Couple of Maintenance Questions

Good afternoon Gang:

Gotta couple of maintenance questions for the experts.
First, has anyone tried to remove and then replace the material that Winnebago uses to line the storage compartments?  On my driver's side front compartment they went down through the inside back corner of the compartment with a bolt (under the material where it doesn't show)  that holds the outer support bracket for the genny exhaust pipe.  And now moisture has gotten around that bolt enough to rust completely out leaving the exhaust bracket just hanging.  So I need to pull the material back enough to make sure there's not more rust I need to clean out before filling in the rusty place to hold a new bolt/screw then replace the material, with some kind of glue I would guess.  Any suggestions?

Second question:  There's two grease zerks on each U-Joint at 180 degrees apart, which usually has one easy to reach and the other almost impossible without moving the coach.  Do they both need grease or will greasing one get around to all four caps?  I've always tried to get to both of them while under the coach but the older I get the harder it gets to reach the one that always seems to stop at the top of the drive shaft.

the bolt comes into basement compartment? hidden under carpet, for sure? if it were mine, i'd pull back or cut an x through the carpet, remove bolt, clear the bolt hole till you can see through it. treat with rust converter, let dry. seal inside surfaces of hole with gobshites of rattle can paint, let it drip out bottom of hole, let dry. replace bolt with new, you might have to get creative with longer bolts and large fender washers, leaving bolt head exposed in basement compartment. carriage bolt? capture carpet under fender washer? underneath would need whatever it takes to be able to seal it back up. think piece of tin for bigger hole, fender washers to back up tin or alone for smaller hole. 3-m 5200 or less tenacious 4200 are some of my favorite sealants.

having 2 zerks is a blessing, every one i've seen greases all 4 cups. you can determine for sure by observing and listening to the cups as you pump in grease. i have generally pumped till i see some grease or greezy air bubbles on all 4 cups, definitely till no more water comes out.


bill

I didn't have to remove the bolt, it was still attached to the tail pipe bracket and had already broke completely loose from the bottom of the storage compartment.  The rusted hole in the bottom of the compartment is now about the size of a half dollar (remember those).    Now I have to cut and pull the material away from the hole inside the compartment so I can repair the rusted part there.  Not sure how Winnebago glued the material down in the compartment.    I know when FC had to get to a leaking hydraulic hose in the rear passenger compartment the tech said the hardest part was removing replacing the material covering the inside of the compartment.  Sounds like fender washers should about cover up the hole.
Thanks for all the suggestions,  and I'll watch all the caps as I pump in the grease.

You should put grease in each zerk - they each reach a different area.

Wagonmaster2,
  My neighbor, who is a truck mechanic, says you need to put grease in both of them.  With my rubber end on the grease fitting I found I could connect it upside down "in the blind" and it worked.  I used to have to move the motor home but I was surprised to find out I could grease it even though I cannot see it.  I hope this helps.

Guess I'd better keep doing as I have been by trying to reach both zerks on each joint.  By the way, what kind of rubber fitting do you have?  Never heard of something like that, just have been using a rubber flexible hose on my grease gun so I can usually reach the hidden zerks but just can't tell if the connection is on straight and not losing grease.

Something like this - should be available in most any auto parts store or on Amazon or ebay online.

https://www.easternmarine.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/3316/s/12-flexible-rubber-grease-gun-hose-10-212/?gclid=CIvv2Pry-bQCFQSqnQodAxkAwg

I'm currently using a rubber hose on my hand grease gun, thought maybe Dennis was referring to some kind of rubber end of the hose where it attaches to the grease zerk.  My rubber hose just has the metal end that snaps onto the zerk which will really leak by grease of it isn't on exactly straight.  Wish my rubber hose was twice as long as it is, maybe that would help some in those hard to reach tight places.

driftless shifter said:

the bolt comes into basement compartment? hidden under carpet, for sure? if it were mine, i'd pull back or cut an x through the carpet, remove bolt, clear the bolt hole till you can see through it. treat with rust converter, let dry. seal inside surfaces of hole with gobshites of rattle can paint, let it drip out bottom of hole, let dry. replace bolt with new, you might have to get creative with longer bolts and large fender washers, leaving bolt head exposed in basement compartment. carriage bolt? capture carpet under fender washer? underneath would need whatever it takes to be able to seal it back up. think piece of tin for bigger hole, fender washers to back up tin or alone for smaller hole. 3-m 5200 or less tenacious 4200 are some of my favorite sealants.

having 2 zerks is a blessing, every one i've seen greases all 4 cups. you can determine for sure by observing and listening to the cups as you pump in grease. i have generally pumped till i see some grease or greezy air bubbles on all 4 cups, definitely till no more water comes out.


bill

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I've read several times where people use 3 M 4200 or 5200 but I've never seen it available in Lowes or Ace Hardware stores.  Where is it available?  Is it something that has to be ordered over the Internet?

As a double check why not call Freightliner about the drive shaft. It is after all, something they installed.

Wagonmaster2 said:

I've read several times where people use 3 M 4200 or 5200 but I've never seen it available in Lowes or Ace Hardware stores.  Where is it available?  Is it something that has to be ordered over the Internet?

Click to expand...

Any marine/boat store or West Marine, etc.

5200 is permanent, 4200 isn't.

You can get most 3M products on Amazon as well, either direct thru them or an associated seller. Usually decent prices too.  I just bought some #8115 Body Panel Adhesive there - have a piece of fiberglass body coming loose on the coach.

navy flier said:

As a double check why not call Freightliner about the drive shaft. It is after all, something they installed.

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While lubing my U-Joints the other day I pumped the one zerk on each joint that was easy to reach very easy and slow.  After about 8-10 pumps I could hear and see the grease easing out of the two closest caps, and when I looked with a light I could see some grease around to two opposing caps also.  I moved the coach every so little and got the other zerks down where I could easily reach them.  Even though there was grease showing around these caps I pumped some grease in that zerk but it only took a couple of pumps before it was showing even more around them, so I think I can assume the first zerk reached all four caps.

But to be safe I called Freightliner and got the usual CYA response.  When I told him what I'd done he said usually only one zerk will reach all 4 caps but it's generally better to grease both zerks on each joint.  How's that for double talk?

Guess as long as there's grease showing around each cap that should be sufficient whichever way it takes. 

John Canfield said:

Any marine/boat store or West Marine, etc.

5200 is permanent, 4200 isn't.

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I believe I have seen it at Home Depot.

I've got a flexible hose for my grease gun, which allows me to get to all the Zerks without moving the coach.  There's lots of room under mine though, not sure of the model of your coach.

Wagonmaster2 said:

...Guess as long as there's grease showing around each cap that should be sufficient whichever way it takes.

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Yeah, I think you're fine.  By the way, you can buy angled replacement zerk fittings and I have a right angle grease gun fitting for those you can't get to head-on.

99WinAdventurer37G said:

I've got a flexible hose for my grease gun, which allows me to get to all the Zerks without moving the coach.  There's lots of room under mine though, not sure of the model of your coach.

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Quality u-joints will have 2 zerks for ease of maintenance. When u-joints rotate, absorbing the angle change of the driveline the joint opens up and closes. This can create a situation where the vehicle has to be moved ever so slightly to gain access to the zerk. 2 zerks on each u-joint allows you to crawl under and and have a much better chance of getting all u-joints and slip joints and carrier bearings at once.
Think about the manufacturing process for a u-joint, of course all the grease drillings interconnect. The machinist doing the drilling will drill straight through the cross and out the other side, rotate 90? and drill through the other leg, done! Cost control, think of the set up time saved. Even if manufacturing is automatic it would still be done that way.

As long as you see grease come from all four cups you're good

Bill

PS
The end of your grease gun is adjustable. Works like a keyless chuck on a drill. There are little jaws in there. Too tight they are hard to remove after pumping in the grease. Too loose and you have to, awkwardly, try to hold it on while attempting to pump one handed. Those that didn't know that are thinking, awesome! I did when an old man told a young me that little tidbit.

Well, it may sound like CYA but it's just standard practice for lubrication. The book tells you what needs to be lubricated, but the person who does the lubrication is responsible for actually getting grease into all the necessary places.  Once you see grease oozing out around each of the 4 lobes on the universal, you have it properly lubed.

Very good information here.  Hope it has been as helpful for other DIY's as it has been for me.