Chinook RV

Took it in for the annual State inspection and asked them to look at a couple issues. Parking (emergency) brake barely holds and the a/c blows very lukewarm air. Both have been like that since I got it but last year's inspection they said they are barely passing me on the parking brake. So they're going to fix that and they called to say my compressor is shot and I need a new one. I'm slowly replacing parts on this sucker and I figure in a few years I'll have a new rv!

The parking brake is also barely holding on my ’02 at max pedal. I looked underneath and there’s no simple screw adjuster for the cable to the rear discs so it didn’t seem like a 5-minute fix at first glance

As for the cab a/c - mine went out two years ago after the low-pressure cutout switch disabled the magnetic drive clutch. Turns out the system had never been recharged and after I had that service it’s been fine ever since. Lubricant is added to the freon refrigerant to keep the seals doing their job. If it sits unused too long the seals dry out and bleed off the charge.

Don’t let ‘them’ talk you into a big expense for a new compressor. Go to a reputable auto a/c specialist and have the system leak tested, evacuated and recharged by weight to the spec. Also you can get a fluorescent dye included with the freon and snoop around after dark with a UV light.

Thanks. Strangely enough I do have a powerful UV light somewhere around the house.

I did some googling around and learned the E-350 dually with 4 disc brakes has a separate DRUM brake setup (E-brake) for parking. It is inside the hub with rear discs - a “drum in hat” configuration as it is known. It is not adjusted automatically and you have to manually turn a star wheel behind a plug, just like old-fashioned drum adjusters. Anyway, not a simple DIY on a big dually sitting close to the ground. I shall see if I become suitably motivated. Worst case - if rear axle fluid has leaked out then the shoes need replacing.

Well you can at least thank your lucky stars that you don't have the shaft-mounted parking brake that the E-450 had from.... I think it was around '99 to 2006 or something like that. They are very problematic plus I believe they share fluid with the transmission (?). Anyway, we don't have them (whew).

On the Air-con, I agree that a recharge is worth a try. Typically they will add the dye then so that if you DO have a leak, it can then be found.

My 1997 E-250 camper van came to me with non-working AC. The shop I took it to recommended the re-charging, and it worked perfectly for the two years I had it, and the two known years a friend owned it after me, so I'd call that a success.

My Chinook's Ford Air-con stopped working last spring. I had it re-charged (and the dye added and I think they as a matter of course did something with the receiver/dryer? At any rate it was something like $150). That worked for a month and then went back to not working (naturally I then had to drive across the desert in August back to the repair shop... ). They took it apart again and found a tiny piece of the green O-ring had been left in there (during some other previous repair) and that had pressed a groove into the current green O-ring. They got those out and put in a new green O-ring (I knew where it went then but forget now) and said okay go on down the road and see how that does (it pressure tested ok). That seemed to do the trick (knock wood it's been about 9 months since then).

So essentially in both cases a re-charge did the trick. It was two different shops that did the two vehicles and when I said "but if you have to re-charge it, isn't there a leak that needs repairing?" they both said that miniscule leaks that take like five years to make it lose charge are not really unusual (obviously the re-charge that only lasted a month didn't fall into that category, but even then it wasn't a compressor or anything expensive).

So..... maybe worth a try, unless they have some concrete way of diagnosing that it's the compressor.

my brake was the same way. The repair guy had to unsieze the adjuster with a lot of crud buster type stuff. Once freed and adjusted, it worked well enough again. It's a heavy vehicle for that brake though.

Manitou wrote:It's a heavy vehicle for that brake though.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the E-350's with rear drums have a stronger brake? (vs. the drum in hat configuration when the rig has rear disc brakes).

I still use chocks if there's any reason I really NEED the brake; but on the other hand, it's always seemed strong to me. (I have rear drum brakes.)

I can talk all day about my park brake, but I have rear drums so it's not applicable to most of you guys. I had a weak park brake for a while and it drove me nuts. So nuts, in fact, that I found myself rebuilding my rear brakes in the parking lot of a Quality Inn 3200 miles from home. I hate to have the load of the rig leveraging the transmission in Park during those brief stops when I'm too lazy to set chocks. If you see the size of the park pawl in our transmissions, you might feel similarly. Once I replaced all of the rear brake parts, and re-set the ratchet in the pedal assembly, my park brake could stop a locomotive. Just for reference, there is no adjustment for the park brake in rigs with rear drums (might be the same for rigs with rear discs, too). Instead, the pedal assembly has a dual ratchet design; one ratchet holds the brake, the second ratchet compensates for cable stretch and shoe wear. It's a bit complicated but works well, so long as everything is adjusted. First thing to check is the self adjusters in the rear drums. Poorly named, these devices need periodic adjustment (and crudbusting due to heat cycling and insufficient lubrication) to ensure the clearance between the shoe and drum is correct. Adjusting the self adjuster usually solves most problems. If you have rear discs, the secondary park brake system is not designed to be a brake, but rather a stop. So if the park brake is left on and you go for a drive, the linings can get cooked in short order. You can get away with dragging a park brake with drums.

I have rear drums too (maybe the last set they made ), so this was interesting for me to read. Thanks! I think my brake is working well now, but I like knowing more about it (I tested setting it on a steep hill, put trans in neutral and took foot off regular brake and it held fine). I didn't know the difference in how easy (or not easy) it would be to burn it up if driving with it on accidentally.

I hear you on the Park pawl. I used to live in a town with very steep hills, and it was common knowledge that you stop the car (and put it in Park), then put the parking brake on, and then - AND ONLY THEN - take your foot off the brake. Otherwise apparently the Park pawl would just snap off (I had a manual, so never got to find out.) Kids didn't play with balls either (buh-bye! and then someone gets killed two blocks below)