Now I've got a REAL problem!

[michaeldterry]

It could have worked.


FWIW you can have all the air bags replaced for about $2500, all Norgren valves for about $1300 and you will have what amounts to a brand new suspension system.

If I can just get this immediate problem resolved and make the family trip to Gatlinburg at the end of this month, I think that will be my next bus related "investment" (sooner rather than later). It makes sense to me! Who would be your choice vendor to have this work done? Prevost - Nashville (Goodlettsville)?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

With all due respect to Prevost, they have adopted a policy of charging much more to do remove and replace jobs than is reasonable. I would suggest you buy the air bags and valves yourself through Prevost, who ironically has good prices on those parts, and then shop around to determine who will be best for you to do the work. If the vendor you select will order for you that will help insure you get the right parts, but they need to be compensated if you expect them to pay for your parts.

I apologize to those sponsors if I have forgotten you, but I do know from personal experience with them that Russell Coach may work best for you because of their proximity, but you should not rule out Coach Worx or Parliament. When you are in Gatlinburg you are only about an hour from Russell. There may be others I have forgotten, but compare prices, see who best suits your needs and I think you will be satisfied.

Keep in mind the numbers I recited above are only for remove and replace, and if there are other things found when the techs are under the coach, it will be in addition to those estimates. I wouldn't hesitate to add brake chambers, possibly hoses and I would look hard at the brake pads, linings and hub seals, all service items that may or may not be needed, but which will make a lot of sense to do at the same time.

[michaeldterry]

Jon - do the jobs you outline require access to a pit? If not, that greatly expands my options for selecting someone to do these repairs. Ordering any needed parts from Prevost is not a problem, as long as I have the correct part numbers. I would want whomever I select to do the work to review/check my parts order list and verify that I'm ordering what is needed before I "pull the trigger."

[Jon Wehrenberg]

A pit helps marginally, but is not required. I changed my first set of air bags and Norgren valves on a barn floor in sub freezing temps.

But....whoever does this has to block the bus up properly. I wouldn't consider anyone except the companies I mentioned and maybe a few others if they could prove to me they have the expertise to explain in detail exactly how the Prevost suspension system works. When POG was in the early years there were a great number of posts by owners who had been screwed badly getting issues with their bus suspension repaired. You can avoid becoming one of those owners by sticking with proven experts who charge fair prices.

I'm sending you an email.

[parksincpp]

Michael- You just crack me up. Your body and your voice might be screwed up but there is nothing wrong with your brain. Your sharp and witty as always.

[michaeldterry]

Michael- You just crack me up. Your body and your voice might be screwed up but there is nothing wrong with your brain. Your sharp and witty as always.

Thanks Scott & Cyndie! However, your comment may only serve as evidence that your threshold for "sharp" is way low! On the other hand - it also says you can never underestimate a brain damaged "handicripple" with an attitude!

[michaeldterry]

By the way - I want to report that, with substantial instruction, patience, and moral support from Jon, we were able to swap the valve coil positions for the Norgren yesterday evening and Evangeline is back to being able to achieve perfect, level ride height automatically without breaking a sweat! This work around gets us safely back on the road, but thanks to all I've learned from the braintrust during this experience, I am now motivated to have the suspension gone over completely with a probable replacement of the air bags - at least! And sooner rather than later! Thanks again to all of you who always step up to offer guidance, knowledge, experience, and support as I continue my "education". Thanks especially to Jon Wehrenberg for his invaluable assistance /guidance on this issue!

[truk4u]

Michael,

Wait until you get his bill, you'll think Prevost is a bargain!

[ajducote]

Michael,

That is great news. It sure is nice to have people like Jon to help out and make things that seem so hard, look so easy. Simple fixes are only simple if you know the tricks. This brain trust called "POG" knows a LOT of tricks that sure make owning a bus a lot easier on the mind and the wallet.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

When a coach owner has a problem there is a world of difference between diagnosing it and coming up with a way to cure the problem remotely as we do on these forums, compared to having the bus near at hand. Michael and I got lucky.

In Michael's case he provided several critical clues that were caused by an unrelated problem, but made the diagnosis of the problem somewhat easy. We are not always so lucky because often problems do not have other clues that narrow down the area where the defect may be. I can make a general comment applicable for all of us who post problems here seeking solutions. Do as Michael did and tell the whole story. It may not seem important, but to narrow the search for the problem every little detail becomes a part of the puzzle.

For anyone that is following this thread, Michael's problem was the bus would not go to the driving height. He could get it there by manually raising the coach but it would not go there on its own. He stated his back end would sag down and he had to raise it using his leveling system.

That was the critical piece of information. Because he could raise the rear of the bus it proved the Norgen valves which allow that were functioning manually, but when he wanted them to function so the ride height valves worked (they automatically maintain the driving height) and they would not. On later model coaches with the 5 valve manifold on the steer compartment rear wall the center solenoid valve sends an air signal to the 3 five port Norgren valves to open the air path to the air bags through the ride height valves. His clues led to a failed #3 solenoid valve, and most likely the coil was bad.

If any of you experience this problem, which is not uncommon, swap the #3 valve electrical coil with any of the others and your ability to go to the driving position should be restored. The only times the other valves come into play is during leveling such as in a campground. The reason that coil is likely to fail before all others is because the #3 solenoid valve coil is energized any time the key is on and the bus is in the driving position on the leveling system.