> Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 11:38:16 -0600
> From: Robert M Fukumoto
> Subject: GMC: Thermostat/maiden voyage from hell
>
>
> When my GMC is cruising/loafing the temperature is approx 208 degrees. =
> It'll
> go up with terrain as well as with traffic jams. In stop'n go traffic of =
> a
> few hours it is not uncommon to see 225-230 and then the fan clutch =
> kicks in
> to bring it back down. Same for going up long hills, i.e. the Grapevine =
> into
> LA or I10 out of LA, etc.
>
> I just returned from my maiden voyage (from hell) of my 76 Palm Beach. =
> I put on 2,700 miles from Denver thru Las Vegas, to Yosemite, Monterey =
> and back home via Las Vegas. With a new analog water temp gauge, I ran =
> mostly between 190 and 200 degrees except when climbing long hills such =
> as up to Eisenhower tunnel and Vail Pass on I-70 where I ran 220. On a =
> steep grade on I-70 in Utah in the hot sun I ran the hottest: 230. =20
>
> My transmission failed in Yosemite and I had to be towed from the park =
> and delayed for 3 days. I had to return to the transmission shop to =
> have the transmission chain replaced and lost another day and was $1600 =
> lighter in the wallet. My Wife wasn't crazy about the coach to begin =
> with and she says sell the coach. We'll see. (Also, like mentioned by =
> someone else before, my Wife does not like sitting in the co-pilot's =
> seat and I can understand why. Anyone figure out how to block some of =
> the view out of the front windows?)
>
So sorry to hear about some of the problems you have had. I think it is
a lesson in normal motorhoming in general and not just the GMC. However
the GMC is all that I have ever owned and your trip from Hell sounds
just like some of my learning experiences. I lost a transmission on a
9% grade going into the Plumas Forest and had a 10 ton tractor wrecker
pull me off too. Just to cheer you up my bird laid an egg form shere
PANIC. That tranny got me home but I do not know how., The entire
thing was rebuilt with apparently undersized Tornado car parts. Not the
heavy duty parts like CASPRO Drive and Final Drive and the Allison (Dam
I hate this but I gorgot what it is called. It is in front of the
transmission and is some cases when parts of the engine fail they cause
this to become damaged too. It holds the oil and allows the
transmission to shift. Oh well, to make it short I was lucky to get
home. A local transmission expert, Quintrans, Rick is his name rebuilt
the entire thing and it works great. PS I also added the CASPRO finned
oil pan, oil cooler etc. I replaced almost anything and everything that
could come off the GMC over the next 10 years. I have talked with many
owners and it appears that the weight distrubition is that of of 4
tornados. That is a lot of weight. Going up and down the hills puts
alot on the engine and transmission. And at the present I am having a
new 455 engine rebuilt. The one I broke down in last September out of
Salt Lake city cost me nearly 8000.00 dollars and a lot of grief. Again
experience is important. I did not know about WWinterfelt and some of
the others in the GMC loop then. But I blew three engines getting
home. The last one was 300 mile out of SLC in Beaver. That engine took
5 months to get out and back in, because the builder wanted it back to
see what happened. 700 miles down the road it let go agian. This time
Mondello is supplying the parts out of Paso Robles and Tom is doing the
machining. Near as I can figuer out is that at 60 MPH or even higher
the turbulance is so bad in the crank case that all the oil goes into
the rockers. When you slow down then the bearing do not get oil like
they need. The fix here is oil restrictors in the block and a few other
machine tricks like machining the rods about 1/16inch to allow for the
oile to get in and out. I really like my GMC and like my Harley which I
am giving up to have this engine rebuilt and one for my 56 F-100 really
kills me. But you just cannot sell them when they don't work. Gas
mileage I am sorry to hear is so poor. I average about 10-12.5. This
was due to adding the Jacobs Ignition and their wires. More $$$. I
never use the dash air. The genset and the roof air works fine. If and
when needed. I haul a German Shepherd in a travel cage(safer for her
and me) and she wouldn't ride any other way believe me. She is in her
cage, locked in and off patrol so to speak and just lies back and enjoys
the trip. Stop every once and a while to let her out to do her things.
I have to get off the telephone line but will talke to you more if you
want just give me an email back. Chuck
>
> FWIW going westbound thru the mountains, I was able to go 35-40mph up to =
> Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass. The grades are steeper coming =
> eastbound where I was only able to go 25-30 mph. Is this consistent =
> with others experiences? Going eastbound on I-15 from Barstow to Baker, =
> this is the longest grade that I have ever seen. But, it wasn't as =
> steep as the mountains and I was able to do 40-45mph. I have the =
> original final drive - has anyone traveled these grades with some of =
> the aftermarket units? What speeds were you able to maintain and how =
> much did it cost to upgrade? I surely can see that pulling any toad =
> with my present configuration is out of the question.
>
> I had put Syntec synthetic oil plus Prolong oil additive in the engine =
> prior to the trip. The best news of this trip was that I used no oil =
> during the whole 2,700 miles. =20
>
> I ran the generator and the roof air conditioner the whole trip. Going =
> thru the desert (it was 98 degrees at midnight in Baker CA) the a/c was =
> bearly adequate. During the day in the hot sun, the roof a/c couldn't =
> keep up with the heat. Fresno, Las Vegas, Oakhurst CA were all over 100 =
> degrees. What are other's experiences? Are the new roof units much =
> more effective than my 22 year old unit? My unit seems to throw out =
> adequate could air in 85 - 90 heat but just can't handle the higher =
> temps. My dash a/c unit is next to useless in this kind of heat.=20
>
> I haven't calculated my mileage yet but it seemed to vary between 4.5 =
> mpg and 6.5 mpg, depending on the grades I was climbing. This is with =
> the generator running full time and driving 70 - 75mph whenever the =
> terrain would allow.. =20
>
> I have a vibration in the coach that I will need to address if I am =
> allowed to keep it (I do have a for sale ad in the local paper). From =
> the wear on the passenger side bogie tire, I need to have a six wheel =
> alignment done. What do I need to look for in an alignment shop to be =
> sure they can handle this? How much should this cost?=20
>
> Any other ideas on how to quiet down the noise in the coach (other than =
> slowing down). At 55mph the coach is fine; at 70 mph it's pretty noisy =
> and vibrates a lot.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bob Fukumoto
> 76 Palm Beach
> (If I get to keep it)
> From: Robert M Fukumoto
> Subject: GMC: Thermostat/maiden voyage from hell
>
>
> When my GMC is cruising/loafing the temperature is approx 208 degrees. =
> It'll
> go up with terrain as well as with traffic jams. In stop'n go traffic of =
> a
> few hours it is not uncommon to see 225-230 and then the fan clutch =
> kicks in
> to bring it back down. Same for going up long hills, i.e. the Grapevine =
> into
> LA or I10 out of LA, etc.
>
> I just returned from my maiden voyage (from hell) of my 76 Palm Beach. =
> I put on 2,700 miles from Denver thru Las Vegas, to Yosemite, Monterey =
> and back home via Las Vegas. With a new analog water temp gauge, I ran =
> mostly between 190 and 200 degrees except when climbing long hills such =
> as up to Eisenhower tunnel and Vail Pass on I-70 where I ran 220. On a =
> steep grade on I-70 in Utah in the hot sun I ran the hottest: 230. =20
>
> My transmission failed in Yosemite and I had to be towed from the park =
> and delayed for 3 days. I had to return to the transmission shop to =
> have the transmission chain replaced and lost another day and was $1600 =
> lighter in the wallet. My Wife wasn't crazy about the coach to begin =
> with and she says sell the coach. We'll see. (Also, like mentioned by =
> someone else before, my Wife does not like sitting in the co-pilot's =
> seat and I can understand why. Anyone figure out how to block some of =
> the view out of the front windows?)
>
So sorry to hear about some of the problems you have had. I think it is
a lesson in normal motorhoming in general and not just the GMC. However
the GMC is all that I have ever owned and your trip from Hell sounds
just like some of my learning experiences. I lost a transmission on a
9% grade going into the Plumas Forest and had a 10 ton tractor wrecker
pull me off too. Just to cheer you up my bird laid an egg form shere
PANIC. That tranny got me home but I do not know how., The entire
thing was rebuilt with apparently undersized Tornado car parts. Not the
heavy duty parts like CASPRO Drive and Final Drive and the Allison (Dam
I hate this but I gorgot what it is called. It is in front of the
transmission and is some cases when parts of the engine fail they cause
this to become damaged too. It holds the oil and allows the
transmission to shift. Oh well, to make it short I was lucky to get
home. A local transmission expert, Quintrans, Rick is his name rebuilt
the entire thing and it works great. PS I also added the CASPRO finned
oil pan, oil cooler etc. I replaced almost anything and everything that
could come off the GMC over the next 10 years. I have talked with many
owners and it appears that the weight distrubition is that of of 4
tornados. That is a lot of weight. Going up and down the hills puts
alot on the engine and transmission. And at the present I am having a
new 455 engine rebuilt. The one I broke down in last September out of
Salt Lake city cost me nearly 8000.00 dollars and a lot of grief. Again
experience is important. I did not know about WWinterfelt and some of
the others in the GMC loop then. But I blew three engines getting
home. The last one was 300 mile out of SLC in Beaver. That engine took
5 months to get out and back in, because the builder wanted it back to
see what happened. 700 miles down the road it let go agian. This time
Mondello is supplying the parts out of Paso Robles and Tom is doing the
machining. Near as I can figuer out is that at 60 MPH or even higher
the turbulance is so bad in the crank case that all the oil goes into
the rockers. When you slow down then the bearing do not get oil like
they need. The fix here is oil restrictors in the block and a few other
machine tricks like machining the rods about 1/16inch to allow for the
oile to get in and out. I really like my GMC and like my Harley which I
am giving up to have this engine rebuilt and one for my 56 F-100 really
kills me. But you just cannot sell them when they don't work. Gas
mileage I am sorry to hear is so poor. I average about 10-12.5. This
was due to adding the Jacobs Ignition and their wires. More $$$. I
never use the dash air. The genset and the roof air works fine. If and
when needed. I haul a German Shepherd in a travel cage(safer for her
and me) and she wouldn't ride any other way believe me. She is in her
cage, locked in and off patrol so to speak and just lies back and enjoys
the trip. Stop every once and a while to let her out to do her things.
I have to get off the telephone line but will talke to you more if you
want just give me an email back. Chuck
>
> FWIW going westbound thru the mountains, I was able to go 35-40mph up to =
> Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass. The grades are steeper coming =
> eastbound where I was only able to go 25-30 mph. Is this consistent =
> with others experiences? Going eastbound on I-15 from Barstow to Baker, =
> this is the longest grade that I have ever seen. But, it wasn't as =
> steep as the mountains and I was able to do 40-45mph. I have the =
> original final drive - has anyone traveled these grades with some of =
> the aftermarket units? What speeds were you able to maintain and how =
> much did it cost to upgrade? I surely can see that pulling any toad =
> with my present configuration is out of the question.
>
> I had put Syntec synthetic oil plus Prolong oil additive in the engine =
> prior to the trip. The best news of this trip was that I used no oil =
> during the whole 2,700 miles. =20
>
> I ran the generator and the roof air conditioner the whole trip. Going =
> thru the desert (it was 98 degrees at midnight in Baker CA) the a/c was =
> bearly adequate. During the day in the hot sun, the roof a/c couldn't =
> keep up with the heat. Fresno, Las Vegas, Oakhurst CA were all over 100 =
> degrees. What are other's experiences? Are the new roof units much =
> more effective than my 22 year old unit? My unit seems to throw out =
> adequate could air in 85 - 90 heat but just can't handle the higher =
> temps. My dash a/c unit is next to useless in this kind of heat.=20
>
> I haven't calculated my mileage yet but it seemed to vary between 4.5 =
> mpg and 6.5 mpg, depending on the grades I was climbing. This is with =
> the generator running full time and driving 70 - 75mph whenever the =
> terrain would allow.. =20
>
> I have a vibration in the coach that I will need to address if I am =
> allowed to keep it (I do have a for sale ad in the local paper). From =
> the wear on the passenger side bogie tire, I need to have a six wheel =
> alignment done. What do I need to look for in an alignment shop to be =
> sure they can handle this? How much should this cost?=20
>
> Any other ideas on how to quiet down the noise in the coach (other than =
> slowing down). At 55mph the coach is fine; at 70 mph it's pretty noisy =
> and vibrates a lot.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bob Fukumoto
> 76 Palm Beach
> (If I get to keep it)
