Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Researching the Telgen>Miller>Jordan Eleganza
| Researching the Telgen>Miller>Jordan Eleganza [message #297648] |
Sat, 19 March 2016 09:28  |
rcjordan
Messages: 1913
Registered: October 2012
Location: Elizabeth City, North Car...
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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So, Stick & Elise kindly/graciously delivered the Eleganza to Charleston, SC --7hrs away from Americus. $97 in gas and a couple of pizzas as payment and this was the cheapest recovery ever! (I tipped Stick $3, so make that $100. Heh) They made it without mechanical problems, as expected of this coach. I bought it sight-unseen based on comments here and at the Pensacola rally made by guys I've come to trust; Stick, Kerry, & Ken H. So far, I've spent maybe 10 minutes in the coach when Stick dropped it off at my son-in-law's fiberglass company's storage yard. Now it's time to start building a dossier on the coach. Stick, of course, has repeatedly and emphatically offered to provide as much information as he can but a little searching and data-collecting makes for a good start. Below is what I've found, mostly in ascending date order. I thought gmcnet might like to read over it. If anyone has anything to add, please do so.
Stick's 'For Sale' thread list a lot of upgrades: http://gmc.mybirdfeeder.net/GMCforum/index.php?t=msg&goto=290528&rid=0
Dixielanders: The Telgens were co-founders of Dixielanders in 1988
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Ken H: Bill Telgen was retired Delta mechanic
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Ken H: Bill Telgen rebuilds windshield wiper motors.
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Ken H: coach has 3.21 final drive (and transmission/fd had a leak)
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Stick: Bill Telgen switched to Amsoil products at some point in my coach's life. When I changed oil I went to a synthetic product. In neither case have I had an oil leak from the engine.
I haven't put mega miles on the coach, but so far the oil usage is minimal
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Bill telgen installed aluminum radiator
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Ken H: parking brake (currently disabled) is a true linear actuator with enclosed screw.
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Stick: pretty bizarre fluctuations in transmission temperatures a month or so after Stick first bought it
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Stick: wall-sized catalytic heater installed by Bill telgen
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Stick: Mine doesn't work but I don't think I've discovered the correct combination of switches. My PO, Bill telgen, loved switches and gauges.
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Stick: Bill added a diving board-like gang plank on the roof. It has a sanded surface
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Stick: altimeter that Bill put in my coach
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April 2014 Manny rear disk installation: Stick: coach had center wheel disc brakes installed a LONG time ago by Bill. Those middle discs apparently came from Leigh Harrison and have either entirely different than OEM, or seriously modified OEM, hubs! The 13" or so discs he uses do not fit on the OEM hubs. Ken H rear hubs, used sets of bearings, & a new pair of seals
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This coach has a McNeil dash board that looks like it came out of an L-1011. In fact there is an altimeter that has probably seen combat duty. There are gauges and lights and meters that I will have hours of fun trying to figure out.
Documentation is pretty complete, down to the last tank of gas and the last drop of oil. It is a matter of sorting through all the books.
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Stick: I'm told I have Wallace bearings on the coach. Anyone with any special expertise in these elusive creatures, please feel free to volunteer. I already have a couple of people lined up, but probably need all the help I can get. Nothing wrong - I'm looking to do some PM.
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Stick: I do have an extra capacity gray (I think) tank added by my PO.
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Stick: We are at Jekyll Island GA and I have possible engine problems. After leaving Panama City for the long trip across I-10 I began hearing what I thought was a muffler leaking. Pulled off but couldn't see anything. Engine was way too hot to fool with. Over the course of the 5 hour trip the noise got worse to the point of embarrassment.
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Stick: Our Onan continues to be undependable and once the cabin gets hot, there is no turning back. Every hour or so, the Onan fails and I have to get out of the coach, hook the Onan pump to the hot side of the starter and (I suppose) prime the pump. If it starts, it only happens again in another hour. The process starts all over.
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Stick: dash air and the auxillary unit mounted behind the driver's seat apparently need a shot of Duracool. I have a case of it
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Stick: I had both mufflers replaced. I wanted to make sure of was that the metal shield was in place. It was.
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Stick: driver's side wall cockpit panel replaced with Frank's
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Stick: Finally unhooked that air bag, put in a Schrader valve and it holds just fine.
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Stick: Shortly after purchasing "Cousin Eddie" the dash "hot-cold" slide switch came loose from whatever cable it attaches to and I've been stuck on cold since. With cool weather approaching I dug into the dash and found numerous plastic (or nylon) parts broken or out of place. I removed the module for repair or replacement. I don't want to do this again so what's a good solution? Is this a junkyard part or can I buy a new or remanufactured unit? Any more modern upgrades?
(A: The wafer is internal to the module. It opens and closes the proper vacuum ports depending on the position of the top lever. Here are some pictures:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/search.php?searchid=57201)
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Stick: With help from George Z and Hubert Rowell and several others it was determined that the smoke came from a small wire hooked directly to the starter (ground) that is the ground from the alternator. When the main ground failed, that little wire assumed the ground position and it fried.
Need to buy or have new battery cables made.
In the meantime, I'll take the starter to be tested and rebuilt as necessary. I really don't think there is anything wrong with it. The spare seems to be working perfectly.
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Stick: WTB - '76 A/C louver For the '76-only configuration, the center air conditioning box has 2 vents. I'm missing one. Let me know. Thanks.
(A: Do yourself a favor and buy a new free blow unit for $100 and you will have all brand new indoor parts. They fit.)
Stick: I found a louver
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Stick: OK I have a76 Eleganza and I need some a/c advice. I have adequate airflow but feel like I am not getting the temperature low enough. I'm using duracool and at 1500 rpm I have 20 lbs of pressure. I do not believe I have a leak.
It's 90 degrees here today and the air coming out of the vent is around 60 degrees. I think it should do better. The hose in the engine compartment that should be cold is actually just cool.
Additionally, I have a second blower box behind the driver seat. My understanding is that this blower runs off the engine compressor and yet, the air coming out of that blower is suddenly warm.
And the suction (large) line is at about ambient temperature, maybe more. There's not a heater element in that unit. ? Since this is a "closed" system much like if you had rear air in a Suburban what could be causing the difference between the dash air and this?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Stick: Dash a/c drops the outside temperature about 30 degrees F. I can live with that until something better comes along.
Auxiliary a/c (like rear air in a Suburban) runs off the same compressor and, up until a few days ago, produced air the same temperature as the main unit. I am assuming that, in the aux blower box, there is a condenser and an expansion valve.
There are no cut offs between the 2 units. Remember, this thing worked a week or so ago.
The fact that I'm getting cool air out of the dash sort of rules out a bad compressor? Yes? No?
The fact that the rear unit was working until recently would point to something going wrong in the aux blower box. It has been suggested that I tap the expansion valve to see if something will dislodge.
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Stick: Flipped on the roof a/c and went to "digging" around the auxiliary box. Turns out the carpeted cover box just sits there. The auxiliary cooling unit is a neat little plastic box that will be easy to move under the sofa, when the sofa becomes reality.
I opened the box (I can see Ken Henderson shaking his head) and basically the blowers and the cooling unit separated. I never really identified the expansion valve but found something that wasn't the condenser. I gave it a few taps but can't say definitively that it made a lot of difference. The air is no longer hot, but not cold.
I also noticed that the bottom of the box is open. I can see the road. There is an interior intake vent which tells me that it could recirculate cabin air AND be pulling in very hot road air.
Temperature outside was 93. Dash air got the temperature at the vent down below 60, but the temperature at the aux box was about 75. Better, I guess, than nothing.
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Stick: About a year ago several of you responded with suggestions on greasing the Wallace Bearings (Hubs) on my '76 Eleganza. Most, if not all of those presumed I had zerk fittings on the Wallaces. I do not unless they are hidden beyond recognition.
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Stick: Anyone have an adjustable drag link they want to part with? Let me know. Thanks
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Stick: Thanks to Alex Ferrara. Steering is much better. I got the whole treatment, from new steering column boots (not sure that is what you call them) to centering of the steering box. It made a remarkable difference in the coach's handling.
Besides having a great time at GMCMI, I now have a good driving coach.
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Stick: my coach has a small rust hole in the usual place - passenger side under the battery.
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Stick: coach has a good running Suburban gas furnace, a vented catalytic heater (mounted where the vacuum was originally)
SOLD 77 Royale Coachmen Side Dry Bath
76 Birchaven Coachmen Side Wet Bath
76 Eleganza
Elizabeth City, NC
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