Coach Journal (Week 3)

Day 9 - 8/16/04

With less than two weeks to Departure Day I think we're in pretty good shape. We spent a good part of Sunday driving around to various auto parts stores in search of Heavy Duty 50W engine oil - the type of oil the transmission takes. We checked the levels on Friday and noticed it's dangerously low so we'll need to top that off before moving. Apparently HD50W is pretty hard to come by - HD30W is hard enough as it is (what the engine takes).
   Trevor finally found a location that sold it in 5 gallon buckets. Apparently the stuff isn't typically sold to the public - most people take their vehicles to a service center for this sort of maintenance. In fact, the site where Trevor got it said that they don't even get it from the refineries in buckets - they get it in 55 gallon drums that they then put into buckets themselves for selling.

Interior I decided to take a little hiatus from the cleaning - a girl can only take so much. Today I thought it might be nice to fix up the couch so that we would stop tripping on the door that now lies open because it no longer will stay shut on it's own (turns out that's what the tape was for).
    I vacuumed out the cavity under the sofa (even though vacuuming falls under the category of "cleaning") and surveyed things from there as you can see from the this picture - I'm also modeling the new underwear from Victoria's Secret's "Pink" line, a real bargain at $6.99 a pair. The locking mechanism for the door is nothing more than two simple u-shaped tension clamps that grab a hold of each coach leg when in the upright position (sort of like the clamps you'd put on the wall to hang your broom from). One is missing a one half of the "u" rendering it useless, but the other one is in fine working order - enough to hold the door shut anyway. But for whatever reason it wouldn't grab hold of the couch leg. I inspected the leg to see why they were no longer lined up appropriately to allow for proper grabbing. Apparently the couch had been moved and re-bolted an inch or so back - for unknown reasons. I could see the original bolt holes as well as old foot prints the legs had dented into the wooded platform. So I unbolted everything, pushed the couch back into it's original position and tested the door - sure enough it grabbed hold and held tight. I bolted the couch back down and the door works like a charm. I'll have to come back with longer bolts as I suspect the current ones will strip out again, but they'll do fine for the time being - as long as we don't turn it into a bed.

   We had brought down the back berth's mattress covers from the garage so I busied myself back there for a little bit making things appear more familiar. I'll still need to wipe down the walls, clean the mildew from the windows and polish up the built-ins - but other than that things are looking pretty good.

    The upper drawer located in the dash in front of the passenger seat will need some work. I opened it to look for a light bulb and the hinge stopped working. I had to take the whole thing out in order to deduce that the wood around the hinges on the drawer itself has rotted and will need fixing. The wood on the frame is also rotted out a little bit and may not be fixable. I'll have to address that at a later date to decide if we can preserve it. We may have to change the way it works and maybe just keep its look from the outside, but turn it into something less problematic on the inside. The problem lies in the fact that the drawers swing out - not pull out, making it necessary to have hinges in the first place. See pictures for better details.

Exterior I stumbled across a tire pressure gauge onboard so I decided to go around and check the tires - make sure we weren't dealing with any serious issues.
All tires measured about the same; between 70 and 80psi (the internal rear axle tire being the exception reading only 60psi). The dual loaded tires should read about 110psi when full and the single loaders should read 120psi - so they're not far off which bodes well in regards to leaks. We stopped by Kragen and picked up an air chuck adapter for our air compressor (having apparently lost ours) but didn't get back in time to fire it up, not wanting to take our chances with management again. So I'll fill the tires up tomorrow evening and maybe we can get around to finally knocking the blocks out from under the axles.
  Trevor spent a fair amount of the evening working under the dashboard installing the new air gauge (decided to swap out the old one after all). After installing it he found that it still reads the same as the old one did - about 10psi higher than the air pressure gauge located in the engine compartment. The air pressure gauge in back served well to determine there are no leaks, but getting a functioning air gauge in the dash is important, however, not essential for our departure. So that will need further attention later - Trevor thinks it can probably be attributed to resistance in the old wires. The sender for the gauge works by changing the resistance to ground and the gauge works like an ohm meter. Since the wires are old there may be additional resistance due to the sending wire causing the gauge to read high. He will replace the lead to the sending unit and see if that fixes the problem, for now at least we just have to remember it is reading high.

Day 10 - 8/17/04

Today was the day for insurance woes. I called my friends over at GMAC to finalize the details of our policy and put it into effect. After spending 30 minutes on the phone with what must be the slowest sales rep I have ever encountered I come to find out our policy will NOT come with roadside assistance or towing. WHAT?! Talk about a deal breaker! So I quiz the guy on why on earth I was quoted everything perfectly last week - a lower premium, unlimited towing and roadside assistance - and now I'm getting this crap? He explained that because it's a converted bus I can't get full coverage (no comprehensive or collision), ok - I already knew that. Well, apparently they don't offer roadside assistance or towing without FULL coverage. I get off the phone with him and call Good Sam to find out that they can provide that bit for us for $79.95 a year AND they'll cover our other cars as well (good thing I slacked on renewing our AAA membership!). So I called GMAC back and had them set up the policy. Despite the fact that they won't cover some pretty crucial things, they are still the best rate in town even with the additional $79.95 I'll be paying with Good Sam to get those things covered. So now we're insured, GMAC policy and Good Sam membership information in the mail as I write this.

We got to the rig this evening with the intention to break things free and attempt to move it a few feet to verify the thing is actually moveable. But first there was a short list of items to take care of before the Coach could take it's first few steps in 8 years. The first on my list was to get some air in the tires so the air compressor would have to come out of the underbay - where it's been hiding these past couple of weeks.
I attached the new air chuck we purchased the night before and found that the front tires were easy enough to fill being that their valve stems were right in front like most standard tires (filled each to 110psi).
But the rear tires were something entirely different. The outside rear tires have stems that point inwards for some foolish reason I have yet to determine. Chances are there's a good reason however I haven't bothered to ponder for long. In any case, the air nozzle refused to latch on appropriately and I spent more time releasing air from the tires than actually putting in - Trevor was kind enough to point out that the goal was to fill the tires and not to actually deflate them. The inner rear tires were a real joke with the short stubby air nozzle and I soon decided that I should save myself the trouble and make a quick trip over to Orchard Supply and pick up a more appropriately shaped air chuck designed for the job.
 $7.99 later and a better tool for the job I was able to fill the all four rear tires to the suggested 100psi. In the meantime, Trevor had been busying himself with getting the rig ready for movement. After disconnecting the sewer lines he disconnected the fourth battery that had been sitting ouside the battery bay on the ground. We wouldn't be able to move with it still there and the engine should be able to pull enough power to start from only one battery so we certainly wouldn't need all four. At least, that would be the case if we had 4 functioning batteries - functioning being the operative word here. The minute he disconnected battery #4 the engine wouldn't start. Keep in mind that this is with the rig still plugged into 110 as well. So now we know just how sorry a state these batteries are in - 3 batteries charge to 12v in addition to 110 should be able to start the engine. So Trevor pulls out the battery charger from the trunk of the car, hooks it up and is able to get the engine started that way. A bit of a pain but a workaround nonetheless. Next he pulled out the 6 ton hydraulic jack and starting working on getting the blocks out from under the axles. After finishing up with the tires I worked on moving the wood pieces that had been stored under the rig out from underneath so there would be no obstructions when moving.
Given that there was enough wood under there to entertain a reasonably sized bonfire, I spent quite a long time - in a modified monkey imitation - poking under the rig with a long stick. Once that task was complete I checked in with Trevor to see if he needed any assistance. He was finishing up with the axle blocks so we cleared the perimeter of the rig and decided it was time to see just how adhered to the cement the tires were. We had no choice but to take a first step backwards - the rear left tire was blocked up quite a bit due to unstable sinking cement over the years. As a result a chalk block in front was severely wedged in front of the tire preventing it from going forward (at least, without slamming on the gas). Keys in hand, Trevor leapt inside to the captains chair and with reliable dedication the engine roared into attention. By now I'd discovered that the mere start of the engine elicits somewhat of a Pavlovian effect in me (and no - I don't drool) - having so many fond memories of taking vacations I find myself subject to getting a slight flurry of excitement in my belly from the mere sound of a 671 detroit engine. I suppose I could be subject to more weird things. With big grins on our faces Trevor eased the transmission in reverse and gave it some gas - I stood in back near the rear tire ready to knock the block out with a hammer. The engine roared with eagerness, plumes of smoke emitting from the tailpipes, yet the rig stood it's ground. She no go. Huh. Ok…let's try that again. And again. Still no go. Ok, well how about forward - maybe rocking it forward will help disengage the tires from the cement. No…not really. Sure seems awfully stubborn for just a little stuck rubber - especially after we nearly lifted each tire off of the ground with the tire jack. So we rocked it back and forth some more…this is starting to look silly. "hey hon…you got the blocks on the rear axle right?" "what blocks? I thought YOU got those?" Here's where I will refrain from using all kinds of words that don't necessarily show up in Webster's dictionary. So apparently things were going SO smoothly that we decided we do some damage to the axles, the air bellows - or if we're REALLY lucky…both. Tee hee. Out comes the jack, up goes the back of the rig, out comes the blocks, down goes the rig, down goes the air bellows…wait…SHOOT! They're not supposed to go down! The leveling system should be working and they should FILL. Remember what I was writing about how much these rubber pillows cost to replace? Deep breath…let's just get the jack all the way out from under the axle and see what it does. As luck would have it the bellows decided to work after all. They filled right up and leveled things out like they should. At this point the suspense and excitement is pushing my limits but at least things are working out in our favor. Ok, so now that we're not trying to drive a rear wheel vehicle while it's up on blocks we decided to give it another go. Trevor hops on board, cranks on the engine and threw it into reverse for another try. I was pretty much convinced that having the thing up on blocks was the real problem we were having, so you can imagine the sound my hand made when it slapped my forehead when I realized that the darn thing was still going no where. So he tried it again in first - seemed to look like it was working to move, but the block in the way was making it hard to tell. Back in reverse we got nothing more than lots of revving, smoke, and frustration - and to add insult to injury the engine cut out. GROAN! Given that it would mean a whole juggle with the batteries, the battery charger, and a little dance just to get the engine started again we decided it wasn't worth starting again given how late it was and how empty our stomachs were. I wasn't convinced the engine was even IN gear during our last experiment. Given that I don't typically drive a manual transmission on a regular basis, I find myself rather familiar with the noise a manual transmission makes when you're not in gear - say, sitting at a stop light and just hitting the gas assuming things will magically work for you. But this would be a theory we would test the next evening - at this point we were ready to eat, pack up and go home. On board we went for our first meal on the Coach together since our taking it on. This is about where my patience makes it's way quietly out the back door. Upon our arrival earlier in the evening I had to turn the refrigerator back on (I had cleaned it a few nights ago and hadn't turned it back on). Not long after doing so the freezer got cool enough to stash our dinner until we were ready to eat - a salad I had quickly prepped at the apartment before coming over. Right about now most readers could predict the resulting events. We come into the kitchen and as I'm washing my hands it hits me with cruel certainty that I have frozen our dinner and microwaved salad isn't exactly a delicacy. Sure enough it had taken on a light freeze and when run quickly under luke warm water it took on the consistency of something I might pull from my fish tank. I sit here writing this, with a full meal in my stomach and a cocktail dutifully parked by my keyboard, and can muster up a smile - but at the time I can assure you I found nothing funny about it. In the trash it went and home we drove to a late dinner. Let's hope that our tribulations surrounding our first meal with be nothing similar to our first drive.

Day 11 - 8/18/04

Wow - day 11? Good grief. This evening was to pretty much do what I thought was going to get done the night before - move the rig. Trevor had decided that he had had enough with the temperamental batteries and went by Battery Specialists in Oakland (per recommendation of Tom from Ryder) to pick up one - enough to start the engine. At $120 a pop we decided one would be enough for the time being, especially when we have a pricey purchase like a wedding just 6 weeks away.
    First thing we did was yank the 3 remaining baking soda encrusted batteries out from the underbay, pull out the rotting acid-eaten box they were sitting in, and hook up the new battery. Initially Trevor hooked the battery up to one of the positive power leads coming from the rig. Having not traced the purpose of the wires yet, we weren't really sure which positive lead did what so we would have to hook each on up until we got the one that powered the starter. First one didn't do it, so we swapped that lead with the other. The second one apparently powered the starter, we could hear it click, but still no engine. So Trevor hooked up both and thankfully it worked. What we have deduced here is that one lead powers the starter and the other the other lead powers the ignition and gauges. Whatever monkey put this electrical system together should have stuck to pushing wooden blocks around with a long stick. With a good battery and the engine running we decided to hunt down the issue of getting the rig into gear. Trevor took me around back to the engine compartment and gave me a quick lesson in Transmissions 101. Tonight's lesson revolved mostly around the reverse gear and it's global influence on an oil starved economy. Oh wait… After my quick lesson I was instructed to stand there and see if at any point the mechanisms did what they were supposed to do when in reverse.
Easy enough. So I stood there and Trevor went on board and attempted to put it into reverse - which as it turns out wasn't really reverse. So I wait as he tries a few other things. I hear clicking and snapping, the occasional roar of an engine given gas while in neutral, however the gear remains in anything but reverse. And then, pop - out of nowhere, the gear retracts and is clearly in the "reverse" position. I report back to Trevor that his latest attempt worked, and the best part is he even knows what he did. Apparently with this transmission you have to flip the reverse switch (which he already knew), put it into neutral, depress the clutch, do a little dance, put it into first, put it into second (which is now reverse with the switch on), get down tonight, release the switch and there you go. Don't ask me how on earth he figured all that out - must be some guy thing. Great - so now we know it's in reverse, let's see this thing move! I hop outside, hammer in hand, ready to bang on some blocks - Trevor eases off the clutch, gives it a little gas…and what do you know - it moved! The gargantuan paperweight finally moved! I was so amazed with this feat that I forgot to knock the back block out. He moved it back again (it move back initially but then rolled back into the ditch it had sunk itself into over the years) and I pushed the block out. Then he threw it into 1st gear to see if we could get things going forward - and that was when Sweet Baby took her first two steps forward.
     She made it two feet across the "property line" and was eager to keep going but we had to stop her and back her up into the slot so we could pack up and go home. Fortunately the sink holes caught her nicely so we didn't have to worry about backing her up too far. What a victorious night! We gave ourselves the rest of the evening off - quitting at 9pm compared to the usual 10 or 11pm - and headed home for a late dinner, warm showers and a chance to put our feet up.

Day 12 - 8/19/04

Tonight we hadn't really intended to work at the rig. We stopped by since we were in the neighborhood meeting with friends for dinner and picked up a few things. However we couldn't just come by to pick a few things up, we actually had to DO something.
   I snapped a few shots of the stateroom since it's essentially polished up and done for the time being (before we start cosmetic restorations).
Trevor decided he wanted to tackle the Transmission oil gauge to see if he could determine if it was working accurately or not.
The light for the transmission oil has remained lit at any time the engine is on - a reading Trevor wasn't convinced was accurate.
He removed the sensor from the transmission - just off the oil pump - and cleaned it out. We tested it by hooking it up to the volt meter (which produces an audible beep indicating a circuit was being completed) and then Trevor blew air through the hole (meant for the oil) to see if the circuit could be broken - which is exactly how it would work when hooked up to the oil pump. When this happens the beep should stop because a circuit is no longer being made - which is exactly what happened. This pretty much just tells us the sensor works. So we hooked it back up to the oil pump and put the key in the ignition to see if the dash light goes off (we were assuming the sensor wasn't working before because it was dirty). Sadly this was not the case - the light stayed on.
    Trevor went in back to pull the sensor off and to see what would happen. If there was pressure oil would pretty much come gushing out of the hole where the sensor was attached. No such luck. Not that I wanted oil spewing everywhere - but at least there'd be oil pressure! Now we know that the oil pump is not on - or at least it's not pumping. At this point we had nothing we could do further and our friends were waiting for us at a local restaurant so we had to leave things be. Not really sure where that leaves us at this point. There's a few possibilities here. Worst possibility is that there's something wrong with the oil pump. This would put us right outside Trevor's capabilities considering it would involve dropping the engine out of the encasement to work on the transmission. We don't exactly have the facilities for that sort of activity. Another possibility could be that the transmission oil pump doesn't actually engage until after the vehicle is in gear - something we can't test until we're ready to drive, and we can't leave until we're really ready to leave because once we pull out of that spot there's no getting it back in. If we're wrong, and the light doesn't go off after driving a few blocks, our maiden voyage will turn into a short trip to one of the many transmission shops in the area - an expense we'd sadly have to endure. I've done a little research online and have found that some transmission oil pumps need priming after they've been sitting for a long period of time - like how we had to prime the engine lines. That's something we'll tinker with next week when we have the time. After more thought Trevor isn't even sure that oil pressure is as much a concern with a manual transmission. When you're dealing with an automatic it's more of a concern because an automatic relies on the transmission fluid for shifting. A manual mostly relies on tranny fluid for lubricating purposes. So the pressure isn't as much of a concern because the gears dip in the oil as they move. That's one thought anyway. In any case, we'll be contacting Bobby over at In-line diesel on Monday to see what he suggests. Hopefully a little pump priming and a quick trip around the block will knock that light off and all will be happy again. Enough for one week - we'll be back at it Monday night and more journal entries will come next Saturday.

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