Removal of engine access hatch in rear bath

[Neemer]

My coach is currently at the FL shop and I noted on their paperwork they need to remove the engine hatch in the rear bath. I plan to be there in the morning to remove it myself.

Has anyone removed one of these on one of the newer coaches with heated floors? That hatch is heated as well.

Hints, tips, donations accepted.

 

[sheridany]

is this related to the engine codes photo from the other day? What is the diagnosis?

 

[Neemer]

Hey @sheridany , yes it is. I have their papaerwork, but can’t really make sense of what it says. It speaks of a damaged hose and 90 deg elbow going to the “air compressor”. Perhaps that’s their term for turbo, I don’t know. What I do know is the code relates to low manifold pressure and I had reduced power for the last 100 miles of my trip.

I’ll get this sorted tomorrow.

 

[sheridany]

It’s been a while since I had a FL and I am going totally off memory but I seem to recall taking that hatch off is not trivial unless absolutely necessary and given it’s heated perhaps makes it more challenging. Maybe @redbaron knows better than I do? Good thing you are there to do it or at least watch them carefully.

 

[Neal]

All I can share is how it works in my Ventana. There is a wooden facia on the lower part of the bathroom sink, that pulls off. Then remove the bolts holding down the access panel. Now the important part is do not twist left/right on that panel or you may chip tile. Try to pull it straight up/out without causing tile to tile contact.

Hope the situation isn't too bad. Sorry to hear you're sidelined for a few.

 

[Neemer]

This particular shop is not an Oasis shop, and I have no idea what experience they may or may not have with this. The guy I’ve been talking with is a good guy, but not a tech. He’s fairly new, and frankly, doesn’t inspire confidence. So I’m going to take a more active role here for my own peace of mind.

 

[redbaron]

Can you post a picture of the hatch area? There are a few configurations and I don’t want to lead you astray.

 

[Rustymayes]

Late to the party, but I took mine off in prep for replacing the air-filter. It actually comes out easily after you remove the lower valence on the vanity which is held in by clips. There are two plastic plugs in the cover at thefor ward edge that get pried out. There are four 1/4 inch lag screws that hold the panel down. The panel is a ply wood panel that has the heating element and marble flooring glued to it. There are 3/4 inch holes drilled into the marble so that the bolts only apply pressure to hold the panel in place with out applying direct contact pressure the marble which would crack it. There are thick shims that are supposed to keep the panel at the same level as the bathroom floor. Mine was not shimmed properly so the wood backing had pulled from the marble. Very poor craftmanship. Once the wood/marble panel is removed, there is another panel that comes up exposing the engine room. There is a plug to disconnect the heating element at the rear of the panel.
Were you able to remove it or did the service folks figure it out?

 

[Neemer]

@Rustymayes , I made the command decision to allow the workers to do their jobs and backed off. They didn’t do such a great job reinstalling things, so I put about 30 min of effort into it once I got it back home. It looks untouched now.

 

[Rustycoach]

I was wondering if you got a chance to see the condition of the floor panel. I had to apply construction adhesive and clamps to re-adhere the tile to the plywood due to the lack of shimming the factory had done. I posted the issue a while back but it may have been on the FB Dutch Star owners page. If you have it apart in the future you might want to check the fit.