Rialta
The T.O.A.D. and the dog and I just returned from our first excursion. We occupied Site 14 at Standing Indian Campground for a couple days.
T.O.A.D.
Transient Operational Auxiliary Dwelling
Rialta
Tomorrow we head to Standing Indian Campground in North Carolina for a couple days.
Events
Boy was I happy when I dropped the pan from the Rialta transmission this morning and found no metal shavings or particles attached to the magnet in the bottom. Oh, there was a generous amount of goop. But no evidence of any serious issues. I guess the153,000 miles it traveled have been gentle.
I installed the new dipstick (VW sealed the transmission – no dipstick), cleaned things up a bit, replaced the filter and reinstalled the pan. After filling it and bringing everything up to temperature, everything was dry.
I drove over to Tennessee (around 60 miles round trip). We climbed enough hills to thoroughly heat up the transmission, monitoring the fluid temperature the entire way. For having no after market transmission cooler, it did alright.
So, with that behind us, we’re heading for Standing Indian campground for a couple days, the first of the week.
Let the games begin!
Cheers
Rialta
In anticipation of the necessary fluids, filters and gaskets arriving later today, I went ahead and jacked the Rialta up and removed the belly pan.
It’s pretty darn clean under there. And dry too.
Rialta
After reviewing the service records several times I have concluded that the automatic transmission fluid has never been changed. Not in 150,000 miles.
So, how difficult should it be to call around and find a shop that will change it anyway? Next to impossible I discovered. Every shop I contacted within 50 miles said unequivocally NO! Half of them said leave it alone.
Here is the problem. Like so many other manufacturers these days, VW did not include a dipstick for the transmission. They call it “sealed” and state there are no user serviceable parts! I think they recommend changing the fluid every 30,000 – 60,000 miles. Of course, according to VW, the dealer must do it. Probably the biggest reason the dealer needs to do it is that the only way to be assured of the proper fluid level is to open up an overflow hole in the transmission by removing a plug and adding fluid until it runs out while the transmission is at precisely the correct temperature. As in the porridge that Goldilocks encountered, fluid can be much hotter or not hot enough depending upon the amount of time you run the engine. How then does one know when the fluid is at the proper temperature? By connecting the vehicle up to a computer, of course.
So, in a nut shell, here is my dilemma:
Thanks to Duane Schwab out in Texas, I now have a dipstick kit. I also purchased a Scangauge 2 (a handy device that will monitor all sorts of things including transmission fluid temperature). I have ordered the gasket, filter and fluid which should be here Thursday.
So, Friday is the day! I’m going to drain the fluid, drop the pan, change the filter, install a dipstick, replace the pan and fill’er up.
It that doesn’t destroy the transmission, I will head to Standing Indian campground on Monday.
I’ll be holding my breath until then.
Events
Well, I think I’m ready to take the Rialta out for a little test camping trip. We’re going to Standing Indian Campground in North Carolina. This campground has no electric, water or sewer hook ups so we’ll have a chance to test the stand-alone systems a little.
I have a friend who did some panning in a creek there where he found an abundance of small saphires and rubies. I’m looking forward to checking this out for myself.
Rialta
I suppose studying electronics engineering all those eons ago is still beneficial. I located a bad solder pad on the circuit board for the tank level monitor on the Rialta and repaired it this morning.
Rialta
When I bought the Rialta, it had a miniature spring loaded curtain rod holding the freezer door shut. The previous owner said that the hinge springs were broken and he used the curtain rod to keep the freezer compartment door closed. You see, the freezer door is hinged at the bottom and you pull it open from the top. Without springs, gravity pulls it open.
As with anything I acquire, I’ve spent considerable time researching and reading about it. I found several articles regarding these hinge springs. I even found a YouTube video showing how to replace them.
I searched the interweb and found several in the $8-$12.00 range. Since my general philosophy is: if it’s already broken, I can’t make it much worse if I try to repair it. I carefully removed the door and then the two spring assemblies. Darn, they looked new. I think someone replaced them but didn’t pre-load the springs. Thanks to the information I found, I went ahead and put it all back together using the outlined procedures.
Yippee! The door closes perfectly now.
Another Rialta project completed.
Oh, I also put some durable but cheap carpet down over the original carpet which is in very nice condition. I figured for a couple bucks, I can preserve the original carpet and give the dog the whole floor to lie on without worrying about getting it dirty.
While I was at it, I fitted a piece of rug over the passenger’s seat. Now the dog can ride in style, looking out the window. I know she’ll be happy.
Rialta
I mentioned that the one exciting (not in a good way) event during the return trip home was when the brake peddle went to the floor.
It hasn’t happened since. This isn’t very comforting though.
When it happened, I checked around for a master cylinder. According to VW, there are none on the U.S. Winnebago built these Rialtas on VW Eurovan chassis. For some reason, they elected to use a non standard master cylinder. They did not want the factory supplied ABS brakes. I located an aftermarket piece in San Diego for the paltry sum of $312.00 plus freight. Yikes! I tabled the idea and pressed on cautiously.
Yesterday I located one in Great Britian on eBay. I bought it. I mean, brand new and for right at $100.00 including freight, I’d be nuts not to. Right?
Rialta
Today I investigated the LP gas leak detector that was not working. Ha! It was a simple fix. All I had to do was plug the power wires back in. It is pretty sensitive too. I grabbed a small propane torch I use for lighting the wood furnace and turned it on without lighting it and held it in front of the detector. It didn’t take but a couple seconds and the alarm was going off. It took quite awhile for the gas to clear enough for the detector to clear. I suppose that’s a good thing.
Now, the question is this: was it unplugged for a reason? It would drain the batteries over time if left unattended and not connected to power. Maybe someone unplugged it for that reason. Me? I want to know before the thing explodes.