Running a bit later than planned we arrived at the Coach around
10am. Our intention was to try and get an early start to maximize the cooler
morning temperatures - the Bay Area was looking at 90 plus temperatures for
the weekend and that usually means the same if not cruelly hotter for the central
valley and Sacramento area - our destination. So much for that idea. Having
done a fairly decent job preparing the night before we were left with just a
couple things to do before we could take off. We coiled up the fresh water and
electrical lines, checked all the bays to make sure they were secure, closed
the engine compartment and did one last look around on board to make sure everything
was secure. I wedged the bathroom door shut with some cord (now that it has
no door knob) and stuffed some foam around the mock-RV refrigerator so it wouldn't
fall in transit. We milled around for a few minutes, not really sure what to
do with ourselves. After working on the rig for almost a month now, I think
it was hard for the both of us to believe that the moment was really here. Deep
down I think I was also a little anxious to get it over with, face whatever
demons that might surface upon taking Sweet Baby for her first ride in over
8 years.
Trevor took his place at the captain's chair, something he's
been itching to do now for the past week or so, and started the engine.
It was time to see how far we could go.
Sadly it wasn't that far.
I helped guide him out of the spot - leaving behind what can only be described
as a gigantic GMC bus footprint. Four sunken holes in the cement lay where the
tires once resided, sun starved weeds and cracked concrete split up in a long
rectangular formation. A bit saddening to see the end of a chapter for the Coach
come to an end, or perhaps it was just the recognition of change that was so
saddening. I hopped into my car and chased the Coach out onto the street where
I followed Trevor around the corner. He turned another corner, on his way out
to 101S where we would take 237 out to 880N to avoid going over any bridges,
and that's when he pulled over. I didn't really think much of it at this point.
We had discussed making a few stops along the way in the very beginning to check
air pressure in the tires and make sure that the oil wasn't leaking heavily,
etc. The air pressure in the tires was our primary concern because Tom over
at Ryder informed Trevor that the issue with the split rims on the tires, like
the ones The Coach has, is that they're extremely dangerous if you get a flat.
A lot of companies won't work on them as they are known for an occasional decapitation.
The worst thing you can do with split rims is let the air pressure get low since
they rely on the air pressure to work - he recommended driving for a little
bit to let the tires warm up and then test the pressure again to make sure everything
is good. So when Trevor pulled over I thought he was just doing a quick check.
Upon getting out of my car I find Trevor checking the underbays to see if any
doors are loose - none are. He reports to me that he's hearing a clunking on
the passenger side. In order to better diagnose the situation he has me stand
outside while he drives forward a few feet. I could in fact confirm that there
was a "clunk clunk clunk" noise and was able to narrow it down to the passenger
front wheel. Ok…what now? The next five minutes pretty much consisted of the
two of us standing outside staring at the tire. "Maybe the brake is fused with
something and is bumping around in there?" Trevor comments. "Maybe we should
find a place to park it so I can work on it…but I don't know if I can work a
tire that size off on my own…" This idea promptly fills my head with visions
of decapitations. "No." I counter. Some more staring commenced at this point.
Well this is what I got Good Sam for right? So I head off to my car to get my
cell and Trevor closes the rig up. While Trevor was closing things up he noticed
someone pulling a big rig out from a storage yard across the street - the guy
looked knowledgeable so Trevor asked him if he knew of any places nearby that
worked on big rig wheels. You gotta love the wide world of truckers and bus
lovers. The guy comes right over and starts looking at the wheel. "Have you
looked at your bearing oil?" he then pops off the cap on the wheel and points
out to us that the oil is old and deteriorating. He then explained to us that
if it's been sitting for a while the first thing he would check is the bearings
and the oil - chances are the bearings need replacing and that is what's making
the "clunking". Veddy veddy interesting.
He then referred us to General Tire over on Broadway (at Woodside Road), only
a few blocks away - after he oohed and ahhhhed the rig for a minute. Strangers
are so amused with the Coach, it's very entertaining. We headed over to General
Tire to find out that they would in fact be able to take a look at the vehicle
except that the technician that handles bearings and lubrication won't be in
until Monday. So much for our Maiden Voyage. Maybe I should change this chapter's
name to "Maiden Stroll around the block". But at least they could keep her for
the week - probably need the whole week for ordering parts and doing the work
anyway - and we could try and attempt our Maiden Voyage next weekend. At this
point we're feeling pretty good about the idea. We don't have the facilities
to do a full under-belly lube job (need a large pit for that) and it's something
we'd have to do anyway. That sort of maintenance is probably needed about every
3 oil changes and I don't know as though it's been done in over 10 years. Sure
it'll most likely cost us over $500 for the job but at least we'll have the
piece of mind that we had a professional take a look at things where Trevor
couldn't look himself and we have to do it anyway. Additionally we could have
them take a look at the alternator and see what the deal is with that. Have
a definitive answer on if it's working properly or not would be nice. So we
went back to the Coach and brought her over.
She'll spend the weekend in the yard there and they'll give us a call on Monday
after they've had a chance to assess the situation. We're keeping our fingers
crossed that it's just the bearing oil or at the most the bearings - which is
entirely likely. After we left, and had a chance to think about it, the idea
of the shocks having something to do with it came up. Trevor recalled that there
was a bit of excessive bouncing while driving at low speeds. I recall that the
Coach always did have a graceful bounce and sway when driving, but I think Trevor
was experiencing something more involved that that. One possibility we speculated
was that maybe a shock fused in place and driving made it break loose and knock
around - causing the excessive bounciness and making the "clunking" noise. In
any case we won't know until Monday. Let's hope for the best!
Oh, and yes, the Transmission Oil Pressure light DOES go off after it's been
driving for a few minutes.
Trevor
spoke to the guys over at General Tire a little while ago. They've determined
that both front tires have pretty bad flat spots - not a big surprise really.
That would explain the bouncing Trevor was experiencing. As for the clunking,
they could tell that there was an issue with the right front brake, where the
clunking was coming from, but they didn't take the wheel off yet because they
wanted to talk to us first. Once they take it off there may be no going back
and they wanted our consent before proceeding. Not having much of a choice we
gave them the go-ahead, they'll take the wheel off in the morning and call us
with what they learn. Trevor is pretty surprised to hear the problem has something
to do with the brakes considering he felt the brakes were working great - no
pulling or hesitation at all. Hopefully whatever it turns out to be is minimal
and we can get the Coach out of there for under $500. Trevor also asked them
to work up a quote for a rear-differential lube job and a wheel bearing and
oil clean-up. I'd rather there be nothing wrong with the Coach - it would be
a lot cheaper that way - but I feel a lot better knowing we have some professionals
looking at something so crucial to safety as brakes. It's a relief we didn't
get on the freeway!
They
got the wheel off today and discovered that the brake lining had delaminated
from the brake shoe and that's what was rattling around. They also discovered
that there was water coming out from the wheel bearings so the bearings will
most likely need replacing or at least inspection and re-packing. Another discovery
the mechanic made was that the brake chambers were stuck and not moving freely.
They estimated that the repairs would be about 6 to 7 hours of labor plus parts.
At $100.00 per hour, I sure hope the parts don't cost much.
I stopped by the shop to see the progress and take some pictures. They still had not made any progress from the day before because they were still trying to find out where to get the parts. I gave them our copy of the original parts manual to aid them in looking up the parts. They did let me know they are sending the brakes to Bay Friction to have them match up the brake pad. If they don't have one in stock they can rebuild the existing ones and bond new friction material to them. As far as the bearings are concerned they sent those to a parts supplier in San Jose and are attempting to match them up as well.
On
a side note I saw that there were blocks between the frame and the A-arms holding
the air bags in an expanded state. It turns out that the coach was stored with
these blocks in place to keep the airbags from bottoming out and causing damage
due to fusing shut. This would explain the rough ride. It drove smooth on the
straight-aways but was rough when I hit a bump. I was thinking the shocks were
shot and needed replacement but it wasn't bad enough to do right now. Now I
know there was about 6 inches of travel eliminated due to the blocks.
Today I got a call from Denny, the service consultant who has been helping me and he informed me they are still waiting to get the parts and they would not be able to get the coach ready by Saturday as we had hoped. It looks like we will have to wait until next week to bring the coach up to Sacramento.