the good, the bad and the ugly: a tour of my undercarriage

[Zed]

Man there are some things down there that are obviously not right. The previous owner seemed pretty committed to doing things as cheaply and incorrectly as possible. He is a nice guy and perhaps lots of this was from owners more previous then he was, I don't know or care. I am committed to doing this project correctly, one job at a time, but every time I try to trace down a problem I find 3 more. I have upped my budget for this build.\n\nI started by tracing the fuel line, since I have had the original tank cleaned. The PO used some sort of hardware store braided line that I don't think is rated for fuel. It is re-routed from the undercarriage and into the generator bay where it ends up in a plastic jug filled with fuel. It drips at the connection to the hard line. I traced the line back and he uses the stock 3/8ths line for most of the run, just the braided line for the back end connection to the fuel jug and in the front into the fuel pump. I could not find a fuel filter anywhere which is concerning since the original fuel tank was very rusty which is why I think he disconnected it. It is probable that he did not drive it much without a fuel tank I think he just needed to move the travco around the field it was in to mow. I'm hoping this is the case.\n\nI have included a link to some pictures I took down there. Please point out any obvious mistakes. I guess my first question is where is the stock location for the fuel filter? I am assuming it is a inline filter that sits between the flexible flue line in the front and the fuel pump. Any help greatly appreciated. There are about 1/2 dozen wires down there that go to nothing, as well as some water connections that are just hanging out. The PO also used several varieties of random screws all around the chassis and trim, that will be replaced as I figure out the correct ones to use.\n\nThanks for any help anyone offers, I need it.\n\nhttp://imgur.com/a/F4WZn

[Zed]

This is somewhat concerning, are the splines from the driveshaft supposed to engage more fully then this? There seems like there is a lot of splines showing at the input shaft on the carrier bearing. \n\nhttp://imgur.com/YrzINAh

[KB2CRK]

The splines on the drive shaft are normal. They do need grease as it slides in and out as the rear suspension goes up and down. I had Nessie break her motor and trans mounts which allowed the engine and trans to slide forward. The splines were long enough that the driveshaft did not separate even though the hanger bearing was fully out in front of its mount.

[Zed]

Awesome I will grease the connection up with wheel bearing grease. I think I am going to spend tomorrow with a wire brush knocking surface rust off, every time I go under there I get rust in my eyes.

[Acesneights]

Wear safety glasses. Take it from someone who has had their fare share of trips to the ER...

[KB2CRK]

There should be a grease fitting on the female side of the slide.

[77Travco]

I went to summitracing.com and bought 30' of 3/8" aluminum fuel line. I ran the new line from my tank, along the frame rail to the engine. I ended up having less than 2 foot of rubber line total. The fuel filter is located at the fuel tank just before the electric pusher pump. There is a mechanical pump on the engine. No filter at the carb.

[Zed]

The extra fuel pump is something you added right? I'm trying to get this back to stock and then assess any after market stuff it might need like a booster pump. \n\nIs the stock location for the fuel filter by the tank or by the engine?

[KB2CRK]

I have 2 fuel filters. One near the tank and one just after the fuel pump on the front of the engine. I do not have a booster pump for fuel.

[77Travco]

I think the electric "booster" pump at the tank was added but I've seen alot of old gas coaches with this setup. Must have been a common fix back in the day.