Danny call Dave Atherton and pose the question. It will be an education and he will save you many hours of worry and save you money.
Bill Edwards 1999 Panther
On Wednesday, May 3, 2017 5:52 PM, "Danny gremessr@... [Safarifriends]" <Safarifriends@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Joe,
I would say the card is fine as the engine runs fine. The computer systems have come along way since first introduced. like any computer issues could be a problem at anytime. I would run with the one you have keeping your cost to repair down. you could spend money for a card that sits for years and never need.
Those are my thoughts on that. And the best on getting your Safari into lasting condition. This site is full of great people with knowledge to help any issue that come up.
Danny
On May 2, 2017, at 21:58, "burch1945@... [Safarifriends]" <Safarifriends@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Danny, I purchased back in January a 1996 Sahara with a 3126 Cat engine with 80,000 miles. It had obviously been neglected. I am going through a list of repair items, new radiator, new brakes, new ac compressor, etc. Do I need to worry about the computer card on the engine. Should I get another one as a spare just in case of a problem with it.? Or is this an unnecessary expenditure. As I said the engine runs fine. thanks Joe St Augustine Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Thank you John and Ed, My Safari is a 2000 with a Cat 3126. it has not been out for about 8 months now. I pulled Tue radiator to clean the cores on the outside as well as the intercooler; both were clogged causing fit to want to run hot. what a pain in the bottom side that was. I took the time to replace the thermostats and air filter. Another pain to get at. I have not taken it out for a test drive; since changing the air filter however the cooling issue is resolved. Loss of power due to clogged air filter is what I hope was the issue. I had surgery so taking it on the road has to wait. I will be trying some of the inputs on sway control you both shared. Our Safari does seem like it should handle better. passing a big rig or windy days sure make for a tiring drive at the end of the day. Adding some of your suggestions is not an issue for me. I am certified Caterpillar and automotive mechanic and have a nice workshop I keep the Safari in. Thank you for what is good advice. I will be putting it to good use. Danny Gremes 2000 Safari Continental Back to your note on the 28th Sorry I was not timely on a replay as I was out of town. But here is my take. I have a 99 Safari Continental Panther. It too has an 8 bag setup. I would suggest that 4 bags support one axel and 4 the other. These bags are about 10 inches in diameter and 9 inches tall, if they are the same as my coach. The after market units are quite a bit smaller 6 inches on the outside and double in height. To answer your question about chasing the coach in the wind. First off the Koni or Bilstines shocks will do little here. The Koni will improve ride and some handling characteristics. There are no Pioneer components to aid the handling of the air coaches that I am aware of. All of that said two items come to mind. One is a valve made by Source Engineering in Eugene, Oregon that when vertically placed in each air line above each bag it restricts the air flow exiting the bag which in turn helps control sway. Turning and wind will affect sway and how much you feel the need to chase it. The second component is Safe-T-Plus available from Steer Safe in Demming, New Mexico. It is a huge double acting shock installed on the cross tierod of the steering componetry to help minimize the chase time. It also has significant benifit if a flat tite or a blow out occures which is how it is advertised. Cost is in the 5 to 700 dollar range with brackets and all to install. It is user friendly. The Cadillac of these devises is a Blue Ox True center. It is an electro mechanical device that is smart and is designed to aid control in the wind. It is a bit more pricey, in excess of a 1,000 dollars and I understand it is the best at what it is designed to do what it does. Like you I have the same issues. I have not pulled the trigger on the latter components as I am still reying to solve an unequal filling of the air bags in front. First it is one side and then it is the other. Until I have another like coach ro aid in understanding the problem and determine its solution, then I can not install the Source valves either. 1999 455 Contintal Panther I have been following this thread and learned a lot about RV shock choices. my question is how do I know what ride my Safari Continental has? it has two air bags on each axle totaling eight. the ride is ok but hard to keep on the road in wind and passing big rigs. Thank you for suggestions. Danny When I was conversing with Ralph and doing the upgrades he told me point blank to switch the front shock mounts left to right. That said I too would convey that message to you having a later coach and switching to Koni.. My Z has a stellar ride and handles great. By the way I did not set my shocks to full hard and it is just fine. I’m taking you advice sending them back today and getting the right ones. Thanks again for all you advice They lied to you, as the 1490s have a stroke of 7.8 inches and the 1641s have a stroke of 7.2 inches. This will not be an issue, as many Safari owners, including myself, are using the 1641s on our coaches. This sock was extensively researched and real life roadtested by the late Ralph Andrews (RIP). Ralph was an engineer who founded and owned Pioneer Metal Works, and was key in engineering various products to improve handling and ride quality for our Safari coaches. Way back before Ralph discovered the 1641 shocks, he actually designed a quad shock adapter for the 1490s because they were so inadequate. I can't drive the point hard enough that you will not be happy with the 1490s, you need to return them, even if it costs you extra shipping. Three hundred dollars is a lot of money to spend on shocks that won't do the job, so please do yourself a favor and order the 88-1641 shocks. Since the extended length on the 1641s are a bit shorter, if you find that on rare occasions that the top out on extension, you can always opt to remove the top shock mounts and flipping them upside down. Note: you will need to mount them on opposite sides for this to work, as in the right mount gets flipped and put on the left side, and vice versa for the left to the right. This drops the mount about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, which will be just about exact for the 1641s shorter extended length. The roads I travel in the new england area are pretty brutal, with terrible bridge transitions, I have had only one very extreme occasion were I felt the shocks top out lightly when the coach got bounced up real hard. I don't know if you are aware, but these shocks are adjustable, they come set from the factory with the least dampening set. If you travel rough roads often, I suggest you set them to the maximum dampening right from the get go. A suggestion for returning, who ever you bought them from, just ask to return them only saying that they are the wrong ones, if they ask or claim that this is the right application, bs them and tell them that you coach had a special modification, requiring the 1641 shock, and that you just found out about it. Do what ever it takes to return them and get your money back and/or exchange for the ones you need. If you have more questions, you can send me a PM. Good luck.
John '95 Safari Serengeti 38ft, 300 Cummins 8.3CTA, Allison 6spd. I did order the 88-1490 SP2 I just call Koni and they said the 88-1641 SP3 where 1 ½ inches shorter and where on recommended for my 2002 safari Zanzabar Dave,
Which Koni shocks did you buy for the front, the 88-1641 SP3 or the 88-1490 SP2??? If you bought the 88-1490, do yourself a favor and return them, as you will have spent a lot of money and will be unhappy. They do not have nearly enough dampening as the 88-1641s. Are you at 24 inches at all four corners??? I can not tell you if adjustment is easy, as I have never needed an adjustment. Many have done it themselves, but it seems like it involves some elbow grease and air tools. Look in the files section, there should be a detail write up on how to do this.
John '95 Safari Serengeti 38ft, 300 Cummins 8.3CTA, Allison 6spd. I did buy shocks for the front Koni’s the other day have not put them on yet. Waiting to get more money to buy for the rear. Also my ride height is only 24” so I need to work on that also. Is that a hard job? I personally like the VelvetRide and am happy with it. Early and mid nineties there were little to none failure rates. From about '99 to '01 there were some failures, especially on the Zanzibar and Panther models, probably due to additional weight. The suspension is very simple and low maintenance. Like Brett stated, proper ride height is important. I did have a clearance issue on my coach that Brett helped me resolve about 3 years ago. There were bolts sticking out just far enough for the torsion tubes to catch them, allowing only about 1.5 inches of downward travel. This caused a very harsh, loud, and painful bottoming out on any dips and poor bridge transitions. It appears that wrong bolts were installed wrong right from the factory (to long, but could have faced the other way to compensate the wrong length) and this issue was chased for many years, because it is very hard to notice unless you happen to know what to look for. Solving the problem was just a matter of cutting the tips of the bolts off and all of a sudden the coach became a velvet ride like the name claims. If you have similar issues, do a search for "clearance issues" and you will find my write up with photos showing the issue. If you don't have them already, Koni shocks will give you the best ride for the type of suspension you have. This site is usually the lowest price with free shipping. Make sure you order by these part number and not by year and make, other wise you will end up with weaker front shocks that will not work well. If your coach does not have the Tiger Trak bars and radius bars made by Pioneer Metal Works, you might want to consider getting them, as they will improve stability and handling.
John '95 Safari Serengeti 38ft, 300 Cummins 8.3CTA, Allison 6spd.
John
Mine has the velvet ride what are your thoughts on it
Dave
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