So we traded up to a diesel pusher (DP) knowing it would require more maintenance than a gasser, but didn't know we'd have to put it in the shop as soon as we got it. A couple of weeks after taking delivery of our (new to us) Fleetwood Discovery, it was time to take her out on the highway and see how it handled and to shake down any issues it might have.
We planned a day trip from the coast out to Okeechobee, about a 100 mile round trip and everything went well. Love the smooth and quiet ride of a diesel pusher. However as we were returning and just about back home, a bunch of lights came on and the engine was overheating. We quickly slowed down and pulled off the highway to take a look under the hood. The radiator surge tank seemed to be low on coolant and we didn't have any with us to top it off, so we added a little water and the engine cooled down enough to get back on the road. The temp gauge fluctuated between normal and above normal but didn't overheat again. Just before arriving back home, we stopped to buy coolant and topped off the surge tank and it seemed to be OK.
A couple of days later, I took the garden hose to the radiator fins and backwashed it, hoping to flush out any dirt or debris. I wasn't satisfied that this resolved the overheating, so I took a short trip out on the super slab and started monitoring the temp, this time, from the engine info display that reads the actual temperature of the coolant in 1° increments. Sure enough, after getting up to cruising speed (65mph), the temp started rising from 195° up to 215° at one point. Everytime I slowed down, the temp would drop down to about 205°, but based on what other Caterpillar owners were telling me, it shouldn't go over 195°.
Instead of any further trial and error guessing on what was causing the overheating, I decided to take it in to a truck repair center and have them run a diagnostic check and see what's up. After confirming the higher than normal temps and a look-see at the front of the radiator, it was heavily caked with dirt on the engine side, typical of rear radiator mounted coaches. The repair center also did a pressure check on the radiator and discovered there were several small leaks in the core. That eliminated the need to try and clean the radiator, and a new one is on order and will be installed this week to get us back on the road.
We're looking forward to our Summer vacation up in Cocoa Beach in our fancy Fleetwood Discovery with friends and family.
More info will be added after the new radiator is installed and we're back up and running.
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