Maintenance tasks

We weren't planning to do any major maintenance while at the farm, but, based on a seminar we heard at the Freightliner Chassis Owners Club Rally in January, Carl thought it would be a good idea to get the air filter on Gracie changed.

Air filter in place in engine compartment

Label on new air filter

New air filter before installation (the orange color is a reflection from a nearby safety cone)

The used air filter -- quite a lot of debris inside too. Jimmy shared that sometimes a dirty filter will filter better because some of the holes are plugged in the filter material.

Additionally, Carl had also wanted to get a "bypass" belt for the serpentine belt on the engine, to be used if at some point the air conditioner compressor seizes up. If the A/C compressor seizes up it is likely that it will break the serpentine belt. We could continue on with a seized up A/C compressor (without using the dash air), but must have the belt in place for other functions and thus would need to replace the belt. If the belt is not able to move due to the seized A/C compressor, the engine could not run. There is an alternative way to run the belt so it does not go over the A/C pulley, but it requires a shorter belt to bypass the A/C. While at the farm, Carl and Jimmy checked the belts and determined what length belt would be needed for the bypass.

We keep spares of belts with us to have "just in case" - this is the spare fan belt...

... and this is the spare serpentine belt.

Belt path for serpentine belt. If the A/C compressor seizes up (upper left), Carl will need to remove the idler pulley (upper middle) and then run the bypass belt so it goes from the fan drive (upper right) to the alternator (middle right), bypassing the A/C compressor. (We found this diagram on iRV2, courtesy of a fellow Dutch Star owner - https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/na-2021-3543-broken-alternator-belt-584465.html.)

This is the belt path for the fan belt.

 

Because the bypass is a non-standard belt (not one for normal running of the engine), Carl called the engine manufacturer, Cummins, to try to determine the correct belt to order. They directed him to the chassis manufacturer (Freightliner) - but Freightliner didn't have any suggestion either since it isn't a belt installed for standard operation. Other owners have, however, figured it out when they were broken down on the side of the road.

Since Jimmy and Carl had the belts removed figuring out the bypass belt configuration, they decided to replace the current fan and serpentine belts with our spares. They also determined that the bypass belt that we ordered was usable but a little long, so Carl has ordered a second bypass belt (1" shorter), in addition to ordering a replacement spare for the serpentine belt (the "old" fan belt is still in good shape so it will got into storage as the spare).

We're planning a long trip this summer in areas that are likely at a distance from normal maintenance facilities, so we're trying to be as prepared as possible to avoid breakdowns!