B190 Enthusiasts

I use either a Quix Lube Stop where they can pump the oil out through filler or I have $8 hand pump, bought at a auto parts house, that can be used to hand pump the oil out. Would appreciate any comments.

bobby_409 wrote:I use either a Quix Lube Stop where they can pump the oil out through filler or I have $8 hand pump, bought at a auto parts house, that can be used to hand pump the oil out. Would appreciate any comments.

I've been thinking about using a turkey-baster to suck the oil out. Pulling the generator out to do an oil change is silly - it weighs over 100 lbs! Airstream definitely should've designed that compartment to allow for that.

At some point Airstream started putting a hole in the floor of the generator compartment that lined up with the drain plug in the generator so you could easily slide under and drain the gen oil....but not in 1991.... the 96 I got from Joe had it

In the 97 and later rigs there is a storage bay below the gen compartment so Airstream install a fitting and a hose that exits the gen compartment and bolts to the frame of the Ford chassis with a drain valve on the end....

I wonder how many 1997 thru 2000 owners know that...

Alaskan wrote:...In the 97 and later rigs there is a storage bay below the gen compartment so Airstream install a fitting and a hose that exits the gen compartment and bolts to the frame of the Ford chassis with a drain valve on the end....

I wonder how many 1997 thru 2000 owners know that...

Thanks for the tip. I'll look for that hose and valve on the 1998 I'm working on.

My 92 has a hole through the chassis. Just need to crawl underneath. Access is pretty easy. Looks original but the previous owner may have drilled it.


Cliff

nvestysly wrote:

Alaskan wrote:...In the 97 and later rigs there is a storage bay below the gen compartment so Airstream install a fitting and a hose that exits the gen compartment and bolts to the frame of the Ford chassis with a drain valve on the end....

I wonder how many 1997 thru 2000 owners know that...

Thanks for the tip. I'll look for that hose and valve on the 1998 I'm working on.

I didn't find a hose or valve. I'll look again when I'm under the rig next time.

skater wrote: I've been thinking about using a turkey-baster to suck the oil out. Pulling the generator out to do an oil change is silly - it weighs over 100 lbs! Airstream definitely should've designed that compartment to allow for that.

Since I never updated this after trying it, I will now: The turkey baster option doesn't work. The angles are bad.

When I acquired my 1993 Airstream 190 I found that there was no hole in the floor of the generator enclosure to allow access to the generator's oil drain plug. After careful measurement, I drilled a hole to allow access. (I drilled from underneath, thus not needing to remove the generator.)

While this was sufficient to allow the oil to be drained, it seemed to me that it would be messy (oil would likely splash into the floor of the generator compartment as I removed the drain plug). I thus installed a valve; I used a Fram SureDrain model SD-3 (M12x1.25), which allows me to connect a hose and neatly route the old oil into a container. (Note that Fram no longer seems to make the SureDrain product line, but as of 2014 they're still available from various sources).

The SureDrain valves use a dust cap. Though the cap is not essential, I like the added security against leaks it provides. (Note that after using SureDrain valves on multiple vehicles over more than ten years, I've never found this added security necessary.)

It was awkward, however, to install and remove the dust cap through the relatively small hole I'd drilled in the generator enclosure floor. I thus bought an appropriately-sized copper pipe T fitting (a standard plumbing product, available from Home Depot or the like) and jammed it over the SureDrain dust cap (I used a hammer to lightly tap the T fitting onto the dust cap, essentially permanently attaching them to each other). This forms a very nice handle that extends below the floor of the generator compartment.

Changing the generator oil is now quick, completely mess-free, and can be accomplished with no tools.

(While I assume this would work on any Airstream 190 with the same generator arrangement, I don't know which other model years that would include.)

Thanks for the the sure drain idea. I have been wanting to do exactly as you did. I have the Onan manual with the template I just haven't had the balls to drill yet. The previous owner of my b-190 bought a new generator and its just now needing to have the oil changed. They didn't seal the fan air exit, and the generator would over heat and quit. I solved that problem pretty quick. An old man once told me, "If all else fails, read the directions." I don't recall seeing that these things have oil filters though. I'll have to double check that, what do you do about that??