I was inspecting both manifolds to prepare for an eventual solenoid rebuild. Anyhow, the aluminum block is eaten up right where one of the air lines threads into the block. More damage on that side but also damage on the other. I'm thinking that this might be a show stopper for that manifold. Wonder if I could get one from Visone. The back manifold (last photo) looks OK, just real dirty.
jor
Jor,
Wonder what a new one cost from HWH?
Also there have been a few Fortravels burned or wrecked. Should be one on one of those.
I would remove it and clean it up before buying one. It might just be surface corrosion.
X2. A wire wheel on a bench grinder works great to clean up all the brass and aluminum parts. Be very careful when cleaning the round "seats" where the valves screw in. This area must be flat, with no radial scratches, in order for the valve to seal. See link below for some ideas.
Those air fittings have a good amount of thread. As long as the threads in the manifold are intact, I think you will be OK. Be sure to use a good quality thread dope on all fittings, and don't get too rough when you tighten them down. The aluminum is relatively soft, and excessive torque will pull the threads out.
The inevitable oil/grease coating on the rear manifold actually acts as a excellent preservative coating. Once you clean it off, you may find it is in really good condition.
If you
were to go looking for a (used) replacement manifold, you have to be very careful to get the correct one. HWH made many different styles of manifolds, for different applications. Even those that
appear to be identical may not have the same internal air passage design.
Working On My Six Pack (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=27491.msg225106#msg225106)
The flaking metal is intergranular corrosion and will likely go fairly deep. I recommend not using steel wire brushes to clean it up as you will be setting yourself up for dissimilar metal corrosion in the future. Use brass brushes, sanding disks or craytex Dremel tips for corrosion removal on any aluminum. Next use some acid etch followed by a water rinse to kill any corrosion in minor pits. If you really want to do it by the "book" next would be an Alodine solution, but a good epoxy primer alone will likely protect it for many years. Any black "slits" or lines in the metal after sanding indicates corrosion still present. Be sure to wear some breathing protection when grinding anything, especially aluminum.
I don't think HWH sells anything but the entire manifold assembly with solenoids. About $1200 I've been told. Colaw salvage in Missouri might be a source. They had a 99 Foretravel that I got my spare King controller from.
That's very interesting. I had not seen aluminum do that before. When I get around to that project I think I will clean it up as recommended and see what I end up with. As Chuck pointed out the threads go fairly deep so it might not be a problem after all. Nevertheless, I think I'll give Visone and Colaw a call to see what they are asking. Could be that my solenoids are in bad shape too. Take a look at this one which I had replaced on our last trip.
jor
John, thats just rust and the valve face (important part) looks ok along with o rings (but change them out)
Clean that rust up and away you go.
JohnH
Jor,
I see signs of corrosion in many of the photos you have posted of your coach. Don't know the history, but I would suspect it has seen a lot of wet operating conditions, possibly on roads near a beach, or up North where deicing fluids are used. The rust you see on the metal cover over the coil, and on the big washer, are purely cosmetic damage. It will not effect the function of the solenoid valve. The critical parts of the valve are the coil, the moving armature inside the brass body, and the rubber seals.
You can test the coil on your work bench. Put the valve back together, and apply 12 volt power to one of the plug pins. Ground the other side of the plug - you should hear the armature moving inside the valve. Or, just test the coil for continuity with a multimeter. Zero ohms means a dead short - infinity is a broken wire - either way, coil is bad. Something around 5 ohms resistance means the wiring inside the coil is good.
The metal cover and the washer just need to be cleaned up. The washer is simply a spacer - has no function otherwise. I wire brushed mine, and painted them with Rust-Oleum.
Other than that, all that valve needs is the parts contained in the rebuild kit. Be sure to coat all the rubber seals with lube (I like Super Lube)
Super Lube 3 oz. Tube Synthetic Grease with Syncolon PTFE-21030 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Super-Lube-3-oz-Tube-Synthetic-Grease-with-Syncolon-PTFE-21030/202932687)
Northern exposure and benign neglect. I'm gainin' on it though.
jor
Jor,not sure where you live but if you could get that part glass beaded it would not take any metal off and would look good,
would still give it a coat of paint.
Good idea. I think I'll do jetdoc's recommended process on the sealing surface. I can do the cans and washers myself as I have a cabinet blaster. I use a media called Black Magic which is not too abrasive. thanks.
jor
Cheap Chuck here. I rebuilt my solenoids by replacing o-rings only. The plungers I chucked into a vise and drill and using a sharpened bit of metal, refaced, eliminating the indention from contacting seat. Put a couple of new complete units in, old ones had bad coils. Sourced on Ebay ,some $20.00 generic solenoid operated valves with similar operating current, removed the coils and used them to fix my old valves. So, if the rebuild kits are not available, there's always the po-boy way. I suspect some searching would yield complete solenoid valve assemblies that are not gold plated. Actually, as I recall I found complete manifold assys that would possibly work. Didn't look into it too deeply.