Looking At A Class C Four Winds

[chuckbear]

I'm looking at a 2000 Four Winds Chateau 28A with a 7.4L Chevy engine. Any issues I should be aware of with the engine or transmission? It has 67,000 miles on it. We looked at it today and the engine started right up and sounded good idling in the driveway. But when we did the test drive and I put it in drive for the first time I heard a kind of loud high pitched noise as we pulled out of the driveway with the engine still at idle. Once we got going the noise went away and did not hear anything driving down the road. It did start again when we slowed down to an idle in gear. It went away with the engine in neutral and after accelerating. Is this something I should look into closer or perhaps a known issue. It did not sound like a belt slipping or an idler bearing. I know those sounds and have replaced both in our previous RV. Could not pinpoint where the sound was coming from although it seemed to be from the front engine or below. Seemed to be louder with my foot on the break. Any thoughts would be helpful since we hope to close this weekend. The owner says, "it has always done that". They have owned it for a while and just recently took it from South Carolina to New York and back. Any thoughts are welcome. Chuck

 

[Isaac-1]

Keep in mind as people age, high frequency hearing tends to go first, so that high pitched sound may have still been there at highways speeds, it just may have been too high pitched for you to hear. This is when it is handy to have a younger person around, someone under the age for 25 if possible.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

2000 Four Winds Chateau 28A Any issues I should be aware of

You mean besides that it's 25 years old?

A quick noise test is to remove the serpentine belt and run it briefly. That will point to accessories, or not.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[chuckbear]

I'm not sure if you have every tried to remove one of these belts and then replace it. Nothing I want to even try before making a purchase and doubt the seller would oblige. Besides as I said I am well aware of the sound of a slipping belt and idler issues. This ain't it. The AC unit is working great as is the alternator. These are two I considered but it does not seem to be coming from either of these. They both look to be turning OK. And the noise would be heard even in neutral. This only happens with the transmission engage and the engine at idle. I was hoping someone else had experienced something like this rather than shooting in the dark. Chuck

 

[chuckbear]

Mark, I have no problem buying a 25 year old coach in excellent condition. Having been a boat surveyor for almost 4 decades an RV is a piece of cake to inspect. Other than a strange noise I have not yet identified. Chuck

 

[Rene T]

Take it to a Chevy garage and just ask them to come out and listen to the noise. They may even give you an estimate on the repairs. You can even have them do a complete inspection of the drivetrain. The seller shouldn’t mind that.
Check the date codes on the tires. That would be a big expense if you need 6 brand new ones

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

In gear vs neutral changes idle speed so can affect pulleys & belts. Including the power steering pump. Your mention of the shrieking noise when pulling out of the driveway also suggests a possible power steering pump noise when putting a load on the pump (turning the wheel). That sort of noise goes away when there is no pump load or when the engine rpms are up and delivering more power to the pump. Could be the drive belt, or even the pump itself. That's the only thing I can think of that might produce those symptoms.

You might try turning the steering wheel sharply while at idle speed and in gear. See if you can produce the noise that way.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

I wouldn't know about a Chevy V8, but Chevy V6s had an issue for several years with the cooling fan clutch making noise at idle, then going away as the rpms increased heading down the road. I had to replace one on my son's S10 P/U.

 

[TheBar]

Only at idle? Even tiny vacuum leaks can make all kinds of weird noises and vacuum is highest at idle. Still can be a pain to track down. May not be big enough to show on a vacuum gauge.