Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Stopping Our Coaches
| Stopping Our Coaches [message #234899] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 05:46  |
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WD0AFQ
Messages: 7111
Registered: November 2004
Location: Dexter, Mo.
Karma: 207
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Senior Member |
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Not being a super duper mechanic I just never could keep my brakes up so they would stop our coach reliably. Before our first long trip I paid to have everything replaced. Brakes did not get me half way, 6000 miles, before I lost a front caliper. It just jumped off coming down a hill on the north side of the Columbia river. Before we got home I pretty much had no brakes and was back where we started when we bought the coach.
Next trip we lost the M/C out in west Texas. Came through El Paso at noon on Saturday with no brakes. Bob de K came to our rescue once we got to Arizona. He replaced the M/C and bled the lines. Had some decent brakes again. Made it through the trip and back to Mo. Next winter, lost brakes again in west Texas somewhere. Dang it. In mean time I had driven Rob M's coach. He had stopping power with front rear discs only. Anyway, after Quartzsite Jan 2011, we drove straight to Applied in the Bay Area. Had the one ton, with big brakes, installed, along with all 4 rear discs with reaction arm. It cost me a good chuck of change but now I have brakes like a van. No more "anticipated" stops. Panic stops are no problem. Yes, I paid a lot of money for parts and labor but we have a coach that your grandma can drive. If you are a mechanic and enjoy brake work, I have no doubt you can keep good brakes on the GMC. Heck, I even run disc brakes on the 66 vdub toad. No maintenance, just swap pads and go.
I like modern running gear on old vehicles. Got a 5 speed sitting here to swap into my 65 Mustang and it will also get disc brakes when I get around to it.
While I am on the keyboard, I never gear down an automatic transmission, I use the brakes. With my manual transmission cars I do gear down some, just for the fun of it. The vdub and Mustang sound good when gearing down. My most fun spot in the GMC is the western decent of the Tehachipies. I really let the coach fly then brake a little then fly again. I know I can stop so I don't worry about braking it.
Do what you need to do to have good brakes and a reliable coach. Keep your towing insurance paid up. Mine costs 100 per year but FMCA is now offering something for 70 bux. I did not check into it because I had just paid mine.
Happy Motoring in 2014. If you make Quartzsite please send me pictures, I love that place. Should you get close to our home, please stop by if you can.
And, never pass a GMCer without stopping to check on him/her.
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
[Updated on: Fri, 03 January 2014 05:47] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: Stopping Our Coaches [message #234901 is a reply to message #234899] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 06:04  |
appie
Messages: 902
Registered: April 2013
Location: denmark
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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on downgearing with manual
I meet quite some folks who think they are enginebraking while infact they are clutchbraking ! That is ofcourse not a good idear Had a new driver once who wore out the clutch on a bus in 3 months.
Appie
eleganza 76 "Olga" now sadly sold
6 wheel discbrake
Quadrabags
Springfield stage 2 462 olds
Manny tranny
( pictures at http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6489-olga.html
Fulltiming in Europe july 2014 til july 2016
Denmark
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| Re: [GMCnet] Stopping Our Coaches [message #234909 is a reply to message #234901] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 08:13 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Huh, 3 months is FOREVER! I hired a young computer technician about 23
years ago who was a devoted Camaro owner -- with automatic. Turned out
he'd never driven a stick shift. So I taught him, since he was to drive a
company car. Thought I did a pretty good job but 2 days later he called
from the major city 15 miles away to say the car (an '87 Nissan Stanza)
wouldn't back out of the parking place. I didn't catch on to the cause of
the problem since the car had 90,000+ me-driven miles on it and was
probably due for a new clutch.
Two days after the car got out of the shop with its new clutch, he called
again -- same problem! The dealer was exceptionally generous: "We KNOW
what happened, but you're a good customer, so No Charge." Yep, I forgot,
or he forgot, about "DO NOT LEAVE YOUR FOOT ON THE CLUTCH PEDAL." He
admitted that's how he drove.
He's still a close friend of my son, still drives automatic Camaros, and
endures my ribbing about clutches.
I wouldn't let him near my GMC! (Content)
Ken H.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 7:04 AM, lenze middelberg wrote:
>
>
> on downgearing with manual
>
> I meet quite some folks who think they are enginebraking while infact they
> are clutchbraking ! That is ofcourse not a good idear Had a new driver
> once who wore out the clutch on a bus in 3 months.
>
> --
>
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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| Re: Stopping Our Coaches [message #234918 is a reply to message #234899] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 09:39 |
cbryan
Messages: 451
Registered: May 2012
Location: Ennis, Texas
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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Thanks, Dan,
Saved me a bunch of money. I have driven buses (manual) (tells you how long ago) full of kids down from Loveland Pass in Colorado. (11,158 feet, 3401 meters) down to Denver at 5280 feet in about 70 miles. 1.8% grade overall, but there are a couple of upgrades in that way, it gets steeper toward the summit and the first time I got into one gear too tall (fourth instead of third), and was just tooling along hoping so much that someone wasn't stopped in my lane because I knew because of brake fade that I wouldn't be able to stop. (Drum brakes, hydraulic system, 1966 Ford, single circuit brakes (another story) .Looking back at those kids in the mirror, about 40 of them, whose parents trusted me to return them safe and sound, that was not much fun. I just hoped I would be killed first if there was an accident. Never did it that way again.
So, I am rethinking how to get the MH down the hills safely. Before now, I would have put it into second at the top and idled down. 20, 30 MPH, no problem. Hello, Manny! It would have been a good way to get that switch pitch I have been wanting.
I guess the gears are helical cut, some of them, and push the clutch plates more open when retarding? Would more line pressure of transmission fluid help? Should there be a coast solenoid to increase pressure when needed for engine braking? Is that even possible to implement inexpensively? Manny is the man, but boy, that puts a premium on brakes. You know, they make eddy current brakes for rear axles on big buses. Flip a switch and you slow down, NOW. Not much room in our MHs for that setup.
Thanks for helping.
Carey Bryan
Carey from Ennis, Texas
78 Royale, 500 Cadillac, Rance Baxter EFI.
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| Re: Stopping Our Coaches [message #234919 is a reply to message #234899] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 09:49 |
cbryan
Messages: 451
Registered: May 2012
Location: Ennis, Texas
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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I think Dan was in the Air Force. Maybe a braking parachute??
Carey
Carey from Ennis, Texas
78 Royale, 500 Cadillac, Rance Baxter EFI.
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| Re: Stopping Our Coaches [message #234925 is a reply to message #234918] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 10:24 |
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Matt Colie
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
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Senior Member |
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| cbryan wrote on Fri, 03 January 2014 10:39 |
Thanks, Dan,
<snip>
I guess the gears are helical cut, some of them, and push the clutch plates more open when retarding? Would more line pressure of transmission fluid help? Should there be a coast solenoid to increase pressure when needed for engine braking? Is that even possible to implement inexpensively? Manny is the man, but boy, that puts a premium on brakes. You know, they make eddy current brakes for rear axles on big buses. Flip a switch and you slow down, NOW. Not much room in our MHs for that setup.
Thanks for helping.
Carey Bryan
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Carey,
The gears are helical, but it is my understanding (I am no expert on any automatic transmission) that the gear thrust is passed off to thrust bearings. It is only the hydraulic pressure on the clutch that makes the engagement. This is why Manny is specific about not using the electric kick-down as it does not get the same clutch pressures as the shift pull-down.
I have seen eddy current retarders in vehicles with propeller shafts, but that kind of leaves us out. Would be neat.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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| Re: [GMCnet] Stopping Our Coaches [message #234933 is a reply to message #234909] |
Fri, 03 January 2014 11:22 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Senior Member |
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My cousin has 250K on his Nissan pickup. Original clutch. He asked the guy at the independent Japanese fixit shop how much to replace a clutch in one of them and how many miles to expect from the clutch and the guy says "I dunno, we never have replaced one" Driven properly, they last.
As to who one lets drive the coach, I saw someplace that some outfit - I believe it was FMCA - had a program similar to the one AOPA used to have for private pilots. Teach the spouse how to get the thing to a place of safety without hitting anything or tearing something up. It would be a lot easier than how to land a lightplane safely. Paula will be front of the line even though she'd hate it. I told her, if I fall dead or wounded on the road, she's gotta get the GMC off the road. All it wants is a bit of confidence building, and then a bit of time on the road to learn the sight picture when the thing is where it ought to be on the highway.
--johnny
________________________________
From: Ken Henderson <hend4800@bellsouth.net>
To: gmclist <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2014 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Stopping Our Coaches
Huh, 3 months is FOREVER! I hired a young computer technician about 23
years ago who was a devoted Camaro owner -- with automatic. Turned out
he'd never driven a stick shift. So I taught him, since he was to drive a
company car. Thought I did a pretty good job but 2 days later he called
from the major city 15 miles away to say the car (an '87 Nissan Stanza)
wouldn't back out of the parking place. I didn't catch on to the cause of
the problem since the car had 90,000+ me-driven miles on it and was
probably due for a new clutch.
Two days after the car got out of the shop with its new clutch, he called
again -- same problem! The dealer was exceptionally generous: "We KNOW
what happened, but you're a good customer, so No Charge." Yep, I forgot,
or he forgot, about "DO NOT LEAVE YOUR FOOT ON THE CLUTCH PEDAL." He
admitted that's how he drove.
He's still a close friend of my son, still drives automatic Camaros, and
endures my ribbing about clutches.
I wouldn't let him near my GMC! (Content)
Ken H.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 7:04 AM, lenze middelberg wrote:
>
>
> on downgearing with manual
>
> I meet quite some folks who think they are enginebraking while infact they
> are clutchbraking ! That is ofcourse not a good idear Had a new driver
> once who wore out the clutch on a bus in 3 months.
>
> --
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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