gene j

Thanks Maineah, that makes sense. I'll guess I'll just wait until it needs rebuilt.

I brought my 92 Dolphin in for a muffler job and the place also specialized in tranny work. I though this would be a good time to get the tran fluid and filter changed (don't know when or if it ever had been done before). It runs fine just thought this would be an opportune time to get it done. I did some research on the site here and ran across several comments about leaving the fluid alone if it doesn't smell burnt. It was even mentioned that I could be walking in a few weeks if I changed it. The rig has 96k miles and I bought it about a month ago. Have been doing quite a bit of work on it and have relied on the info I've gathered on this site. Just wondering about the tranny fluid comment.

How stupid I am....I am quite the "NEWBIE". I thought the vent below the fold out couch was the heater....it is the vent for the converter I've found out after looking at the links you sent. I also thought you had to access the panels from the opposite side, or the side under the couch seat (ouch), but your links have cleared this up. The unit is the 6300 with breakers for A/C, micro and gen purpose. The photos make it look quite easy to change. I'm assuming I can order this part on line....I will investigate...Thanks again for clearing up another newbie mystery. They offer 45 or 55 amp I notice, and they are not cheap. How critical would you say this is, or are there steps you can take to avoid the problems that the 6300 may present....the thing has been in there for 20 years almost....of course my coach battery was toast when I bought the rig. Gene

Can you tell me where to look to find the converter......this is all new to me. Thanks

On my 92 Dolphin the coach battery takes some work to get at if you want to put a charger on it for regular maintenance. Does anyone know if there is an easier way to hook up the battery charger rather than pulling the battery out of the compartment and disconnecting the screw on wires. What I was thinking of was putting the charger under the hood and connecting the positive to the wire leading from the battery isolator to the coach battery. I would disconnect that wire there first. I guess it could be grounded anywhere on the frame. Just a thought....looking for a shortcut. Thanks On second thought, doesn't the coach battery charge when you are plugged in to 110 ac? Plugging it in in my driveway would do the same thing?

Actually the starting battery has a date on it of 2/10 and looks new.....hoping it was just a short term discharge...I will monitor it though...thanks for you help. I need to do some research on how the electrical is configured in a coach like this...I have some schematics that came with the rig but they are pretty hard to follow....I'll be doing some Internet research.

It was the correct cable. As it turns out the only thing wrong seems to be the starting battery was really discharged...I left it on the charger yesterday for 10 hours, put it back in and seems to work fine, of course time will tell. I will be doing regular battery maintenance from now on. Like i said earlier, this rig probably hadn't been driven much. When I bought in it had a pretty good oil leak which turned out to be valve gaskets. I'm getting a new coach battery and I should be okay. Appreciate the help, this site is like a pot of gold for owners of these rigs. My next step is to see if Jiffy lube can do some lubrication on it. Thanks again.

Thanks for the info. I will try what you said. Perhaps these rigs not being driven too much proves to be very hard on the batteries. I've seen solar trickle chargers....we have 340+ days of sunshine here in southern Nevada...might be something to try...I saw several at Northern Tool website and I imagine they come with instructions. I mentioned I disconnected the battery isolator cable to the coach...would that have the same effect as disconnecting the negative pole on the coach battery?

My newly purchased 92 Dolphin was starting fine for the first couple of weeks I owned it but then I started getting the old click-click-click-click that a low battery makes the starter solenoid do. I cleaned the cables and tried charging it but it would throw the breaker on the 10 amp deep cycle charger. After a couple of breaker throws I took the battery to Pep boys where I was told it was okay. I figured it being very low was the cause of the charger breaker throwing, at least I read on the Internet that this could happen. I reinstalled it and the Toy started, but after sitting out front for several hours it went back to the click-click. Next I took out the coach deep-cycle battery and took it to Pep boys where I was told it had a bad cell ( I did look and the cell was the only dry one). My question is would the bad coach battery affect the starting battery in any way? I disconnected the battery isolator wire that I think leads back to the coach battery...looking from the front, the isolator is on the firewall directly in front of the driver's seat, one wire on the left to the starting battery, I'm assuming one on the right to the coach battery which I disconnected, and one in the center coming from the alternator....information I picked up reading the site. Right now I trying to charge the start battery again and will let the breaker throw a few times if necessary. Can anyone help me here?

Thanks for the info, I will be changing those shocks real soon.....I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all the info Gulfstream Greg, Your picture is great....regular shade tree setup...here in the middle of the Nevada desert most homes don't have large trees, and mine doesn't have any. There is some sparse shade from the nearby yucca plants, but they are only 3 feet high. I don't think I have the ability to do the exhaust myself, will have to find someone. Not sure how you would tell if the cat is bad (I have two also), but the muffler definitely has small holes in it. Not too bad yet but you can hear that put-put-put muffler sound. I do have airbags....just tried them out the other day...I only bought this rig 3-4 weeks ago and it was in the shop for 1 of those weeks so I haven't had time to experiment though I know at this point everything does work. Have you ever replaced the front or rear shocks? My rig rocks like a boat when tapping the brake....I remember being told a good shock should allow only 1-1/2 rocks before it settles, I'm at about 4. Again, thanks for the info.

Thanks Maineah.

I have two 3-ton stands. I should be looking for two 6-ton stands?

I hadn't thought about the body work and tanks...how right you are. Sure limits where you can go as not too many places have drive racks. I need a muffler and probably tailpipe as well, and even though I could probably get under it and do the work myself, I'm not as young as I used to be and certainly not as limber. I'm thinking that a muffler shop wouldn't have a drive on rack and to get someone to lay on their back and do the work might cost plenty...oh well, I haven't checked yet, I could be wrong. I'm going to by a bottle jack since the Dolphin didn't come with any jack. Looking under the rear axle, would you place the jack on the axle housing itself, which would be after the wheels and the leaf spring attachment, or do you think you could just place it under the leaf spring mounting bracket? It seems like once you get interior from the leaf spring bracket, you are almost at the differential housing, but according to what I've read, the axle housing is the place. Appreciate whatever insight you can give me.

Does anyone have info on what kind of service rack will lift my Dolphin? The few places I've inquired said they couldn't do it. The Toyota dealer said they would use their alignment rack, not their regular lifts. Just wondering if anyone else has some feedback on this.

My head gasket job is done.....and all the new parts are in.....right now I have no complaints...oil leak was only valve cover gaskets and it is now history and all the new cooling system parts are in and all the new ignition tune up parts as well. The valve tap-tap-tap is gone. I'm really quite happy at the moment. I must say I was quite impressed by Findlay Toyota here in Las Vegas. They did a great job (of course it did cost quite a bit) and I feel better knowing the entire cooling system is new... I live in the desert and the temp in the summer can get to 120 at times...one thing for sure, a motorhome that is almost 20 years old will always have one need or another but the damn thing is so cute!!

Picked up the Dolphin yesterday from the dealer. I was a bit apprehensive as this was costing me quite a bit, but its been one day now and not a trace of oil leaking, and I put about 50 miles on it. I was told that Vic, the gentleman mentioned above from Toyota, took special interest in the project after I sent a couple of e-mails to him and the service manager. He personally (I'm told) adjusted the valves post the head gasket job. No tap-tap-tap sound anymore. At this point I'm quite satisfied. Apparently the oil leak was valve cover gaskets, not the rear seal. Here is how the service order read: repl water pump and t belt, repl drive belts, t-s tat and rad cap, repl spark plugs, cap, rotor, wires, repl knock sensor and knock sensor wire assy, repl pcv hose, repl air tube and silencer boxes on air cleaner assy, repl fan clutch w/bracket assy and fan blade, repl lower shroud and clips, repl fuel pulsation dampener and leaking radiator assy. All this plus the head gasket job. It runs really good and the valvetrain chatter is gone now. I live in the desert here in Las Vegas so any cooling system upgrades are generally a good move. Okay, at this point I'm happy. Time to start enjoying my investment. I do need to start thinking about a muffler. At the dealer I was allowed in the oil change pit (that's were they were checking out the Dolphin) and looking underneath I noticed the muffler has small holes in it. These do make exhaust noise when it is running. I'm hoping I can do this myself. Anyway, thanks everyone for all the good advice.

I didn't see the search button (newbie)....I did a search on jacks an got all the info I needed. Thanks to all.

My recently purchased 92 Dolphin came with no jack. Any recommendations on what type I should get. I was thinking a bottle jack as there isn't much storage room. Also the lug wrench wasn't there.

I just bought a 92 Dolphin and brought it in to the dealer for an oil leak. Turned out the head gasket recall could be done, and was. The bad thing about it is they found all kind of parts that were bad, or partially bad. Radiator leak, water pump leak, wrong fan, bad fan clutch, and others. When it's all apart you hate not to fix things as the labor is covered by the gasket replace (except for radiator), anyway its still in the shop today, waiting for a call. I guess that's the dealer's job, to find work...

I'm waiting for their call today. The service writer apologized for "putting the cart before the horse" as he said. I saw all the parts that were to be replaced and they indeed had the problems mentioned. I know they are expensive but I'm hoping for the best. I'll let you know the final result.

By taking the motor apart they found lots of things wrong...leaky water pump, wrong pump bracket, wrong fan and fan clutch, leaky power steering pump, leaky radiator, bad knock sensor, and a few more things. I'm having most of the stuff replaced as the motor is apart and the labor is covered by the head gasket job (other than the radiator). Just didn't think about the repercussions of taking an older motor apart....anyway, its bittersweet in a way. Though its costing me some dough at least I"m having a lot of potential problems taken care of. As far a the oil leak, I'm a little upset because they just started the head gasket job and never determined exactly where the oil was leaking from. The mechanic said no one had mentioned that to him....and it was probably just leaky valve cover gaskets. The tap-tap-tap was not addressed either at this point. Just have to see were I'm at when the job is done. I actually spoke with the mechanic for quite a while and he showed me all the bad parts, pointing out the problems. I'm staying positive.

Looks like the gasket replacement many have just opened a can of worms...

Get this....I just came back from Findley Toyota where I dropped the Dolphin off with the oil leak dye disbursed in it. I had printed out the info that Derek up North had posted regarding the head gasket recall. Well, would you believe it....it has never been done on this vehicle. Even the service writer was excited about this job...he had already checked with the computer, service manager, etc., and whomever needs to okay these things, and received the go ahead. To quote him, "this put things in an entirely new perspective", and "these jobs are few and far in between anymore." I guess the problems that originally brought me there will be addressed under the gasket replacement, or at least he led me to believe this. He even said something that made me almost explode with happiness, "I've even seen them replace the entire engine on these recalls when there is some pitting involved." I was even offered a rental car for three days as part of the recall package. I can hardly believe this since initially I usually see the down side of things. Well, now my wife is saying that I need to think more positive and good things will happen. She's probably right, actually she's always right. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for excessive pitting...I want to thank everybody who has helped with this and I will keep you posted.

Thanks for the inside info....I printed it out and will take it to Findley tomorrow....they put dye in the motor today to locate the leak source tomorrow...I'll let you know what happens. This little motorhome is really a jewel...I hope I can get the problems solved.