in their own opinion only). The King City shop turned out to be a tire store with some auto repair capabilities and the mechanic on duty changed his mind about “willing and qualified” when he saw the coach. We had the tow truck take us to the county park for the night where we called Good Sam and asked to be towed somewhere else on Friday morning.

On Friday morning Good Sam said they had found a shop in Salinas – 50 miles farther North – that said they could fix our engine. We had lived and worked in the Salinas area for many years before moving to Arizona so I was curious about the shop. I got the name and number of the shop owner and discussed what was required and persuaded him that he did not have the knowledge or the equipment to work on the coach. Good Sam, however, insisted that, since he initially said he could do it, he was “willing and qualified” and would tow us no farther. We arrived at the shop by mid-day on Friday and my suspicions were confirmed. It was basically a local one-man auto repair shop with a lot full of cars waiting to be repaired – a nice guy but not someone I was going to trust with my GMC. Having lived there, we called friends who might have ideas for a different shop but there were none we felt comfortable with.

Frustrated at the lack of choices in such a sizeable town, I called Manny Trovao in San Jose to see if he had any ideas. For those not familiar with the GMC: Manny is a legend in the GMC community for his transmission work and also for front-end and braking systems, not to mention diesel conversions. I had already asked Applied GMC what they could do but Jim Kanomata was on his way to the GMCMI rally in Ohio and Nick, his second-in-command, told me they were all backed up and could not even look at it for a month. Manny, with no hesitation, told me to “bring it to my house”. He said he would help as much as he could but was leaving for an 11-day cruise in just over a week and was very busy. I would have to do most of the work myself. Not seeing much choice I agreed – still hoping it was only a head gasket.

By this time it was late on Friday evening so we decided to spend the night in the repair shop’s parking lot and call the tow company to take us to Manny’s on Saturday morning at our own expense – $825 (we are appealing this with Good Sam – update 11/15/2016 our appeal was approved for the full amount – we are Good Sam fans). We arrived at Manny’s on Saturday around noon. Manny tried to start our engine and declared it to be “trash”. It would have to be replaced. We left to visit our son and his family who we had not seen for about a year and a half. I told Manny I’d be back on Monday morning to get started.

On Monday I discussed engine replacement alternatives with Manny and my first choice would have been a rebuilt engine from S&J in Spokane, Washington but they had no rebuildable 455 cores. They did have a 403 but did not have the proper intake manifold and pan for the motorhome. Another choice was a rebuilt 403 from Peter Huber’s coach which had been demolished in a tow truck accident – I did not like the price and, most importantly, did not trust the rebuilder. Finally, Manny suggested the possibility of using the engine from a 1975 23-foot coach that had been sitting next to his driveway for at least the past 10 years. Manny drove it there and parked it 10 years earlier and it had not been touched since. The engine had only 52,000 miles on it and had been maintained by the local county government during that time. I agreed that was what I wanted to do.

On Tuesday, October 4th, 7 days before Manny was to leave for his cruise, we got started removing the engine from the old coach. Getting that engine out took until Wednesday morning. Now the task for me was to get my engine out while Manny prepared the “new” engine for use with a new timing chain, new pan, head, and intake manifold gaskets, and some meticulous cleaning.

At about 11:00am on Wednesday I got a phone message from George Beckman that said he also had problems getting to Coos Bay because of a problem with his transmission. He was about 4 hours away from Manny’s and, if I needed help, he would be there by the end of the day. How lucky could I get? First Manny provides a work place, knowledge, tools and even an engine and now a fellow GMCer has offered to help remove and replace the engine. I think I would still be there if it were not for George.

George and Ruth arrived late on Wednesday afternoon and George and I, along with Manny, worked from 8:00am until about 5:00pm or 6:00pm every day for the next 6 days. Manny left on schedule on Tuesday morning. George and I got the “new” engine started on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, October 12th we gave George and Ruth a ride home to Colfax, California, about an hour North of our second son’s home in the El Dorado Hills area near Sacramento. The engine ran very well – much better than the old engine had been running before disintegrating.

We didn’t make it to the Coos Bay rally but we did have our own little “Minnie” rally, learned a lot and solidified our friendships with Manny, his wife Deo, and George and Ruth Beckman.

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Coos Bay 2016

Own a GMC? Why you should join a GMC club.

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People new to the Classic GMC Motorhome are amazed about the amount of information and help that is available to them – primarily via the internet (GMCnet and now Facebook) but also via GMC clubs. All they have to do is ask a question and people are “crawling out of the woodwork” to help them. There is even a list of people who are willing to try to help people who are just passing through their areas with their GMC’s.

It is not obvious, so let me point out that the vast majority of that valuable GMC-specific information is available because GMC people (GMCers) have documented it – almost always for presentations at various club rallies. In fact, without the GMC clubs we GMCers would probably be like the owners of most other classic motor homes … mostly on our own.

GMC Western States, GMC Eastern States, local clubs and now GMC Motorhomes International (on June 1^st) make our technical information (developed as tech seminars for rallies, written for newsletter articles and recorded in databases) available to anyone who needs it. GMCMI will even make their online parts interchange database available to anyone who needs it – member or not. The only information the clubs keep as “members only” now is membership data.

Attending rallies is not the primary purpose of joining clubs – contributing to their support is. Running rallies, publishing data, and maintaining web sites costs money. Joining the clubs – the bigger clubs who generate and distribute the information, and your local club where there is lots of information, help, and friendship – supports those activities. And to all you younger GMC owners, just remember, a lot of us may be senior citizens but, when it comes to GMCs, we are all still kids and, when we get together we cannot stop talking about our toys (GMC’s).

Carol and I belong to GMCMI, GMCWS, and GMCSJ (Saguaro Jetset – local to AZ and NM). We cannot usually attend GMCMI rallies because they are too far away but we have managed three of them in our almost 10 years of ownership. We have attended all of the GMCWS rallies in the past 5 years and we attend most of the GMCSJ rallies each Winter. Our membership in GMCMI has always been to support the club’s mission in spite of our inability to attend most rallies.

Without your support, the clubs will not be able to continue developing, maintaining and promoting the new products and ideas that GMCers will continue to develop and present at rallies. Your membership fee supports the clubs’ missions – preserving and promoting the Classic GMC Motorhome. Join some clubs today.

Armand Minnie

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