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Topic: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending (Read 1992 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #20 –
When I work on flooring for coaches, I post photos on my flooring forum. I'd like to start a thread talking about remodeling of your coaches. How do we go about doing that in the commercial section?
Back to the refer installation. All I have installed are the 2 door 24 inch wide units. I haven't explored the units that are side by side. Some of these require windshield removal and, while there are individuals that do that for a business, that is not me. At 64, my body is starting to dictate what it will allow me to do. Thanks, all Ernie

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #21 –
Glen arrived this afternoon with his rebuilt hydraulic pump. Rick, the mechanic, will be here in am. Will post how things go, as Glen left his computer home- 300 miles away. The saga continues~

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #22 –
Just now got home from Ernies.  So far, it's all good news.  The mechanic installed the pump today, we filled it with oil, put on a new belt, and took it for a spin.  I have power steering, the fans are doing their job, and there is no oil leaking.  I think I'm in tall cotton.

I really didn't think it would all come together in time to get the coach finished this weekend.  So, for reasons that made sense at the time I rode my motorcycle up to Fort Worth to get the pump instead of taking the Toad.  So now, the coach is apparently repaired, but I'll have to drive the toad back to Ernies to get the coach.  Besides, my wife and sister-in-law want to ride back with me in the coach.  So I guess that I'll head back up there in the toad first of next week to get the coach before Ernie starts charging me rent!

When all this is said and done and I can sort out the details on this pump I'll try post something about the repairs and all the trouble I had getting someone to repair it.  The pump repairs could be very important to others who have this same hydraulic pump, for Foretravel told me (with Michael Harbordt as a very surprised witness) that neither a replacement nor subsitute pump is available from anyone anywhere.  After a couple of false starts it seemed that repair parts were not available either.  I got lucky finding a shop that dug a little deeper.


Glen

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #23 –
When mine failed, Foretravel sent the CAT shop I was broke down at a replacement pump and all the instructions for the new hose arrangement to the external pressure relief valve now required as the replacement does not have it internal to the pump.  I've been running with this new pump without issue for a few years.  So there is a replacement but it is not just bolt on and go.

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #24 –
When mine failed, Foretravel sent the CAT shop I was broke down at a replacement pump and all the instructions for the new hose arrangement to the external pressure relief valve now required as the replacement does not have it internal to the pump.  I've been running with this new pump without issue for a few years.  So there is a replacement but it is not just bolt on and go.

Dwayne, I've been getting mixed messages on this pump.  I had read a thead several months ago by OldMattB saying that his Vickers pump (94 U-240, 3116 Cat, same as mine) had failed, and he too wound up with an alternate replacement pump from Foretravel.  When my pump failed I had Matt's experience in mind and I expected that I too would wind up with the replacement.  My mechanic knew of two local hydraulic shops in Fort Worth who repaired pumps, so I contacted them also while awaiting a return call from Foretravel.

Repair shop #1, American Hydraulics, couldn't repair the pump.  The next stop, Motion Industries, said they thought they could do the job so I left them the pump.  When I later talked with Jeff in Parts at Foretravel he agreed that repair would be the best option, for a new alternate replacement pump could cost between $2000 to $3000.  (This was a casual conversation,  not a detailed quote, and he was not looking up part numbers, etc., at the time ).  Anyway, I thought I had an option, although an expensive option, just in case the original pump couldn't be repaired.

The repair shop hit a temporary snag which made me nervous.  I rode up to Nacogdoches to see Mike Grimes (Parts Manager at Foretravel) and get detailed info of cost and availability of the replacement pump that OldMattB had purchased.  Mike told me that there was no replacement pump available for my coach.  He did give me the name of a shop in Tyler that might possibly be able to build me a pump if mine couldn't be repaired.  Mike Harbordt (Michael Jackie from this forum) was with me during that conversation, and was as surprised as I to hear that was no pump available from Foretravel at any cost.  My best hope was that Motion Industries could repair my pump.

As it turns out, they repaired my pump, and I drove it home yesterday.  However, now that I have more time I'd still like to learn more about this mysterious replacement pump from Foretravel.  I'll to talk to Mike Grimes again and cite both your and Matt's experiences.  It's very probable I didn't give him enough information about my needs.  I'm hoping a replacement pump IS still available in case I or others are caught with our pumps down.

Glen

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #25 –
Glen, When the seal on my hydraulic pump leaked I took it to a local Hydraulic repair shop.  He replaced the seal without taking the pump off.  While there we talked about these unique FT pumps.  He showed me in a catalog that there are replacements but since I did not need one at the time I did not write it down. The unique property of the pump is that it is a DUAL pump, with two inlets and two outlets. I will try to see this guy in a few days and get a catalog if I can,  He thought it was no problem to replace but he also advocated repairing any pump.  His take was if the inner cavity was not scarred that it could be rebuilt with new vanes and seals.
Gary B
 

Re: A tale of sorrow, but hopefully with a happy ending

Reply #26 –
Again, as my post above indicates, pump and seal failure may be due to excessive belt tension wearing out the front pump bushing and then wearing on the seal.  Back off the detent hold to provide ONLY needed belt tension!

Brett