Workhorse GM8.1L engine problems

Just because some of us do not have the funds to buy a diesel pusher doesn't mean you have to slam us

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I don't see any 'slam" there, just a statement of fact, or at least widely accepted opinion.  The heavier the rig, the more torque is needed to get it moving and the more horsepower is needed to keep it going. Gasoline engines are simply not an efficient or practical means of moving very heavy loads. Around 38 feet the motorhome will be heavy enough to make a gas engine a poor choice unless you also add a very sophisticated and expensive transmission and are willing to pay a huge price in fuel to operate it. It just makes more sense to choose a diesel at some point and with today's weight vs length ratios, that point is roughly at 38 feet. If somebody has a gas 39 footer and feels it is ok, then fine, but that does not make the general statement false.

2KViggen said:

Just because some of us do not have the funds to buy a diesel pusher doesn't mean you have to slam us :

Nothing wrong with these engine's or owning a gas coach that is over 38 feet.......

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I did not slam anyone. I did not say there was anything wrong with owning a gas coach over 38 feet. Why do you make things up? All I said is I can see why they don't make gas coaches over 38 feet. And there are plenty of used diesel pushers priced lower than some used gas pushers. You really need to chill out.

John I agree with you, and you second reason is sadly the most likely answer.

And as far as moving a Motor home with 30 HP, you are correct again, I own a 1930 ford truck that has less then 30 HP and these trucks used to tow tandem trailers down the interstate in their day!

Tom I saw no insult/slam either.

Wayne you are close have a look at this web site.

http://www.holtrv.com/pdf/understanding.pdf


Gary I agree with power from gas Vs diesel engines when speaking about gas engines made for cars and lite trucks, of course if there was a demand you can build giant gas engines just like we produce giant diesel engines, but with the efficiency of the diesel and the fact that diesel fuel has about 20% more available energy in it, it makes little sense to build big gas engines. One example of where gas engines are large and still used, aircraft! Weight is the enemy in aircraft, so gas is king, large radials can produce 4000 HP at about 1800 RPM (same as our new diesel locomotives) .

How did this thread morph into a torque vs HP thread.....dont we already have one of those?

FrontrangeRVer said:

How did this thread morph into a torque vs HP thread.....dont we already have one of those?

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I guess Gary is not on the ball today.  He forgot to chew somebody out for hijacking the thread. ;D

HERE is the "Torque vs HP" thread, lets please leave this one about the OP's engine failures, and if anyone else had a failure except him.  Thanks!

Mark R. said:

Sorta surprised no one asked but why do you need a new engine if all you have is a blown head gasket?

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It's very possible.  For an example, the coolant gets into the combustion chamber, won't compress and so a piston rod breaks and now you have an engine that's not worth repairing.

When you see white exhaust smoke and overheated coolant (as warmer than usual, for the conditions even if not in the red) stop right there and get towed, even if it's still running as usual.

And never buy a vehicle that only has an idiot light for temperature.

Follow these rules and then a blown head gasket will only mean a blown head gasket instead of an engine that needs to be junked.


-Don- SSF, CA

I guess Gary is not on the ball today

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More like resigned to the inevitable.

Don if the originator ever post here again maybe we will find out what happened, I know a blown head gasket can destroy a engine depending on where it blows and for how long etc. etc..  But if a shop told me my engine threw a rod or spun a bearing as a result of a blown gasket and needed a new engine and I was telling a group of people about the engine fail I would most likely say it through a rod , because a gasket leaked, not I need a new engine because a gasket leaked.

RV Roamer said:

More like resigned to the inevitable.

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Like they say, if you cannot beat them, join them. And in this thread you did join them! ;D

But nevertheless, you're doing a great job here! I noticed that you  accurately answer more questions about RV's than anybody I have ever ran into!  Most of the stuff I learned in this forum was from reading your replies!

Keep up the good work!

Now, we can try to get back on topic ;D

-Don- (from my new NR1151 on a lan cable from SSF). See the "new toy" thread that I will post in a minute so I don't further hijack this thread ;D

I got the coach back with a new long block engine in it on July 29. Thank you to Parks Chevrolet in Kernersville, NC they did a great job. Once I have worked out the issues with Workhorse, who is being very cooperative I will post what happend and why it happend. As always there is more to the story than meets the eye. Thank you all for your good and bad feedback.

Glad to hear your problem was resolved satisfactorily and that Workhorse stepped up for you.

sorry.... I am -chilled- just been a long week & I just read into it more then I should of.... oops .... apologies  :

looks like I am 3 inches over the 38ft limit, at least that's what the mfg's website states..... my parents coach is a foot+ under the limit but it has the older ford 460 engine

With the power, isn't it tq that we need to be concerned about & not the HP?  On that graph it shows around 300 HP at 2K rpm's which is about twice what was mentioned the power being.  Tq isn't close to a diesel but it's still close to 400 ft lb from 1600 rpm's + .... & yea gas engines like to rev to develop HP.

Just so sad that it takes 8.1L to develop that kind of tq while my daily driver car has about 350 ft lb of torque from 2000 rpm's+ & gets 34mpg highway .... it's only 2.3 liters

Nothing wrong with gas in my opinion, so it does not have the same torque, you will still get up the hill, 350 ft/lbs of torque out of a 2.3 liter engine, that's impressive! I used to have a 2.3 in a Pinto, it had 12 ftlbs of torque I think. :

To bring everyone up to speed with this post. This is what occurred, my 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 38R had a engine failure in May of 2007 due to a issue with a ring breaking it was covered 100% under warranty by Workhorse. In July 2009 on a trip to Michigan for 10 days on I-77 in Fancy Gap, Va I had a check coolant readout show on the digital display I started to pull to the shoulder of the road and had the heater control valve fail, the temp gauge never showed an overheating issue. When the unit was towed off the highway and checked out by a local dealer I was told I had scored the cylinder walls. My immediate response was I don't think so as I had shut the unit down immediately. After speaking with Workhorse we moved the unit to an approved shop in NC and had them replace the motor again. After diagnosis it has been determined that the head gasket had been leaking for a long period of time before it failed. The initial believe by Workhorse was that I ran the vehicle without coolant and blew it up, I have stated from the beginning this did not happen and this all started internally and stuck to my guns. The coach is home with a new tall block engine and Workhorse and I have come to mutual agreement on a settlement. This was caused by a head gasket leaking for a long time and when the gasket was removed it was quite obvious. How this was not noticed when it was serviced is unknown, the vehicle was being serviced by a national recognized service provider and as part of their service they are to check all the fluids.

Lesson learned by by me on this, check all your fluids yourself even after the vehicle has been serviced and at every fuel stop.

Thank you for your feedback and thank you to Parks Chevy in Kernersville, NC an outstanding service center and Workhorse/Navistar for listening and working through this issue.

Dan

Lesson learned by by me on this, check all your fluids yourself even after the vehicle has been serviced and at every fuel stop.

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I used to let others do my oil changes. But I've  had two places put in a quart too much and another screw on the oil filter so loose that I lost most of the engine oil within 150 miles.

This was  three different vehicles, two cars, one pickup truck. Three different oil change places.

I have done all my own oil changes ever since the last one where I lost most of my engine oil. This happened many miles from anywhere, where the oil pressure light came on. Fortunately, I am in the habit of carrying several quarts of engine oil in every vehicle I own.

With the power, isn't it tq that we need to be concerned about & not the HP?  On that graph it shows around 300 HP at 2K rpm's which is about twice what was mentioned the power being.  Tq isn't close to a diesel but it's still close to 400 ft lb from 1600 rpm's + .... & yea gas engines like to rev to develop HP.

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You are reading the graph wrong, 2kviggen. The horsepower scale is on the right and torque scale on the left. The 8.1L has a tad over 150 hp at 2000 rpms.

Search out the thread on Torque vs HP for a full discussion, but torque is important only in that it produces horsepower at some RPM. The more torque you have at lower RPMS, the more horsepower you get to move the load.

: welll dam... I sure feel like a idiot again.  That sure is crappy power for such a big engine........ oops

You wouldn't have a dyno sheet like that of the ford engine would you?

How diesels work with a moving picture to show each stroke and other such stuff.

See here.

Dan, thanks for the follow up post.  Glad you were able to work out a settlement with Workhorse.