pavementproton420 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) Hi all. My 1984-4 cylinder Peris Dolphin is struggling to maintain 55mph. The slightest incline would see a drop in the speedometer. Any suggestions on where to look first for solutions or is this typical of this particular non-aero dynamic design, very wide flat front berth? I'm having white smoke issues, which point to a head gasket problem. Could this have anything to do with it? Also, does anyone have the correct front tire size? Much appreciate the feedback. Edited March 31, 2009 by pavementproton420 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfun1 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Have you owned this for some time and it just started this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaya5150 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi all. My 1984-4 cylinder Peris Dolphin is struggling to maintain 55mph. The slightest incline would see a drop in the speedometer. Any suggestions on where to look first for solutions or is this typical of this particular non-aero dynamic design, very wide flat front berth? I'm having white smoke issues, which point to a head gasket problem. Could this have anything to do with it? Also, does anyone have the correct front tire size? Much appreciate the feedback. That means you are burning anti freeze. Might as well do the timing chain, oil pump, water pump, head gasket and what ever else you are supposed to do. What color is your oil? Have you checked your compression. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi all. My 1984-4 cylinder Peris Dolphin is struggling to maintain 55mph. The slightest incline would see a drop in the speedometer. Any suggestions on where to look first for solutions or is this typical of this particular non-aero dynamic design, very wide flat front berth? I'm having white smoke issues, which point to a head gasket problem. Could this have anything to do with it? Also, does anyone have the correct front tire size? Much appreciate the feedback. If your head gasket is leaking, take off the rad cap, when cold and look at the coolant while running the eng, if you see bubbles thats bad. Also if you are blowing coolant out of the exhaust, you will have to add water to the rad. Dont jump too fast on this, pull the spark plugs, if one or more look very clean, you may have water in the cylinders. With a hot engine, hold your hand in the exhaust at the tailpipe, if your hand gets wet, thats a bad sign. Tell us how many miles are on the motor, we can tell you what to look out for. If the oil looks kinda like baby doo doo, you are getting water in the oil, though if you only do short trips you can get a build up of condensation often showing up around the dip stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufbooth Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Also..check to see if you have a dirty air filter, that could suck up to 20% of your power. Dennis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavementproton420 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thx for the feedback all. First of all when i bought it, it only had 13,000 miles. It had been sitting awhile in someones yard. Here's what i've done so far: changed the fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter, alternator, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, belts, had all the fluids drained and replaced, except for the transmission and clutch oil. My idle seems a little high but when i take it down a notch, it's too low that it dies. I did suspect maybe there is a compression issue, I'll check that next, or maybe look into the carburator too. I was thinking of doing the fast and dirty K-seal solution to eliminating the white smoke instead of tackling the head gasket right now, since i'm on the road. Has anyone tried this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinc25 Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Thx for the feedback all. First of all when i bought it, it only had 13,000 miles. It had been sitting awhile in someones yard. Here's what i've done so far: changed the fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter, alternator, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, belts, had all the fluids drained and replaced, except for the transmission and clutch oil. My idle seems a little high but when i take it down a notch, it's too low that it dies. I did suspect maybe there is a compression issue, I'll check that next, or maybe look into the carburator too. I was thinking of doing the fast and dirty K-seal solution to eliminating the white smoke instead of tackling the head gasket right now, since i'm on the road. Has anyone tried this? Most shops, and some parts stores have a tester that mounts inplace of the rad cap that will test for the presence of hydrocarbons in your coolant indicating a head gasket. Is the white smoke all the time, or just when cold ? There very well may be a problem with your head gasket, or it could be ok depending on what the test shows. At any rate just wanted to address the fact that it won't have much more power if it is running in top shape. My '86 Dolphin with the 22-RE and Auto Trans, struggles to maintain 60 mph, 55 up hills here in New England. As much as we love these motorhomes, they are underpowered especially with the 4 cyl and the auto. Sometime ago I had a '83 Huntsman with a 22-R and a 4 spd, and it had about the same power. The EFI gives you a little more power, but any gain is lost in my Auto trans. That said I could get my Huntsman up to 65 Mph but it wouldn't stay there. I've been debating putting a cam in my Dolphin to try to boost torque a little bit. I think if it had a little more, it may be able to maintain speed. It also feels like it is geared way too short. Sorry for the long winded response, but back to your last question. Normally I would be very weary of using a product like a block seal, but if you have it tested and it is a head gasket, Your gonna have to pull the head anyway, (Don't forget the secret bolt in the front under the puddle of oil when pulling the head) so give it a shot. Best of luck, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Compression test for sure. Another neet tool is a vacume gauge. It will tell you a bunch. If it won't idle at the proper rpm that usually points to a vacume leak somewhere. The vacume gauge will help with that. At idle it should be around 18 to 22 inches of vacume I think. And it should be steady. If the needle is rapidly bouncing up and down it is a sign of a head gasket etc. If your plugs are fairly new, looking at them will also tell a story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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