Arch --
Well, since you asked about the tranny shift cable...
Mine always shifted (moved) hard. I think it was because the grease dried
out due to engine compartment heat. It just came apart inside one day. I
changed both the tranny shift cable and the throttle / accelerator cable at
the same time. I tried to route the tranny shift cable a little further away
from the engine.
And the rest of the story, for those that want to know more.....
I wrote that first message from the perspective that his coach had only 36k
miles. That's so new it's almost factory fresh.
If you've got more miles, and/or more use, the I'd add these items, most of
which y'all have all already encountered:
{You other high miler's just chime in too. I've given here what I've done on
many GM cars as well as our coach.}
Front ball joints (depending on how and where you drive, 50K is almost an
upper limit for these units.)
Front CV boots (the rubber starts to crack)
Rear wheel bearings
Brake pads and shoes (again)
New brake fluid (again)
New front bearings (again)
Exhaust manifold gaskets (they just don't last)
Manifold choke heat well gasket and Q-jet heat feed tube
The little piece of vacuum hose at the vacuum modulator on the tranny.
The radiator and fan clutch. You have to "hear the roar on the ramp" or you
could overheat.
The entire exhaust system, which rusts out.
The front battery tray, which rusts out.
For early coaches, the bogie pins and bushings.
For late coaches, the air suspension components that are leaking
The headliner, which will have separated
Fix the vent cover gaskets and the vent fan motor (if original equipment)
The original stamped steel exterior mirror mounts, which rust
The furnace inlet and exhaust (they rust out)
Fix the rest of the water leaks that develop around the windows
The windshields, which will be fogged at the corners
Then the real hard core stuff:
6 wheel alignment
Front suspension drag link, pittman bushing
Steering gear box
The timing chain (use a good Cloyes, you won't believe the difference)
Valve cover gaskets
A good rebuild on your original starter
Vertical opening window hardware (spring assist mechanism)
Interior cabinetry water damage and separation
Carpet and upholstery
As for the tranny and engine, I think you can get many, many miles without a
problem, so I didn't address those issues. I hear about people dropping
valves and heads, but I've never had those things happen. I must be lucky
and always get the Greenburg option.
I've had good luck on many similar GM products, so I know it's possible to
go hundreds of thousands of miles without a major problem. I've never hit
500k on anything, but done a couple of 300k's.
Those are my thoughts and experiences, yours will probably be different.
Mark Grady
'77 Kingsley
Well, since you asked about the tranny shift cable...
Mine always shifted (moved) hard. I think it was because the grease dried
out due to engine compartment heat. It just came apart inside one day. I
changed both the tranny shift cable and the throttle / accelerator cable at
the same time. I tried to route the tranny shift cable a little further away
from the engine.
And the rest of the story, for those that want to know more.....
I wrote that first message from the perspective that his coach had only 36k
miles. That's so new it's almost factory fresh.
If you've got more miles, and/or more use, the I'd add these items, most of
which y'all have all already encountered:
{You other high miler's just chime in too. I've given here what I've done on
many GM cars as well as our coach.}
Front ball joints (depending on how and where you drive, 50K is almost an
upper limit for these units.)
Front CV boots (the rubber starts to crack)
Rear wheel bearings
Brake pads and shoes (again)
New brake fluid (again)
New front bearings (again)
Exhaust manifold gaskets (they just don't last)
Manifold choke heat well gasket and Q-jet heat feed tube
The little piece of vacuum hose at the vacuum modulator on the tranny.
The radiator and fan clutch. You have to "hear the roar on the ramp" or you
could overheat.
The entire exhaust system, which rusts out.
The front battery tray, which rusts out.
For early coaches, the bogie pins and bushings.
For late coaches, the air suspension components that are leaking
The headliner, which will have separated
Fix the vent cover gaskets and the vent fan motor (if original equipment)
The original stamped steel exterior mirror mounts, which rust
The furnace inlet and exhaust (they rust out)
Fix the rest of the water leaks that develop around the windows
The windshields, which will be fogged at the corners
Then the real hard core stuff:
6 wheel alignment
Front suspension drag link, pittman bushing
Steering gear box
The timing chain (use a good Cloyes, you won't believe the difference)
Valve cover gaskets
A good rebuild on your original starter
Vertical opening window hardware (spring assist mechanism)
Interior cabinetry water damage and separation
Carpet and upholstery
As for the tranny and engine, I think you can get many, many miles without a
problem, so I didn't address those issues. I hear about people dropping
valves and heads, but I've never had those things happen. I must be lucky
and always get the Greenburg option.
I've had good luck on many similar GM products, so I know it's possible to
go hundreds of thousands of miles without a major problem. I've never hit
500k on anything, but done a couple of 300k's.
Those are my thoughts and experiences, yours will probably be different.
Mark Grady
'77 Kingsley
