8v92 Overheating

[badandy]

If it's anything like my old coach half the gauges didn't read correctly for one reason or another. I think it's actually a common problem on these things. Senders and their wiring gets mangled and improperly fixed, gauges get dirty and "laggy". Verify the gauge before you tear into it and spend money on fixes.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by bubblerboy64

I guess the other thing not mentioned is the gauge itself. One of those optical heat measuring deals is a good thing to have. I have one and don't use it as much as I should . Of couse you did say the temperature went up after driving some distance. You also mentioned screwing out the glass on the over flow tank? Hard to do that I would think without breaking the glass . Let us know what you figure out . Over heating is something we all worry about.

Haha, my nerves were already wrecked but thinking about not having positive pressure because I broke the glass was enough to make me go mad. It was easy but I was very careful.

I will shoot it with the IR gun next time I go out to verify the temp.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by badandy

If it's anything like my old coach half the gauges didn't read correctly for one reason or another. I think it's actually a common problem on these things. Senders and their wiring gets mangled and improperly fixed, gauges get dirty and "laggy". Verify the gauge before you tear into it and spend money on fixes.

Randy mentioned this when I was on the road and as soon as I hung up the phone the engine monitor went off with a check engine light. I pulled over and as soon as it cooled down a bit it went away. I agree about the gauges but I think they are pretty close. I will check the temps with my IR gun next time out to be sure.

I just need some time to look into this.

[Randy Dupree]

This is Mike M's old coach,1994 WB that he sold to his BIL.
Everybody here knows Mike,and his work.
Maybe Mike will pop in.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by Randy Dupree

This is Mike M's old coach,1994 WB that he sold to his BIL.
Everybody here knows Mike,and his work.
Maybe Mike will pop in.

Good to see you didn't blow away. I hope all of the wind and rain took it easy on you.

[HighVoltage]

Okay, finally got everything buttoned up and have the coach on the road. I wanted to go through every system related to the engine cooling and here are the steps I took.

Before I started draining coolant I wanted to check the function of the hyd fan so I purchased a laser tachometer to read the RPM of the fan blades. It came out to 80% of the engine RPM with the override engaged. I checked it both cold and up to temp and there was little variation.

Next I took readings at the inlet and outlet on the radiator and was only seeing a 18* drop in coolant temp. No bueno.

Randy mentioned to me that it's possible for the water pump impeller to slip on the shaft if the nut was loose since it's a compression fit to a tapered shaft without a key so after I drained the coolant I pulled the water pump cover and checked that out but it all looked good.

Drained the coolant and flushed the radiator with water then took a look inside. Initially I was not able to spot the problem and it looked good from what I could tell. I ended up reassembling everything and running distilled water through it. Still running warm. I drained the system again and got the right mirror and light combo to take a look. I was very surprised to see standing water in a good many of the tubes from the top side.

I called Randy to let him know what I found and he helped me get the courage to take the radiator out and take the tanks off. I was surprised I was able to get it out with a floor jack in under 3 hours.

When I took the top tank off there was a large amount of rust clogging the ports...Like 50% of the ports would not pass water. I had a fitting I made up where I could hook water and my air compressor up to the bottom of the radiator and try and blow the junk out that way. I had massive brown waterspouts going off like rockets and made a pretty good mess. The problem I had was that the further I got from the radiator outlet the harder it was to get the stuff to come loose. I decided I would take my wife's yoga mat and cut up some sections so I could try and cover the cleaned out ports and hopefully get more pressure on the clogged ones...Pretty much just pissed my wife off and didn't really accomplish much.

I ran out of time and took it to the radiator shop down the road and they rodded it out for me. The radiator was in great shape and the rust from the motor was the problem the whole time. It looks like when I got it up to temp bringing it home from Florida the rust started coming loose from the block and elsewhere. The metal fittings all looked good with minimal corrosion so I'm guessing it was the block.

I spent a few hours flushing the chassis heat and any other system before I refilled and all is well now. Did 200mi yesterday and it stays at 190-195* and at 170* with the override on. Coach is running very well.

As a side note when I filled up on the way out yesterday I figured my milage and with all of the stopping and cooling I had to do to keep the heat in check bringing it home I got an average of 3.14mpg...Don't think I can do much worse.

Every fluid and filter in the Coach is new and she runs great now. Thanks for all of the help.

I will be purchasing a Silverleaf soon too.

[bubblerboy64]

Man Jacob you need to give yourself a good pat on the back on this one. You hung in there and worked thru it.

I guess? When you start on anything related to over heating you best go from A to Z. Meaning do it all.

These buses are all getting older and clearly all of the radiators are suspect.

I am amazed at your diagnostic skills. Of course having Randy coaching sure would have been a benefit.

[Randy Dupree]

Mike M owned this coach a few years ago,Mike is very well informed on coolant and additives and servicing.
While all this was going on Mike,Jacob and i talked on the phone.
Mike says that the rust preventative in coolant needs to flow for it to work well,this coach has been sitting for pretty much 3 years,maybe 4?
I'm not a chemist but i believe Mike.
So,your engine does need to be run,to keep the coolant circulated if for no other reason.

[bubblerboy64]

Randy, You got me thinking. Saying "I'm not a chemist". Well you probably know all the chemistry you need to know and if not you could easily get the information.

Me, I had a bunch of chemistry courses and don't remember even a little bit of it. (Mostly because I haven't used it in 45 or more years.) Just like a BB use it or loose it.

I have little practical knowledge but I'm better off then many. (something is wrong with this picture)

I am so impressed at what you guys get accomplished.

Don't any of you sell yourselves short. Jacob here is just an example. I'd be proud as punch.

[Randy Dupree]

Best part about Jacob is hes young,and hes motivated,and hes not scared!

John,i always said "you don't have to be smart,just have smart friends"
Thanks friends!