Day 2 - Oil Cooler Lines Installed

Only 4 new clips to go.

I told you before I wasn't a mechanic but I have been able in the past to do the basic repair for trucks, VW buses and cars. So I kept thinking last night, this job cannot be that hard to do. It's 2 lines and 4 connectors with a clamp clip that is extremely tight to get under to pull out. Add my confusion with what my mechanic Bill told me last week. I was under the impression talking to him, the clips stayed on and "his" tool just turned them enough releasing their pressure to pull the oil lines out.

That was a wrong impression.

So I took off to the local AutoZone to return the "oil cooler line" tools back for a refund and hopefully talk to someone different over there that may know something or anything about what I am trying to do. After all, I have shown everyone at NAPA and AutoZone the pictures I posted on this blog and had in my iPhone. NO ONE told me to pull the clips out....they kept selling me a set of "oil cooler line disconnect tools" that would spread those clips, release the pressure and slide the old lines out and the new lines in. Only the YouTube video talked of pulling the clips out. Now that I know what the clip's purpose was with this type of oil line, it's simple why you pull the clips out.

I left AutoZone with my 3rd set of "the right set of oil cooler line installation" tools, a Haynes Manual for Chevy Vans from 1998-2010, for my own sanity. Since my rig is on a Chevy Van Express 3500 frame.....and it included pictures I felt this manual might be worth the overpriced cost. I'm good with pictures....LOL. Still I wasn't sure the pictures I needed would be in the manual. I got home just in time for the Indianapolis Colts football game on TV so I had pretty well decided that I was done with auto repair for the day, just by making my purchase. During the first commercial I started looking the the Haynes Manual and I find a picture that could have been taken from my iPhone of the infamous clip that I couldn't get off. The describe the process of TAKING OFF THE CLIP!!

While the Colts fell behind 10-0 fast, I set the DirecTv DVR to record the game. I picked up my "hook" tool that I thought wouldn't work, only a different angle and got that 1st clip off that was on factory tight in a matter of a few minutes.

I was in shock!!!!  That clip had been my hold up on this job ALL weekend!!

I moved to the 2nd clip at the bottom of the radiator and that clip lifted up and out smooth has butter. Now the two metal hoses were not moving. About the time I was going back to football and say heck with it...I tried moving, twisting the top hose and little my little it started getting lose. I took a flat edge screw driver and by twisting that flat edge against the metal line....it popped out of the connector.  I'm on a roll so I forget about football, I'm going to finish this job today.

The lower metal tube on the radiator, came out with no problem. Now I had to get a one bolt bracket off that held both hoses in place before it went underneath. The problem was I couldn't fit my arm down there at an angle where I could get a socket wrench on it. In the picture below, that bolt is in the black spot in the center. I finally got that off, pulled the bracket up to along the hoses and took it off.

The big U bracket that the two lines run through is shown below.

I got underneath the rig to pull the lines toward me but even with the black rubber material I couldn't get them to flex and move around some of the RV frame....so I cut both rubber hoses and let the oil drip/run into my oil pan I use for oil changes. I am about half way of getting these lines out, when I run onto a different one bolt bracket that later was a lifesaver when I re-installed the new lines...this bracket not only supported the lines but lined them up correctly. It was pretty easy to get to even with little room under the rig.

Two clips to go up by the filter...I use the hook tool...1st clip out within seconds. The last one of four clips turned as I pulled one end out and I thought I had lost it on the ground (grass) under the RV but there was so little room to maneuver that I couldn't just turn to see where it may have landed. I couldn't find it. The 3rd line comes out smooth as butter. I get to the last line and it will not budge...will not twist..nothing...it's like it's frozen in that connector. I'm stuck on the final line!

I go in the house to get my LED small flashlight. As I look at the final line, I see that clip had not dropped into the grass but had swung around to the back of the connector. The clip was attached enough that it was still holding the line inside the connector.

So all the lines are out, my hands are covered in black oil residue, road dirt, underneath grease gunk and everything else that comes with working on a vehicle. I was able to keep all of my fingers, wasn't missing any tools nor the two bolts I would need to put the brackets back in. I didn't have any oil drip into my eye but my old ballcap took some major oil drips as I was under the rig working.

I did this work while keeping Winston (oldest basset) away and telling him to get out from under the rig...he was determined that I needed help under the rig, so he had crawled on his stomach to get a hounds eye view of the work underneath the RV. Luckily he lost interest and scooted out backwards and laid in the sun the rest of the afternoon.

I almost decided to stop there and install the new lines on Monday but I thought there's plenty of daylight left, it's sunny  .... so I thought I'd at least get the lines pulled through the frame underneath and attach those two brackets that lined up the lines but not tighten them until I had all four lines in their connectors.

The longest part of the installation was installing these two 1 bolt brackets. Some of the time I couldn't see what I was doing. I needed to squeeze this U shaped bracket at the bottom, slide the bolt in and then find the hole on the frame that the bolt was to attach to. It took me a while but finally got the bracket bottom squeezed together with my index finger and thumb while holding the bolt with my middle finger. Once I felt that bolt fall in the bracket...I slid it over about 1/4" by feel, couldn't see anything, I feel the bolt hit the hole in the frame. It's screwed in one click at a time on my socket wrench due to space available.

Bolt in the Center Right of the Hose

Underneath Tight Space

As I was underneath the RV to put the last bracket in, I couldn't remember how the lines went. I must have spent 30 minutes seeing those lines were not going to work on the bracket the way I had them. They would have been pressed tight against the frame and I knew that road vibration would rub those metal lines into leaking. So I knew I didn't have something lined up right.

I then realized I was trying to put the bracket on the wrong side. Once I moved the bracket to the correct side, the lines lined up perfectly. When I installed each line into the connectors I could hear them pop into place, so a solid seal even without the clips. That oil you see is from the old lines coming out....I didn't wipe it clean before the picture, so the new lines are NOT leaking at this point.

I'm not finished.  I have 4 used clips but didn't install them because I am not sure if they are to be reused. I would feel better installing brand new clips and I can get them on Monday. I am going to put in just enough oil to cover the amount that I lost in this repair so I can turn the engine over and check for leaks on the new lines using old oil.

IF....IF there are no leaks after running the engine...then I am changing the oil on Tuesday and will start with new oil. The label in the engine bay showing the mileage, date and type of oil doesn't match the seller's story even though it is a recent oil change...imagine that?....I'll put in new oil and start clean.

So I didn't hit my hour prediction after getting those clips off but I estimate it didn't take me longer than 2-1/2 - 3 hours for the work I did on Sunday. My yard work ballcap took heavy oil drip hits. Better the hat than my head. At least the cap will clean up.

I'm hoping for no leaks with the new hoses installed. If there are leaks, personal counseling will be the next step because I will probably go off the deep end if that happens.

I was sold this "oil cooler line disconnect tool" three different times, different sizes and they never worked as the process was described to me. I know I followed their instructions but I don't think these are for the type of connectors I have. This set of four are going back tomorrow for a $20 refund. The one pictured was the one that would work on my oil lines. Wrong answer.

Nothing More Than An Engineer's Dream

Day 1 - Oil Cooler Line Replacement +1

You may be wondering what the "+1" is about in the title...welllllll let's see if I can keep a smile on my face as I write about it. We had "severe" thunderstorms around 6pm last night. With the torrential downpour I thought that would be a good test for my roof vents that I had left open by mistake. All the vents were open, even the Fantastic fan vent.

Rain was going sideways and hard during the thunderstorm.

Once the rain decreased to just a light rain, Sadie the bloodhound wanted out and Winston the old basset wanted out as long as he could stay under the house overhang...so I thought it would be great time to see if I had any interior rain damage in the RV.

All the walls, ceiling, the over cab bed looked good and dry and I'm thinking it's pretty amazing that all these vents could be open and the vent covers kept the torrential downpour out .... I was impressed to say the least. Just to make sure I wasn't pressing my luck, I closed the vent above the bed to protect any accidents to the new TempurPedic mattress the RV came with.

As I was standing in front of the fridge about to plug in the LED lights, I felt a big drop of water hit my head.

That's never a good thing, especially when you are inside. I glanced up for the source of the big drop of water and I saw a little water residue in the cracks of my light lens. I pulled the lens off and luckily an ocean of water didn't hit my face, I thought that has to be a good sign. Drops have to be better than a waterfall.

So I collect the hounds and head for the house to get a couple of tools so I can take the light fixture out of the ceiling to check on the leak situation. About the time I hit the coach door to walk in the RV, the rain clouds opened up once again for another 30 minutes of downpour. Back inside to watch the next football game. (Yes, I am a college football addict)

While watching football I remember that light fixture is right in back of the A/C. I wondered if that might have something to do with it.

Now forward to the update of the oil cooler line replacement.

Not a lot of success to report on day one. Between the end of my IU game (upset Penn State) and the start of the 8pm game I had enough time to crawl through the local traffic that was in town for the annual Apple Fall Festival. And a crawl it was, but it is the only way I can get to AutoZone 15 miles away. I had called earlier and AutoZone told me they had the right tools to remove the clamp that I pictured in yesterday's post. So off I went to make the purchase.

The set of 4 "hook" tools, small screw drivers with a sharp "ice pic" at 4 different angles, that I had bought at NAPA Saturday morning didn't work. This clamp is on as designed....very very tight. I couldn't get the hook under the clamp to pull it loose.  Was my mechanic Bill showing me a tool that would REMOVE the clamp or just LOOSEN it enough to slide out the oil line? I was under the impression from him, it would turn the clamp enough to open up the space for the oil line to be slid out and the new one slide in. All the YouTube video's I have seen, show the clamp being removed and replaced but like I said yesterday ... I didn't have new clamps that came with my oil lines.

So it's early Sunday morning ... coffee is a lifesaver ... and it's cool and rainy outside, it has rained for the past 1.5 hours I have been up and through most of the night.

I'll be heading over this morning to AutoZone to return the tools they sold me. They might be too big but they are designed to fit over the line, push into the connector and since they are spring loaded, they are suppose to open up that tight clamp enough to slide the old line out and the new line in. Based on the tension of the spring loaded tool and the tightness of the clamp on the connector ... I believe their tool was nothing more than a designer's dream.

So the plan for today, return the tool, maybe talk to a different sales person and find the correct tool. My mechanic Bill is closed on weekends and probably only answers calls where his tow truck is required since he didn't return my phone message about borrowing the tool he showed me. One thing though, the connector he showed me last week is not the same type of connector I am working with.

I am thinking I may need a stronger "ice pic" than the one's I have. The search continues for the correct tool. I believe once I find the correct tool to get those clamps (4) off, then I will have these lines replaced within 2 hours tops.

Day 1 - Oil Cooler Line Replacement

RAIN DELAY - pouring! at 9:43am local time.

While drinking coffee this morning as the pregame warmup, I checked intellicast dot com for weather radar that is my preference for weather radar. All rain was south of me and west of me by 200 miles. So I started THE project with sun partially showing on an overcast morning.

Opened the hood, slide back the first line dust cover and there was the C clamp just like my YouTube instruction showed me. I could already tell that my idea of just loosening a nut was not even a close guess and it looked more and more like Bill's tool was what I needed. The removal tool that I bought at the local Napa were just for A/C and fuel hoses as I had pointed out to the cashier but he insisted those were the tools he used to remove the oil cooler hose.

The YouTube video showed using a needle nose hook tool that got under the C clamp and pulled it out enough that you could grip the clamp with the needle nose pliers and then pull the stretched clamp complete off the connector. His hoses came with new clamps, mind didn't. So, I attempted to pry my hook tool under the clamp but I am not sure that is the correct procedure for the clamps that I have. I believe now that Bill's tool is used like he described, with the tool releasing the pressure of the clamp just enough for the old line to slide out and the new line to slide in.

I am pretty sure of that because my lines did not come with a separate package of clamps as if the old ones were replacement. I think Bill would have ordered those clamps if I had needed them.

But the excitement of this morning is yet to come.

Leaving the hood up, my tools sitting outside next to the RV, sun poking through the cloud overcast and knowing no rain is within a 100 miles of me on radar ... I jump in the Chevy pickup and head to NAPA in town to return the incorrect tool and buy hopefully that hook tool I had seen on the video.

While walking back to the truck at NAPA to leave, it sure did look awfully dark in the sky and rain could be just any minute....that is the only thing I was right about this morning. Just as I closed the truck door, rain started pouring down so hard you could barely see.

My RV hood is up, tools sitting outside by the RV and it's pouring so hard I can't see?????  Fantastic.

I told you "Murphy" and I were close friends when I did house or auto repairs....or so it seems. LOL I drive my 1-2 miles back home knowing I will have everything soaked that is sitting outside. It's was strange but the closer I got to my house the highway had less rain on it and by the time I was almost to my driveway, the highway was completely dry!!  LOL

I pulled in, took everything inside that had been sitting outside next to the RV, then tried the new hook tool in prying up that clamp off of the radiator connector for the oil line hose as the video showed. That clamp is on their so tight that I cannot get the hook under the clamp to pop it up enough to take off the connector. So looking at that clamp pictured below, it looks like a tool will be needed that can squeeze that small clamp you see by the large nut, releasing enough pressure for the line to be pulled out and later, the new line slid in, with the clamp staying where it is.

While I was trying to fit my new hook tool under that pin, the rain arrived. I closed the hood and sprinted for the house.

In the meantime while writing this post and loading pictures it has rained in a steady downpour for the last 20 minutes. With the tornadoes in Nebraska and Iowa last night and the storm in the gulf heading north, it looks like it will be a weekend of rain here in southern Indiana.

Hopefully the "football gods" will prevent the DirecTv signal from being blocked due to bad weather.

Bought a 2004 but Find Out It's a 2003

Should I be concerned?

Would you be concerned, if what the RVT ad showed and what I was told by the seller before I made the purchase, was different than what is confirmed by the VIN number on the title today?

A few weeks ago I posted on an RV forum that I was looking at a 2004 Coachmen and was looking for any kind of feedback on a 5.7L engine and that RV traveling in the western states. I was then told by the seller it was a 6.0L engine, which would make a difference in buying replacement/repair parts, possibly performance. From that forum post from a couple of weeks ago, I confirmed today that I have a 2003 Coachmen with a 5.7L engine instead of a 2004 Coachmen with a 6.0L as advertised. The 8th digit from the left on the VIN shows R, which is a 5.7L. Not until 2004 did they change to the 6.0L based on information that came from two GM Tech's. The local GM mechanic told me about the 8th digit from the right of the VIN shows it was a 2002 chassis earlier this week.

So, should I be bothered that a small list of things the RVT ad showed as well as what the seller told me before the purchase is confirmed to be different that I have bought? Or, am I just on the paranoid side for buying a used RV?

As far as the oil cooling line replacement, I plan on starting Saturday morning early unless there is heavy rain and lightning. The forecast shows only a 40% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow and 50% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday.  I am anxious to see if the connectors are what I think they are instead of what I am told. That will mean no tool for my guess or using a connector tool on theirs.

Oil Leak Source Found

As scheduled on Monday, I crawled under the RV after I got home from work. It was a pretty simple and fast find. I wiped all the oil residue off the oil filter, oil pan, the hoses, and even absorbed the small spot up in the front of the oil pan where it meets the engine. Instead of waiting the 24 hours to see if I had any drips and then driving it on Tuesday, I turned the engine on after cleaning it up and within 2 minutes of idling the engine, my first drip showed up.

Those hard lines are coming from the oil filter, then the black hoses meander through and around the frame and just inside the wheel well, turning back to hard lines that go into the lower radiator...the oil cooling hoses. The 4 connectors between the black hose and hard lines are factory sealed.

So Monday night I took a quick trip to Napa Auto and then to AutoZone, both showing me an assembly for a Chevy 6.0L on a 3500 van frame...but the length's of the hard lines didn't look right, nor the angles. I came home that night and did some further internet searches without much luck.

Tuesday after work I headed for my local mechanic in this small town, "Bill's Auto Repair" that is right across the street from the small mini mart/gas station called "The Picnic Basket".....I am assuming you can read from those two business names and understand just how small the town I live in is. Which at times makes it hard to find repair or replacement parts for anything that has a problem. Even though the town is small and hard to find replacement parts at times, I felt that Bill would know where and how to get the correct oil cooler hose and/or assembly.

He told me he didn't have room above the lift in his garage to work on RVs and he was too old to crawl under an RV and have to work in his gravel parking lot to replace the hose, but he thought he ecould get the GM OEM part for me. I just had to give him the VIN of my RV and he had a site that would cross that VIN to the correct GM OEM part.

I picked up the correct hoses today and matching them with my pictures of the lengths and angles of the hard lines, they are identical.

You have understand something first before you think I am now home free on this repair job. I am not a mechanic, I'm an accountant. I do regular maintenance on my old Chevy pickup truck and use to on my old 60's VW buses I collected a few years ago but as far as doing major repairs ... not me. Also when I have attempted most auto maintenance "Murphy" shows up and makes a normal 1 hour job into an all day affair with me swearing at the end of the job that I will never buy another used car in my lifetime".

"Murphy" didn't take long to show up. Just as I picked up the hoses Bill told me "you know you will need a special tool to open those connections to your oil filter block and the radiator". No, I didn't know that, I thought from the picture I would just unscrew the nut and that would loosen the hose connections enough for me to pull the old lines out and install the new lines then tighten the nut.

I ended up going to the local Napa Auto and buying a plastic connector tool set that says it will work but it doesn't look nearly as impressive as the tool kit for different size connectors that Bill showed me in his shop. I'll try the one's I bought first. Bill said if those didn't work, I could take his set home with me to use as long as I could get them back to him the same day, because they use them every day.

How's that for service?

So as I sit here with the new oil cooler lines, I look at the weather forecast and see rain for most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll wait and see how it goes but I hope to replace the hoses on Saturday with a mindset, yes, it might take me all day just because the two connections to the oil filter are in a pretty tight place. I'm not sure if I can drive it 45 miles with this oil leak to the nearest RV shop to have them do the repair, if I can't get my tool around those two connectors to pull the old lines out and insert the new lines.

These are the two places I need those tools to fit. Sorry for the blurry pictures.

One thing before I go. This repair job does make one thing evident. If this would have happened while I was on the road out in the middle of nowhere I would have either needed to tow a toad or have Good Sam's Services where they would tow my RV to the nearest repair shop where just the repair costs would have been a lot more than the $103 I have spent so far on parts and the tool.

I am now thinking of towing a toad even though I would prefer not to.

Oil Leak Update - No News

The day started with rain and it has rain lightly all day. I didn't feel like working outside even under the RV to figure out the oil leak problem in today's weather, but a couple of comments, a few emails and a couple of phone calls led to some pretty good advice. I will start tomorrow after work while it's sunny and dryer than today.

One consistent thing said by all that replied, email or called .... they did not think it was anything serious. If fact it might not be oil at all...possibly power steering fluid from the connectors that connect the hard line to the black hose. I did not know from the pictures those were lines to the power steering.

Yesterday when I saw the leak, I went immediately to check the fluid levels of oil, power steering fluid and brake fluid .... all were at normal levels, so nothing on the dipsticks showed I was losing a massive amount of fluid.

Tomorrow I will get home late afternoon and clean up all the sprayed fluid residue and anywhere else that is not dry. Then I will put some cardboard underneath this area to see what drips for the next 24 hours. If there are no drips on Tuesday afternoon, I'll take a short 20 mile round trip and then look again and check the same area for any leaks or blown residue.

Once that last check is done on Tuesday afternoon, I'll go from there.

The seller did call me today and said he had not seen any kind of leaks like that, the 7 months he owned it. He did say the only trip they made was a 800 mile trip to Mississippi and back to Indiana about a month ago. So, one trip in 7 months, that's a lot of time being parked. Maybe it's just a seal that need to be reseated after being driven?

Probably nothing more than just coincidence I had a leak right after I bought it. I don't believe the seller was trying to hide anything in the transaction. I did not notice anything the night I test drove it and I didn't notice any leaks on his drive where it was parked.

So it sounds like a minor problem and should be an easy fix.

I deleted my post about my old blog url being back in use. From that post I received over 2,300 views and most of those were spam emails from anonymous senders. Since the number of views has increased today after I had changed my comment settings, I decided I would delete the post for good.

More Downsizing & A Surprise

After waking at my normal time around 7:30 am, a cup of coffee while the hounds are outside checking for any overnight visitors in their yard, I went through a long list of stuff to do this weekend. The list is long and I need to get started early just after this cup of coffee. There are two demons that may jump out at me that may make it hard to accomplish anything. These are a couple of photos I took at 7:30 as the sun was trying to get over the trees. It looks like my neighbor's corn is a few weeks away from being picked. Cool temps this morning.

The hounds are always doing their morning search of new smells around the perimeter of the yard...except Heidi who is the sleep monster of the crew and is not even out of bed at the time this picture was taken. She seems to always know when its a weekend and she can sleep late. That is why only 2 hounds are pictured.  

A few people are telling my by email that I am crazy for thinking of selling my house with the property that surrounds it. That is why it's always been a hard decision for me in deciding whether to sell the house or not and what vehicles to sell.

The 1st demon I warned you about jumped out as I was drinking coffee. The INTERNET ... reading email, blogs, sports blogs, sport forums, rv forums, ....you get the picture. Before I  knew it 11am was almost here.  I hate when that happens. I know when I have things to do on a weekend, I have to go straight to the list and don't even look at the computer. There's always tomorrow.

So a late start. I wanted to check on the manufacture date of the tires. I knew I was looking for a 4 digit number that would be the week and year. The tread on these tires were new, hardly used, no cracking or dry rot on the side walls. Seller said they were a couple of years old. I even used a small led flashlight that night I looked at the rv tires. I later found that 4 digit number not on the back side of the tire but the front side of the tire, so that information from the rv forum was incorrect I guess.

The date of manufacture did not matter to me because just for my own peace of mind I was planning to installing brand new tires on any RV that I would buy. Since you have read this far you need to know the date....July 2006 .... which makes them at that 7 year mark and needing replacement. I am glad I was planning to install new tires anyway. Still the date surprised me a little.

Here is the SURPRISE ...

As I was crawling under the rv, I wanted to see where all the tubes and tanks were connected and I wanted to do a little more in depth inspection just out of curiosity.

What I saw next was not what I expected. Oil residue all over my oil pan, the new oil filter that was changed less than a 1,000 miles ago and a couple of hoses that looked fairly new...

I kept moving forward to where I thought I was at the front of the engine, when I found the source.

I am NOT a mechanic but it seems there would have to be quite a bit of oil leaking to have that much blowing residue on the oil pan, filter and hoses. I am guessing its a seal that needs to be replaced. Hopefully one that can be replaced without pulling the engine.

I have sent these pictures out to a couple of friends of mine that are 'gearheads' and see what they say. I will definitely call the local truck mechanic and have him take a look on Monday.

I don't think its anything major but what concerns me are the "little" discrepancies" I am finding after buying the rv compared to what the seller told me....such as:

1. "I have had this rv for a little over a year, bought it a year ago spring".... title says he bought it just 7 months ago in February 2013. Makes me wonder if he sold it because of the bed size and location like he said or this leak.

2.  "Tires were put on just before I bought it, they were new so probably a couple of years old at the most".... good tread, no cracking or dry rot on the sidewalls, but a manufacture date says the 28th week of 2006...mid July 7 years ago. Time to be replaced.

3. "I'm old school when it comes to maintenance, I like doing all my repairs and change the oil every 3, 000 miles".....if I were doing all my repairs I think I would have noticed this leak.

Could it had just happened....coincidence with purchasing? Yes it could.  When I said in my post last week that I had looked underneath it, I did no crawling....just looked underneath for anything out of the ordinary, saw the new Blistein Shocks, no damage on the skid plates, no leaks around the tank connections....I just didn't crawl far enough to find this....if it was there last Wednesday.

So I will move this leak as my top priority and get it fixed before anything else. After that I'll have new tires installed. 

I will close with saying, the 2nd demon showed up around 3pm...college football on tv.  By that time I had found the oil leak, had cleaned the house and looked around at more stuff to sort, sell or give away.....finding out "stuff' multiplies while you sleep during downsizing. I have not bought anything new ....but the more I look the more I find....it's like I ever started downsizing this past year.

After all that I found by 3pm, I decided I deserved to kidnapped by the college football demons and call it a day.