New to me 1995 Safari Sahara 5.9 Cummins Pusher
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 2:11 pm
Hey all,
I’m so glad I found this forum, it has been a valuable resource these past couple months. In August, I bought a 1995 safari Sahara 5.9 Cummins diesel pusher with 110k miles from a dealership in Sacramento California called “El Dorado RV and Auto Sales.” Worst mistake I have ever made to trust these people. But it was my mistake - I had been looking for a class A RV for about a month and had seen good deals come and disappear in a matter of hours, so I felt I had to jump on this one.
What really sold me was the stack of maintenance and repair receipts that was meticulously kept by the previous owners. Unfortunately, what the Dealer did not tell me was that one of the owners had gotten sick and languished for about three years and then passed away, at which time his wife sold the RV to the dealer as-is for $1000. It had been sitting for three years without so much as the door opened. The dealer drove the RV home, cleaned it, vacuumed, and listed it on craigslist for $17,500, as a “needs nothing” vehicle. I bought it for that amount and planned to do a circuit of the country, having just been laid off and going through a divorce at the same time, I figured some new scenery would do me good.
I was excited for about an hour on the way home, until the Sahara started overheating. After much investigation, (with the help of this forum’s archives,) I diagnosed a cracked coolant overflow tank. When I called the dealer the first time it overheated asking him if he knew anything about it he right away accused me of driving up hills too fast, LOL. Since then this has been his MO, to deny responsibility and blame others.
Longer story short just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong on this vehicle, which means I’ve gotten some practice and experience around this bus. I really love the safaris, I knew I wanted one when I first saw pictures of them. I have mixed feelings about this one, I put so much time and effort, blood sweat and tears into this thing I would almost like to set it on fire and just walk away.
Anyhow I am writing to ask for a little bit of help, the most recent issue is no power steering and brakes, which I believe I understand could be the power steering pump? Has anyone replaced this part? are they difficult do I need to get a mechanic to do it or can I do it myself?
Also looking under the front of the bus there’s a rubber gasket in a joint coming off the left wheel, that is about toast. Anyone know what this is? Including a pic.
Thanks in advance, and nice meeting you all. My name is Charlie.
I’m so glad I found this forum, it has been a valuable resource these past couple months. In August, I bought a 1995 safari Sahara 5.9 Cummins diesel pusher with 110k miles from a dealership in Sacramento California called “El Dorado RV and Auto Sales.” Worst mistake I have ever made to trust these people. But it was my mistake - I had been looking for a class A RV for about a month and had seen good deals come and disappear in a matter of hours, so I felt I had to jump on this one.
What really sold me was the stack of maintenance and repair receipts that was meticulously kept by the previous owners. Unfortunately, what the Dealer did not tell me was that one of the owners had gotten sick and languished for about three years and then passed away, at which time his wife sold the RV to the dealer as-is for $1000. It had been sitting for three years without so much as the door opened. The dealer drove the RV home, cleaned it, vacuumed, and listed it on craigslist for $17,500, as a “needs nothing” vehicle. I bought it for that amount and planned to do a circuit of the country, having just been laid off and going through a divorce at the same time, I figured some new scenery would do me good.
I was excited for about an hour on the way home, until the Sahara started overheating. After much investigation, (with the help of this forum’s archives,) I diagnosed a cracked coolant overflow tank. When I called the dealer the first time it overheated asking him if he knew anything about it he right away accused me of driving up hills too fast, LOL. Since then this has been his MO, to deny responsibility and blame others.
Longer story short just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong on this vehicle, which means I’ve gotten some practice and experience around this bus. I really love the safaris, I knew I wanted one when I first saw pictures of them. I have mixed feelings about this one, I put so much time and effort, blood sweat and tears into this thing I would almost like to set it on fire and just walk away.
Anyhow I am writing to ask for a little bit of help, the most recent issue is no power steering and brakes, which I believe I understand could be the power steering pump? Has anyone replaced this part? are they difficult do I need to get a mechanic to do it or can I do it myself?
Also looking under the front of the bus there’s a rubber gasket in a joint coming off the left wheel, that is about toast. Anyone know what this is? Including a pic.
Thanks in advance, and nice meeting you all. My name is Charlie.