U295 Driveline vibration issues

Topic: U295 Driveline vibration issues (Read 1481 times) previous topic - next topic

U295 Driveline vibration issues

December 21, 2012, 09:36:58 pm

I have heard rumor of a constant, potentially destructive driveline vibration on the early 295 coaches. It becomes apparent when the coaches are driven to their potential [70+ MPH]rather than babied along [55-60 MPH]
Any help or advice regarding possible fixes would be helpful. especially before I decide to pick mine up.

Kevin

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #1 – December 21, 2012, 09:51:37 pm

Lots of things can make driveline vibrate.
First, is this a new vibration or has it been going on a long time ?
Could it be drive axle wheels out of balance ?
U Joints dry or loose ?
This could be at least 20 questions, so give all the info you can.

Dave M

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #2 – December 21, 2012, 10:51:41 pm

Nyaah. Never heard or experienced. From what source is this rumor perpetuated?

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #3 – December 21, 2012, 11:33:45 pm

Quote from: Chuck Pearson – December 21, 2012, 10:51:41 pm

Nyaah. Never heard or experienced. From what source is this rumor perpetuated?

A SOB owner trying to justify why he owns what he does and not the best?

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #4 – December 22, 2012, 06:56:46 am

AirFlowGuy,
Since you do not list owning a Foretravel or anyother RV, I wonder where the question comes from. If your looking at buying that model, I suggest you drive one and see if it is all
"horse hockey" .
Like I said earlier, if you have this coach and it has a vibration, then tell us more about it, not just some rumor you heard about SOB. I never heard such a rumor nor had a problem.
Love to assist, but need facts not rumors.
Merry Christmas
Dave M

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #5 – December 22, 2012, 08:28:51 am

I have had three FTs and no drive line issues and have driven in the 70s. I have not heard of any either.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #6 – December 22, 2012, 09:12:32 am

Well I have to say that was helpful, your comments ranged from the overly simplistic which would assume a total lack of driving experience or mechanical skill on my part to down right insulting [Ted].
All I wanted to do was sample some experience and validate a piece of information passed on to me by another owner. Perhaps I've picked the wrong forum.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #7 – December 22, 2012, 09:53:35 am

Kevin,

I think it is natural for owners of a brand (any brand) to get defensive when rumors about their "baby" are discussed.

Not necessarily good, but natural.

Could there be a driveline vibration in a Foretravel-- sure. And probably with the same frequency as in any other coach, since many coaches share the Cummins C engine, Allison 3000 transmission and the same drive shaft and rear axle.

As with any DP, rear axle ride height is CRITICAL, as a small change in ride height has a material affect on drive line angles with the very short driveshaft found on all DP's. So is "indexing" the driveshaft, etc-- nothing new here.

But, the number of Fortravel owners with the same drivetrain and chassis who drive 70 with no vibrations speaks for itself.

I don't think you will find a better source for technical information on Fortravels than this site.

Brett

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #8 – December 22, 2012, 10:17:40 am

@airflow Since we are wildly speculating here one possibility is that the unit was towed at sometime in it's life and the driveshaft was removed and then reinstalled after towing 180° out. This happened on mine but I never noticed any vibration. The only reason I know it was 180° out was because Wayne noticed it while working on it at FOT!

If vibration was an issue in the 295s I'm sure there would be a ton of postings on it in the archives. Based on that I'd say no it's not an issue but I've been wrong before!

Don't let a rumor scare you off.

see ya
ken

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #9 – December 22, 2012, 10:33:22 am

65,70,75, and yes even 80 sustained towing my Element -

No vibrations.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #10 – December 22, 2012, 10:37:14 am

Kevin,

If you use Search (the one across the menu bar) and search on U295 vibration within the 1 page of results you'll see 2 threads from the old Yahoo archive which talk about this. So not a huge problem, but there are a couple of instances.

Transmission Dampener

Vibration in rear of coach

Apparently '96/97, 36' U295 in some cases P3 bearing.

HTH,

Michelle

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #11 – December 22, 2012, 10:55:23 am

Unfortunately, Jim, the mechanic of the family isn't available right now, so I will have to chime in from a non-technical viewpoint and from reviewing the repair records and memory.

We own a 1996 U295. In 2004, it developed a vibration in the driveline. We took the coach to the Allison facility in Spokane, Wa. Quoting the invoice: "Found failed "P-3" carrier. Remove necessary components for access, replace failed parts, reassemble, check drive line angles, verify correct operation."

The total bill was $2497.42 but that included changing to Transynd. Without completing dissecting out the costs, it appears the actual P-3 carrier replacement was approximately $1900.

What I recall (again from memory and being non-technical), we were told that this failure was common in this year coach (we have since met another FT that had the same issue). Apparently Allison assembled the transmission with the wrong torque for the nut that holds the P-3 carrier. This caused the failure. We worked this issue through Foretravel (Keith was working at the Liberty Lake facility which helped us when it came time to adjust the ride height). Foretravel, without us even thinking to ask, got Allison to pay half the cost of the repair. This apparently was unique to the U295 (the U320 for that year had a different transmission).

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #12 – December 22, 2012, 10:58:17 am

Checking the old threads that Michelle posted, the Indio192 response to the second thread was Jim's response.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #13 – December 22, 2012, 11:17:27 am

Quote from: airflow guy – December 22, 2012, 09:12:32 am

Well I have to say that was helpful, your comments ranged from the overly simplistic which would assume a total lack of driving experience or mechanical skill on my part to down right insulting [Ted].
All I wanted to do was sample some experience and validate a piece of information passed on to me by another owner. Perhaps I've picked the wrong forum.

No offense was intended.... on Forefoums "SOB" stands for Some Other Brand..... My post was in response to Chucks question of why anyone wou;d say a U295 has blanket vibrations issues... "Nyaah. Never heard or experienced. From what source is this rumor perpetuated?" My answer is someone who owns "S"ome "O"ther "B"rand of moterhome who is sorry he did not buy a Foretravel.... Just trying to add some humor

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #14 – December 22, 2012, 11:41:45 am

Don't the 295 and 270 use the same transmission?

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #15 – December 22, 2012, 11:52:54 am

Interesting, Seems the issue is not Foretravel, but Allison, there for would be any RV with THAT transmission in that year model.
Glad it is not a "Foretravel" only issue. The old saying still has merit: "Garbage in=Garbage out", gee that covers alot.
Merry Christmas
Dave M

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #16 – December 22, 2012, 12:10:02 pm

Our forum members range from those with an extensive mechanical background to others with equally important knowledge but in other fields of endeavor. After reading recent posts, it's easy to imagine being stuck in an unfriendly town in winter with an exploding fan or major bulkhead failure. Some will be able to put the coach on back of a wrecker and head off to a first class repair facility via the magic of a credit card while others will see it as a potential economic disaster with serious retirement implications.

While Dave can do a mental checklist of all possibilities and knows exactly what PM to do to minimize the risk (excellent), others may have major angst just thinking about a strange noise or a trip back to the engine compartment door and rumors only add to that. I have to say I can easily remember when I took up a new project or hobby totally without a clue to what was going on. It takes a while to learn to make a search in the archives to find answers to questions and then come up to speed on our very complex vehicles so let's not laugh too hard at the newbies and remember where we once were.

Pierce

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #17 – December 22, 2012, 12:46:29 pm

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – December 22, 2012, 11:41:45 am

Don't the 295 and 270 use the same transmission?

Gayland,
Not just the same Allison transmission, but the same chassis, engine, suspension, tires, brakes, etc......everything (1996 thru 2005) unless a non-standard build was custom built for the first owner. The differences between the U270 & U295 were ONLY in the trim level details (interior and a couple exterior, like bare aluminum or painted vs. chrome mirrors) and the exterior graphics.
Neal

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #18 – December 22, 2012, 12:47:55 pm

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – December 22, 2012, 11:41:45 am

Don't the 295 and 270 use the same transmission?

In a word, YES. Both use the 3000 series Allison with Retarder. The U320 uses the Allison 4000 series with Retarder.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #19 – December 22, 2012, 12:48:57 pm

Kevin, Read the archives that Michelle just posted . This was a real problem for only very early U270 & U295 owners. Older GV & all U320 owners wouldn't have clue as their coaches are built with different drive lines.

Gary O

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #20 – December 22, 2012, 12:53:17 pm

I resemble that remark ;o)

Best, paul

Quote

U320 owners wouldn't have clue.

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #21 – December 22, 2012, 03:33:47 pm

RE: I have heard rumor of a constant, potentially destructive driveline vibration on the early 295 coaches.

The rumor is a fact. We had our driveline angle changed by Foretravel. They put a spacer under the rear single engine mount.

See our posting from our earlier life:
http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=8387.msg36772#msg36772

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #22 – December 22, 2012, 04:48:28 pm

Well, I stand corrected, this is the first I've heard of this. Though I don't have any vibration issues it sounds like a call to Foretravel to see what preventative or preemptive corrections are available. Shoot.

Chuck

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #23 – December 22, 2012, 04:55:46 pm

A friend with a 97 U295 had a driveline vibration that was resolved by FT, apparently the damper was involved in it. I was under the impression that only a few FT's had vibration dampers on them at the transmission. Coach was sold about a year ago to someone ion FL.
Gary B

Re: U295 Driveline vibration issues

Reply #24 – December 22, 2012, 05:23:22 pm

Quote from: Gary Bouland – December 22, 2012, 04:55:46 pm

A friend with a 97 U295 had a driveline vibration that was resolved by FT, apparently the damper was involved in it. I was under the impression that only a few FT's had vibration dampers on them at the transmission. Coach was sold about a year ago to someone ion FL.
Gary B

Gary,

I do recall reading about the damper vibration damage but thought it applied to a year/model Allison transmission in all RVs in the retarder section of the transmission. Improper torque or nut design.

Pierce

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