Air Leak

[Dennis Crawford]

To All,

This wil be a long request.  Actually there are two requests.  I have a 2005 Monterey and it loses air pressure to 0 in about 10 hours max.  This happens if I use air leveling or not.  It just leaks down.  I had it in a shop today and authorized 4 hours labor to find leak.  They stopped after two hours because they could not find anything in any of the major locations.  They did find a leak in the air seal around the door, that is not the main leak since that only activates in the coach is in drive or reverse gear.  That question comes next.

As anyone had a air loss problem with a fix?

Now for the air seal.  Lots of questions here:

1. Where is the seal?
2. Can I remove it easily?
3. Can it be patched?
4. If not, can I find a new one?

If this becomes a major problem, I will just disconnect the air line and plug it.

Thanks,
Dennis

[Dave Porter]

Hey Dennis.  I also have a 2005 40' Monterey Laguana IV with the same issue.  I also have a leak in the door seal bladder and the service guys quit troubleshooting until the leak was fixed.  I don't understand why as it makes no sense to me because the bladder is only filled when the coach is in forward.  Anyway, the repair shop tells me the seal is custom made and a new one could be mine for $850 plus labor.  I've been working on leaks with an old fashion bicycle tire repair kit and just about have the leaks repaired.  The bladder is the inner most rubber seal in your door frame.  My leaks in the upper corner closest to the windshield.  A little soap and water spray with the coach in gear and the brake engaged should make it easy to find any leaks.  Good luck on this and I'd be interested if you come up with a different solution.  If interested, I will be happy to ask the service center where they would order one.  Hope that helps.

[Dean Johnson]

Hi,
I have a 2005 Monterey with a leak in the door seal as well.  I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "the service guys quit troubleshooting until the leak was fixed".  What was the resolution to this?  I found that some 3/16"X3/4" weather stripping seal on top of the existing door seal worked but only temporarily, so I'm still chasing this.
I spoke with Beaver Coach sales and service, and they weren't much help. The high pitched whistle this makes is enough to drive you crazy.  Has anyone else found a solution to this?

[Dave Porter]

Greetings!  To answer your question, the service centers stance was they had done all the troubleshooting they could and until they could eliminate the door leak as a possibility, they felt thay had reached the end of the road.  I certainly didn't agree with the logic at the time but there "may" have been some merit to it.  I started patching the known leak with a product called Parbond.  This is the same type of stuff we used as kids to patch bicycle tires (you all know the distinct aroma).  Anyway, I started layering a little bit at a time and I have the leak down to just the slightest "hiss".  I know this is very subjective, but I "think" the coach does indeed hold air longer.  Of course, it could be my imagination.....your mileage may vary.  Hope that helps!


Dave

[Marty Carah]

I had a leak that would cause the pump to cycle on every 15 minutes when the engine was not on.

After 2 trips to BCS, I crawled under the coach with a spray bottle.  I started at the front around the air pump.  The problem quickly appeared.  The distribution manifold just downstream of the pump had a hairline crack visible only when the pump was running.

Marty

[Bruce Benson]

A few thoughts:

Take the coach somewhere quiet.  A repair shop does not usually qualify.  A nice open grassy field miles away from a highway, airport, beauty shop or railroad track on a still day might qualify.

Get your or someones grand child to crawl around under the coach with you.  They hear things we do not.

Run your hand around each tube and fitting.  Often this will cause a sound when you run over the leak.

Be sensitive to cool sensations, that may mark your leak.

As Marty mentioned, use a spray of soapy water to nail down the exact spot or for a general search if the auditory and tactile methods fail.  

Look for places where the line might have chafed against any part of the motor home.  If it is touching anywhere and not secured, you can expect a leak to occur there at some point in the coaches life.  Be sure to notice how suspension compression and steering may affect this touching.    

I agree that your door seal should not cause your leak down.  Check out this fellow if you do decide to repair your door seal
http://www.gregginc.com/page11.html

Good luck finding your leak.