Suspension Creak

[GDeen]

Because of the various moving parts and how they must function, how they must be maintained, and how they can be damaged by lack of maintenance it does appear that lubrication, protection from the elements (such as a torn boot) and even a little ArmourAll sprayed on from time to time may contribute to longer life. I'm not making up the ArmourAll thing. That was Rob's suggestion. It's not in the Prevost shop manual.

Exactly what I have been wondering about - would some lubrication help keep the parts from binding and extend the life. Good to know.

[rfoster]

I just want to add my thanks and appreciation for the contributions our sponsors are making to the forum now. We wanted this kind of input way back when we started POG, and now thanks to Steve Bennett, Ben C. , Rob Russell and others we are able to benefit more and more from our POG membership. Pooling the info from years and miles of experience is invaluable.

Especially when most of us have to do something else to get fuel money.

Thanks a bunch guys!

[Russell Coachworks]

Hello to all. I have read all comments since my last post and will try to address all thoughts. In regards to axle weights in entertainer coaches, to the best of my memory, when the entertainer slide came out, the axle weight for an entertainer coach was changed to 18,000 pounds for the slide out and for the non-slide units. With talking with the parts department at Prevost, the parts are the same, unless they have been superceeded by an improved part, i.e. by changing the part number.

In response to the post about the cost and whether or not it is done in house, parts are ordered through Russell Coach and we partner with a local alignment shop who performs the work. The quote I gave is what it costs me. So, depending on parts having a rate increase, the shop having a rate increase, etc. this number may fluctuate somewhat.

Regarding the posts about age, use of coach, etc. it is known to all that rubber ages and wears out. It is like anything, the more you exercise it / use it, the more it lasts.

My recommendation....hit the road, see all States and rack those miles up!!

Good evening to all!

Oh, thanks to Jon for recognizing that Wendy runs it all....ha ha!!

Rob Russell
Russell Coach

[BrianE]

This has been an interesting thread. Thanks to all who participated, especially sponsors Rob and Steve. In January when I tore into the front end of our 11 year old bus I was dismayed to find that every single grease retainer boot on the steering rod ends as well as all four ball joint dust covers were in tatters. The result was of course an inability for components to retain their grease. The upper A arm bushings were cracked and the dog bone bushings were distorted and loose. I also found the upper left A arm ball joint badly galled due to a bad zerk fitting which evidently had been clogged for a very long time.

Considering the input from most of us, it appears the non commercial use of our buses might be a liability. Maybe we could minimize service issues by observing the work being done during service checks. An over zealous lube tech can easily blow a hole in a grease retainer boot by over-greasing as well as completely missing some important lube points (steering gear zerks for example).

By the way the sway bar bushings that started this thread are in beautiful condition, no checking or cracking......There still a'creakin' though.

[BoaterAl]

Any advice on replacing current shocks with Koni on the front ? 2005 XLII What adjustment setting is preferred ?

[jack14r]

AL,I have a friend that replaced the shocks on a XL with the Koni's and i think he used the stiffest setting,he could not believe the difference.If you do it let me know how it works out.

[Kevin Erion]

I think if you go to the Koni web site, they have a very good chart that shows the adjustments and what they do.

[BoaterAl]

I spoke to Marathon about the front Koni's. On all there customer request for the Koni they set up the shock to the firmest/stiffest setting. As the coach front weighs in at about 16,000 lbs. this seems to be working good on this setting. I'am going to follow there advice and then give it the bumpy road test. As we live in Missouri I won't have to travel far to find one with bumps. I did download the info from Koni on the adjustments.
Al
05 Marathon XLII
2010 GMC arcadia AWD

[Jon Wehrenberg]

The purpose of our shock absorbers is to dampen rebound. I am sure many remember cars with bad shocks bouncing up and down for quite a while after going over a bump. The same thing applies to our buses and if the shocks are worn or not adequate we end up with a front end that feels like it is floating out of control and we also have a potentially worse situation. That is a bus that travels through the full suspension range after a bump because there is inadequate dampening to control the compression or extension of our air bags.

If the shocks are set too firm the comfort level of the ride will suffer, and if the shocks are not firm enough the bus could be banging against the limits of suspension travel.

Somewhere in the middle of the two is the right setting for the shocks and I have no clue how to evaluate and decide where to set the shocks.

One thing everyone needs to be aware of and that is the shock adjustment is going to be determined to a great extent on how much weight is on a given axle. The more weight, the greater the compression and rebound of the suspension, and thus the greater need for dampening. I often am concerned when I hear of coaches that are at or over the axle weight limits. Our air bags are designed for and actually marked with a warning not to exceed 100 PSI. Coaches that are heavy on a given axle may require full air system pressure to come up to ride height. If the coach is sitting on over inflated air bags due to the weight they must carry, when the bus hits a dip in the road that causes the air bags to compress, those air bags will see a significant spike in the internal air pressure as the bags compress. This is why it is especially critical to use good shocks and to have them set properly (if adjustable).

At one time there were coaches being converted with excess weight on the front axle. In addition to developing a fix in the form of a larger air bag to help carry the front end with less internal pressure, Prevost also developed a retrofit to add a second set of shocks to the front end to dampen the jounce the coaches were experiencing. If you own a coach that is heavy (at or in excess of the Prevost axle limits) you may want ot consider discussions with Prevost regarding the addition of a second set of shocks. This goes beyond ride comfort, because as the coaches reach the suspension travel limits steering control is compromised and safety becomes a bigger concern than comfort.

If you want to see how suspension travel impacts handling, find a deserted road. Use the level low to raise the front of the coach to its limit, and then drive down that road at slowly increasing speeds. At some point you will find the bus is no longer easily steered or controlled and this happens at a relatively low speed.

[BoaterAl]

New shocking development's in Missouri..... (I just couldn't resist to us the phrase)
New Koni's (front) on the coach at adjustment "max firm". On the road test the coach did preform with much better ride, as little continued bounce and very little side to side. I was impressed with the noticeable difference right out of the box. As the old shocks were still serviceable the firm setting does change the shock and ride in the compression stroke. As your suggestions were all max firm that appears to be the right adjustment with all factors considered. Overall much improvement. Project is very easy once you have the coach up in the air.
AL
2005 XL II Marathon