well it was a RELATIVELY uneventful trip!
total miles 5113.5 basically done in 6 days of driving - 800 miles per
day plus - gas mileage between 7.5 and 8.0 with 403 pulling 2500 lb
trailer - no complaints there
gear ratio - i could have used more rpms - Raton Pass was done at 20 mph
in second gear - the 403 was good until it lost its torque then it
dropped rapidly in rpms to about 35 mph and then just pulled steadily
until upshift point at about 45 mph - i would say about 400 rpm would
have kept me up in torque range much longer without sacrificing too much
gas mileage - i was running at about 60 mph most of time
gas prices ranged from 109.9 to 139.9 for 85 to 87 octane - no pinging
at any time
front rotors - I put new pads on the damaged left rotor before leaving -
they wore in rapidly to match groove pattern then settled in nicely with
very little more wear - the rotor also smoothed out and gave good
braking even tho grooved - it is AMAZING how many miles you can drive
without EVER touching the brakes when you are aware of not using them
any more than necessary - thank goodness for the interstate highway
system!
thanks to Darrin in Calgary for giving me good locations for repairs -
both businesses went out of their way to help when they found out I had
been referred by a happy customer!
I got to Calgary with the left front rear tire showing heavy wear and
cupping on the inside edge - two new uniroyal 'D' rated 8.75's - one on
each side to balance out - I had a chunked spare so needed 2 tires
anyway
Over to Standens for alignment - first they found and cured several
small air line problems - next they adjusted ride height to spec - left
side OK - right side low - straightened bent rod on height sensor switch
finally checked alignment on 4 rear wheels - almost perfect spec! - so
what was wrong - we discussed and finally mechanic picked up a large bar
and put it in a wheel opening and pried UP on the wheel - the whole
boogie wheel assembly moved a noticeable amount - there was excessive
wear in the inside of the boogie pins due to lack of grease getting to
the inside bearing surface - i remember reading somewhere that when
greasing the boogie pins to remove weight from the wheels to allow
grease to flow to the inside surface - looks like good advice - no way
to solve that problem - so what are my options on this one? - is it a
'home' job or do I need to make a trip somewhere?
all of this activity took a good 3 hours plus air line parts plus
alignment check - they charged me a measly $73 Canadian!!!!! - if you
are ever in Calgary and need suspension service definitely stop in and
tell them Darrin and Ron sent you!
back on the road after the 4 day horse show - the Spruce Meadows master
is the super bowl of international jumping horse competition - the
German team won the $250,000 first prize - one of my products was chosen
as the most innovative product at the show - quite an honor that I am
very proud of
next stop was Columbia Mo - well not quite! - northern Montana in middle
of nowhere - gas gauge shows just a tick above empty - no problem -
Great Falls is almost in sight - going up a steep hill ran out of gas! -
switched over to AUX - nothing - (investigation later reveals that PO
REMOVED aux TANK and sealed fuel line and disconnected meter wire so I
was getting a false reading on AUX fuel gauge) - so grab the 5 gallon
gas can and start walking down highway - first car stops - turns out
driver is a retired Montana highway patrol officer - he drops his
daughter off at an appointment then takes me to the local MHP coffee
break spot - I get gas and a ride back to the GMC in a onduty MHP car
(altho I dont think the female MHP officer was too happy about the
gasoline smell in her car!) - pour the gas into tank except a small
amount in case I need to prime the carb - hit the starter switch and
pray - cranks for about 20 seconds then fires and catches - short drive
to the next gas station
now interesting part - best I can calculate there was still 7 gallon in
the tank - the hill was steep but not mountain steep - I have had to be
careful when filling gas to not top it off because it all drained onto
the ground under middle of the tanks - I filled and filled and filled -
never did leak and has not leaked since - something happened when the
fuel line ran dry that appears to have solved the overflow leak problem
- - any ideas?
arrived at Columbia a day early because Canadian customs forced me to
cancel my side trip to Regina - went across border north of Great Falls
- - they would not let me take ANYTHING that was destined for sale at the
Missouri horse show - I had the option of paying $1400 nonrefundable tax
or unloading the 'offending' items and picking them up later - quick
choice - came back and reloaded trailer at 2 AM following Calgary show
the Columbia show was uneventful and trip on to Austin was smooth except
for rain in Oklahoma - the weather was great for most of the trip - got
to see northern lights bright enough to be seen over the calgary city
lights - kept in touch with my sister in Iowa by amateur radio the whole
trip - certainly does help to have a diversion while driving that
intensely but that GMC bed does feel good when needed!
all in all the GMC performed well - I have a short 100 mile trip to make
this next weekend then it goes up on blocks to look into the brake and
alignment problems - oh I forgot - had to replace the vent fan relay
while in Columbia - walked into an OReiley's and they pulled it off the
shelf - AMAZING! - their book even listed it as only being used in late
70's applications in GM products - $12 and a happy customer!
so what are my options on the sloppy boogie pins?
- --
ron keener near Austin, Texas http://MidAmericaBreedingTech.com
**************************************************************
* proud owner of classic 1978 GMC Birchaven motorhome
**************************************************************
total miles 5113.5 basically done in 6 days of driving - 800 miles per
day plus - gas mileage between 7.5 and 8.0 with 403 pulling 2500 lb
trailer - no complaints there
gear ratio - i could have used more rpms - Raton Pass was done at 20 mph
in second gear - the 403 was good until it lost its torque then it
dropped rapidly in rpms to about 35 mph and then just pulled steadily
until upshift point at about 45 mph - i would say about 400 rpm would
have kept me up in torque range much longer without sacrificing too much
gas mileage - i was running at about 60 mph most of time
gas prices ranged from 109.9 to 139.9 for 85 to 87 octane - no pinging
at any time
front rotors - I put new pads on the damaged left rotor before leaving -
they wore in rapidly to match groove pattern then settled in nicely with
very little more wear - the rotor also smoothed out and gave good
braking even tho grooved - it is AMAZING how many miles you can drive
without EVER touching the brakes when you are aware of not using them
any more than necessary - thank goodness for the interstate highway
system!
thanks to Darrin in Calgary for giving me good locations for repairs -
both businesses went out of their way to help when they found out I had
been referred by a happy customer!
I got to Calgary with the left front rear tire showing heavy wear and
cupping on the inside edge - two new uniroyal 'D' rated 8.75's - one on
each side to balance out - I had a chunked spare so needed 2 tires
anyway
Over to Standens for alignment - first they found and cured several
small air line problems - next they adjusted ride height to spec - left
side OK - right side low - straightened bent rod on height sensor switch
finally checked alignment on 4 rear wheels - almost perfect spec! - so
what was wrong - we discussed and finally mechanic picked up a large bar
and put it in a wheel opening and pried UP on the wheel - the whole
boogie wheel assembly moved a noticeable amount - there was excessive
wear in the inside of the boogie pins due to lack of grease getting to
the inside bearing surface - i remember reading somewhere that when
greasing the boogie pins to remove weight from the wheels to allow
grease to flow to the inside surface - looks like good advice - no way
to solve that problem - so what are my options on this one? - is it a
'home' job or do I need to make a trip somewhere?
all of this activity took a good 3 hours plus air line parts plus
alignment check - they charged me a measly $73 Canadian!!!!! - if you
are ever in Calgary and need suspension service definitely stop in and
tell them Darrin and Ron sent you!
back on the road after the 4 day horse show - the Spruce Meadows master
is the super bowl of international jumping horse competition - the
German team won the $250,000 first prize - one of my products was chosen
as the most innovative product at the show - quite an honor that I am
very proud of
next stop was Columbia Mo - well not quite! - northern Montana in middle
of nowhere - gas gauge shows just a tick above empty - no problem -
Great Falls is almost in sight - going up a steep hill ran out of gas! -
switched over to AUX - nothing - (investigation later reveals that PO
REMOVED aux TANK and sealed fuel line and disconnected meter wire so I
was getting a false reading on AUX fuel gauge) - so grab the 5 gallon
gas can and start walking down highway - first car stops - turns out
driver is a retired Montana highway patrol officer - he drops his
daughter off at an appointment then takes me to the local MHP coffee
break spot - I get gas and a ride back to the GMC in a onduty MHP car
(altho I dont think the female MHP officer was too happy about the
gasoline smell in her car!) - pour the gas into tank except a small
amount in case I need to prime the carb - hit the starter switch and
pray - cranks for about 20 seconds then fires and catches - short drive
to the next gas station
now interesting part - best I can calculate there was still 7 gallon in
the tank - the hill was steep but not mountain steep - I have had to be
careful when filling gas to not top it off because it all drained onto
the ground under middle of the tanks - I filled and filled and filled -
never did leak and has not leaked since - something happened when the
fuel line ran dry that appears to have solved the overflow leak problem
- - any ideas?
arrived at Columbia a day early because Canadian customs forced me to
cancel my side trip to Regina - went across border north of Great Falls
- - they would not let me take ANYTHING that was destined for sale at the
Missouri horse show - I had the option of paying $1400 nonrefundable tax
or unloading the 'offending' items and picking them up later - quick
choice - came back and reloaded trailer at 2 AM following Calgary show
the Columbia show was uneventful and trip on to Austin was smooth except
for rain in Oklahoma - the weather was great for most of the trip - got
to see northern lights bright enough to be seen over the calgary city
lights - kept in touch with my sister in Iowa by amateur radio the whole
trip - certainly does help to have a diversion while driving that
intensely but that GMC bed does feel good when needed!
all in all the GMC performed well - I have a short 100 mile trip to make
this next weekend then it goes up on blocks to look into the brake and
alignment problems - oh I forgot - had to replace the vent fan relay
while in Columbia - walked into an OReiley's and they pulled it off the
shelf - AMAZING! - their book even listed it as only being used in late
70's applications in GM products - $12 and a happy customer!
so what are my options on the sloppy boogie pins?
- --
ron keener near Austin, Texas http://MidAmericaBreedingTech.com
**************************************************************
* proud owner of classic 1978 GMC Birchaven motorhome
**************************************************************
