After 19 long months, our Nimbus came home. Bernd has out done himself, as this engine has power to spare, runs smoothly and is very quiet for a diesel. It was a long journey and though we certainly missed having the coach, it was worth the wait. We have a few bugs that are inside problems, one being the control panel for the AC. It is either gummed up or just needs replacing. It will not respond to touch and has a goofy looking 156 or 166 on the display. Our back vent fan is also not working. It opens ok, but the vanes won't turn. I checked the fuse, it appeared ok. I also made sure it was in the on position.
Congrats on getting your coach back! Can't help with the AC control board, but the rear vent fan may just need cleaning. I would try that first! Of course, the motor itself could be toast!
Congrats.
Curious, why a new engine, and why did it take so long?
Cheers
Chris
I'm not Lynn & Linda...I'm just a interested sideline observer who feels their pain.
It's a long story. It all started over a year ago...
Update on progress of our deer smack from late Sept (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=33393)
More info here (Reply #10 and follow-up posts):
2006 Cummins 525 ISX (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=35097.msg329546#msg329546)
The engine was a domino effect. Bernd would fix one problem and it lead to another. So he would fix the next problem and on it went. It finally circled back to the emissions system which had been worked on by Cummins in March of 2017. After a ton of research on Bernd's part and consultation with Cummins, he was able to get all the parts to work together properly.
There have been several ISX engines that have failed and reported on forums.
All I know is that the engine sounds great,
Has more power and runs smoothly.
[moved to Discussions for greater visibility/future search functionality]
Linda, a couple of questions
1) When you say "new engine" do you mean they replaced the entire engine (possibly with a remanufactured one)? Or is it your original engine, running like "new", after replacement of failed parts?
You mention the emissions work done by Cummins as being the culprit.
2) What work was done by Cummins that precipitated the issue?
3) Has Cummins acknowledged/admitted their participation in the failure and/or have you been successful in getting any compensation for the repairs?
19 months is a very long (one might say unacceptable) time for a coach to be stuck in a shop.
The engine was rebuilt. So it is original.
We had brought the coach in for emmision work, at Cummins, they supposedly changed out the sensors, but from what Bernd found, they were incorrectly placed and were non functional.
Cummins worked with Bernd and I think gave us a break on parts.
19 months is a long time, but the bloody fan had to go to England twice. So that's at least 12 weeks out of the time.
No, we are just happy to have a great diesel mechanic that knows what he was doing and had the patience to keep working through each problem as it reared it's head. He has done an amazing job and has become the person we will take the coach to for any engine work. I have full confidence in Bernd Ramspeck and his shop.
That's disturbing to hear. I wonder which units are affected by this unique fan? It's not the first time an uncommon supplier has been used where repairs have been a significant challenge. Recalling Bobnkathy and their 2007 Nimbus whose dash a/c had no possible parts available.
Thank you for your info. I feel your pain. Had to do our motor too. But everything was at Cat, so a friend and I did ours at my shop.
Didn't take that long, but after one false repair where we thought we had it, we had to pull the motor, to fix what was really wrong (broken ring # 6 cylinder). That basically ruined last summer.
Hopefully it's behind you, and you can begin to use your coach again and enjoy it.
2800 miles and counting. No leaks or oil usage.
Cheers
Chris
Another satisfied Bern'd customer. Glad to hear that your issue was resolved. I was wondering if your coach was inside the whole time or repaired in parking lot?
The lot, though it was plugged in and kept cool. I know when the motor was opened up, things were covered to prevent critters and dirt,etc from getting in. I visited during some of the repair. Have not found any sign of rodents inside the coach either. First thing I looked for.
Pugmom... Is that your coach sitting next to mine in February?
George
No!
Yikes! Was that 'lookin' serious' pic taken of one of our members' coach? Wonder what that dark hulk in the middle right of the pic is?
Nice clean work place🤣
That guy lucked out, a lot of Parks take a dim view of serious repairs on-site!
That is Bern'd outside repair facility. I curious why the city allows that to take place? Must be the location.
That is my biggest complaint about Bern"d ( number two is the constant up sell). I can not wrap my head around what I am being told, and charged for, is "quality work" being done in the dirt. Those two things don't go together in my world.
Keep it civil and on point.
Allows what that doesn't occur when stuff happens anywhere, they pour kitty litter on a shop floor and then it goes into a leaky trash dumpster. What really happens when a $$$$$$$$ hazmat team arrives may blow your mind, once they leave the revenue scene. Not right but reality.
If this is turning into a bash party, then I hope the monitors lock it. The more I look at the picture, the more I wonder about it. It may be a mess, but it doesn't appear to be Bernd's yard. I was just there.
Not so unusual in South Texas seeing repairs done outside, probably 20 car lifts and pits, outside of buildings, within 20 miles of me. Probably because of the milder weather. You can work outside all year unless it is raining.
Lynn and Linda, I am glad to see this is coming to a close and you will be back on the road. It should be a celebration of coach life returning to normal not bashing the source of the repairs. It is your choice where to get work done. I see smiles in your front window.
If you have ever seen a site where heavy equipment is working with bulldozers, scrapers etc. the transmissions and engines are done on site in the dirt. At least they were when I was in the operating engineers as a heavy duty repairman. I rebuilt transmission, engines and final drives in the field. It isn't where you work it is how well you do the job. Had to use air and solvent sprayer near the end of each job to clean parts during assembly. Pictures are of a 977 cat 3206 engine I rebuilt in the yard in 2001 the loader is still going strong to the person I sold it to.
Been to a couple very clean Cummins repair places.. Had the valves adjusted and they totally missed the leaking harness right next to the valves... Clean shop doesnt mean anything for the most part... what matters is the end result..
I have nothing for or against this place.. Glad Pugmom was able to get everything back and like I said ..... Einstein looked a mess but he did fairly well..
From what I have read .. his work is good.. Cant beat that.. I guess you could with a clean shop and shotty work?
If Pugmom is happy thats all that should matter to any of us.
Added a pic of his place with the other coach on google maps..
Similar to above,from what I have observed here,Bernd himself is a engine mechanic who happens to own an RV repair shop,like
in bsaeball the best batters don't make the best batting coaches,the best mechanic may not be the best teacher.
Along the lines of John44's comment, I've always said that quality control is the biggest problem. If you have ever watched "FantomWorks" (http://fantomworks.com/) on the Motortrend channel, the owner, Dan Short, is always inspecting the work done by others and raising hell when it isn't up to his standards. That is what is missing in addition to basic training and supervision. Too bad since the potential is there.
George
That's a fact, my buddy who worked for BD Holt cat for many years mentioned that often the first tool to start a rebuild on a track dozer was not a wrench but a shovel. To dig a hole for access and to drop the oil pan into.
I still have my "track shovel" it's a great tool in my flower beds and strangely I don't miss the D9 it came with.
Pony motor or electric start.
Over the years both of them, last pony motor was an old D something or other that I was roped into operating in Wyoming 40 years ago. I was squirting in T poles and stringing fence for the state around state parks.