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Pall Mobile Service I'm a mechanic who travels.I offer services to those who need it as we go, both online and in person.

This photo is a stark reminder that one of the most expensive aspects of life on the road, especially for Skoolie and RV...
06/08/2025

This photo is a stark reminder that one of the most expensive aspects of life on the road, especially for Skoolie and RV folk, can be the maintenance and repair of your home on wheels. The parts that move it forward and back as well as the bits that give comfort to the ride and allow you to stop all require upkeep and repair.

While they may seem daunting to some, the tasks of upkeep and repair require no magic to be completed. Possessing knowledge of the subject, the tools to complete the job, and the determination to see it through to completion are what it boils down to. (Maybe a helping hand for the really heavy bits.)

I am no magician when I turn wrenches, I am simply a man with a job to do. I diagnose problems based on my understanding of the systems involved, that I have learned. I repair those problems with various tools, that I've learned are needed. I am humble and honest in my approach, I've learned that the most common cause for mechanical failure or malfunction (aside from part failure) is human error.

Knowledge is power and we're stronger together. When I'm no longer capable of turning wrenches as often, I'll still have knowledge and stories to share. There is magic in the world, and let us leave that to explain the things without explanation. I encourage you to take the initiative and get familiar with your rig, it will thank you. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and you never know what you'll see until you look. You might not know what you're looking at, but none of us do until we learn.

TLDR; Shop rates are crazy. It is entirely possible to learn to fix it yourself, it is not magic.

~It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.~

❤️✌️🍗

It lubricates and it cools, but wait there's more(!), it is pumped to provide hydraulic pressure! Your Automatic Transmi...
06/02/2025

It lubricates and it cools, but wait there's more(!), it is pumped to provide hydraulic pressure! Your Automatic Transmission Fluid has multiple jobs to do. Understandably it gets tired and once it does it needs to be retired. Interestingly it is the most commonly neglected fluid out of the big 3 that I come across. By that I mean that a majority of people can check their engine oil and know roughly when it was changed last, a majority of people can check their antifreeze, and the minority of people I have asked know how to properly check their ATF. It isn't intentional but it happens a lot. Friendly note that a slow leak won't kill your transmission early, but running it on low or burnt fluid will.

--[)>To properly check your Automatic Transmission Fluid, the engine should be running and at normal operating temperature [warmed up all the way] and the transmission should be in Neutral or Park. Your transmission dipstick should have markings that indicate a high and low level of fluid for normal operation. Generally you want to keep the level between them and she'll be happy. If your level is low, it is acceptable to add the fluid slowly through the dipstick tube. The fluid should be red, some shade of red. New ATF is bright red and it darkens with use/age as the fluid breaks down. If it is run on low or old fluid the fluid will begin to smell "burnt" because there is friction material suspended in it, which is not a good sign. (NOTE: The pictured fluid is essentially brown.)

To change your fluid, and filter if it is serviceable, it is a straightforward procedure and you can absolutely do it yourself. (I recommend going the extra step and draining the torque converter if it has a drain, but it isn't necessary.)

I changed the fluid and filter for the transmission in the shuttle bus, prompted me to share. That transmission has been pushing this big girl around for quite some time and deserved some love. :| (Like some AT545s I know of. 🤔)

**Video of the magic material in the comments.

Howdy howdy, it's me your friendly nomad mechanic. Waiting on parts for a job so I am getting some maintenance done on t...
06/01/2025

Howdy howdy, it's me your friendly nomad mechanic. Waiting on parts for a job so I am getting some maintenance done on the new-to-me-yet-to-be-named shuttle bus. A coolant flush will cost quite a bit more at a shop and is something that you can absolutely do at home if you're willing and able.

Your engine cooling system moves your coolant around the system with your engines water pump to dissipate heat via your radiator and your heater core(s). The coolant breaks down with age, stress, and the addition of contaminants such as scale/rust. When it breaks down, it becomes less and less efficient at doing its jobs. Less likely to anti and more likely to freeze, if you will.

There are several types of antifreeze and some types absolutely do not mix with others, so be sure you are using the right type. For diesel engines it is important that you use an antifreeze that has an SCA package in it. Most "HD" antifreeze types have SupplementalCoolantAdditives and will say so on the bottle. (Generally they are red in color.) Formulated to help prevent cavitation in diesel engines among other things.

Cavitation, in diesel engines, occurs when tiny v***r bubbles form in the coolant around the cylinders as a result of engine harmonics and then burst which causes pitting and cylinder wall damage. If left untreated it will cause a serious failure.

Noticing the antifreeze in the shuttle was green-ish, it was time for a flush and fill. I wish I would have taken a few more pictures through the process. Fill with water, drive to open thermostat and fully circulate, drain and wait to cool completely, refill, and repeat. I flushed every bit of 30 gallons or more of water through before it started to clear up. In the first picture the reservoir is not empty, it is at the same level as the last picture with new antifreeze, just icky.

I will add a coolant filter at some point later like I did with Miss Daisy but I wanted to get this gunk flushed before our next long section of road. Coolant filters are factory option on many medium truck diesel engines. They filter physical contaminants while providing SCA to the system as it filters. They are not a "full-flow" filter so be sure if you install one that wasn't there from the factory it isn't installed in a way that will impede coolant reaching any other part of the system.

~It is in the shelter of each other that the people live~

Rainy day schedule included giving this old girl a good wipe down. She was... well... growing. The rain had helped softe...
05/28/2025

Rainy day schedule included giving this old girl a good wipe down. She was... well... growing. The rain had helped soften the growth, she deserved it. The hardest part was reaching the middle of her very pronounced brow. 😆

Charlie gave me a hand spraying her down and watching the green fall off, and cleaning out the hoist jack handle. (Any reason to use the hose.)

I'm a big Andy Grammer fan, in fact his is the only concert I've ever attended. Good vibes, good music, consistently. ...
05/26/2025

I'm a big Andy Grammer fan, in fact his is the only concert I've ever attended. Good vibes, good music, consistently.

This rig came with an "85" on the rear bumper. A reminder of a time when she was Unit 85 I am sure. Reality is perception. I see it as a reminder that I don't want to be 85 singing, "oh, no, I think I missed it, I was chasing money."



~It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.~

On the schedule for today: A set of injectors, a high pressure oil manifold gasket, and an ICP sensor.
05/24/2025

On the schedule for today:
A set of injectors, a high pressure oil manifold gasket, and an ICP sensor.

05/20/2025

Turned a new page over in the maintenance book, to record the first oil change and fuel filter change on the shuttle, and I realized I don't have a name for her yet.

Any ideas or suggestions?

The MagicToolBus..?
The ToolShed...?

Howdy howdy to everybody, hi there, and hello. I'm sorry that I've been gone so long, I never planned to go. Life just h...
05/20/2025

Howdy howdy to everybody, hi there, and hello. I'm sorry that I've been gone so long, I never planned to go. Life just happens how it does, as I'm sure all of you know. Plans have changed, yes yet again, as they oh so often do. I sincerely apologize to the folks in the middle that I was not able to get to.
Packing in and packing out for the simplest of jobs, was stretching my remaining sanity out like the last treat betwixt the dogs. The tools I choose to carry would leave little room to spare. The van could either run us to town, or I could take it to make repairs. Almost at capacity and pushing our spacial limits, just in time an angel divine gave me a gift during our short visit.
I have been blessed and am honestly quite ecstatic, this shuttle bus that you see here was gifted to this mechanic who's nomadic. The previous owner had simply had enough, of the headaches and the heartaches she was given by this lovely shuttle bus. Though she would start back up every time you'd ask, the bus shutting off while driving is a dangerous task.
Lil' Miss made it, took us to pick up the new rig. When we'd stopped for fuel on the return trip, I saw a puff of smoke and then a steady drip. An injector line had failed, broken right at the pump, and with each turn of the engine the pump would still pump. The fuel wasn't much in volume but it was steady and driven, onto the exhaust crossover pipe is where it started dripping. The smoke I was seeing were pre-ignition v***rs, glad we stopped when we did lest the day had gotten much worse. She got towed back to a place to sit, while I decide how to best handle it.
The trick with gremlins of the electrical type, is to make them show up and live up to their hype. Most of the time they will do as they please, causing havoc and headaches like an unplanned sneeze. Once you have found where they sleep while they sit and they hide, a gentle jiggle or jostle will rouse them to life. Once you've found them, remove them, much less stress in your life.
Now I've got a garage on wheels in place of a service van, I am over the moon with the places we'll go man. She wasn't mine for 2 days yet, we were out on our first call. Replacing a failed air compressor for a friend, not far at all. Saving folks money helps lighten the load and I do what I can to keep us all on the road.

TLDR; I was gifted a shuttle bus, it is much larger than my previous office space. Lil' Miss fumbled hard mechanically and is parked. We carry on!

~It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.~



Jjjuuussssttt about exactly halfway.Woo!!I know the steps, not even close to all of them listed, but lists help corral a...
02/20/2025

Jjjuuussssttt about exactly halfway.

Woo!!

I know the steps, not even close to all of them listed, but lists help corral all 80 of my HDs.
😆

Felt cute, might actually do some work. 😆 I have been away, save a few calls and some messages, and here I am back ...
01/18/2025

Felt cute, might actually do some work. 😆

I have been away, save a few calls and some messages, and here I am back at it. In-frame, on-the-road. DT466E, dog nose this time around. Woo!
If you need me don't hesitate to reach out. I will reply when I can. Not ignoring you, just greasy. :)

~It is in the shelter of each other that the people live~

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Georgetown, IL
61846

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