GoBowling 400

[Jim Stoltz]

Back from the gobowling 400 race at the Pocono Raceway. Before I left I swapped out the fan clutch, thermostat and added some water wetter to the coolant. It stayed decently cool through the climb into the Poconos on Rts. 80 and 380. 

Discovered the fresh water feed into the new toilet is leaking. Was running outside the RV by the left rear wheels. Gotta fix that. Something also popped oil-wise on the way home - it's leaking A LOT of oil onto the left side exhaust pipe, by the filter. I thought I saw a smoke screen in my mirrors but I wasn't sure. It was indeed me smoking. At least people keep their distance from my rear bumper.

We hung out with some friends who, until I got the RV, would tailgate in the parking lot. The Allegro took it up about 10 notches. Everyone had fun and enjoyed the amenities that a camper has to offer.

It was my first time, but as I suspected camping at a NASCAR event is pure mayhem. But fun.

My girlfriend (on the left...she's not a girl, but "womanfriend" sounds stupid) and her friend:

As I pulled up to register I heard a guy comment "Wow that's an old dog right there!" I consider that a compliment. People stopped by and asked me about it all weekend. There was a guy in an '82 Airstream motorhome next to me. Gave me some good tips on the P30 chassis and the generator.

[John "T" Nordhoff]

  Jim, a nice looking rig indeed, and those young ladies are pretty easy on the eyes also. I've seen oil filters with a pin hole that spray hot oil everywhere or the occasional top seal filter leak, maybe that's the problem??? Those Allegro busses built in Tiffin Georgia?? I never owned one but always considered them to be quality units.

 John T

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks for the compliments! The Allegros are made by Tiffin Motorhomes in Red Bay, Alabama. They still make an Allegro, but it looks a little different :).It's held up really well inside. The woman on the right runs her own interior design company. She was blown away by the quality of the fabric and furnishings inside. One of those "they don't make them like they used to" kind of things. She's also going to help me with updating the decor and colors a bit ("pimp it out" in her words).

The oil leak turned out to be the oil cooler adapter. I haven't looked really hard at it yet, but I got under there last night and that's where it's coming from. I replaced the bolts and gasket there - hopefully it just needs tightened. It would be a pain to have to take it out to replace the gasket again. Actually, I'm not even sure how it would come out. I installed it and the hard lines while the engine was out. I can't see how you'd get at the fittings with the engine installed.

The oil pressure switch for the fuel pump is leaking too, but not nearly as much.I have a new one of those.

[Jim Stoltz]

Welp, my fears have been realized. Oil cooler adapter has to come out. Gasket failed. Bolts were tight. I can get a wrench on one of the lines, but the other is going to require some creativity (read: beer and expletives).

I think I'm going to spring for a whole new adapter kit. The mating surface on this one is pretty banged up. I cleaned it the best I could before installing the gasket. The gasket is paper thin so it relies on smooth surfaces.Or...I could goop up this one with some gasket sealant and hope for the best....

[John "T" Nordhoff]

  Yo Jimbo, you state "I think I'm going to spring for a whole new adapter kit"

 That's EXACTLY what Id recommend. You just can NOT have an oil leak or a problem headed up a mountain some Sunday when you cant get help or parts. Been there done that grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I may not maintain my home or cars etc so well HOWEVER when it comes to the RV in which I go to the Mountains out West and in the boonies with no cell or any service, you just gotta have the RV PERFECT as you can get plus carry spare parts necessities and tools.

 Beer and expletives and throwing wrenches does help lol

 John T

[Jim Stoltz]

I ordered up another gasket and o-ring kit. The alternative is an aftermarket kit that would require significant plumbing changes. 

I carry all the spare parts and tools I can store. And a AAA RV card. Not much more I can do.

I've thrown my fair share of wrenches and parts. Some of which I couldn't find later, but was worth it at the time.

[Jim Stoltz]

Holy cow. I got under there with the intentions of replacing the adapter gaskets. Got looking around with a flashlight. It's wet with fluids pretty much everywhere. I started it up to see what's what.

Oil cooler adapter leak is obvious. Got it.

Friggin fuel pump feed is leaking (that explains the raw fuel smell), upper rad hose is leaking, radiator cap is leaking, trans cooler line is leaking and the high-pressure power steering pump hose is leaking. I took a bath under there.

In my defense, the only ones I messed with during the engine swap was the fuel feed and the rad cap.

Knocked out the fuel pump by tightening the line down another 1/4 turn. Can't easily get at the upper rad hose clamp. Going to require some engineering. Same with the trans cooler line. PS hose needs replaced. Have another trip coming up next weekend. Lots of work to do.

[Jim Stoltz]

Oh yeah - the insult to injury - the chassis battery was dead. Now I did have the music cranking and the lights on for a long time last night trying to fix the clearance lights. I hope that's all it is, but the charger has been drawing 25 amps for over an hour now. Something else might be going on.