Uphill engine temperature climbing

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: ClydesdaleKevin  (Original Message)
Sent: 6/20/2005 3:45 PM

Well folks!  We initiated the Ark into the fine art of negotiating mountain passes!...lmao.  The brakes function flawlessly, and on most downhills, we could just coast, and wouldn't go much faster than 40mph.  Some of the REALLY steep mountain downhills though, and we had to ride the brakes.  I kept taking my foot off the pedal every few seconds so they would cool, but still got some fade.  I guess that's normal for drum brakes.

The problem is that the temperature guage climbs up the really big hills, all the way to the high side of the "safe" zone!

The moral of the story is that one should ALWAYS follow Denison's advice...lol.

In keeping with his advice, and all the other wonderful posts made here by others about cooling and radiators, we are going to do the following once we get to NJ to visit Patti's son:

Replace the fan clutch.
Replace the water pump (keeping the old one as a spare).
RECORE the radiator!!!

Yep...always listen to Denison...lmao.  The man really does know what he's talking about!  She also gets warmer than usual at highway speeds on hot days.  My guess is that replacing the above items will cure this ailment.

Kev and Patti Smith



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 6/20/2005 7:34 PM

I agree with replacing/rebuilding the cooling system.I went a smidge further,If the part unbolts from the motor,I replaced it,and kept  the replaced parts for  spares.Nothing like starting out from square one with everything up to snuff.

BooBoo



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 6/20/2005 8:24 PM

Make sure you have an overflow container too,i could boil out a half gallon  when stopping for gas while going through the mojave desert in the wind,we are talking hot!Hardly ever boils out coolant since we rebuilt the system..
I made my  overflow out of a 1 gallon antfreeze bottle.Put  a hole in  the cap and feed the radiator overflow hose thru it to the bottom of the container ,add 3 inches or so   of antifreeze to this,with the hose under water in the bottle.

OK,not pretty,(but cheap and effective!)but I hardly never lose any fluid now,did fill it almost halfway once,usually nothing overflows anymore.

BooBoo



From: Winnielover4078
Sent: 6/21/2005 12:30 AM

I agree, anytime I have ever bought a vehicle, I always change all of the cooling system parts. I had an 89 plymouth voyager with the 2.5 four cylinder that I took through Baker CA on a nice 118 degree day, and it was funny to see all of the newer cars overheated on the side of the road while my old minivan plugged right along!! I am really surprised how cool my winnie runs here in Vegas, even idling in 105 degree temps it never goes above 210 on the guage.  The previous owner added a large tranny cooler and a new heavy duty fan clutch. The radiator on the other hand is original and I keep my fingers crossed that it holds up for a long long time.



From: Slantsixness
Sent: 6/21/2005 10:50 AM

waterpumps are cheap, so are thermostats, belts hoses.....

Radiators are outrageous for motorhomes. Engines are not cheap or easy fixes, either.



From: AllanCZ
Sent: 6/21/2005 2:25 PM

JC Whitney has a ready-made add-on overflow kit. The large one is only $10.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/showCustom-0/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2000880/c-10101/Nty-1/p-2000880/Ntx-mode+matchallpartial/N-10101/tf-Browse/s-10101/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=coolant%20reservoir

Sorry it's not automatically linked... That doesn't want to work for me.

Allan



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 6/21/2005 4:29 PM

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/showCustom-0/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2000880/c-10101/Nty-1/p-2000880/Ntx-mode+matchallpartial/N-10101/tf-Browse/s-10101/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=coolant

That should work



From: ClydesdaleKevin
Sent: 6/21/2005 4:39 PM

My thermostat is a Summit Racing skirted 165 degree theromostat.  That's not it...lol.

Kev



From: Liv42dayOK
Sent: 6/24/2005 11:25 AM

As recommended by the Operator's Manual in reference to ascending and descending steep grades.  If your speed up the hill reduces to 40 mph or less, drop into 2nd and just push up the hill at around 30 mph.  It's less load on the engine and uses the rpm for power.  Rule of thumb:  If you go up a hill in 2nd, go down the opposite side in second too.  The reduced gear will retard your momentum and save your brakes.

- Sob



From: ClydesdaleKevin
Sent: 6/25/2005 7:07 PM

Thanks SOB!  Your directions worked marvelously, and even though she still got hot (it was 98 degrees out!), by downshifting into 2nd, it kept her cooler, and by keeping her there, I wasn't on my brakes as much!

Seems I was prejudiced against automatics!  By driving standards my whole life, and only owning 2 small auto cars, I didn't realize you could shift these auto trannies and make any significant differance to the driving/RPM/braking!

Thanks again, Sob!

Kev