Broke Down - Bad Fan Clutch

[dale farley]

We left Pensacola after church yesterday afternoon, and everything was going good until about 4:15 this afternoon. Filled up with diesel at Love's Truck Stop in Booneville, Missouri, got back on I 70, and within 10 minutes the bus overheated. I was going up a steep grade and had a guard rail on the side of the road. The engine shutoff light came on, so I stepped on the over-ride and tried to make it to the top of the hill, but it died anyway. I was completely blocking the right lane, in the rain, with all kinds of traffic running upon me from behind.

Paulette called 911 while I prayed and worked with the bus until it restarted and was able to limp off the road, in the middle of nowhere. After determining that the fan blade wasn't turning although the bus was about 220, we parked the bus in a desolate lot and headed back to the Love's truck stop in the car. I called Prevost on the way and gave them the Love's address to overnight a new clutch. It was almost 5 p.m. by then.

A few minutes later, it dawned on me that there should be a way to lock the fan so it would turn all the time. I caught the Prevost mechanic before they closed, and he told me how to locate the four bolts and lock the fan. Fortunately, Paulette was able to use her Droid technology and locate a campground about 2 miles from the Love's Truck Stop. I installed the bolts and drove the bus the 15 miles to the campground. So the good news is that we have the bus running and full hook up for the night.

The mechanic told me I could drive without installing the new clutch, but it would result in horrible fuel mileage. We are about 1400 miles from our destination (Yellowstone).

I have a couple questions: How much trouble is it to replace the clutch? I have a full set of hand tools but no special tools?

Has anyone locked their fan and monitored their fuel mileage until a permanent fix was made? Thanks in advance, Dale

[garyde]

Hi Dale. I remember someone posting last year about changing out their clutch with photos. Any mechanic shop should be able to swap it out.

[ajducote]

Dale,

I changed my fan clutch. See this article.

http://forum.prevostownersgroup.com/...y-Andre-Ducote

It is not a real hard job, just takes time and patience.

[Sid Tuls]

Dale, when you said step on the override what is that and where is it located? I sure would like to find out what that is. Thanks

[dale farley]

Sid,

The override switch is a black switch on the left side of the driver's floor area that allows you to mash it and get off the road when the bus starts shutting down for one of various reasons.

[dale farley]

Andre,

Great article. Thanks. I just realized that I did not verify my electrical connection to the fan. Does anyone know where this comes from and if it is 12 volt? Can I connect a voltmeter to the connector and turn on my dash air and expect 12 volts to be there? I may have ordered a clutch that I don't need. At the time, all I was thinking about was covering all my bases so I could have the part delivered tomorrow.

[Sid Tuls]

Dale sorry about bugging you since you got your own problems but does every prevost have this override? I'm in the bus and don't see any black switch on the left side. Could it be on the footrest on the left side? Thanks for your time and hope you get your problem fixed

[dale farley]

Sid, I thought all Prevosts had the switch. Mine is on the floor about 6 inches to the left of my steering column. Maybe they moved it or discontinued it at some point.

[ajducote]

Dale,

I am not sure of the best way to check the voltage. Maybe you could make up a pair of wires to extend the wires out past the rear of the engine, then run the engine and turn on the dash air. You should get 12 volts at the end of the wires.
Maybe someone else can tell us where the power comes from.

[ajducote]

Sid,

On my bus the over ride switch is on the left side switch panel. It is the last switch to the left of the steering column.