Blown Engine "Rapid Overheating - No Warning"

[Bill Pape]

Butch,
Sorry to hear, & thanks for posting.
We are familiar with the Eastern mountains, they can start abruptly & climb quickly.
And our Bird should be up to the task.

Seems you made a good decision in towing to a known reputable repair center. This is a concern by many of experiencing a failure in unfamiliar territory.

Can you share any cost or the knowledge of deciding when to tow or distance vs searching out an unknown & unfamiliar repair center & the risk involved.
I know this is a difficult question but maybe there is a mileage distance factor, we can arrive at that helps decide, if it is worth the $4.00 or $5.00 per mile to tow...

[patticake]

Coolant sensor# DDC23503510. PAI # 650649.

Been there, done that, got the T shirt. Engine shut down when sensor went south. Had to bypass sensor to continue.

[George Roberts]

Where is the sensor? Anyone have any pictures? I assume all that was done when mine was rebuilt 30K miles ago (before we bought it), but I hate to assume where hired help is involved. Sounds easy to check if you know what you are doing.

Hate to hear about the bad luck. I hope you are back on the road quickly and as inexpensive as possible.

[White Hat Guy]

George: Attached is a pic of the coolant sensor for your bird. Easy to check. Pull the wire loose with the engine running and it will alarm. It is located to the street side bottom of your coolant reservoir.

Whether it works or not, I would replace it. Its an inexpensive part, less than $50.00.

[Butch Charpentier]

I will try to address everyone,s questions here if I miss anyone ask again. 1) We can't be sure if it's the hydraulic motor or the radiator until the rebuilt engine is up and running. 2) The sensors all were working prior to this, but I may be replacing them anyway. 3) the hoses all looked good but are being replaced. 4) The tow was $2300.00 but it would have cost me about $850.00 in fuel to get home from there it brings the tow down t0 $1450.00.
By the way the tow trucks used ( we had two, one to Penn. border and from there the other home ) had the ability to raise the coach by the front wheels and it worked out great. The last guy was doing seventy all the way into Syracuse. Also should you need a tow don't let them send anything under 50 ton.

[Rick Davis]

With the coolant sensor being of small diameter, I wonder if it could be replaced without draining the system using the old;

loosen/wrap with rag/remove sensor/stick thumb in/screw in new sensor/wipe face/mop floor

routine?

[White Hat Guy]

I would suggest while you are monkeying with the coolant reservoir, replace the sight glass as well. Mine was so cloudy I couldn't tell whether it was full or not. I had Coachcraft put in a new brass sight glass at the same time.

Of course I don't rely on the sight glass alone. I have a piece of a yardstick marked with a "full" line that I stick down into the reservoir. Sometimes low tech can be better.

[Ed Wimberley]

Rick
Yours should be at top tank of radiator,you'll also see a small hose attached at this point,it's a burp hose to aid in air removal from radiator.
You should not loose much coolant,you'll need long arms.

[Mallie Lennon]

One of the advantages of the SilverLeaf is the way it can report instant actions, like the low coolant sensor. Mine will blink if the sensor sees air for any reason as the liquid lowers in the reservoir, gets closer to the sensor and sloshes around. I suspect the sensor has to be on for a specified time before the Detroit system brings on the "Low coolant light". I learned this when I had the heater core out and lost some coolant, and took a while to get the air out. So the Silverleaf is the best instant information. Might just be a reason to buy one.

[White Hat Guy]

Mallie: I have wanted the silverleaf for some time, but with the DDEC II 8 v 92 its function is very limited. I've asked this before, but I'll do it again, would it be worth getting the the silverleaf when all the reporting data I can receive is oil pressure, temps and RPMs?