460 headgaskets, in a mid-early 90s motorhome.

[Tiha]

Who would tackle this job ......... at the campsite?

It is in a big motorhome, not an E series chassis. I think it is a pace.

Friend of mine has a semi permanent campsite. Motorhome appears to have popped a head gasket on the way there. This was over a year ago.
He still spends weekends there.

Cannot find anyone to replace heads or engine. Period. Everyone just says nope.
Even if he gets it towed home has same problem. Nobody wants to touch it.

I have seen it enough to know, no access from front. Looking at it with doghouse removed, I think it is possible.

What say you guys? Crazy?

Figured one day to pull intake and heads. Take them home with me, have machine shop crack check and surface heads. Maybe replace as needed.

Second trip to reinstall. Maybe 2 days?

Stupid? Or no big deal?

I honestly have no idea how this engine would come out if someone needed to pull one, out the bottom? Or tear the front off?
But having done so many other things they said was impossible I am not sure it will be so bad.

All the beer I can drink and it is a clothing optional campground. LOL

Either way I kind of figure, just as well tear into it because it is not good like it is. May find the cylinder wall junk from sitting in antifreeze or water for a year. In which case I probably can't help him. He lives 5 hours from me. I have vacation time to burn up.
It did run and move on it's own earlier this summer just one or two dead cylinders.

Picture not motorhome, just very similar.

 

[chaplinfj60]

need more photos of camp ground

i had a e350 bus with the 7.3 and i think your right all through the dog house, slow process but doable. and maybe take grill and core support out to help the all the bs on the front that may need to come off.

i know if it were mine i would try it

 

[Tiha]

need more photos of camp ground

I will try, but probably won't like them according to his report.
Sounds like they are all old fat men, and you can't tell the women from the men. LOL

I think it can be done. Just not sure what to estimate for my time off. Or how big of a breaker bar, or will I need a sawzall and torch. LOL
Just the unknown can drive you crazy, I have no idea how close any parts/tool store is.

 

[ANGELO]

You will be in the ac, with a beer fridge behind you. Sounds like the perfect environment

 

[Tiha]

You will be in the ac, with a beer fridge behind you. Sounds like the perfect environment

Actually, we tarp cars to work under them in the winter, maybe I can tarp it to keep the ac in? Awesome Idea.

 

[arse_sidewards]

You will be in the ac, with a beer fridge behind you. Sounds like the perfect environment

This. Class A should be easy. Like wrenching on an inboard boat.

Class C, the only way that could suck worse would be if it were a modular.

Ask him to pop the doghouse and send you a pic so you'll have some idea how good/bad the access is.

 

[Outahand]

How about some K Seal head gasket repair?

Its good enough for RoadKill..........

 

[Tiha]

How about some K Seal head gasket repair?

Its good enough for RoadKill..........

I actually thought about that or good old dyke. LOL

I think he already tried it, even it not properly. But I am kind of on a time crunch. I don't want to spend a day trying to seal it up then decide to tear it down.

Just been thinking about that job and all the tools I need to take. One trip end of July for tear down. Then honestly I don't think I can get back there till mid september some time. Any longer than that and we are not gonna get it this year probably because the campground shuts down and locks up for the winter.

Supposed to get a bunch of pictures this next weekend.

 

[Bebop]

It's a crap shoot and you know it.

Might all go together like butter and you'll be done in 2 days.

Might all be a huge pile and you'd have to change everything to make it worth it and probably not happening.



460s are stout and don't shit head gaskets like that, for fun. Something else was wrong with it.

 

[Tiha]

460s are stout and don't shit head gaskets like that, for fun. Something else was wrong with it.

I agree, but It was driven a long time will low coolant. He kept the overflow bottle full and did not know there was a radiator cap to check. Then couldn't understand why it kept overheating.

Pulled plugs I think #7 and #8 and pushed coolant out. Or 3 and4 can remember but 2 next to each other on the back of the engine. So I am counting on head gasket, head crack issue.

All I can really go on for now. Just don't know till it comes apart.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Sounds like you need to add a surface plate you don't care about and a selection of sandpaper to your tool list.

 

[DMG]

I would do it. For $10k.

 

[bdkw1]

That shouldn't be to bad of a job. I did heads on a 454 in a class A. Getting the cast iron heads out was the hardest part. Putting the aluminum heads back in was much easier.

 

[welndmn]

It really depends on the RV, all those class A's are different and some are easier to work on then others.
The hardest part was normally getting the accessories off the front of the engine/heads.

 

[Yotota]

It's a crap shoot and you know it.

Might all go together like butter and you'll be done in 2 days.

Might all be a huge pile and you'd have to change everything to make it worth it and probably not happening.



460s are stout and don't shit head gaskets like that, for fun. Something else was wrong with it.

Absolutely this.

The odds of this being a "1 day now and 1 day later" job are super slim. Especially remote, without having all your tools at hand (unless you have a service truck), and without having any experience with this vehicle. This would probably be a two full weekend job at home minimum, and if something else is fucked it will add time accordingly. And it sounds pretty fucked...

 

[Tiha]

I do have a service truck and have worked on the old 460's plenty.

Dude hasn't gotten me pictures, I have asked a couple times, so maybe he doesn't want it done after all. That is what I am thinking.

I know it is possible. I think I just have some anxiety over it because all the what if's go through your head before you actually start a project and get into it and realize it isn't a big deal at all.
Just more mindless labor.

At this point I think my biggest fear is pulling the heads, finding a cylinder wall or two just pitted beyond use. The longer it sits the more my fear grows.
It runs now. Once I pull the heads it is dead until I finish the job.

Here at work we have an E series motorhome for tailgating and other company functions. It has the dreaded exhaust leak off the back of the pass side manifold. There is no way to get the manifold off without pulling the engine at least partially out.
I wanted to cut the floor board out and weld it back in rather than pulling the engine and they won't let me. So it leaks and will continue to leak.

Without him sending me a decent set of pictures I am not jumping into it for fear of a similar problem.

 

[[486]]

dunno about you but I'm nowhere near strong enough to lift an iron head up in that awkward-ass engine bay

pull the front seats out and it is somewhat easier, can even jam an engine hoist in there if you pull the wheel and tire on the side with a door (if there's a side with a door)

Don't worry so much about making it totally immobile, they do towbar rather okay so long as you've got someone back there steering and braking, drug one 90 miles with a fucking durango rofl

 

[Yotota]

I do have a service truck and have worked on the old 460's plenty.

Dude hasn't gotten me pictures, I have asked a couple times, so maybe he doesn't want it done after all. That is what I am thinking.

I know it is possible. I think I just have some anxiety over it because all the what if's go through your head before you actually start a project and get into it and realize it isn't a big deal at all.
Just more mindless labor.

At this point I think my biggest fear is pulling the heads, finding a cylinder wall or two just pitted beyond use. The longer it sits the more my fear grows.
It runs now. Once I pull the heads it is dead until I finish the job.

Here at work we have an E series motorhome for tailgating and other company functions. It has the dreaded exhaust leak off the back of the pass side manifold. There is no way to get the manifold off without pulling the engine at least partially out.
I wanted to cut the floor board out and weld it back in rather than pulling the engine and they won't let me. So it leaks and will continue to leak.

Without him sending me a decent set of pictures I am not jumping into it for fear of a similar problem.

Sounds like it's not a priority to him, so it's not a priority for you. Something I just thought of: it's possible that the campground he's in wouldn't even allow engine work on site.

It's good that you have 460 HG experience. It also sounds like changing them in a class A adds a lot of pain in the ass factors to the job. And thinking about 460s, would that motorhome have the full setup of smog equipment? Probably depends on the year. That could be a lot of crap stuffed into the doghouse that would need to come out to get the heads off.

I can't say exactly what would be best for you in this situation, but I do know that I would avoid this job in the field if at all possible.

Good luck, I'm curious to see pics if he does end up sending them.

 

[cj3a]

Shit job. You will have to pull the seats and associated shit. You maybe able to use a engine lift from the side to lift the heads off.