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Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so?
Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123314] Tue, 26 April 2011 17:11 Go to next message
thorndike is currently offline  thorndike   United States
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Location: Conifer, Colorado
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Well,

I got home from work early to jump on my brakes. After reading everyone's comments about the high level of torque I applied to my lugs, I thought I had better fix it quick.

So I did.

I grabbed my bottle jack, jack hook and all my tools and marched right to the curb where I proceeded to jack up the rear. Just before the wheels left the ground, I grabbed my socket bar and a 4 foot length of black pipe. Archimedes was right, with a long enough lever, anything is possible! I got those lugs loosened in minutes. I jacked the wheel a little higher to make sure the wheel was centered on the hub and began to put things back together. This time I remembered the center ALCOA hub cover.

I lowered the wheel a little to create some friction between the wheel and the ground and tightened everything up. I used my new torque wrench (you remember, the one I had to buy yesterday) and planned to torque them to 140 ft-lbs and written on the nut. Things were going great until the torque wrench head came apart. Argh, so back to the garage and grab my original wrench with DID go to 140, so I was still in business. So on everything went.

When finished, I lowered the coach and took it for a spin. I was very pleased to hear that most of the noise I had heard was gone. I did blow a LOT of brake dust out of the drum, so I am hoping that is what it was. Great, I was on my way to finishing.

I pulled the coach in to the curb so I could work on the left side. As I am getting everything in place to do the left front/rear wheel, I noticed some wet spots on the curb that weren't there before. I smelled it and knew it wasn't water as it smelled like hydraulic fluid. I looked around and couldn't figure where the fluid could have come from. I was hoping it wasn't brake fluid, but as it was so clear I didn't think that was a worry.

Since I couldn't find it, I continued to set up expecting to look for it later. When I grabbed my bottle jack I found it was wet. I looked down and realized that the plug covering the hydraulic reservoir was gone. Apparently, as the coach lowered on the other side, the jack hook slid down the back of the jack and ripped the plug right out and when I put the jack in the grass it fell over and all the fluid poured out.

So, not only was I down a torque wrench, I was down a jack too. As I had to use both jacks on the other side. (At one point I had to use the second one to free up the first one.) As I didn't want to get caught in a position of having the coach on a jack that I couldn't remove, I decided to leave the brake as it was. I figured that since the first brake was in good condition and most of the noise seemed to go away, I was going to take my chances the way it was to get to Bean Station. I am REALLY hoping that the left brakes are in the same condition as the right brake.

So, that is why jobs that take others a couple hours, usually take me 2 days!


Robert Peesel 1976 Royale 26' Side Dry Bath Conifer, Colorado
Re: Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123330 is a reply to message #123314] Tue, 26 April 2011 18:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
tphipps is currently offline  tphipps   United States
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Location: Spanish Fort, AL
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Bob, Wait until you get lots of help, it will take longer. Smile Tom Phipps, leaving O Dark early tomorrow.

2012 Phoenix Cruiser model 2552 KA4CSG
Re: Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123332 is a reply to message #123330] Tue, 26 April 2011 18:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
WD0AFQ is currently offline  WD0AFQ   United States
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Bob, pull the other side at BS if you have any doubts. I know the feeling. 2 hour job is normally a 2 day job for Teri and me. That is one reason we went to disc brakes on rear.
dan


3 In Stainless Exhaust Headers One Ton All Discs/Reaction Arm 355 FD/Quad Bag/Alum Radiator Manny Tran/New eng. Holley EFI/10 Tire Air Monitoring System Solarized Coach/Upgraded Windows Satelite TV/On Demand Hot Water/3Way Refer
Re: Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123370 is a reply to message #123332] Tue, 26 April 2011 20:49 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thorndike is currently offline  thorndike   United States
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Registered: January 2011
Location: Conifer, Colorado
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April and I are planning on installing the disc brakes in the back before our trip west this summer. The last thing I want is to have a problem with the brakes on the downhill side of a rocky mountain!

I am scouting out friends and family who might not mind having a coach in the midst while I do the brake job. THAT is turning out not to be as easy as I had hoped!

I'd love to do the airbags at the same time. Anyone else suffer from GMC Project Creep?

Bob


Robert Peesel 1976 Royale 26' Side Dry Bath Conifer, Colorado
Re: [GMCnet] Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123374 is a reply to message #123314] Tue, 26 April 2011 20:49 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ken Henderson is currently offline  Ken Henderson   United States
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Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
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Bob,

One point I haven't seen mentioned in either your comments or the replies
concerns your suspension arm lifting bar (which you left in place the first
time): After you install it, you should only jack the coach up enough for
the bar to just touch the suspension arms; then, let the air out of the bag
so that the only force on the bar is the weight of the suspension arm and
the item (wheel, etc.) attached to it. If you don't deflate the bag, the
bar may well be bent by the force (at least my 2-1/2" x 3/8" bar would be).
Worse, IMHO, is the excessive force exerted on the bogie itself and the
pins -- consider the lever arms involved.

Looking forward to meeting you here at BS. We're already having fun &
eating well! More GMC & airplane & other BS talk than one normally gets in
a month. :-)

Ken H.



On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 6:11 PM, Robert Peesel <thorndike@pldsllc.com>wrote:

> ...
> I grabbed my bottle jack, jack hook and all my tools and marched right to
> the curb where I proceeded to jack up the rear. Just before the wheels left
> the ground...
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
Re: [GMCnet] Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123382 is a reply to message #123374] Tue, 26 April 2011 21:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
John Sharpe is currently offline  John Sharpe   United States
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Location: Texas
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Quote:

.....I did blow a LOT of brake dust out of the drum,.............


PLEASE!!!! Don't do that. Brake dust can cause serious health issues.


John Sharpe
Humble,TX
'78 Eleganza TBI
'89 Spectrum 2000 MPI V-10
'40 Ford Panel Delivery TPI
johnasharpe@gmail.com
Re: [GMCnet] Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123391 is a reply to message #123374] Tue, 26 April 2011 21:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thorndike is currently offline  thorndike   United States
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Ken,

Thanks for the concern! Have I told everyone how much I appreciate this list?

I did in fact, deflate the bags as you suggested, so no harm done....I hope!

I have to say I am quite excited about meeting everyone and learning all I can.

Thank you.

Bob


Robert Peesel 1976 Royale 26' Side Dry Bath Conifer, Colorado
Re: [GMCnet] Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123392 is a reply to message #123382] Tue, 26 April 2011 21:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thorndike is currently offline  thorndike   United States
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Location: Conifer, Colorado
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John,

I made sure that I was upwind as I blew things clear. I was outside and there was no one around, so I figured I was fairly safe. I was going to use my vac, but the filter isn't great so I would have been blowing it into the air around me anyway.

Thanks for watching out for me!

Bob


Robert Peesel 1976 Royale 26' Side Dry Bath Conifer, Colorado
Re: [GMCnet] Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123396 is a reply to message #123382] Tue, 26 April 2011 21:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
James Hupy is currently offline  James Hupy   United States
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Original riveted brake linings that were fitted on the GMC contain a known
carcinogen, asbestos. Please do not use an air hose and blow it into the air
where you might inhale it. NO AMOUNT OF ASBESTOS is good for you. The proper
way to get rid of the dust currently is to vacuum it with a vacuum cleaner
that has the approved filters for the job. Another way is to use non
clorinated "Brake Kleen" aerosol cleaners and catch the residue in a pan
like a refrigerator drawer and dispose of it properly according to the
environmental rules that your state uses. Don't let it dry up or it will
become airborne again. Newer linings do not contain asbestos, but they are
still not anything that you want to breathe. Always use a good respirator.
JWID
Jim Hupy
Salem, OR
78 GMC Royale 403

On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 7:28 PM, John Sharpe <johnasharpe@earthlink.net>wrote:

>
>
> Quote:
> > .....I did blow a LOT of brake dust out of the drum,.............
>
>
> PLEASE!!!! Don't do that. Brake dust can cause serious health issues.
> --
> John Sharpe
> Humble,TX
> '78 Eleganza TBI
> '89 Spectrum 2000 V-10
> '40 Ford Deluxe TBI
> mailto:johnasharpe@gmail.com
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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>
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Re: Removed My First Wheel, Part Deux, or Why does Murphy hate me so? [message #123446 is a reply to message #123370] Wed, 27 April 2011 06:00 Go to previous message
mike miller   United States
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Registered: February 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
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thorndike wrote on Tue, 26 April 2011 18:49

...
I'd love to do the airbags at the same time. Anyone else suffer from GMC Project Creep?


Yes, all the time.

If you ever want to USE you coach you have to learn to evaluate problems as you find them, and only allow a project to expand when it really NEEDS to.


Mike Miller -- Hillsboro, OR -- on the Black list
(#2)`78 23' Birchaven Rear Bath -- (#3)`77 23' Birchaven Side Bath
More Sidekicks than GMC's and a late model Malibu called 'Boo' http://m000035.blogspot.com
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