Itasca Overheating problem

Buster661 · 06-03-2008, 04:03 PM

Last trip out as we were coming home on I40 outside of Needles, CA we started to climb the long Needles grade. On each of the 3 long pulls the temp climbed to 220+ degrees. The warning came on the computer as well. On the longest grade it reached a max of 230.

My question is, what should I be checking to insure this does not happen next week when I make the trip again ?

I am new to desiels and pushers so any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mike..

Buster661 · 06-03-2008, 04:03 PM

Last trip out as we were coming home on I40 outside of Needles, CA we started to climb the long Needles grade. On each of the 3 long pulls the temp climbed to 220+ degrees. The warning came on the computer as well. On the longest grade it reached a max of 230.

My question is, what should I be checking to insure this does not happen next week when I make the trip again ?

I am new to desiels and pushers so any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mike..

LK23 · 06-03-2008, 06:02 PM

Mike,

I always watch the temp gauge when climbing. If it starts to go above 210 degrees, I downshift to 5th gear. Be sure to inspect your surge tank to see if you have adequate anti-freeze. Our coaches have a problem with the surge tank not holding pressure. You can read about this on the Freightliner forum. Bottom line: watch your temp gauge and anti-freeze level.

CHIPPYSGT · 06-04-2008, 03:09 AM

Another thing that might help is to shut off dash air, run the gen set and house air.

You might check the back side of the radiator too. Not really the back, but the HARD TO SEE and Hard to get to side.

Chief · 06-04-2008, 03:27 AM

Keep another eye on the RPM's. When you down shift to fifth gear, RPM will increase but make sure to keep a minimum of 1750 with 2000 even better.

Buster661 · 06-04-2008, 04:56 AM

Thanks everyone. I will check the surge tank for AF as well as the backside of the radiator. Funny thing about the dash air is it would not blow cold air until I go closer to home where it was cooler (forgot to mention it was 110 degree's outside on my drive home). I will also try the higher RPM's (aim for 2000) as I climb the big hills.

I guess I should mention that I do this same drive twice a month (SoCal to Havasu) as I have a boat and a campsite on the lake so getting this handled is very important to my summer boating fun.

Thanks again everyone.

Bob O · 06-04-2008, 05:22 AM

All good posts, plus I would clean the radiator with a Simple Greem solution is a spray bottle. Be carefull not to use high pressure to rinse off as this will bend the fins which you don't want. Also everytime I climb the mountains, I have always cut off my dash air and keep my left hand ready to down shift to keep my RPM'S below 2000, it's just the nature of the beast. Just my two cents, Good luck

Lucchese1 · 06-07-2008, 06:37 AM

I had exact same problem with my coach and I also spend a lot of time in Havasu, another reason I installed a roof air to help the basement AC. I had the overheating problem checked a few years ago and I had a leaking surge tank plus they reset something with the fan speed the hertz or something I can not recall, but they said it was set wrong at the factory. I have not had a problem since as long as you keep an eye on the RPMS when climbing!

John_Canfield · 06-07-2008, 08:12 AM

Assuming you have the ISL/side radiator:

You should be able to keep your temperature to 215 or below by keeping your engine RPM at 2,000 or above with or without dash air running.

Your fan will not even cut-in until 215 degrees.

Last fall, we had elevated temps on grades that we would normally not have problems. Freightliner measured the fan speeds at three different engine rpms and found we had low fan speeds. They replaced the fan motor and pump and we are back to normal operation.

I have found engine rpm management is typically necessary if the ambient air temps is in the 90s, and we are climbing a 6-7% (or greater) grade for longer than a few minutes.

I suspect Winnie specified a radiator that was a little on the small size since any system problem will result in higher coolant temperatures than I want to see without manually down-shifting. My opinion is the cooling system should be designed to operate at normal temperatures without operator intervention - unfortunately this is clearly not the case with our chassis as a result of the design.

We have had the coolant temp above 220 and while the Freightliner info center reported overheating, it didn't set a code in the Cummins brain.

vicsryd · 06-07-2008, 11:06 AM

From what I've read in various forums regarding side radiator chassis having overheating issues there is only one size of radiator on FTl chassis and therefore is not a Winnebago choice.

Apparently Spartan has a side radiator design that is at least 200 sq inches bigger and in the Tiffin forums many folks have selected Spartan over FTL for that reason (yes, Tiffin gives you a choice).

More specific to the issue Buster661 is having, one of my pals with a '04 Vectra Cummins ISC side radiator started to overheat on some grades on 90 degree days even with downshifting properly. The service shop he went to (not FTL) found the valve in the hydraulic line which opens at 215 degrees to provide oil to the hydraulic fan motors was not opening all the way. It turns out the thing is made of plastic and parts of it were melted.

Buster661 · 06-07-2008, 11:19 AM

Thanks again everyone for the feedback and advice. I have my rig home today and I have checked the coolant and oil, they were both fine. I also cleaned the radiator (I pulled the front one off so I could get the main radiator) with Simple Green and water.

Since I live in Santa Clarita, CA I am going to make a quick run up the Grapevine to see what happens. It is in the 90's today so it should be a good test.

Thanks again.

Gary CA · 06-07-2008, 08:04 PM

Hi Mike, while you're working on the coach pull the engine access panel and check the high-pressure AC hose that runs from the front condenser to the rear, in my case the side, AC fans. My AC hose was not secured and hung too close to the turbo and the engine heat actually burnt the hose in one section. The freon bled out and no AC, of course during the summer, towing a boat on I-5 over the Grapevine.

Winnebago reimbursed me for the repair without any problems. Any forum members that have not checked the security of this line may want to so to save yourself down-time.

John_Canfield · 06-07-2008, 09:04 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by vicsryd:
From what I've read in various forums regarding side radiator chassis having overheating issues there is only one size of radiator on FTl chassis and therefore is not a Winnebago choice.--snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I think I remember reading that the Allegro Bus on the Freightliner chassis with the ISL/side radiator has a larger radiator and exhibits none of our propensities for the temp to climb. Maybe Mark (Cruzer) can set us straight.

SCVJeff · 06-08-2008, 08:52 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Buster661:

Since I live in Santa Clarita, CA I am going to make a quick run up the Grapevine to see what happens. It is in the 90's today so it should be a good test. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Greetings neighbor!