Plain Jane

I have a feeling I'm raising more questions than I can ever get answers to! Thanks for all of your input. At least I know what to put in the ad.

Linda, it's noisy in the way an old engine is noisy. Doug, it's my coworker's husband, who was trained as a car mechanic, worked for some dealerships and now fixes his family's Toyotas. All he did, as explained above, was try to start the engine and recognize the sound it made as a timing belt problem that other Toyotas he had worked on had had. I watched him do it, and he did not have any tools with him. So basically I followed jminshew's instructions but did not have to describe the sound - he was right there to hear it. He's also a DIY'er like y'all and didn't charge me a dime to tell me this. Would it have been more authoritative if he had? And finally, for the last time, the engine does. not. turn. over. So any solution that involves that will not help.

So it's a 22R-E engine. So maybe this isn't the end? Fred, you echo my thoughts exactly - it would be a shame if I sold it and then the repair turned out to be something affordable. If only I could get it away from here!

So in a last-ditch effort to identify the problem - not not NOT to save it, but to be more specific about its problems in my ad - I had the husband of a coworker check out the engine. He tried to start the engine and immediately diagnosed a broken timing belt. He said that if it had an interference engine it would have to be replaced, but if not, it might only need a new timing belt. Anyone know if it's got an interference engine?

Thanks, Linda. I did spot a really nice Dolphin parked at a home about 45 mins. from me, in really good condition, but that doesn't mean the owner would be interested in buying another. Maybe I'll take a ride up next weekend and knock on their door.

Thanks, all, for your advice. I'm selling the Dolphin. I paid $6K for it in 2021 so I'll sell it for less. As easy and low-cost as it seems to be to fix, with such predictable success, it'll be interesting to see how many of you are willing to make the investment yourselves.

Please understand, folks. The camper has spent more time being repaired than it has traveling. I poured lots of money into it when I had it to spend, but as I said in my original post I can't afford to put anything else into it right now. It will not move and unfortunately is parked on the property of an unscrupulous mechanic. Regardless of what should happen to such a deserving vehicle, there is very little I can do with it right now. My original question was what to do with it now, not how to fix it. I've taken pictures of the exterior and interior if anyone wants to see them. I don't know what else I can do today. I'm leaving the camper now and continuing with my day.

I'm doing my best here, jminshew. Linda? WLK? any input? I don't know how else to describe that sound and I can't get a recording that doesn't include the warning beep. It's a light buzzing sound.

Okay, reconnected that small hose. Can I add water rather than coolant? And do I add it directly to the radiator? I've got bottled drinking water I can pour in. Not sure why I'm doing these things. So I can argue with the mechanic whose property the Dolphin is on? Try to move it off the property? Is there a chance it'll start if I put water in the radiator?

Okay, following jminshew's instructions and putting it in neutral, I do hear the sound a car makes before the engine turns over. The battery terminals are tight.

Also coolant appears to be low. I see one small hose that's disconnected but don't know where it's supposed to connect, below. About at the center of the photo.

It's an automatic. Assuming battery cables are tight because battery is working. Also, I didn't mention this in response to an earlier post, but it *was* coasting on the highway before I even got to the exit ramp. I know this because I pressed the gas pedal and it didn't speed up (I just wanted to get to the exit quickly). Linda, shot of the radiator below. It's empty to me, but what do I know?

No, nothing happens at all. The battery comes on but that's it.

Also, engine won't start, and oil is normal color and not low.

So I'm up here now with the Dolphin and have taken a few pictures - TBH I don't really know what I'm taking pictures of but hopefully they will be helpful. I'll be here a while emptying out the cabin if anyone wants to respond right away.

Sorry for the radio silence. The Dolphin is stuck at the mechanic's, about 30 mins away, and I work full-time, so I haven't been able to get up there this week. I'll have to use my Labor Day weekend to look at it. No worries, I already told him I didn't want him to take the engine apart. The truck is not running. I'll post pictures of everything when I do get up there this weekend.

Thanks to both of you. Wanderlustking, I'm intrigued by what you say about how an engine usually makes noise before quitting because of a blown head gasket, because there definitely was no noise - not more than it usually made, which was admittedly a lot. To answer your question, I was driving along the interstate at the speed limit and the battery and brake lights came on, although the brakes worked fine. I think they came on because the engine had cut off, but I don't know. I got off at the next exit and at the bottom of the exit ramp and braked, then tried to start it again to get it off the road. It didn't start and there was vapor/smoke coming from under the hood. I just checked with the mechanic and he said he'd charge me another $200 to take the engine apart and verify whether the problem is the head gasket. DIY is out, not only because I have nowhere to work on it and no more money to buy parts with, but also because I've used up my auto club's allowance for towing the Dolphin from one place to another for this year. It needed a special wrecker because pulling it up on a regular flatbed can damage the back end. Linda, I bought it for $6k so I probably wouldn't be able to sell it for that - the improvements I made were for my own use but hardly high spec. But I could probably sell it for something higher than what I'd get for scrap. I know Toyotas have a huge following - not 15 minutes before it quit, a man at a service station where I was emptying my waste tanks told me he'd always wanted one of them. And that was about the fifth compliment on it that I'd received in the week or so when I was driving it around before it failed, in the few off hours I could drive it outside of my full-time working hours. I am sure you all experience this all the time. I will post some pictures here when I am able to, which is not right now.

Hello all, I haven't posted on this forum for a while. After living in my Dolphin over the winter and having multiple cabin and automotive repairs done on it over my two-year ownership, I am having to give it up. Returning from its inspection in Western New York a week ago - it passed, finally - the engine suddenly stopped working on the interstate, with no warning. The mechanic that repaired it for inspection looked at it and guessed the latest problem was the head gasket, but said it could be worse. He's estimating repairs to be beyond what I can afford, especially because the transmission on my 11-year-old car went at almost the same time. It's been an interesting August! My question: What now? The mechanic can't pay me more than "a few hundred" dollars for automotive parts, even though some of them are new. Lots of the cabin equipment (stove, AC, fridge, toilet, plumbing, generator) still works, and some of it is new (water heater, water pump). Should I try to sell it locally, as a "she shed" for example? I have people telling me it's worthless, but I would like a knowledgeable opinion on that. I'll accept whatever you all say, because I know you know your stuff! Thanks in advance for any input. PJ

Ordered a couple of those plugs to bypass the water pump. Won't be needing the pump until the Dolphin is mobile again 😉

Hello all, Thanks for your advice. I'm sure I can figure out a new Kwikset-style lock. Can't wait not to be climbing into the back from the cab! However, everything is theoretical right now because: 1) Vapor started pouring out from under the hood and I had to pull over and get it towed to what will be its permanent home in a few months, 30 minutes away; and 2) My regular car has a date with the mechanic and I can't even drive out there until it gets fixed (a repair I've been putting off). Sigh, every time I think I'm ready to work on it again, something comes up! I think the vapor came from some leaking transmission fluid - hope it's nothing major. But thanks for your help - at least I know how to do it when I can get over there. And there's even a ladder I can borrow there!!! PJ

Thanks, Fred, for your instructions on the lock. It did look like a standard door lock to me but I'd never heard of Elixir before so I thought it was something fancy and RV-specific. It looks to me like whoever put it in used some random wood screws for it, hence the points sticking out of it on the front. Wouldn't they normally be machine screws? So, I'm guessing I should keep the spacer? Also do I have to replace the strike plate or will the new lock work with what's in there if the current one works fine?

Here's the lock. My location is Jamestown, NY. It is an hour and a half from the closest Camping World in Buffalo, and there's a Gander near there too. Also everyone is booked up into September. I also work full-time, so by the time I could drive past, not to mention go in, the stores would be closed. This will be my first free weekend in three weeks. I do what research I can online during my lunch hours. Right now I'm focusing on the lock problem because it's an obstacle to my doing other work on the camper. I keep the cab locked because I live near downtown in an area that I'd describe as only moderately secure. I would love to pay a teenager to do the roof vent, but don't want to put a youngster at risk, in case the roof really is as unstable as the non-professional in NC said it was (he refused to get up there). Hence the other repair I'm looking for - a rubber roof. And last, I don't have a lot of money. Sorry to bring up the unmentionable. I traveled last weekend and the weekend before and spent a fortune on gas, which on my routes hovered around $5 per gallon. Don't mean to whine, but gathering what information I can until I can actually afford stuff and get out there and work on it. Thank goodness it's Friday and payday. Woohoo!

Okay, contacted Elixir and a couple of other wholesalers. No luck there - I think they only deal with businesses, not private individuals. I googled "Elixir master key" and found a few mobile home supply companies, but again they're wholesalers. They have the right item and it's cheap, but I'd have to buy at least 20 of them! Tried eBay too but nothing came up with Elixir. Any other suggestions, anyone? I once bought a used file cabinet without the key. I ordered one from some place and it was quick and cheap; worked fine. Anybody know of a business like that? TIA PJ

Thanks for suggesting pictures, Linda, because it made me take a good look at the door. It turns out I've got an Elixir lock, separate from the handle assembly. All I need is a key. No code, though, that I can see. Any ideas of where to look? eBay?

Good thought, Fred. I'd been keeping a set of pliers by the door for that, but knew there was something better out there. As for the key, If I found a blank for that lock, could a locksmith cut a key for it?