The Achilles heel of the Winnebago Rialta is its transmission. I’ve been especially nervous with this because it has 150,000 miles on it and none of the service receipts (I have a lot of them) indicated that the transmission fluid was changed. Yikes!
The reason it is the Achilles heel is this: VW (the chassis builder) bolted a tiny metal box about 9″x6″ directly to the transmission that allowed the fluid to flow in one bolt, through 4 small tubes and then out the other bolt. They connected the box to the engine coolant lines to control the temperature. All this accomplished was to insure that the transmission fluid was hotter than the engine. Much hotter at times.
I removed the “box” and installed a cooler kit purchased from Makco Transmission Parts. Now the fluid flows from the transmission to a separate air cooled unit mounted in front of the radiator.
Holy cow! The transmission fluid is now substantially cooler than the engine coolant and it fluctuates independently of the engine temperature. For example, when driving to my house after everything had warmed up I used to see a transmission fluid temperature of 250 degrees as I created the last hill before my driveway. Now I am seeing 168 degree transmission fluid at that spot while the engine temperature is around 200 degrees.
With this cooler installed, I am no longer nervous about stressing the transmission and am looking forward to getting in the road.
Ciao
Paul
On Monday, September 15th we made our official inaugural excursion in the T.O.A.D. (Winnebago Rialta).
We arrived at Standing Indian Campground in the Nantahala Forest of North Carolina. It was a darn steep grade we climbed getting there and the transmission fluid temperature was entirely too hot by the time we crested the mountain. I think it survived but a transmission cooler is now high on the list of things to do to the T.O.A.D.
We found site #14 at the Headwaters of the Nantahala River right away and put boots on the ground. Boy, the temperature of that water was chilly. I checked and it was 58 degrees.
Since Standing Indian offers no hookups for RVs, setup was simple. Back T.O.A.D. into place, open the door and windows and crank out the awning.
#14 is a great site. It has no space for neighbors on one side and the other side is a nice distance from anyone. Walk right out the back of the site and up a small hill and you are at the bathrooms. And nice bathrooms they are, clean, concrete, wonderfully private showers with hot water and convenient.
One of the community fresh water spigots just happen to be right ouside the site so I used very little of my on board 45 gallon fresh water supply. That was nice.
HeyLeigh and I went for a walk around the loop to check things out where we met our camp hosts, Judy and Gerald Morgan. They also operate the camp office/general store. They gave me some great information and maps outlining where the trails are and general layout of the camping areas.
What was left of the afternoon, we sat at the site and relaxed. I with an Irish whiskey of course and HeyLeigh with a dog treat. Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed having ice in the freezer to pour my Jameson over. Our one pot dinner was cooked outside on the 1 burner Coleman propane stove. After, I read a bit and by the time we turned in, I had to close the windows. It was pleasantly cool and we slept well. Monday was a delightful day.
Tuesday morning we awoke around 05:30. I put a kettle of water on the stove in the RV. A short time later thanks to hot water and a coffee press we sat outside and enjoyed our morning coffee – pretty much the same as at home. Ahhhh Life Is Good!
At first light we hiked over to the Group Campsites and explored Kimsey Creek. The campsite area is in a glen where large and obviously old apple trees thrive. I was amazed by the number of apples lying on the ground. I’m certain the bears and other critters love that place.
Apples at the group campsites
When we returned home to the T.O.A.D. I scrambled some eggs and sausage with green peppers for breakfast. Oh, and another round of coffee was in order too.
After breakfast I tested the generator. It took way too long to warm up and had difficulty carrying the load when I turned on most of the appliances. Fortunately it wasn’t a big deal and I let it go for the time being. After giving it some thought (and reading the manual) I decided it was running too rich at the altitude we were. After I returned home to Blairsville, I checked it out and tweaked the carburetor. Bingo! No more problems.
Next we hiked back to Kimsey Creek. This time I brought a pan along with me. Kimsey Creek is well known for its gemstones and rubies, sapphires and garnets can be found if you look in the right places. I found lots of tiny garnets. It is amazing how every handful of gravel from the creek bed is littered with bright red pieces of garnet. I didn’t find any rubies or sapphires though. Well, I might have tossed them back being as how I haven’t a clue what they should look like in the raw. We were un-plugged entirely, we had no cellular coverage or other form of internet. I couldn’t research them online while I was there. Next time I’ll bring reference material. Lots of it!
We also hiked along several of the other trails in the area which are native and natural (not unlike living on the national forest back home). The late afternoon once again brought the pleasure of an Irish whiskey over ice. This time it was accompanied by a delightful Ybor City cigar. Did I mention that Life Is GOOD?
Dinner was a warmup of Monday’s dinner which was just as good the second time around. I lit the single mantle Coleman propane lamp and settled in with a good book for the evening. The weather was perfect, we didn’t encounter any annoying insects and the silence IS golden.
Once again I brewed coffee in the morning and we sat outside enjoying the early dawning of the day. This time I headed out with the camera to try and catch some early, first light photos. Upon return it was eggs and sausage and then a stroll around the camping area.
We struck the colors and broke camp around 11:00. I chose a different route for the return trip. I didn’t feel like riding the brakes all the way down that mountain. We went over to Franklin and picked up 441 south through Dillard to Clayton GA where we turned onto 76 which takes me right back home through Hiawassee and Young Harris. It was a peaceful drive.
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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.
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:
The fluid has never been changed.
The correct formula fluid is not off the shelf stuff.
When refilling the transmission, the vehicle must be level and the transmission temperature should be around 104 degrees. (Normal operating temperature is considerably higher.
After this many miles, disturbing the fluid can dislodge all sorts of crap that can damage or destroy the transmission.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
