Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a swing-
out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.

I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was very
clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?

The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
freon or whatever?

Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What a
great idea.

thanks in adance for the help . .
Brent
77FC31
Ventura, CA

John Finn has a swing radiator and I believe he has pictures and
descriptions for DIY. Hopefully he'll chime in here

On 13/12/06, Brent Swartzentruber <swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a swing-
> out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
>
> I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was very
> clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
>
> The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> freon or whatever?
>
> Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What a
> great idea.
>
> thanks in adance for the help . .
> Brent
> 77FC31
> Ventura, CA
>
>
>



--
Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
94 WLWB


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Brent,

There are different versions of swing/dutch door radiators and I'm
sure that there are different hoses used also. I would do some
measuring, to see what lengths of hoses that you would need to
complete your swing radiator conversion, so that it actually will
swing out. I know that when Randy Dupree built mine, it took a few
trips to the NAPA store before we came up with the right combinations
in hoses.

On my web site you will be able to find some photos and details of
the conversion. Just click on the link in my signature below.

You may want to also look in the FILES section of this forum for more
information and photos of a swing radiator conversion.


"REMEMBER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001"
John Finn
'82 35FCRB
BLUEBIRD WANDERLODGE
TO VISIT THE "FINN'S INN EXPRESS" REMODELING ADVENTURE
GO TO;
http://www.pbase.com/image/24977457
HOPKINS, SOUTH CAROLINA

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Robinson"
wrote:
>
> John Finn has a swing radiator and I believe he has pictures and
> descriptions for DIY. Hopefully he'll chime in here
>
> On 13/12/06, Brent Swartzentruber <swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
> >
> > I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for
the
> > first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
swing-
> > out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> > asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> > None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> > guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> > properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> > recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
> >
> > I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was very
> > clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
> >
> > The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> > compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> > freon or whatever?
> >
> > Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What a
> > great idea.
> >
> > thanks in adance for the help . .
> > Brent
> > 77FC31
> > Ventura, CA
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
> 94 WLWB
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Any tips on pulling out the compressor? Can I just removed the belt
to reduce the noise?

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
<swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
swing-
> out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
>
> I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
very
> clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
>
> The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> freon or whatever?
>
> Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What
a
> great idea.
>
> thanks in adance for the help . .
> Brent
> 77FC31
> Ventura, CA
>

Brent, As long as everything else that shares the A/C belt can still be made
functional (read:install shorter belt) removing that belt should not create any
problem. Doug n' Pokey

Brent Swartzentruber <swartzentruber1@...> wrote: Any tips on
pulling out the compressor? Can I just removed the belt
to reduce the noise?

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
<swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
swing-
> out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
>
> I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
very
> clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
>
> The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> freon or whatever?
>
> Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What
a
> great idea.
>
> thanks in adance for the help . .
> Brent
> 77FC31
> Ventura, CA
>






Doug Engel, Gunnison, CO. 1981 FC35SB "Pokey"

---------------------------------
Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Why would you want to remove the compressor? The A/C is easy to
convert to R134a and if you also modify the fans puts out a lot of
cold. http://tinyurl.com/z6p64



Tom warner
vernon center,ny
1985 PT 40

At 08:07 PM 12/14/2006, you wrote:
>Any tips on pulling out the compressor? Can I just removed the belt
>to reduce the noise?
>
>--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
><swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
> >
> > I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> > first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
>swing-
> > out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> > asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> > None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> > guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> > properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> > recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
> >
> > I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
>very
> > clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
> >
> > The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> > compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> > freon or whatever?
> >
> > Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What
>a
> > great idea.
> >
> > thanks in adance for the help . .
> > Brent
> > 77FC31
> > Ventura, CA

You can remove the compressor and the belt, replace the belt with a
shorter one to match the other fan belt. You can also leave the
compressor and just switch to the shorter belt.

- Jeff Miller
in Holland, MI

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
<swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> Any tips on pulling out the compressor? Can I just removed the
belt
> to reduce the noise?
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
> <swartzentruber1@> wrote:
> >
> > I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for
the
> > first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
> swing-
> > out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when
I
> > asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> > None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so
I'm
> > guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses
to
> > properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> > recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
> >
> > I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
> very
> > clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
> >
> > The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> > compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> > freon or whatever?
> >
> > Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down.
What
> a
> > great idea.
> >
> > thanks in adance for the help . .
> > Brent
> > 77FC31
> > Ventura, CA
> >
>

Tom,
That's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure if the working fluid is the
only problem. As far as I know, the A/C hasn't been used in 10
years (the heaters too). I'm guessing that means it would need at
least a compressor rebuild.
thanks for the pics.




--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Tom Warner
wrote:
>
> Why would you want to remove the compressor? The A/C is easy to
> convert to R134a and if you also modify the fans puts out a lot of
> cold. http://tinyurl.com/z6p64
>
>
>
> Tom warner
> vernon center,ny
> 1985 PT 40
>
> At 08:07 PM 12/14/2006, you wrote:
> >Any tips on pulling out the compressor? Can I just removed the
belt
> >to reduce the noise?
> >
> >--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
> ><swartzentruber1@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for
the
> > > first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
> >swing-
> > > out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was
when I
> > > asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> > > None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so
I'm
> > > guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses
to
> > > properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> > > recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
> > >
> > > I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
> >very
> > > clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
> > >
> > > The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> > > compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for
the
> > > freon or whatever?
> > >
> > > Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down.
What
> >a
> > > great idea.
> > >
> > > thanks in adance for the help . .
> > > Brent
> > > 77FC31
> > > Ventura, CA
>

This question just occured to me after reading one of Tom's old
posts about draining the coolant - do I have to open some valves
somewhere (heaters?) in order to get all the coolant out.

The previous owner said the engine heaters don't work, but that
could mean anything coming from him. Are there valves for these
heaters that could be trapping coolant?

Brent
77FC31
Ventura, CA


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
<swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
swing-
> out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
>
> I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
very
> clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
>
> The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> freon or whatever?
>
> Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What
a
> great idea.
>
> thanks in adance for the help . .
> Brent
> 77FC31
> Ventura, CA
>

Yes. At least on my 82 there are both electric (Sporlan) and gate valves that
control the
flow of coolant thru the chassis heaters. They would need to be open to drain
the whole
system. There's a gate valve at each side of the engine, a Sporlan valve in the
front. I think
there's also another valve in the right rear underneath if I recall correctly.

Kerry
82 FC 35
Denver

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
<swartzentruber1@...> wrote:
>
> This question just occured to me after reading one of Tom's old
> posts about draining the coolant - do I have to open some valves
> somewhere (heaters?) in order to get all the coolant out.
>
> The previous owner said the engine heaters don't work, but that
> could mean anything coming from him. Are there valves for these
> heaters that could be trapping coolant?
>
> Brent
> 77FC31
> Ventura, CA
>
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Swartzentruber"
> <swartzentruber1@> wrote:
> >
> > I'm in the process of pulling apart the front of my 77FC31 for the
> > first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a
> swing-
> > out radiator (the previous owner didn't know what that was when I
> > asked, but the original owner must have been on top of things).
> > None of the hoses are long enough to allow it to swing out, so I'm
> > guessing I will have to drain the coolant and remove the hoses to
> > properly inspect the front of the engine and the belts. Any
> > recommendations on hose and/or hose length for this setup.
> >
> > I drained a small amount of coolant from the radiator. It was
> very
> > clean and a yellow color. Any ideas on the brand of coolant?
> >
> > The dash AC is out of commission, so I'm tempted to remove the
> > compressor. How big of a job is this? Is there a drain for the
> > freon or whatever?
> >
> > Oh, and I figured out too late that the bumper swings down. What
> a
> > great idea.
> >
> > thanks in adance for the help . .
> > Brent
> > 77FC31
> > Ventura, CA
> >
>