Pudgy Camper Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I'm finally getting around to changing my hydraulic fluid and filters after having this coach for a year and getting it caught up on maintenance. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because there's been a head scratcher discovery around every corner on the mechanical side of this coach. The previous owner neglected regular maintenance and I've spent the last year correcting things. Anyways, I pulled off the reservoir lid and noticed that the all thread rail, (not sure of the technical name- the rail that the 3 internal filters slide over inside the reservoir), is cocked to the side. It doesn't appear to be bent, it's not loose and I don't see any signs of damage. I'm guessing it's been like this from the factory and from my research, this is not normal and all others are straight up and down in the center of the reservoir. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm wondering if I should remove the reservoir to better understand how it's constructed and straighten the rail if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 i THINK there is supposed to be a WING Nut holding the filters in place.  MANUAL SAYS ….10-489.  All three stacked.  Cover plate on the top….wing nut attached. The top plate isn’t critival.  It is a Nelson assembly.  PN should be stamped on it.  Go from there.  Who knows…stupidity, assembly error, whatever. Fix it….  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 37 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said: i THINK there is supposed to be a WING Nut holding the filters in place.  MANUAL SAYS ….10-489.  All three stacked.  Cover plate on the top….wing nut attached. The top plate isn’t critival.  It is a Nelson assembly.  PN should be stamped on it.  Go from there.  Who knows…stupidity, assembly error, whatever. Fix it….  Yes the picture was taken AFTER I removed the wing nut, spring washer, flat plate and 3 filters. All of that was in place and functioning correctly as far as I could tell. But I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why the rod/rail assembly is crooked to one side. I'm thinking maybe that the hub in the bottom of the reservoir that the rail is welded to, is pressed into the reservoir and maybe came loose some how? I will inspect closer and go from there. I was just hoping some guys would chime in, and it would end up being one of those mysterious Monoco installations where some coaches were "built like this and some were built like that" for no particular rhyme or reason. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 https://www.ebay.com/itm/185306438476?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gIYQRYUQQ9y&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=VM5LL0dXQ4S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY  Defense rests.  No idea how it got bent.  My single one is true and straight….never seen a picture of one with the attaching rod bent like that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 Is the bottom flat? and do the ports make sense, like the center port goes to the inlet to the hydraulic pump and the rest are returns? It looks like the filter could have been offset so the port on the right is the center of the filters, but that could be discoloration from welding, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 2 hours ago, Benjamin said: Is the bottom flat? and do the ports make sense, like the center port goes to the inlet to the hydraulic pump and the rest are returns? It looks like the filter could have been offset so the port on the right is the center of the filters, but that could be discoloration from welding, etc. The bottom of the reservoir has a slight outward concave to it. The filter rail guide thing is dead center of the reservoir at the bottom, but leans to one side. I will inspect more tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 (edited) So after a closer inspection of the exterior of the reservoir, it appears the far right bottom connector hub is indented, causing the center hub (the hub that has the 3 internal filters attached to it), to lean to the side on the inside of the reservoir. I'm guessing some knuckle head dropped the reservoir at some point and then just went ahead and installed it, not knowing that someone would be scratching their head 20 yrs later when the internal filters are hugging the left side of the reservoir. So my decision now is....... Do I just leave it alone, since it's obviously worked for the past 20 yrs. Or....take the reservoir off the coach, put it on my press and see if I can push the dent outward, correcting any issues, but potentially opening the door for leaks down the road? In the pic below, it's pretty obvious that the right fitting hub has been pressed up, ( by dropping, causing the center hub to press up at an awkward angle Edited June 18 by Pudgy Camper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 I doubt you can fix the tank, but as long as the bottom filter has a sealed contact with the bottom I think you can just leave it. When I changed my filters I did like you've done, I completely drained the oil so I could get a good look at the bottom. From memory the filters mate to a raised flat portion. So as long as you get a good seal I think you'll be OK. If not i suggest changing the tank. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgy Camper Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 4 hours ago, jacwjames said: I doubt you can fix the tank, but as long as the bottom filter has a sealed contact with the bottom I think you can just leave it. When I changed my filters I did like you've done, I completely drained the oil so I could get a good look at the bottom. From memory the filters mate to a raised flat portion. So as long as you get a good seal I think you'll be OK. If not i suggest changing the tank. Thanks, Jim Yeah the bottom filter appears to seal tight to the bottom flat hub. So as long as the new top filter isn't pressing up against the side of the reservoir, (the original filter was close, maybe 1/4“ from rubbing the side of the reservoir), I may just leave it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Pudgy Camper Posted June 19 Author Solution Share Posted June 19 (edited) So I ended up using a 2x4 and small sledge hammer to take some of the dent out of the bottom of the reservoir. It only took a couple good whacks from the inside and now the filter rail sits a lot straighter. Its definitely not perfect but at least the top filter wont be rubbing on the inside of the reservoir now. Thanks for the input guys! Edited June 19 by Pudgy Camper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 12 minutes ago, Pudgy Camper said: So I ended up using a 2x4 and small sledge hammer to take some of the dent out of the bottom of the reservoir. It only took a couple good whacks from the inside and now the filter rail sits a lot straighter. Its definitely not perfect but at least the top filter wont be rubbing on the inside of the reservoir now. Thanks for the input guys! Amazing what a little ingenuity and also SELF CONTROL, when using BRUTE FORCE or "I'm GONNA FIX THIS", will do. GREAT job. Clean it up and monitor. Acetone works great, carefully used as all suggest...in the old days, I can't count the number of auto parts, valve covers, gears, bolts, brackets, etc. that I cleaned with Regular Gasoline.... AND I STILL CAN Talk and Breathe... That fitting was part of the stamping process. SO, metalurgically, you should be fine. IF NOT, Mr. JB Weld is at your command.  Drive on.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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