A New Member to the Family!

[hsaddock]

Andy:
Congratulations on your new toy! I'm sure you will enjoy it despite
its tortoise like climbing qualities! I also have a 83FC35, mine
with a 250HP turbo. You are doing the right things, change out all
the filters (what pressure does your racor gage read at idle and at
full power), review the posts on driving techniques for hills,
ensure you are operating it in the correct rpm range and take it out
for another run as clogged filters and poor driving techniques can
really ruin performance. 25 MPH does seem a little slow for modest
hills and there are a multitude of items to check and review (rear
end ratio, injectors, injector pump, fuel pump, fuel pump in the
rear, valve lash, injector pump timing, transmission shift points or
slip, brake drag, tire pressure, u-joints, retarder bearings, wheel
bearings) before you are sure you have squeezed the most out of your
machine. However, these are heavy beasts with a fairly small power
plant by todays standards and one must keep expectations in check.
I personally have driven mine over 25K miles in the last few years
with trips from Connecticut to Alaska, Utah, Florida, (In Canada,
Alaska and Utah occasionally climbing some substantial 8-10% grades
that seem to go on forever) with hundreds of stops along the way and
found the speed/climbing ability to not hurt my enjoyment of the
trips in the slightest - However, in the hill country, my wife
fondly refers to it the slowest thing on the road While these
FC's may climb slowly, on a typical full day of travel, the guy with
the 500HP machine might get there 10-15 min ahead of me as hills
typically don't make up the bulk of a day's drive!

Good luck and keep inquiring info from the forums, the folks here
make owning one of these machines fun!
Harry Saddock
83FC35
South Windsor, CT

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "M.L. Perkinson"
<mp222116@...> wrote:
>
> I had same problem with my 80fc with 84 motor.I found it needed
air. Have a drier hose running from front that I fitted to the air
filter. Made all the difference. You might ask Ralph,
> Randy and Jeff among others whart they think about the need for
air. Maury 80dc 31'
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Andy Coleman
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: 4/4/2006 3:16:11 AM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] A New Member to the Family!
>
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> Proud to say that I've just officially joined the Wanderlodge
Family.
> I'm now the owner of a 1983 FC-35 with a 225 HP turbo 3208. Bought
> it Sunday. Drove it 500 miles from Malta, Ohio to my home in
Central NJ.
>
> I wonder what the neighbors think about the new, brown addition to
my
> backyard!
>
> Bought the bus from a family that did not use it much. Only a few
> thousand miles of driving over the past 3.5 years.
>
> The power steering pump leaked fluid all the way home. Had to re-
fill
> several times.
>
> The worst problem I had, however, was speed. I averaged under 50
MPH
> through the 500 mile journey. Some of the Pennsylvania hills on
Route
> 70 & 76 slowed my coach down to 25 MPH in the right lane with the
> emergency flashers on. Any upward elevation change, even slight
ones,
> slowed my coach down into the low 50s. It was the long climbs that
> choked it. And the only excess weight in the bus was my
girlfriend,
> tool box and 100 gallons of gas!
>
> A good friend of mine is a diesel mechanic. He is going to take a
> look at the bus for me shortly. I told him about this great forum,
> and he recommended that I ask experienced folks like yourself if
this
> performance is normal, or an indication of a problem.
>
> I realize that they are heavy buses, but are they really that
slow?
> Even with the turbo? Creeping along in the right lane is
dangerous!
>
> My friend and I are going to change the fuel and air filters,
adjust
> the valve lash, replace the belts. Anybody else have suggestions?
> They will be greatly appreciated!
>
> Andy Coleman
> Wanderlodge Virgin No More!
> 83 FC - 35.
> Spring Lake Heights, NJ
>
>
>
>
>
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