Motorhome Shakedown Cruise 02/28/2018

Well, I think that the Internet sucks today and I'm not sure that I'm going to be much better.  The problem with the exhaust headers is that when I purchased the motorhome, the previous owners didn't use any gaskets.  Gaskets are thin and are what's used on the engine, or exhaust when you bolt something metal to something else that metal.

We're working in a driveway, or in the storage unit.  And my mechanic was taking a risk when he did the right bank (during the compression cycle of the engine, the third phase is exhaust and that goes to the header), he was taking a risk that one of the bolts would snap while still in the engine block.  After getting that on, we determined that doing the left bank was not worth the risk.  If one of the bolts were to snap, working with this part of the engine is tight and he would have to remove the block.  That job entails severing every connection and removing the front grill, radiator and everything else in front of it just to pull it out.  He'd need to do that in order to drill out the studs that snapped.

We then had a hose from the vacuum compressor to the air filter manifold that was breached.  I first went to the local Ford dealer and the employee there said that it was obsolete and no longer manufactured.  He recommend that I go to a junk yard.  I then went to NAPA and tried to get them to replace it, but they couldn't.  So, I got creative and and purchased a piece of hose to go over the vacuum pump one.  Then I drove to the hardware store and got some 1 inch wide copper pipe.  Then I went to another auto parts store and got some JB Weld in case we needed to interface that piece of rubber hose that I got from NAPA with copper pipe from the hardware store.  Well, it turns out that the with pipe and stock hose, he got it together with some hose clamps.

This must be shakedown cruise #3 or #4.  He drove it this time and when we got on the freeway, I don't think he liked how it was accelerating, especially when it was already going.  He was stating that it could be that the cable from the gas pedal to the throttle body was stretched?  Or there could be a some sort of tensioner on the transmission that was causing it not to shift right.

Today was my first opportunity to fill up the gas tank.  I don't know what it's consumption was or what it will be until two fill ups from now.  All I remember was that it cost over $50 to fill over 33 gallons.