GMC “Mechanical Evaluation” (updated)

“Due Diligence” for a 40 year old motorhome is about more than making sure the title is clean, the tires look good and the ash trays are empty!  After this long and as many fingers that’s been on the beast… you have to “trust but verify”.  The dang thing s too big to push and an unexpected tow will melt your wallet… and that’s not to mention getting towed to Bubba & Scooters auto emporium… well, you just want to try and not do that.  Picking up one of these coaches you really need to have yourself or someone qualified to do a thorough once over and expect to find issues.  It’s not the seller would be hiding something from you it’s just it’s old and my bet there are things he may not even have known about.  That’s not his fault… look, it’s your coach now and you need to know what you have.

We do a 5 page mechanical evaluation to give us a better picture of the mechanical condition of your coach.  Of course that entails a compression test but beyond that we look at brakes, bearings, fuel delivery system, cooling system, you know frame, cooling system… all of it.  We determine each parts value… “A” means it’s in good repair, good to go…. “B” means it’s somewhere in it’s wear curve and needs to be watched then “C” meands it’s broken or needs replacement, repair, adjustment or something.  Based on that evaluation we talk about what you want to do and from there we do it.  This mechanical evaluation takes 2 hours of a tech’s time… @ $80 per hour the evaluation will cost $160 and from there we get to work.  This is important for sure if you have recently purchased a coach.  let me show you some things we’re finding on 2 recent purchase coaches… Nancy W. and Craig S. :

So the guys are at it over at the new shop So I brought JayGee over to the old shop to hold the fort down for Kevin and Hank.  Paint and mechanical will make the move in 90 days   I’ll finish this in the morning… see ya then…

Good Morning, so we’re back.  let me tell you stories of 2 recent purchase coaches we’re working on right now.  Both new owners had contacted us before they purchased their coach doing their “due diligence”.  You usually hear that phrase when you buy a house…. I mean you really need to know the house you’re getting ready to buy is free and clear and not on top of an Indian burial ground or in Florida built on top of a sink hole.  A survey of whatever you are buying helps you assure what exactly it is that you’re paying for.  Many think looking around and kicking tires then twisting the poor guys arm that’s trying to unload the heap on you is enough.  Well it is if you’re buying a used car but you are looking at a really old hay bailer here…. you need to know more and you need to expect there will be issues.  And guys I’m sorry but more than to have some hammer to whack the seller with, knowing these things needs to prepare you for what will happen when you purchase the coach. <<<< News Flash >>>>>————–> THERE WILL BE ISSUES.   

Brother, the dang thing is old and it’s .

Guys, Jim G. just rudely interrupted me wanting to know where the valet service starts.  We pulled his coach and plugged it in for him to crash after getting Ada to the airport on time.  So we’re off to Sharons… got Bob and his Mom, Jim G., Brians coming and we’ll all transport in Larry.  See after the feed…

Buck 99 breakfast, ya can’t beat it… so where were we?

Yes, now both of these coaches drove in, one a good distance.  Craig I think got close enough for the tow service to kick in and had her brought in but they were both running and motivating.  Both coaches I feel were a good buy and have much to work with but now the investigation begins.  The goal is to bring mechanicals to a road ready condition… plus a few creature comforts to renew some other cosmetic and convenience things but we’ll talk about that later.

With Nancy up on the lift the investigation began.  First thing are the “B’s & B… that’s bearings and brakes.  If nothing more you need to feel good that a wheel won’t pop off and if needed you can hit the brakes… stop the coach and run!  I know this sounds very negative but these are the first pieces that must be reliable.  So with Nancy on the lift hers is first.  Now this coach was driven down from up north… “up north” means to me above the Mason-Dixon line so it came in a distance.

Pulling the rear wheels … we found a disturbing sight  Here is the rear spindle of one wheel   Note the silver ring on the brake drum sitting there.  Now look inside of the hub That sandy looking stuff in the grease… it metal and chewed up remnants of the bearing cage… in short the inner bearing ground to dust with the hub riding on the brake drum!  Here is a good spindle and compare it   to the spindle from this wheel

The laft flat is not supposed to have a lip… the surface is gone!  Besides that the brake wheel cylinders were leaking, look at the black fur (brake dust) stuck to the brake plate and the residue at the end of the wheel cylinder

Now remember, this coach drove the eastern seaboard to get to Florida!  On Craig’s coach if you can, overlay these pics to see how much play there is in his front wheels      Can ya see it!  Good thing he had it towed that last distance.  But along with this of course the fuel hoses a petrified, the front control arm bushings are toast   Look close and you can see the chunks of rubber falling out.  These 2 coaches are the best candidate for the new “1 ton” front suspension.  BTW…. lets talk about that:

Someone asked what do I think about the new 1 ton front suspension and it is worth doing.  In a word NO… that is unless you have so many front suspension issues…. knuckles, hubs, control arm bushings, drive shafts… in that case it would actually cost lass plus updating the suspension to a later model design heck… for those projects it’s a no brainer!

      That’s not a “spacer” it’s an adapter so you can use your original dually rims.  You could very well us a standard GM 8 lug dish wheel.  YThis adapter does not add load to the bearings.  It gives you a larger disc brake rotor, a newer designed rotor, new control arms and bushings, new drive shafts and an improved 4 bolt in “wafer” bearing pack… no wearing out hubs and knuckles.  Hey listen, if you wann get one it’s great but until your front suspension says I’m gone you don’t have to do this… but it will cost less in the end and your coach will be more serviceable and perform better…. hey your choice.

I’ll show you more on these projects… we have 2 fuel tanks rusted beyond use we’ll have to deal with one 1, we have much more to bring the coaches back to the road but it all can be done and we anticipated finding them.

      Stay tuned.

See ya tomorrow and thanks for dropping by….

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