Radiator Repair

[cmillsap]

The Radiator/CAC assembly on my bus is the original and was beginning to age out. Some of the copper fins were becoming brittle and cracking and falling to the trough below the radiator. So it was time to replace it. Removing the radiator/CAC assembly provided us with good access to do some other maintenance and upgrades like replacing the original exhaust system with stainless and replacing all the hoses and related parts.

Since we had good access to the driver’s side of the engine compartment, it was a good time to do a thorough inspection of the area. As you can see by the pics, we found an exhaust leak on the manifold and proceeded to replace it.

The radiator is presently being redone. We built new upper and lower tanks for the radiator and installed a new copper core. We also built a new shroud and coated it with bed liner coating. The CAC was cleaned, pressure tested and a small leak was repaired on the bottom flange before it was repainted and made ready to re-assemble. I will post pics of the new radiator/CAC/shroud/fan assembly before we install it. We hope to receive it back from the radiator shop this afternoon.

Below are pics of the work done so far.

[davidbrady]

Wow Chuck,

Beautiful! Those look like BHTubes stainless steel exhaust tubes? Did you take a good look at your exhaust valve guides when the manifolds were removed? One of mine had a misting of diesel fuel which turned out to be a bad fuel injector. How did the turbo look? I'm looking forward to more pics; this engine is going to be happy for many more miles and years!

[GregOConnor]

one of my next projects. was thinking about a straight pipe up the stack with a spark trap. Watch the last turn when cinching down the hoses. I watch the Bobcat mechanics draw marks on hoses at a relaxed state so they can position them there for the final turn.

[cmillsap]

(04-22-2015 15:58)cmillsap Wrote:  The Radiator/CAC assembly on my bus is the original and was beginning to age out. Some of the copper fins were becoming brittle and cracking and falling to the trough below the radiator. So it was time to replace it. Removing the radiator/CAC assembly provided us with good access to do some other maintenance and upgrades like replacing the original exhaust system with stainless and replacing all the hoses and related parts.

Since we had good access to the driver’s side of the engine compartment, it was a good time to do a thorough inspection of the area. As you can see by the pics, we found an exhaust leak on the manifold and proceeded to replace it.

The radiator is presently being redone. We built new upper and lower tanks for the radiator and installed a new copper core. We also built a new shroud and coated it with bed liner coating. The CAC was cleaned, pressure tested and a small leak was repaired on the bottom flange before it was repainted and made ready to re-assemble. I will post pics of the new radiator/CAC/shroud/fan assembly before we install it. We hope to receive it back from the radiator shop this afternoon.

Below are pics of the work done so far.

Here are some more pics of the radiator ready to install.

Rather than spend too much time trying to experiment with the location of the fan to try to get better cooling, We're just going to stay with the fan located 2/3rd inside and 1/3rd outside for the time being. We're going to run the bus up Cajon pass a couple of times to determine if the cooling is sufficient. If not, then we will experiment with the fan/shroud design and possible adding an ring to the shroud.

The last two pics will show where we decided to leave it for now.

[davidbrady]

I don't blame you Chuck; you bit off a lot. Besides, it's a little risky pulling the fan back a couple of inches without knowing for sure that you have nothing in the way. Good decision to take baby steps. It looks fantastic. Rolando did a beautiful job on the shrouding.

Chuck and I have had lots of offline discussions for a fan and shroud modification on the LXi. What BB did is good but there's a possibility of improvement by going from an orifice style radiator shroud to a short duct ring. Going to a ring requires the proportion of fan inside and outside the shroud to be 2/3rds in and 1/3rd out, but to achieve this with a ring requires offsetting the fan to the engine side by at least 2 inches. It's doable, but one step at a time!

Nice job Chuck!

[GregOConnor]

A member of my RV Club with a HolidayRambler series 60 had a fan come off the fan motor 200 miles out of the shop from a radiator rodding. My thinking was that the shop used the old lock washers?? they then installed a new radiator and the member asked me to check their work. I found that the fan was in backwards. After speaking with the shop tec he thinks the old fan was also in backwards but there is no way to know for sure. Quite a bit to check with the fan hose and spring clamp engineered torque. Looks like they did a good job. Did you pull the fan out the bumper or out the side? I see a bumper in one image?

I plan to do this project next month.

(04-24-2015 19:34)cmillsap Wrote:  Here are some more pics of the radiator ready to install.

Rather than spend too much time trying to experiment with the location of the fan to try to get better cooling, We're just going to stay with the fan located 2/3rd inside and 1/3rd outside for the time being. We're going to run the bus up Cajon pass a couple of times to determine if the cooling is sufficient. If not, then we will experiment with the fan/shroud design and possible adding an ring to the shroud.

The last two pics will show where we decided to leave it for now.

[cmillsap]

(04-25-2015 00:27)GregOConnor Wrote:  A member of my RV Club with a HolidayRambler series 60 had a fan come off the fan motor 200 miles out of the shop from a radiator rodding. My thinking was that the shop used the old lock washers?? they then installed a new radiator and the member asked me to check their work. I found that the fan was in backwards. After speaking with the shop tec he thinks the old fan was also in backwards but there is no way to know for sure. Quite a bit to check with the fan hose and spring clamp engineered torque. Looks like they did a good job. Did you pull the fan out the bumper or out the side? I see a bumper in one image?

I plan to do this project next month.

(04-24-2015 19:34)cmillsap Wrote:  Here are some more pics of the radiator ready to install.

Rather than spend too much time trying to experiment with the location of the fan to try to get better cooling, We're just going to stay with the fan located 2/3rd inside and 1/3rd outside for the time being. We're going to run the bus up Cajon pass a couple of times to determine if the cooling is sufficient. If not, then we will experiment with the fan/shroud design and possible adding an ring to the shroud.

The last two pics will show where we decided to leave it for now.

Greg,

I owned a Safari Sahara with a rear radiated system back several years ago and was having trouble with it overheating. I called the factory, the first thing they asked me was which way were the fan blades pointed. Turns out that many motorhomes are equipped with a fan that is capable of being mounted either way to be a pusher or puller. That wasn't my problem but they told me that it happens a lot.

We looked at both ways and decided it was easier to remove the rear bumper and pull the Rad/CAC assembly out through the rear. I think that's easier than trying to remove the assembly from the side. David used a motorcycle jack and removed his Rad from the side because it wasn't possible for him (by himself) to get it out the back. That was a big job for one guy. After seeing the work involved in removing mine, I don't know how he did it.

I hoping to get the bus back on the road on Monday, if all goes well during the hill climb cooling test. I have a Silverleaf connected to the ECU so we can watch it closely. I have noticed (by using the Silverleaf ) that the analog coolant temp gage is just not very precise and lags behind the actual temp rise a bit.

Chuck

[cmillsap]

Here's the finished product:

[rrueckwald]

Nice job, Chuck. Did you get the tubes from BHTubes? If so, did you have an issue with the fit on the turbo and with the pyrometer size? I am thinking of doing the exhaust system this summer as a preemptive strike.

[cmillsap]

(05-13-2015 11:10)rrueckwald Wrote:  Nice job, Chuck. Did you get the tubes from BHTubes? If so, did you have an issue with the fit on the turbo and with the pyrometer size? I am thinking of doing the exhaust system this summer as a preemptive strike.

Hi Ron,

I did get the tubes from Roger at BHTubes. He also has the flex tube and clamps available. They're not cheap but good quality. Everything fit well with no problems. New Pyrometer from DD fitted right up. Be sure to get the proper Turbo V clamp for your turbo as there are many different ones. Finding the right clamp for my turbo took some time and effort.

Big improvement in the cooling capacity with the new radiator. Up Cajon pass at 55mph with coolant max temp at 195*f. Across the desert to AZ, the coolant ran at or just above the thermostats @ 185*f to 188*f. I'm happy not to have to crawl up the hills with the truckers anymore. With all the work I've put into this LXi, I'm beginning to see the benefits such at MPG up to 7.4.

Chuck