Buying it back...

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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

txtom wrote:I just bought this camera setup for my B190. Use code SAFER25 to save $25. I chose this one after doing lots of research. I wanted one that was on all the time and took the place of the rearview mirror. You want the "standard" mount for a Ford.
Camera Link

skater wrote:
Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:46 pm
A bunch of things from this weekend:

Fuel tanks: I got new T-bolts from Summit Racing and modified them to fit (cut the "T" to be shorter). I then put a coupler on the end with some threadlocker, then cut some threaded rod to go in the other end to serve as the "bolt". More threadlocker, plus a nut, to help reduce the odds of things coming apart. So those are ready to go on.

Yesterday I pulled the "headbanger" (as I like to call it, in honor of my favorite type of music - the thing you'd hit your head on as you're going out the door) apart. I'll probably reuse the wood piece, and we'll cover it with new foam and fabric. I also need to find new panel clips to hold it in place. I noted to my wife this would be a good time to run a wired camera to the back, if I'm planning to do so.

Today, I worked on the furnace. This hasn't been working in years, and it was always an ongoing headache for me. I've replaced the motor and squirrel cage in the past to fix squealing, only to have it die again for some other reason. I got that repaired, it worked for a while, then died again... another shop did some more work to it, and it worked for a while, then died again... Last I recall, I could hear the gas valve click open, then the igniter clicking but failing to get it lit.

Now, the fan starts running, but it never even tries to light.

Diagnosis: The board is bad. But it took me a while to get to that point.

I found a couple PDFs online that helped with diagnosing the issue. The sail switch was working correctly, as was the temperature sensor. You can check the resistance of the gas valves, mine were at about 40 ohms, which is in spec (I think it said 30-50). I did find a huge mud dauber nest inside the burner, and it looked like it was there when it last lit (oops). I cleaned that up and vacuumed the burner chamber out - overall the furnace looks to be in good condition. But with the fan running, there was no power to the gas valves, which implies to me the board isn't even trying to light it.

I ordered a new board for it from PPL Motorhomes. I really hope this fixes it for good for a long time...With all of the money I've put into this furnace over the years, I could have replaced it, had I known what was coming. I'm just nervous that I'll replace the board and the gas valve will die, or something.

While the furnace was out, I looked for the bolts for the propane tank. Didn't see them. Maybe they're under the floor...ugh.
Thanks! I’ll take a look.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Finally got the tank bolts replaced, so I put 5 gallons of gasoline in it and tried to fire it up...no good. Unfortunately I split the 5 gallons between the two tanks, and it's parked on a pretty severe slope, so I was wondering if it was a fuel starvation problem. I got 5 more gallons and put that in the front tank. It took a while, but I did get it to start and run by holding my foot on the gas partway. Unfortunately it's running badly, clearly missing a cylinder or two.

So I ordered new plugs and wires for it. If that doesn't fix it, it might be time to replace the injectors...

I also got a propane sniffer device from Amazon. It was under 30 bucks and well reviewed...and it seems to work really well. I figured between the trailer, the motorhome, and a propane stove in the house, it's a useful tool to have around. I noticed that the gas had seeped out of the system when the tank was off last weekend (that is, I turned the gas on, lit the stove, let it burn for a bit, then shut it down and shut the gas off...then the next day there was air in the lines again).

Using the detector, I checked the connections underneath and at the appliances, but nothing triggered. Then, I held it next to the venturi tube on the water heater...and it went off. So apparently the water heater's gas valve is leaking (probably not much - it doesn't take much for the detector to go off). I don't think I ever would have found it without that detector.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Working on plugs and wires, and doing a compression test. The plugs have all been replaced, and all but one wire and the coil wire (I ran out of time today - they're next). I've also been doing compression testing on the cylinders as I go along, as I can - the tester I got has a hose that screws into a piece that goes in the spark plug hole, and it's difficult to get the hose started on it in tight quarters, so I haven't been able to test #1, #2, and #5. The others are all 130-140 PSI though, which apparently is pretty good. The plugs all look reasonably normal.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Hanging curtains tonight. Image
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

I finished plugs and wires a few weeks ago, took it on an errand, and it was missing a cylinder or two. Now I'm working on removing the injectors to send them off for refurbishment. 5 of the 8 are out. Cylinder 3, 5, and 6 are left. I haven't even tried the latter two, they're going to be tough.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Got all 8 of the injectors out! Wooooooooo.

We also nearly finished curtains for the side doors...we just installed velcro on them and mated it to the velcro that was already on the doors. I think that will work much better than the rods with sheet metal screws. I put a pop rivet in one of the screw holes as a test...now I need to do the others.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
Reddeer
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by Reddeer »

Nice fabric on the couch! Did you do that yourself? Do you have a code number and source you could share?

Thanks!
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skater
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Reddeer wrote:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 1:04 pm
Nice fabric on the couch! Did you do that yourself? Do you have a code number and source you could share?
No, that was done in the interim when we didn't own it. We're actually not fans of the pattern. :) I can take a closer picture if you'd like.


Quick update on the B190 - the injectors are back, and one of them wasn't flowing at all, and two others were flowing low. All 8 are now operating correctly according to the injector place. I'm not sure when I'll get them in, though.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
Reddeer
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by Reddeer »

No worries.

Just trying to find samples for the wife. Not my call. :)
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skater
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Got the injectors in a few weeks ago and finally got it out for a test drive this morning. It's definitely better than it was - I was able to get it up over 65 mph and maintain 55 mph without too much trouble. Also, the vibration we had from the drive a few weeks ago was gone - tires were probably flat spotted and have now gotten round again.

However, it's still missing some power. It felt like it was struggling to accelerate sometimes. I found on the internet that you can use a laser thermometer to check the catalytic converter; ideally the temperature at the exit of the cat would be ~100 F higher than the inlet, but in my case they were identical, which implies the cat is clogged and not working well (this would be due to the fuel issues I was having - not just a random failure).

I also intend to change the transmission fluid and filter soon - I bought the supplies to do it a while back, but never got around to it.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Some misc things today.

Got the front curtain installed. That's a lot harder than you'd expect.

Did the rubber gaskets on a window. That's still really hard to do. One window to go.

Replaced the light covers on the bunk lights. For some reason ours had dried and shattered (maybe from sun and not having a curtain?), but I have a few good ones from fixtures that I removed from the trailer. I want to put LED bulbs in them at some point.

It needs a thorough interior cleaning but I think I'm going to bug bomb it first. There are a lot of ants for some reason. There's no food so I don't know what's pulling them in.
Image
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
User avatar
skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Took it on an errand today! Also filled the front tank for the first time since I replaced the tank. I was concerned the fuel gauge wouldn't work correctly, but it did!

I plan to drive it more over the next few days, and then try to drive it weekly or something like that.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
User avatar
skater
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Took it on another drive yesterday, and I discovered it was low on transmission fluid - apparently I didn't add enough when I changed it a few weeks ago.

I replaced the weatherstrips on the front doors today.

Other parts on order:
  • Maxx Air fan and installation material
  • AC compressor bypass pulley - my AC compressor clutch is squealing. I intend to rebuild the entire system at some point, but for now this will keep it from seizing and being a problem on a trip.
  • Some wire to permanently install the battery maintainer for the engine battery. That way it'll keep the battery in good shape when I'm not using it.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
User avatar
skater
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Posts: 2569
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:00 am
B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Buying it back...

Post by skater »

Over the weekend I started on the Fantastic Fan replacement project. First thing I discovered was that the plastic cover on the fan is cracked - there was no way it wasn't going to leak! I removed the fan entirely but haven't cleaned the mess yet.

When I removed the trim inside I found a LOT of wet, rotted wood. So the project now is cleaning up that mess. I got one of the ceiling panels down and out (good thing we can open the side windows and screens - I had to do that to rotate it so I could remove it from the B190 entirely). Not sure when I'll get back to it, unfortunately. We're supposed to get rain this week, so I have a tarp over it.

Unfortunately the converter in our trailer died, so now I need to spend some time getting that back in operation. I'd rather work on the B190, but the trailer's issues are easier to fix, so...
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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Sub2RainEN
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Buying it back...

Post by Sub2RainEN »

I love my MaxAir fan! When we went to the van build, everyone told us the Fantastic Fan was so quiet. My friend and I thought it was LOUD. The MaxAir is very quiet. I bought the enclosed one with a fin. Only issue was I had to remove a solar panel the fin would have been stuck under.

Enjoy!


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Proud 1990 B190 newbie owner
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