Another Fix On The Motorhome

Last fall I put some gas with Sta-Bil in it into the motorhome and ran it for awhile as part of the winterization process. After shutting it down I noticed there was gas on the bottom of the gas tank. Didn't get around to working on the problem then. During the winter I started it up and moved it. I noticed that it looked like someone had pissed under the motorhome. There was a yellow stain in the snow where it had sat with the engine running. After the snow was gone I crawled under and figured out the leak was on top of the tank. Finally figured out the leak was in the return line as it only leaked when the engine was running.

This was the culprit, the fitting on one end was leaking. 

I thought I'd have to drop the tank to get at the problem, but while working on removing the tank I saw there was enough room between the frame and the floor of the motorhome for me to reach the line. I took the rear wheels off and was able to gain access.

This is where the leak was.

I wasn't able to get a replacement line at the parts store, but I was able to get the parts I needed to make a new line. After installing the line and running it there were no leaks, so I guess it's good to go!!

The Old Lady Keeps Buying More Work For Me

Back in Sept. The Old Lady bought this motorhome. It's a '89 model built on a Ford E-350 chassis. It has a 460 V-8 motor. When we looked at it it had a problem with the brakes. It would shake badly when you applied the brakes. The seller said he got an estimate on what it would cost to replace the rotors to do a brake job and was told $400. (So far I've spent about $200 on the brake job and done the work myself.) So he said he'd knock that much off the asking price. The RV battery was shot so I got him to knock another $100 off.

The first thing I did with the brakes was to check how warped the rotors might be and discovered the wheel bearing on the drivers side was way too loose. I could shake the hub in and out when I removed the caliper. The wheel bearings had been replaced about 1000 miles before we bought it. The previous owner thought that might have been the problem with the brakes shaking. A loose wheel bearing will cause it to shake under braking. But after I adjusted the wheel bearing the problem was still there. So I took the rotors off and brought them to a local auto parts store that turns rotors and had them turned to true them up. They were able to true up the rotors and I got new pads and installed them when I put it back together. It didn't shake anymore when I test drove it, but the calipers hung up and were dragging. One of the brakes was smoking when I got back home after only a few miles. Didn't appear to do any damage to the rotors.

So I got new calipers and flexible hoses. After installing the new parts and test driving it the problem was gone. I still need to check the rear brakes and see what shape the shoes are in. I know they're working, just don't know how well.

Then I changed oil and filter on the engine and lubed the front end and u-joints on the drive shaft. Checked the level in the rear end. Had to add about half a quart of gear lube. Now I have a gas leak coming from somewhere on top of the gas tank. Not sure where the gas is coming from or how much is leaking. Will need to investigate this problem further.

This is the generator for the motorhome. Have no idea what is wrong with it or why it was taken out of the motorhome. This is something I will look at next year. The first thing I'll have to figure out is how to hook up a battery to it to turn the starter. The throttle and choke butterflies were frozen in place, but some penetrating oil sprayed on the shafts freed them up.

I winterized the water system on the motorhome so it shouldn't freeze. Had the propane tank filled and checked out the stove. All the burners and the oven work. Will check out the furnace sometime in the future and also the refrigerator, which is gas and 110 electric. Still need to do some minor stuff inside, like replacing a few cabinet latches. The Old Lady is planning on us heading South in February, so I need to get things done before winter sets in.