On the road...

[Rob Robinson]

Ryan I bought a turkey baster and jammed a piece of clear tubing (Home
Depot) on the end of it. Shove the tube down into the reservoir and suck up
some liquid. My test strips are from DD and the packaging says to test
coolant at a temp of 50F to 130F

On 01/05/07, Ryan Wright wrote:
>
> OK, so how do I check the coolant? Pulled the cap off but there isn't
> any coolant high enough in the fill tube for me to see. Below the fill
> tube is the resorvoir with the little glass view-port and that's a
> nice bright green, but wish I could draw a small amount of fluid out
> somehow to look at it.
>
> Also... bulk oil fill system isn't working. She ate a little oil
> through the mountains and I want to top off. Does the coach need to be
> aired up for this? I seem to lose air after sitting more than 15-20
> minutes. Suspension stays OK but everything else air-operated loses
> pressure pretty quickly. All works fine when engine is running,
> though.
>
> -Ryan
> '86 PT-40 8v92
>
>



--
Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
94 WLWB


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Pete Masterson]

On May 1, 2007, at 10:41 AM, Ryan Wright wrote:

> OK, so how do I check the coolant? Pulled the cap off but there isn't
> any coolant high enough in the fill tube for me to see.
>

Turkey Baster ought to do the job ... or a battery watering squeeze
bulb thing... (It must have a name, but I can't recall what it might
be.)

> Also... bulk oil fill system isn't working. She ate a little oil
> through the mountains and I want to top off. Does the coach need to be
> aired up for this? I seem to lose air after sitting more than 15-20
> minutes. Suspension stays OK but everything else air-operated loses
> pressure pretty quickly. All works fine when engine is running,
> though.

The bulk oil fill requires air pressure to operate. Be sure the
switch is set to "off" (red light extinguished) when not using it as
it will drain off your air pressure.

A 'bird should hold a reasonable amount of air for several hours
before it fades away ... I'd bet you have one or more air leaks
somewhere.

Keep in mind, (at least on my Series 60 engine), you may need to let
the engine sit for about 15 minutes after shutting down before you
get an accurate oil level reading ... and it takes a similar time for
oil pumped in with the bulk oil system to register fully on the dip
stick. It's easy to overfill the oil if you don't take this into
consideration.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at

[Ryan Wright]

Update:

We're in Missoula, MT. Transmission quit "eating" fluid - must have
just been a bit low. Check Tranny light came on again, though, and
this time the dipstick showed full. Uh-oh. Flipped the "check" switch
just to see what it does and it flashed a code 32. "J" solenoid is out
(or on it's way). Allison dealer here in Missoula is going to fix us
up first thing in the morning.

Thanks all for your continued assistance. Looks like only a slight
delay and +/- $500 bill in the morning.

-Ryan

[Gregory OConnor]

Ryan how do you read the codes?? What does the Jay Solenoid do? I
wonder why the lite did not warn of a low fluid level?
GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
wrote:
>
> Update:
>
> We're in Missoula, MT. Transmission quit "eating" fluid - must have
> just been a bit low. Check Tranny light came on again, though, and
> this time the dipstick showed full. Uh-oh. Flipped the "check" switch
> just to see what it does and it flashed a code 32. "J" solenoid is out
> (or on it's way). Allison dealer here in Missoula is going to fix us
> up first thing in the morning.
>
> Thanks all for your continued assistance. Looks like only a slight
> delay and +/- $500 bill in the morning.
>
> -Ryan
>

[Ryan Wright]

On 5/2/07, Gregory OConnor wrote:
>
> Ryan how do you read the codes?? What does the Jay Solenoid do? I
> wonder why the lite did not warn of a low fluid level?
> GregoryO'Connor
> 94ptRomolandCa

So, the light had been coming on, and I assumed it was warning of low
fluid. I'd stop, put her in neutral, light would come on (only once in
awhile). So each time I checked the fluid and each time it was down a
quart.

Well, this last time it happened (yesterday evening when I stopped for
the night), it was NOT down a quart - it was right where it should be!
So... I played with the switch somewhat in the morning. The "Check
trans" switch, when flipped the opposite direction of what it was,
caused the "check trans" light to flash the code: Three quick flashes,
short pause, two more flashes, long pause, repeat. So, first digit 3,
second 2 = code 32. Having read OBD diagnostic codes off of cars for
years (many early systems would flash the "check engine" light in the
same manner to show you the codes) this was second nature to me.

So, I called Mr. Oliver's and Paul gave me a name & phone number, and
that person found an Allison dealer close to me and also looked up the
code info.

As for the "J" solenoid, apparently it regulates shifting. This makes
sense given that the light only comes on after shifting. ~$200 + 4-5
hours labor to replace I'm told. I'll find out for sure in the
morning, I suppose.

-Ryan