My Current Situation

Topic: My Current Situation (Read 1880 times) previous topic - next topic

My Current Situation

November 20, 2019, 11:46:46 am

Servicing the slide pin's and hubs, checking the brakes (which I knew where good ). Making sure the slack adjusters are adjusted correct.Rotating tires , side to side.
The Cheapo torque amplifier worked awesome. $50.00 delivered off Ebay. One handed removal with crank, even with tires off the ground.
If you don't have a torque wrench to torque them when you put them back on, mark the lugs before you remove them. The tool is amazing.Comes with everything you need.
Easy to touch up wheels while they are off. A few people asked me what I do to polish them.
Fine steel wool with Mother polish, then Mother's polishing ball. You don't have to take them off to do them.Very little work.

Cheers

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #1 – November 20, 2019, 12:01:06 pm

Looks great.
Are you sure that the tires can be crossed ? Have you checked with the manufacturer?
Most of the Michelin that were crossed blew up shortly after. I never cross MY HD tires now.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #2 – November 20, 2019, 12:10:08 pm

Nice video of it in action. Wonder what the ratio is?

Pierce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIHzSWvXSJE

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #3 – November 20, 2019, 12:34:41 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – November 20, 2019, 12:10:08 pm

Nice video of it in action. Wonder what the ratio is?

Pierce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIHzSWvXSJE

1:58

Extreme caution needs to be used when re-tightening the lugs. That is why I say mark and number them.Matt broke some studs with one of these a couple of years ago.

The one he had used standard sockets. Even thought he was torquing them to the spec's that came with it, we found he was torquing them to 800+ lbs.This one does not use standard sockets, or comes with torque specs'

The video posted, is the exact model I bought. Small cheap tool to ride along, even though I don't plan on changing tires on the road.

Heavy Duty Torque Multiplier Set Wrench Lug Nut Labor Saving Lugnut Remover...

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #4 – November 20, 2019, 12:36:22 pm

Quote from: Protech Racing – November 20, 2019, 12:01:06 pm

Looks great.
Are you sure that the tires can be crossed ? Have you checked with the manufacturer?
Most of the Michelin that were crossed blew up shortly after. I never cross MY HD tires now.

I asked Les Snobs where I bought them, they said yes. They are NOT bi-directional.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #5 – November 20, 2019, 12:42:05 pm

If they are unidirectional, there will be ARROWS on the sidewall.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #6 – November 20, 2019, 01:01:06 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – November 20, 2019, 12:42:05 pm

If they are unidirectional, there will be ARROWS on the sidewall.

Thanks Brett
No, they are not. They are Toyo's
Just got off the phone with les Swabs again. They rotate them all the time, and if I want, they will dismantle, and swamp rears and fronts, to change directions.
Not going to go that way, because they are wearing fine at 10K miles. Just going to swamp side to side.
BTW, they recommended NOT oiling studs, as it will cause over torquing. Just clean up the threads with a wire brush.
Chris

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #7 – November 20, 2019, 01:03:32 pm

Correct. Wheel lug nut specs are for DRY, not lubed.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #8 – November 20, 2019, 01:56:40 pm

JMHO, but if the coach drives good I would put the tires right back where they came from. Moral of the story, try not to keep fixing it till it's really broken.😬😬😎

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #9 – November 20, 2019, 03:44:46 pm

Great write up and photos!

Quote from: gracerace – November 20, 2019, 11:46:46 am

Easy to touch up wheels while they are off. A few people asked me what I do to polish them.
Fine steel wool with Mother polish, then Mother's polishing ball. You don't have to take them off to do them.Very little work.

Just as an aside, this is not something you want to do if your Alcoa wheels have DuraBrite on them (which many FTs do). Gentle soap and water only on those or you'll destroy the DuraBrite finish. Check the labeling on the rims first.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #10 – November 20, 2019, 07:25:35 pm

Quote from: Michelle – November 20, 2019, 03:44:46 pm

Great write up and photos!

Just as an aside, this is not something you want to do if your Alcoa wheels have DuraBrite on them (which many FTs do). Gentle soap and water only on those or you'll destroy the DuraBrite finish. Check the labeling on the rims first.

Right,Good info Michelle
Ours are the old "The more you polish, the shiner they get". Personally don't care for coated ones , had a dog pee on one, got under the coating, and ruined the wheels.
I thought all earlier FT's had polished wheels, at least that is what I remembered in the 2000's
My Jeep ones looked good for a couple of years, and now the clear is ugly.
Chris

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #11 – November 20, 2019, 07:33:49 pm

Ours were OEM polished. I used a phosphoric acid wash followed by an alodine conversion and then Mothers/aircraft wool/Semichrome as they were quite tarnished. All six were the same. I've seen some with steel wheels on the inside rear. Our spare has a matte finish and has a slightly different Alcoa part number because of that.

Pierce

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #12 – November 21, 2019, 07:19:45 am

Chris, how fine of steel wool did you use? I used Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish with the powerball and the wheels mostly turned out amazing. However, there is still some areas that are tarnished and I didn't know how to properly remove it without damaging the wheels.

Thanks,
Larry

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #13 – November 21, 2019, 10:08:33 am

Quote from: ohsonew – November 21, 2019, 07:19:45 am

Chris, how fine of steel wool did you use? I used Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish with the powerball and the wheels mostly turned out amazing. However, there is still some areas that are tarnished and I didn't know how to properly remove it without damaging the wheels.

Thanks,
Larry

00 or 000

If you have a bad gouge, you can even use emery paper, and work your way back up to polish.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #14 – November 21, 2019, 10:37:16 am

Quote from: Protech Racing – November 20, 2019, 12:01:06 pm

Looks great.
Are you sure that the tires can be crossed ? Have you checked with the manufacturer?
Most of the Michelin that were crossed blew up shortly after. I never cross MY HD tires now.

I know that you can't reverse the direction on Bridgestone and Michelin radial tires. You can, but you'll have a blow out. The radial wires take a set and don't like to be reversed. The tires can be rotated as long as they keep rotating in the same direction, using careful side to side swapping and in or out flipping.
But why do so? Unless you have severe wear on a steer wheel from poor alignment, our tires are going to fail from age, road damage* or under inflation long before they wear out.

*I'm including hitting curbs and driving over rocks as road damage.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #15 – November 21, 2019, 11:44:35 am

A good reason to have all position or steer tires all the way around. I never go across but only front to back if I have to. Since our spare tires is used, I worry a little about which side it was mounted on.

Pierce

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #16 – November 21, 2019, 05:29:25 pm

Just for the record for part numbers, the pads on the back that looked good with a mirror, is because I couldn't see the outside ones. Caught the D/S with 1/8" left, other side was 3/8".
Pulled all the pins, they were fine (none stuck) don't believe they were hanging up. Both rotors are fine, no heat. My theory is, they were out of adjustment, because the one worn was tight, but would spin, the other less worn pad was loose, spun easy.
Rear pads are on there way.
Menitor KIT 15625PM. $279.00 with tax & free ship from Truck parts. Some better prices out there, but didn't trust them to get them to me in a timely fashion.
Mentitor verified KIT 15627PM is the same. Guy at Truck Parts said everything in the listing read the same, so weird they have 2 part numbers
Pins are fine.
BTW, dropped one caliper, pulled the pads to get the numbers off the back. Piece of cake.
Chris

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #17 – November 21, 2019, 07:17:07 pm

Quote from: gracerace – November 21, 2019, 05:29:25 pm

Just for the record for part numbers, the pads on the back that looked good with a mirror, is because I couldn't see the outside ones. Caught the D/S with 1/8" left, other side was 3/8".
Pulled all the pins, they were fine (none stuck) don't believe they were hanging up. Both rotors are fine, no heat. My theory is, they were out of adjustment, because the one worn was tight, but would spin, the other less worn pad was loose, spun easy.
Rear pads are on there way.
Menitor KIT 15625PM. $279.00 with tax & free ship from Truck parts. Some better prices out there, but didn't trust them to get them to me in a timely fashion.
Mentitor verified KIT 15627PM is the same. Guy at Truck Parts said everything in the listing read the same, so weird they have 2 part numbers
Pins are fine.
BTW, dropped one caliper, pulled the pads to get the numbers off the back. Piece of cake.
Chris

Their fmsi is different, it has to do with the friction material.

what does fmsi stand for - Google Search

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #18 – November 22, 2019, 08:46:27 am

Thanks Chris, I'll give it a try, probably in the spring.

Larry

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #19 – November 22, 2019, 11:04:48 am

Quote from: craneman – November 21, 2019, 07:17:07 pm

Their fmsi is different, it has to do with the friction material.

what does fmsi stand for - Google Search

OK,
If you want to be technically correct, Mentor Tech (I called them directly 1st) said the KIT 15627 PM, crosses with the numbers on the back of my pad. But KIT 15625 PM will work fine. KIT 15625 PM is also the number's I found else where on here in Search.
It is the most common one on the market. They are also 1/2 the price at under $300.00, verse $600.00+.
Hopefully the one's I ordered, will out live me.
Cheers
Chris

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #20 – November 22, 2019, 11:16:10 am

Chris, I was only pointing why the part numbers were different with the exact application specs. I would do the same as you and buy the lower price one. Curious did they tell you which one has the better grip?

Chuck

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #21 – November 22, 2019, 11:21:40 am

Quote from: craneman – November 22, 2019, 11:16:10 am

Chris, I was only pointing why the part numbers were different with the exact application specs. I would do the same as you and buy the lower price one. Curious did they tell you which one has the better grip?

Chuck

I didn't take it as a negative comment. I didn't mean to sound negative either.I always want our friends on here to have all the info.
The Menitor Tech line guy just said "Those will work too".
Probably going to have to carry a couple of 2x4's to put under the wheels, for a park brake now...LOL
Cheers

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #22 – November 22, 2019, 11:26:55 am

When cold my parking brake doesn't hold the coach when in idling in reverse. I leave it on and back out my driveway to not have to ride the brake navigating the space between the house and fence.

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #23 – November 22, 2019, 11:41:24 am

Quote from: craneman – November 22, 2019, 11:26:55 am

When cold my parking brake doesn't hold the coach when in idling in reverse. I leave it on and back out my driveway to not have to ride the brake navigating the space between the house and fence.

Went Leavenworth Washington a couple of weeks ago, parked on a big hill. Kind of bothered me, but held fine, even with the bad pads.
Some times I start moving the coach while it's building air, to get it out of the shop fast, so I don't stink it up.
CW

Re: My Current Situation

Reply #24 – November 27, 2019, 06:57:25 pm

...UPDATE...

Pads are installed. The Menitor KIT 15625PM worked fine. Coach holds with the engine in gear, throttle on, with park brake activated. In reverse, you can move the coach, but it's reluctant, stops as soon as you let off throttle. Figure the pads aren't even seated yet.

I found why the left rear pad wore so bad. When I started installing the pad on the caliper, it wouldn't slide into place . I took a fine grinder wheel on my drill, and polished the caliper where the pad rides. Still too tight. So I took the pad off, ground like a 32nd off the edge, pad slid right into place. One retainer spring on the other side was broke off and missing.

So the old pad wasn't completely kicking back, but riding on the rotor. Not enough to overheat, but enough to cause excessive wear.The pins were fine, the caliper was sliding fine, replaced one, that was probably fine. Man, we should get at least 2 more MPG now!

I decided to NOT rotate the tires, even though Les Swab would do it N/C. I took some of the advice on here, and a couple of trucker friends. As Bruce Bean said " If it ain't broke don't fix it". Tires are wearing perfect anyway.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, thanks for all the input

Chris and Tammy

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