Good morning everyone.
Just arrived at the Cummins service center in Savannah Georgia for my annual service.
My coach has 95,500 miles.
Oil and filter, fuel filters, coolant filter, check air filter.
Anything else?
Chassis lube. Check brake rotors, slide pins and rotors. Maybe replace the differential lube.
If you don't know when the last time the air filter was replaced, replace it. If it was more than three years, replace it. Be sure the new air filter has the metal screen mesh on the inside. If they do not have the correct air filter do nothing. Generally, if you open the air filter canister then you should replace the filter.
You can remove the air intake from the filter cannister and have a look at the filter without disturbing anything.
Hi Roger,
Does Cummins know how to do all of that on our coaches?
I will as wondering if there was a one stop shop that I could get everything done but I think that would be MOT, Foretravel or the other new place in Nac.
Travelen Man,
They spoke to me about the air filter but are unsure as of now if they have one.
It was changed in August of last year, 5000 miles ago
And, coolant filter depends on the coolant chemistry you have.
The wrong filter can mess up coolant chemistry. If the new generation, long-life coolant, the filter needs to be a BLANK (filter media, zero SCA).
New to this so I am not sure if the attachment is going to work? This was a picture of the complete recommended annual inspection.
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/KxYgU6uEUzAHS3vKA)
How do you know the cooling chemistry do you mean fluid analysis.
I believe they're going to change the coolant filter without analysis
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/KxYgU6uEUzAHS3vKA)
Ah, the mechanic-de-jure. Stopped at the Cummins Coach Care in Jacksonville, FL several years ago with an appointment. They had great hook ups so we got settled in and I went in to check in and register. We had an appointment. While inside the DW said a couple of mechanics came to the coach and she let them in to do part of the log in. After about ten minutes DW asked what they were looking for. Seems they couldn't find the place to plug their computer in. DW said "It's a mechanical engine!" The head mechanic admitted he needed to hire older people.
The is all engine and chassis stuff, the Cummins should be able to do all of it. Some of these places are Coach Care shops. They can work on RV systems as well.
If the air filter was done a year ago (5000 miles) then you should be fine.
I had an air filter fail and it cost more than $25K to rebuild the engine. The air filter is a $60-90 part. The engine mechanic that rebuilt my engine told me to change the filter if you open the canister. You can open it up and look all you want but every time you do without cleaning the canister and replacing the filter you will introduce dirt into the system no matter how careful you are. If you don't trust the filter minder gauge replace it every three years. Mine gets changed every three years as Brett suggests.
Actually replace it every three years irrespective of air filter minder reading/trust in it!
They are made of cellulose and degrade with time as well as with intrusion of dirt and sometimes even water.
Roger
Are slide pins the same as king pins
The slide pins are the rods that the brake calipers slid on (attached photo) - King Pins are the main pivot point in your steering axle, which should also be lubed.
BUT (yes, large BUT) the brakes require a special high-temp lube and only need it done once in the life of the brake pads.
Chassis grease in the brake zirks is a real no-no.
Most lube guys have no idea and hit all the zirks they see with grease. That is why many remove the zirks from the air disk brakes and install blind plugs. Kind of inexpensive idiot-proofing.
As my luck would have it this facility advertises itself as a coach care facility but in reality it is not because they do not have RV technicians so the shop supervisor told me all they do is the engine.
I should've gone to the Jacksonville Cummins branch🙁
Brett and Pat, Thanks for filling in slide pins and brake greasing precautions for Lt403.
BTW, the air disk brakes are also found on FIRE TRUCKS. So whoever works on their air disk brakes is a good bet to service yours.
Think-- moonlighting city/county maintenance tech.
30 years of doing fire truck maintenance - in Los Angeles, firefighters do all of the basic preventative maintenance on the rigs and then our mechanics do all the heavy work. Our fleet runs Allison Trans, Cummins, Caterpillar, a few Detroits still around. We even have a few Telma Retarders (Induction Brakes) on some of the fleet.
I think any authorized Cummins Service center can handle all of the work on your coach's engine and drive train, the side-mounted radiator is a nice touch on FT which makes them easier to work on - I take my FT to a local Cummins mechanic who does maintenance on our city fleet - plus a Cummins center will have access to genuine OEM parts.
Hi LT,
As a ballpark to compare price my most recent full service in August of 2019 at Cummins for my 400 ISL and Onan Generator costs $2900 for both.
Included were:
Oil Change
Filters - Air, Oil, Fuel, Coolant, and all other filters
Trans service and fluid change
Trans filters
Coolant/radiator flush
2 - Starter Batteries (Group 31)
Chassis Lube and all brake calipers slide pins.
Adjust rear airbag height (My right side was 2" lower)
Plus full inspection of all drive/engine components.
Funny you should mention that Brett. I have a FD mechanic coming over in the morning to help me change out the brake pads. Many of them do side work and there are those that are retired that still do the work. In our department they are highly qualified (think liability with regard to fire engines) and have their own tools.
I am a retired FF and we took our apparatus to the shop for any maintenance that was needed.