Over heating -- cause found

[The Squires]

Pete,

I have been reading about Wanderlodges for a while and do not own one, but I
can dream. But this topic comes up quite often on the Diesel RV Yahoo users
group. Some pushers (like my '97 with a Cummins ISB) have the radiator in
the back behind the engine and some radiators are on the side of the RV
beside the engine. I have wondered about the Wanderlodges on this issue for
sometime. I take it from your description, you is at the back which is
prone to picking up road film. Keeping this back radiators clean is
difficult. The other group suggests spraying with Simple Green and let it
soak for a while then pressure wash from the back side (toward the engine)
to blow it out.

All,

Are some new Wanderlodges side radiators? What year did they change?

Thanks,
Jimmy
-----Original Message-----
From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Pete Masterson
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 4:39 PM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com; wanderlodge@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Over heating -- cause found


On the way home with my new-to-me 'bird at the end of May, I was
concerned about it running on the "hot" end of the safe zone during a
couple of legs of the trip ... and having significant overheating
problems on the grades outside Salt Lake City coming west on I-80 in
Nevada in 92 degree weather.

Finally got my 'bird into a radiator shop and discovered that 35 to
40 percent of the radiator was completely plugged by a mixture of oil
and dirt -- turning it practically into concrete. This has been a
frequently reported problem with DD 6Vxx and 8Vxx engines (noted for
tossing a bit of oil around) ... but (apparently) the Series 60 isn't
immune either.

What is a particular concern is that inspection of the radiator while
it was in the vehicle did not reveal the blockage. Due to shrouds, AC
evaporator, etc., the view of the area outside the center portion
(where the fan spins) can't be seen (at least I couldn't see it
clearly). The center area (where the fan spins) was open and clear (a
bright light was clearly visible looking through the radiator). The
fan seems to pull the crud out of that area, but there isn't enough
air pressure outside the immediate area of the fan to keep other
portions of the radiator clear.

I suspect that all the pusher models are prone to this problem. I
don't know if it's unique to my model BB or if others have better
access to their radiators -- but the caution is to make cleaning the
radiator and checking to be sure that it isn't clogged with the oil-
dust "cement" as a regular part of annual maintenance.

Since it required pulling the radiator to find the problem, I'm going
ahead and replacing the core with a more modern/effective design
(this is a big bucks project) so I hope to not have further heating
problems for awhile.

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Bluebird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
El Sobrante, CA

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