RV now what?

[connie sherwood]

Hi guys! I have a 1989 Kountry Star class A motorhome with 450 engine. My in-laws bought it from a one owner 15 or so years ago. My father-in-law died of a heart attack and they had not taken it out once. It sat outside all this time.  We bought it drove it home 45 min. away, put on new tires, belts, tune up. But now it has been in my driveway 2 years!  Something keeps draining the battery and it won't start and backfires. It only has 35000 actual miles on it!  Our mechanic is a car not motorhome guy and he has worked on it twice to the tune of over $1500..Still sitting!  I live right outside KC Mo.  Does anyone know of a good rv place to take it? I have called some but they all say we don't do engine work. I don't even know if it is an engine problem. Beginning to think it's cursed!

[Russell E Johnson]

I recommend that you try finding a mechanic shop that works on semis and other large trucks. Generally they will work on motorhomes.  At least the two that I had to find while on the road did, and they did a wonderful job.

[connie sherwood]

Thanks! Will do. Lost this site so took me awhile to get back

[Lakota Wolf]

Did it start back firing AFTER the tune up? (plugs wires,cap and rotor)?     You mentioned you drove it home with no problems,, then mentioned it now back fires.. Quite possibly the firing order is out of sync.

To check for a source of battery drain is to un-do battery cable and put a 12Volt test light between battery post and cable and pulling one fuse at a time till the light goes out and that usually isolates the circuit thats drawing current and draining your battery.

[Lakota Wolf]

On a 1989 Chevy 454 engine the distributer rotates CLOCKWISE and the firing order is,1,8,4,3,6,5,7,2.

 I state this because chevy had 2 different variations to firing order direction. (example) my 1985 chevy 1 ton truck had the 454 with a *Counter clockwise firing order.

Number 1 cylinder is DRIVERS SIDE FRONT.   (odd numbers down drivers side, even numbers down passenger side.).... Hope this helps.... good luck. L.W.

[connie sherwood]

Thanks for the info and sorry it took me so long to get back to you and everyone! I lost this site!

[Jim Stoltz]

You don't need an RV place for engine work. The engine in your motorhome is the same that was in many pickups and trucks back then.

I agree with Lakota - if you drove it 45 miles without issue, and now you have a problem after a tune-up it sounds like the firing order got out of whack. You can find diagrams online of the distributor cap posts (which cylinders are which), firing order and cylinder numbers on the head. It will help you make sure the wires are going to the right place.

If the distributor itself was replaced then you can have a bigger problem, but not unsurmountable. If it is out a tooth or two you'll have to remove it and put it back in correctly. That would mean lining the timing marker up while the #1 cylinder is on TDC on the compression stroke, then reinstall the distributor so it's facing the #1 post on the cap. Sounds daunting but with a little reading it becomes clear. The good thing about the motorhome is that ll this stuff is right in front of you when you take the cover off.

[connie sherwood]

Thank you for the info and sorry it took me so long to get back I lost the site!

[Bill Shockley]

Finding a good mechanic is like finding a good doctor or a friend.

If I was you I'd go to a nearest local shop and start doing some asking until I found someone interested in my problem. Auto electrics is a speciality and you need an older mechanic who understands big V-8's and their charging systems.

Tires. belts and a tune up won't solve an electrical problem. They are necessary maintenance.

Now you need to fix your electrical problem.

Do you have a smart charger on the battery to keep it charged?

I'm guessing your actual problem is a simple one but finding a good mechanic...not so simple.

Find out where the locals take their dump trucks to get them worked on, a shop like that will be able to handle your RV.

This is a great opportunity to educate yourself about charging systems, the internet is your friend.You can start by learning the bascs. That's how we all did it and if that's not you I'd suggest a smaller unit, maybe a Sprinter van platform, something more modern.

It comes down to what you love.

Bill

[connie sherwood]

Sorry it took me so long to thank your for your time and comments. I lost the site!

[Rich Thomas]

If your car mechanic can't figure this out then perhaps he is the problem. I would be reluctant to ask him to fix either car or motor home. Your coach isn't a magic mystery machine it is, as stated already the same mechanically as other rigs out there such as H.D. pickups, dump trucks and even school buss's. Stop in to a reputable business ( a truck sales or a garage that services for instance school buses or provides fleet service for trucking firms) even if they don't do the work there a lot of mechanics just can't put down the wrench and are more than happy to take on a project after hours and heaven forbid under the table to make ends meet. I like others have mentioned would be suspect of the firing order more than likely plug wires got crossed or put on the distributor out of order. I know things like this are as frustrating as they come but with a little research and a bunch of good luck you will be able to get it sorted out. Best wishes

 

[connie sherwood]

Thanks, I appreciate the info and your time!