Obscure 240 Parts found

May 26, 2025, 01:12:58 am

We recently replaced the Air Dryer on our 240 and the serpentine belt tensioner of our Cat 3116. I had to do a lot of chasing down these two parts and it probably took me two months to figure out what or who to get them from.

Air Dryer:
For anyone looking for a supplier for a rebuilt Bendix AD-4, I found Accupart to be amazing in providing a rebuilt AD-4. At the time of purchase It was $275 with a serviceable exchange. It comes with a 12 month warranty. Bendix no longer supported my original part number but Accupart knew the appropriate replacement part number. Once I found their company, I had a quote with 24 hours, and a rebuilt air dryer was ready to ship within two days. They didn't charge me until the unit was ready to ship. I received it by the end of the week. It took weeks of searching to find someone who worked with these old air dryers. I'd start with them if you need one. I've included the contact info for the rep that helped me and a picture of what the part number tag looks like. I had a hard time finding it. Finally, the large airline is 1 1/4 inch line. On my coach there was no room for a crescent wrench and it was too tight of a fitting even if it would have fit.

DDH Enterprises, LLC
Sales and Technical Representative for Accupart
Dwight Hussey
Ph: (828)-803-8864
Cell: (828)-803-7113
dwight@accupart.com

Belt Tensioner:
For anyone looking to replace the alternator, A/C belt tensioner, I went with the Gates version. I put my serial number in the Cat parts website but it was not super clear what the part number should be. I could not find a part number on the 33 year old tensioner that was on the engine so I reached out to Gates customer service on their website. I received a message well within 24 hours with a request for my engine serial number (which for me is listed in the Foretravel owners manual). The rep emailed back within an hour or two that it appeared there were two possible Cat part numbers and Gates had their own version of both. Because I was never able to reach anyone from Caterpillar, I selected the Gates part that appeared to be the most likely candidate. I purchased the Gates PN: 38509 which replaces the Cat PN: 7E-3999. I ordered it online from Napa and the nearest store to me in nowhere IL had it within four hours. NAPA was fast, Gates was amazing to work with and the tensioner works great!

Windscreen:
Also, I learned something with the front windscreen replacement that was recently done. The molds for the narrow body 225 and 240s were sold to a different manufacturer than the original windscreens. Foretravel can get them as well as maybe other suppliers but it's not always fast. I think it took a week for my installer to get ours. If your insurance company is looking for them you can tell them to check with Foretravel. I don't know if ours came from FT or a different supplier but If you are buying it yourself, it sounds like FT is the easiest way to find the right windscreen.

I hope this is helpful to someone else. Have fun with any of these projects

Michael

Re: Obscure 240 Parts found

Reply #1 – May 26, 2025, 07:51:48 am

Good job, Michael.

Sometimes finding replacement parts for a 33 year old coach can be a challenge.

The Bendix AD-4 can easily be replaced with the more modern/easier to service Bendix AD-IP and likely others.

Check with Bendix for other dryers with the same port location and size as the AD-4

Re: Obscure 240 Parts found

Reply #2 – May 28, 2025, 08:28:24 pm

Thank you Brett. I'm hoping it's the last time I think about this air dryer. I hope we get to enjoy this 240 for a good while and pass it to the next family to enjoy and worry about upgrading the air dryer to something more modern 😀.

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