Foretravel Owners' Forum

Hya all, especially to night hawk and old English, my vacuum pump has broken off its mountains but I can't think for the life of me where it was attached to, if could possibly take a photo of there's and send it to me so I can see exactly how it is attached and where too, also can someone remind me what is the purpose of this, I did ask the question sutch a long time ago Ive forgotten, I think it's something to do with air vents, I've noticed there is a fuse under dash for this, does it operate by a switch or does come on automatically when engine is running thanks kev

but would love to know where you got your replacement

Kev, here are a couple of photos of how it was attached on our 93. The pump shown is a replacement. The vacuum pump operates the heater/air conditioner flaps. The bulb in one of the photos is the vacuum canister.
jor
Ah OK thanks very mutch for that, the old bracket had rusted away and I heard a noise one day few years ago and it had fallen as far as the length of cable and hose that is attached, I haven't got a clue if it works or not, my air con isnt working at the mo, because the brackets on that radiator at the front have also rusted and the fans are just dangling there, it's one of the very last jobs I do once I have finished everything else and got it back on road,, it won't affect my normal heater from engine coolant water will it?, I do seem to be able to direct the air flow from screen to floor using dash controls,

Kev, here are a couple of photos of how it was attached on our 93. The pump shown is a replacement. The vacuum pump operates the heater/air conditioner flaps. The bulb in one of the photos is the vacuum canister.
jor
Thanks for the photos, looks like like gonna have to make up a new bracket for it to fit, cheers

I replaced my original venturi type vacuum producer with one of these;

Amazon.com: Electric Vacuum Pump, for Ford Excursion F-150 F-250 F-350 F-450... (https://www.amazon.com/Ford-Excursion-Dodge-Ram- Conditioning/dp/B07YFBLSGN/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=f250+vacuum+pump&qid=1590588046&sr=8-7)

So it worked OK this replacement so it doesn't have to be a gast yeah kev

You will find that the vast majority of diesel vehicles with vacuum operated HVAC systems do have an electric vacuum pump. So, these are pretty common.

Yes, there are some that use a mechanical vacuum pump off the engine.

And a venturi system off the air system.

It works perfectly.  I got the idea from another forum member about fours years ago, but I can't find the thread.  I think I remember Michelle saying they had put one on their FT and were pleased with the performance but for the noise telegraphing due to being mounted directly on the genset quiet-box sheetmetal, so I mounted mine using a plywood backer and barely notice the sound if at all.

Also, someone else said that that pump didn't last very long so I fooled around with it putting the hoses and vacuum caps on different fittings while powered-up and finally was able to have it work for my application with all fittings covered and air/water tight.  I thought that due to its location on my FT that water ingestion may be what could shorten its life.  As of this posting it's working fine.

It's two wires and it comes on when vacuum is depleted from the canister. I  reused my old tin can canister as my FT is rust free, but if not you can get a round ball-shaped plastic one at any supply house.

Th pump I linked has a few fittings so you'll have to figure out which to use.

I didn't realise that their is a canister that attaches to it, so are you saying that the old canister that was on your old gast pump fits on this one that you bought from amazon, I think I understand now how it works, as soon as I move from screen to dash to floor the vacuum operates it and then the pump comes on fills the cannister up with more vacuum then when it is full pump switches off and it's ready for next operation of the flaps, is that correct?

Also, I'm still getting used to abbreviations, what is FT please, is that just short for freightliner kev

Sorry for the confusion Kev.  You can plug any extra vacuum lines.  I had a cannister originally, you may not have but you will need one with the pump I linked.  It's been a few years since I replaced mine but basically I had a cannister that I attached to a vacuum port on the pump, then wired it up.  Like I said before you'll need to power up the pump on your work  bench and see what ports are which.  If it's a bust you can return it to Amazon.

FT is Foretravel, mate.

Was on the coach when I bought it. Here's a close up of the tag. Probably nothing special about this pump. I would think you could get one pretty cheap.
jor

I just noticed your post,
Mine packed up along time ago, I took it off but haven't got round to replacing it yet, maybe I can service mine with a kit, but like yours it's so old 34years, so the chances are it will probably be like yours, and il have to look for one eventually, luckily the air was  blowing onto my windscreen when it stopped working, it's not urgent as I still got so mutch to do before I get it back on the road, just out of curiosity, how mutch would a new one cost me if I was to get one from an auto trader please, I also have the added expense of postage to the uk

Kevo,
Yours looks very rusted and the motor probably is frozen.  I was going to try and rebuild mine at first with a Gast repair kit.
Gast K309 Repair Kit Parts FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING. - GPindustrialUSA.com (https://www.gpindustrialusa.com/gast-k309-repair-kit-parts-free-2-day-shipping.html)  After bench testing it out of the coach with a 12v battery it wouldn't even spin over and removal of all the rusted screws, etc. would have been difficult.  I tried to free it up with no success and it kept blowing fuses.

I wanted to stay OEM without any modifications because GAST pumps are heavy duty and last a long time.  Other much cheaper pumps will work just fine as others have used and I probably would have done that had I not found this one on Craigslist for $250 practically brand new.  The cheapest new one I could find in stock was from TECO Gast |Vac Pump .56 scfm 12VDC | MOA-V111-JH - TECO Technology (https://tecotechnology.com/products/gast-vac-pump-56-scfm-12vdc-moa-v111-jh) Not sure about shipping to the uk. 

Jerry