EPeterman
DeWitt.Ia
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I have a 2000 Discovery with a 275 ISB engine. I have had overheating problems on heavy pulls. I changed oil this fall and discovered a radator leak. When the radiator was pulled the overheating problem was revealed. I have never seen a radiator with that much build up of dirt, it is being replace with a new one. I had it "steam cleaned" a couple of years ago and that gave some relief to the overheating, but in hind sight I think they only got to the rear most row of cores, the intercooler was not bad so they must have got it clean. The only way to get it "clean" is to pull it out if clogged like mine. I think the build up was caused by the crankcase vent residue being pulled into the fan. I bought the coach used and extended the vent tube and now I am going to extend it further after seing the radiator. I don't want it to happen again.
ezedp@gmtel.net
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wolfe10
Texas
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It WILL happen again.
Extending the crankcase breather is an excellent idea. In fact some chassis makers do this at the factory.
BUT, a rear radiator coach is still a "vacuum cleaner" going down the road. Six tires and the mass of the coach driving down the highway stirs up a lot of dirt. That dirt-laden air then passes over the hot (and perhaps oily) rear axle, transmission and engine before being forced into the CAC and radiator by the fan.
You should check the front of the CAC with a strong flashlight. Verify that the perimeter, particularly the lower perimeter is as clean as the center-- the fan blades sling the dirt to the perimeter.
Most need to clean the CAC (from the front) and radiator (from the back) at least once a year.
Brett Wolfe
1993 Foretravel 36' U-240
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rgatijnet1
Florida
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Cleaning out the radiator on a regular basis is a good idea if you ever drive in an area of the country that still uses salt on the roads. Even some of the newer chemicals can get into your radiator fins and cause them to corrode to the point where the radiator needs to be replaced. This is not a cheap repair. It takes very little time to rinse the exterior of your radiator at the end of each season with fresh water to neutralize any salts that were picked up as you drove.
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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I purchased our MH used and shortly afterwards I suffered the same fate as you. Pulled the radiator, cleaned and re-route of the slobber tube and alls well. I do stop in a car wash that is large enough for the MH from time to time and give it a good pressure wash.
I'm careful with the direction of the spray and have not bent a fin in 7 years of fulltiming. I also spray from the rear of the MH forward which is backwards to the consensus of this forum. Just makes more sense to me to reverse the flow of the dirt to remove it. Bottom line, I never, never worry about overheating on any grade in any temperature.
hershey - albuquerque, nm
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wolfe10
Texas
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hershey wrote: I also spray from the rear of the MH forward which is backwards to the consensus of this forum.
I don't know about what others recommend, but my recommendation is to clean from BOTH rear and front.
Sadly, with a SANDWICHED cooling package (i.e. the CAC in front of the radiator) it is not possible to clean it completely from the back. Note: CAC= Charge Air Cooler= After-cooler= Inter-cooler-- different terms for the same thing.
Enough pressure to go through the radiator (what you see from the back) and the CAC with enough force to knock the crusted dirt off the front of the CAC (where most of the dirt is "filtered out") would likely bend fins on the radiator.
But, an easy experiment: Clean from the back. THEN clean from the front. The front is accessed from the bedroom or closet. You are working inside the fan shroud/between fan blades. No fun! See how much more dirt flushes out.
* This post was
edited 11/15/11 09:35am by wolfe10 *
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thestarfinder
Mount Gretna Pa.
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Just had to replace my 2001 Monaco Windsor's radiator!!!!!! Same issue clogged and deteriorated fins !!!!!! $$$$$$$$$ Just got the coach.... :-( Keep them clean folks,it is not cheap....
Exist Responsibly.........
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keepingthelightson
Santa Clarita, Ca
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Here is a good link to read.
http://www.fcocrv.org/engine_overheating(9).html
Good luck!
05 Tiffin Phaeton 40 QDH w/4 slides
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down home
south
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Right about rear radiator being a vacuum cleaner.
We got to the edge of overheating or 221 degrees coming back on I40 this year. I had a filter installed to eliminate draft tube blowing back on the radiator/coolers and the car 2 years ago. I flush, the radiator from the back, every opportunity. Guess I'll have to have that checked before going deeper, so to speak.
I'm not able to get underneath but have been thinking, of how, I could direct or divert clean air back there with ducting or whatever. Nothing practical has emerged yet. The most practical approach is to bring air from the left rear quarter compartment, where the air cleaner and access to filter and underneath is, with an expensive, probably, ducting and fan to the front, of the radiator, an cooler. A project, for the guy, with truly too much time on his hands. Not gonna happen.
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Jim@HiTek
Gresham, OR, USA
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Wow, over 60K miles and I've only cleaned my rad and CAC once. Perhaps the plastic bottle I have attached to the slobber tube helps minimize the amount of fine oil that can attach to the rads? Thus reducing the amount of dust/dirt/grime that sticks?
 Jim@HiTek
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wolfe10
Texas
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Jim,
I would suggest that you do that "shine a strong flashlight inside the fan shroud-- accessed from bedroom or closet" and make sure the perimeter, particularly bottom perimeter of the front of the CAC is as clean as you think it is.
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