Radiator Needed

[dl_racing427]

3 hours ago, Chargerman said:

It would be hard to dig a trench in concrete 😂. I will never depend on the suspension. I made blocks some time ago to put between the frame rails once the suspension is at its highest point to secure it. I will add more blocking under the tires first and then raise the suspension if needed when the assembly is ready to be installed. Thanks for the tip and concern!

The blocks are a great idea.

I have hydraulic leveling, so I use the jacks to raise the coach and put heavy duty jack stands under the frame.

[Chargerman]

So I finished the fabrication of the new exhaust last night. Overall it went well. Had to MIG weld instead of my usual TIG preference due to the aluminized components. Came out good though. In it goes today and hopefully the new radiator shows up tomorrow. It was in NY as of this AM

[dl_racing427]

Looks nice.

Mine consisted of a flange, a 45 and two 90 degree ells, a flex and a straight piece of pipe.

It all went together with stainless band clamps, no welding required.

[Busnut]

You have a part number on your muffler?

[Chargerman]

Yes. M-147. USA Truck Pipe had the lowest price

[Paul J A]

18 hours ago, Chargerman said:

Yes. M-147. USA Truck Pipe had the lowest price

Did you check out the prices from Dynaflexproducts.com? Largest MFG. of class 8 truck exhaust components in the U S A.

Paul A

[Chargerman]

There pricing is very close to where I ordered but I found the site a bit sinful to navigate. 
 

Radiator arrived today. Assemble starts tomorrow. 

[Chargerman]

The radiator Arrived late yesterday. RSH did a great job. High quality build!  Spent the day today assembling the unit and got it back in place. Just have to connect all of the hoses tomorrow and fill the fluids. Sure will be glad to get this one done. Sorry, don’t know why the image is loading upside down  

[Chargerman]

The radiator install is complete. Just waiting on one coolant hose that it supposed to arrive tomorrow. Coach is back on the ground. Wanted to get it down before we escape to Fl for Oct. the startup will have to wait until Nov. how it’s still warm enough when we are back to give the coach a good bath. It’s a mess from all of the grinding and cleaning. So relieved to have these projects behind me. It was a significant endeavor for sure. 

[4rickyg]

Hello Chargerman, I have an 05 Navigator with a Detroit series 60. I'm in the process of removing the radiator right now to get it rebuilt, and I am really struggling with it.. lol. I have everything unbolted and all of the hoses are disconnected but when I went to drop it down the neck on the CAC won't drop below the mounting frame? Did you separate the fan and shroud and CAC from the radiator before you drop it down? Or did it all come out in one piece? Thank you very much any info will be very useful.

[Chargerman]

A picture would help my memory but from what I can remember it all came out together. I know that the rear CAC inlet was an issue and I had to slide the assembly forward before I could drop it down all the way and the reverse had to be done. I’ll PM you my phone number if you would like to discuss. One thing for sure is that it’s not a cake walk of a job

[4rickyg]

Having mine rebuilt at a local radiator shop with copper. They quoted me 2800 for the rebuild,  A place in Alabama quoted 3400 for a new aluminum one. I Figure I would be better with the original steel. Haven't got it back yet. Will update when I do.

[jacwjames]

1 hour ago, 4rickyg said:

Having mine rebuilt at a local radiator shop with copper. They quoted me 2800 for the rebuild,  A place in Alabama quoted 3400 for a new aluminum one. I Figure I would be better with the original steel. Haven't got it back yet. Will update when I do.

I had a new radiator installed in 2015 after road debris took out the original.  I bought one from CG&J, Cummins did the work as it was insurance claim.  I took one long trip in 2015 and then started building a new house and life got in the way of travel.   This radiator was aluminum. 

Finally last year took a long trip and after getting back home and parking the rig I found a coolant leak in the radiator.  I remembered that Dr4film had the same problem with a radiator he had also bought from CG&J.  Ultimately he used Irontite to seal the leak so I did the same thing. 

I had also noticed that my transmission temps had run higher then I had remembered and when stuck in stop and go traffic would creep above 225 or higher.  I contacted CG&J and inquired as to how they sized the internal cooler.  They did not have a good explanation or response.  So ultimately I installed a secondary fan cooled transmission cooler, haven't taken it on a long hard drive yet but I think it solved my cooling problem. 

In the past I had recommended CG&J but I will not longer do this. 

 

[4rickyg]

Radiator project finally completed.. Had the radiator recorded At Marion radiator in Ocala Florida. $3400 they did a good job. Probably another 1500 in rad.hoses and clamps,  To new hydraulic lines. New hydraulic fluid, filter and coolant. I didn't total it all up yet but that's a ballpark. It was a huge job. Definitely takes 2 people and a lot of tools. I'm glad it is over and I am satisfied with the results.

   Now onto the rest of the list that needs to be completed. I will start a new thread about my hwh  Ride height issues. Thanks for everyone's help on this😊

[Yoaks5]

I just discovered I also have a bad radiator.  Pictures attached. The fins are rotten in an area about 6 inch x 18 inch long and just fall apart when touched and completely gone in an area about 3x12 inch. I have no leaks and it cools fine. Has always ran about 185 degrees with the tranny Temps 15 degrees cooler than the motor. Boost pressure is also good at about 35 psi.

So just curious if this was yours would you drive it or cancel my up coming trips?  We have a trip next week that is about 4 hours each way. Then to Colorado in 6 weeks (12 hrs each way). Although if I can get parts I could have it repaired before the Colorado trip. Thinking I'll do it myself. 

[Dr4Film]

Kevin, I would look for a reputable radiator shop that will build you an original radiator versus a cheaper aluminum one. Also stay away from CG&J in Gadsden AL. I had an aluminum one built and in less than 3 years it started to ooze not leak but ooze from the top somewhere. I threw in a bottle of Irontite and the oozing stopped.

Check with Source Engineering also to see what they come up with as far as cost and build.

[Chargerman]

Give Radiator Supply House a call. They did a great job for me. They had the original drawing for my setup. They do not build aluminum radiators for motor homes. Not cheap but they were cheaper than Source by almost $1000. In the meantime I would not cancel a trip. Mine didn’t look as bad as yours. I replaced mine the first time I saw it slightly drip on the ground. I might suggest going down to a 7 psi radiator cap for the trip just to take some pressure off the radiator in the meantime 

Edited June 6, 2022 by Chargerman

[4rickyg]

That is exactly how mine looked. I drove it for a couple years like that probably 20,000 miles, Just kept an eye on it. It finally started to leak on a trip from Florida to Michigan ,1200 miles. Was a very small leak. I just had to top it off about every 6 hours of driving. 

   I would not start to repair it until you have plenty of time. Seems like everything takes about 3 times as long to get done nowadays. I would also stay away from the place in Alabama.

[Dr4Film]

Kevin,

I would buy yourself two bottles of Irontite from Amazon to carry with you on your trips. Then if you do end up having a small leak in your radiator pour in the two bottles of Irontite and chances are you will be able to drive the coach for thousands of miles before actually changing out the radiator. Or it will allow you to do it at a more convenient time than on a trip.

I did exactly that when my old radiator sprung a small leak near the bottom of it. The shop foreman recommended that I try the Irontite. It worked! I drove another 5000 miles from Northern British Columbia to Gadsden AL to have a new radiator installed.

Link to the Irontite.

Amazon.com: Irontite All Weather Seal, Blue, 16 oz : Automotive

[Ivan K]

I haven't had to use this so can't endorse but have it with me. Used to be $9.99, more than double today...

[Guest Ray Davis]

When I was a kid ( long long ago ) we used water glass ( sodium silicate ) to seal our radiator leaks in our hoopies.  Bought it at the drug store, and it works.  I wouldn't use it now though. It was  real cheap back then. It's used as an adhesive , concrete sealer, and various other applications.  Have no idea who came up with using it in the radiatot.  Couldn't have been the internet cause Al Gore hadn't invented the net yet  😁

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FMD4QM/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B008FMD4QM&pd_rd_w=VNe8A&content-id=amzn1.sym.e620829b-a408-427e-99ea-7ac734a316f7&pf_rd_p=e620829b-a408-427e-99ea-7ac734a316f7&pf_rd_r=Z62T73QPTV01XMRR34K6&pd_rd_wg=JHpNl&pd_rd_r=ac476cc4-d8ee-4ac1-85c9-ff9d76e0a505&s=arts-crafts&smid=AGAJPNIDV4WHU&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFNUjFEMEpIRlJJVjkmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyNjg5MTUxOElWN09TQUpESVEwJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5Njg3OTgxTlBaU09aVENVTTRaJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[4rickyg]

I was always afraid to put these quick fix  sealants in my cooling system. Thought it would mess something up or give me some other problems??

[Yoaks5]

Thanks for the info and thoughts! It's so nice having other guys who have delt with the same problem I'm having chim in and give their thoughts. Makes me really appreciate this group! 

We're planning on going on our trip next week. I did buy a 7 pound radiator cap (thanks for the idea Stephen) and also 2 bottles of Irontite ( thanks Richard) and I'm going to to carry a couple gallons of antifreeze and make sure I have plenty of water with me. 

I'll make some calls in the next couple days to see when I can get parts. And use that to determine when I change it out.

Should I get the Hydraulic fan motor rebuilt while it's out? Can I just take it to a local Hydraulic shop to have them go threw it? It's a Sauer.

How about changing the wax valve? 

Unfortunately I just changed the antifreeze and Hydraulic fluid. Would you try to reuse these or just dump them and get new? 

 

[Dr4Film]

Kevin,

When I used the Irontite to stop the small leak, the shop manager at CG&J in AL where the new radiator was being built & installed stated that they never reuse coolant that had been treated. I told him that it was only a few weeks old with 5000 miles on it. So, once they removed the coolant and inspected it they remarked that it COULD be used over again so I didn't have to pay for all new coolant, only enough to top off once it was all back together.

My engine in the 02 Windsor is a Cummins ISC-350 with a Coolant Filter. I made sure to change out the filter with a new one which was my next stop (Speedco) after having the radiator installed. They showed me the filter after it was removed as I had to explain why it looked the way it did. It had unused Irontite on top of the filter.

If your coolant is new and not discolored or with lots of debris floating around in it, then reuse it. I always carry a couple of gallons of premixed coolant just for topping off.

I would also reuse the hydraulic fluid. The Windsor had one change of filters at 70K with fluid top off and has never been changed. No need to if there hasn't been a problem with either the Hydraulic Fan or Power Steering.

Don't try to fix what "ain't" broken.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Dr4Film

[jacwjames]

Agree with Richard in the "Don't try to fix what "ain't" broken".

If you do the work yourself take not to introduce any contaminates into the hydraulic system.  If you take lines off buy plugs to put in the fittings and  the end cap for the fittings on the motor. 

Same with the thermovalve.

 

 

When I had my radiator changed at Cummins I had a problem with the fan running WAO.  Doing some testing that Monaco Tech recommended and narrowed it down to the Thermovalve.  So I bought a new one.  When I had time I took the old one apart and found a small piece of rag in it that was causing it not to operate properly.  It doesn't take much to screw up a hydraulic system.