Motorhome trouble in Kamloops! BC

[Larry Fisk]

The service tech. believes the mounting bracket broke and this allowed the fan to run wild. I asked him if it could be welded back together and he said it was gone. The braces were still there but the actual bracket that holds the motor in place was not there. The Rad shop said they could repair the radiator but I decided to replace the core with an 8 row core, the original was a 7 row. They also are going to dip both sides of the core in a solution that hardens the veins and the core. I have never heard of this but the said it will make it much more difficult to be punctured again. They also found my air cooler for the engine turbo was cracked and badly blowing by, so they are replacing that also. It should greatly improve the engine performance the tech said. Anyway I have not gotten the final total cost for all of this. I do know that just the new core for the rad is $3000.00. I will try to post some pictures of the damage. Everyone be sure to check your rad fan cooling brackets, the alternative is spending a lot of money needlessly!

[Larry Fisk]

Finally here are the pictures of the broken radiator cooling fan motor bracket and fan. This became an expensive detour. Be sure to check yours once in a while.

[harry kew]

Hi Larry,

Sorry to hear about your rad.  I live in Kamloops about 15 min from the shop.  If I can be of any help or if you have to leave the  motorhome in Kamloops and return home, we have room to store it after it is repaired.

[Larry Fisk]

Thanks so much Harry, that's good to know. You certainly live in a great place. While we were there everyone was very nice and helpful. We should be picking it up next week after the repairs are completed.  They are still waiting on the bracket for the cooling fan motor.  The rad and CAC are done and I think already installed.  I am at work right now on the North Slope, ALaska.  I had to get back and make some money to pay for this repair.  Thanks again, if it comes to the point I need this, I will keep your very generous offer in mind.

[Joel Ashley]

When our coach was new in 2006, I had the same problem.  Luckily I noticed something amiss during my daily walk around.  Through the side radiator grill/door I saw the fan housing hanging askew.  The fan had slightly damaged a few fins, but nothing radical needing major repair.  An RV dealer in Boise was nearby, and their tech rebuilt the bracketing that holds the AC fan in place.  The factory mounts that fasten it to the top of the radiator are pretty lousy, so everyone with side radiator and AC arrangements should unbolt the access grill, swing it up, and carefully examine theirs for immenent bracket failure.  You can probably engineer a better mounting configuration than the factory used... It was pretty wimpy.

If that unit falls down and the blades are still getting 12v power and running, they can tear things up pretty good as Larry discovered.  This isn't the first time I've posted a warning here, so if you didn't take heed before, please do now.  I may have some pix I can post, I'll have to look.

Joel

[Larry Fisk]

Thanks Joel, I am sure wishing I had read your post on this before this happened. No doubt this repair will be several thousands of dollars plus all the hassles involved in a breakdown.

[Joel Ashley]

Here's a link to one of the threads I posted in, which include's the eventual fix, and a photo of the damage, clearly not as extensive as Larry's turned out to be:

http://forum.bacrallies.com/m-1253307013/s-5/highlight-fan/#num5

[Larry Fisk]

Say Joel, when they talk about the charge air cooler is that the small aluminum looking radiator on the bottom in this picture with the hoses coming out of each side?

[Gerald Farris]

Larry,
The small aluminum radiator at the bottom of Joel's picture is the hydraulic cooler. The charge air cooler or intercooler is the large aluminum unit behind it and the A/C condenser with the large inlet on one side and the large outlet on the other side.

Gerald

[Larry Fisk]

Thanks Gerald! I'm going to have a look at mine when they get it done so I know what's what. They should be getting the fan motor bracket and fan tomorrow. Hopefully it will be ready to go Friday morning.

[Brad Burgess]

Hi Joel

I don't think that your problem was the same as Larry's.  Larry's failure was of the hydraulically driven main cooling fan - yours was of the electric ac condenser fan.  Nevertheless, good info re: both failures.

Brad Burgess

[Joel Ashley]

Yup, you're right Brad.

Joel

[Larry Fisk]

Ok, final update, Beaver repairs are complete and the Thunder is rolling again! Final cost to repair was over $10,000, so beware, check your cooling fan brackets and avoid this expense.

[Larry Fisk]

Hello my fellow Beaver Ambassadors, Well my wife Rhonda drove the Thunder back to our home in Sterling, AK by herself since I could not leave work. She said the Thunder performed flawlessly and the trip was uneventful. IRL International in Kamloops did a great job of getting everything repaired. They are a great bunch of people who do quality work. The final bill was a little over $12,000 but that included a recored charge air cooler. Rhonda said she noticed more get up and go from the engine when pulling hills. She sent me this photo when she arrived of our coach parked in the driveway. Have a great summer with uneventful travels!
Larry Fisk

[Larry Fisk]

Here is the new set up...