problems??

N

neely butler

New member
Sep 28, 1998
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Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced. She
would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over, he
checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced in the
past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone now to
get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to cry.
Your sympathy appreciated.
Neely B
Tenn
'78 Eleganza II
 
Neely:

If you find need to replace the distributor, consider the distributor that
Dick Patison (http://paterson-gmc.com/~gmc/motorhome.html
http://paterson-gmc.com/~gmc/motorhome.html ) has optimized for the GMC.

Talked to one owner last night who replaced his with Dick's and reports
experiencing better power on hills.

Paul Bartz

- -----Original Message-----
From: Neely Butler [mailto:Neely.Butler]
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 11:52 AM
To: GMC chat
Subject: GMC: problems??

Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced. She
would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over, he
checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced in the
past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone now to
get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to cry.
Your sympathy appreciated.
Neely B
Tenn
'78 Eleganza II
 
Neely - my sympathies are extended. If by "ignition module", you are
referring to the coil in the HEI distributor, I have taken to carrying a
spare in my coach. I was unable to start one morning away from home, and
isolated this as the problem. Paid dearly for this readily available NAPA
part in a small tourist town. I had read in one of my "library" items that
this part is prone to failure.

Chuck
77K
North Idaho

- -----Original Message-----
From: Neely Butler
To: GMC chat
Date: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 9:02 AM
Subject: GMC: problems??

>Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced. She
>would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over, he
>checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced in
the
>past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone now to
>get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to cry.
>Your sympathy appreciated.
>Neely B
>Tenn
>'78 Eleganza II
>
 
Make sure the HEI coil gets checked/replaced. I'm assuming a '78 has HEI as
my 76 does.

I lost the HEI coil some time ago in the middle of winter (Colorado, roads
closed) and because it fails not very often it was the last thing that was
looked at. (Obviously the last, but I meant it took a long time to get
there).

I now carry a spare HEI coil as that was not a nice breakdown and the only
time (sofar) that I had to get towed. (Realy towed, i.e. the old way via a
rope).

Heinz

- -----Original Message-----
From: Neely Butler
To: GMC chat
Date: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 9:12 AM
Subject: GMC: problems??

>Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced. She
>would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over, he
>checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced in
the
>past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone now to
>get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to cry.
>Your sympathy appreciated.
>Neely B
>Tenn
>'78 Eleganza II
>
 
Many times that module fails because the ground that goes from the case of
the module to the distributer gets corrosion on it. Clean it off and many
times it will start back up.

>Neely - my sympathies are extended. If by "ignition module", you are
>referring to the coil in the HEI distributor, I have taken to carrying a
>spare in my coach. I was unable to start one morning away from home, and
>isolated this as the problem. Paid dearly for this readily available NAPA
>part in a small tourist town. I had read in one of my "library" items that
>this part is prone to failure.
>
>Chuck
>77K
>North Idaho
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Neely Butler
>To: GMC chat
>Date: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 9:02 AM
>Subject: GMC: problems??
>
>
>>Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced. She
>>would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over, he
>>checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced in
>the
>>past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone now to
>>get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to cry.
>>Your sympathy appreciated.
>>Neely B
>>Tenn
>>'78 Eleganza II
>>
>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
 
On Tue, 8 Dec 1998 10:52:12 -0600 "Neely Butler"
writes:
>Was to take the old girl in this AM to have exhaust manifold replaced.
> She
>would not start. Finally called the garage, they sent mechanic over,
>he
>checked, said that ignition module out but since it had been replaced
>in the
>past, he suggested that distributor should be replaced. He has gone
>now to
>get parts. Hopefully they are available locally. I am too old to
>cry.
>Your sympathy appreciated.
>Neely B
>Tenn
>'78 Eleganza II
>
>Neely,

On my first (new in 1975) GMC the ignition module went out of whack about
once a year. Try a new module. Half the time the ones being sold are
Chinese knock offs. Only by AC Delco from a GM dealer. Don't spring for a
new distributor simply caused the module had been replaced previously!

That is my 10 cents worth! (Inflation)

David Lee Greenberg
GMC Motorhome Registry
200 MacFarlane Dr PH4N
Delray Beach, FL 33483-6829
561/243-0402
 
Thanks Heinz.

My '76 had 9.50 D's on it when I bought it a year ago. There were good ones
on the front and middle, and not so good on the rear. I put 2 new Dunlop
8.75 E's and Caspro shocks on the front, and moved the good 9.50 D's to the
far rear. We've been on 2 trips totaling 11,500 mi. with no significant
problems. I'm watching the D's carefully (as we all should anyway) but will
not replace them with E's 'till they're worn out. Everything has risks, but
exploding D rated rear tires seems pretty low.

And to those who feel that all GMC owners do is work on their coaches
instead of using them, NONSENSE! The great majority get tens of thousands
of miles of enjoyment by simply taking care of their equipment. Of course
there will always be those who treat their GMC's like a beautiful classic
car, spending much money and time on a hobby they can also travel in. It's
our choice; comfortable, rerliable, reasonable travel or an all out
up-scale hobby.

There goes another .02.

Dave Lowry, '76 Royale, Santa Barbara
 
Dave a short while ago Cinnabar had an article that talked about tire size
for the GMC. They advised against using anything larger than the original
tire size, such as the 9.50. Supposedly when they deflate they hit on the
coach and do a lot of damage if the coach is moving.

I can tell you from personal experience that looks of the tire tell you
nothing about when it will go. My Michelin D rated tires looked very good,
no cracks and lots of tread. Lost 2 of them in one day. First one I caught
just as the tread was separating (coach started to vibrate a lot) but the
second one a little later was a catastrophic failure. Blew the tire almost
entirely off the rim. Looked like someone shot it with a cannon! I was very
lucky only moving about 35 miles per hour or so just coming into town
limits. When it went it also sheared the air line and almost instant riding
on the frame! And even than it ruined my generator door and took off lots of
paint from the coach. those steel belts are very efficient in destroying
anything around it. I am getting all new tires and would not even drive a
mile in a D rated tire again. I only shudder at thinking what might have
happened if it had blown a little earlier when I was doing 65MPH. Tires are
much cheaper than repairing lots of fiberglass, and maybe even my body. The
generator door is over $300 alone. Just a thought.

>Thanks Heinz.
>
>My '76 had 9.50 D's on it when I bought it a year ago. There were good ones
>on the front and middle, and not so good on the rear. I put 2 new Dunlop
>8.75 E's and Caspro shocks on the front, and moved the good 9.50 D's to the
>far rear. We've been on 2 trips totaling 11,500 mi. with no significant
>problems. I'm watching the D's carefully (as we all should anyway) but will
>not replace them with E's 'till they're worn out. Everything has risks, but
>exploding D rated rear tires seems pretty low.
>
>And to those who feel that all GMC owners do is work on their coaches
>instead of using them, NONSENSE! The great majority get tens of thousands
>of miles of enjoyment by simply taking care of their equipment. Of course
>there will always be those who treat their GMC's like a beautiful classic
>car, spending much money and time on a hobby they can also travel in. It's
>our choice; comfortable, rerliable, reasonable travel or an all out
>up-scale hobby.
>
>There goes another .02.
>
>Dave Lowry, '76 Royale, Santa Barbara
>
>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
 
Dave, this is your old buddy in Lompoc, Chuck, just got back from Hono for
Pearl Harbor Day, Don't go out another mile with those "D" rated tires. Even
GMC recalled them a number of years ago. If you can, everybody seems to
recommend the ALCOAS but I still run the steel with the Michellins. No
Problems on the tires or the wheels and I have averaged 10K a year since 89.
All accept last year when I was down with the motor problems. Chuck Lompoc.;

> Thanks Heinz.
>
> My '76 had 9.50 D's on it when I bought it a year ago. There were good ones
> on the front and middle, and not so good on the rear. I put 2 new Dunlop
> 8.75 E's and Caspro shocks on the front, and moved the good 9.50 D's to the
> far rear. We've been on 2 trips totaling 11,500 mi. with no significant
> problems. I'm watching the D's carefully (as we all should anyway) but will
> not replace them with E's 'till they're worn out. Everything has risks, but
> exploding D rated rear tires seems pretty low.
>
> And to those who feel that all GMC owners do is work on their coaches
> instead of using them, NONSENSE! The great majority get tens of thousands
> of miles of enjoyment by simply taking care of their equipment. Of course
> there will always be those who treat their GMC's like a beautiful classic
> car, spending much money and time on a hobby they can also travel in. It's
> our choice; comfortable, rerliable, reasonable travel or an all out
> up-scale hobby.
>
> There goes another .02.
>
> Dave Lowry, '76 Royale, Santa Barbara
 
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