Dropping temps and coolant.....

[john brunson]

After today's appalling discovery that my brake master cylinder needed almost three quarts of DOT 3 fluid to come up to normal, (resivoir for brakes was in sort of a wacky place- you fill it from inside the coach) I began to get concerned that service on this coach has been extremely substandard.

Freezing temps got me worried about engine coolant- here is the question, maintenance records indicate something called "Truck and Bus mixture" was used as coolant. It has an orange tint and is slightly "slick" between fingers... It Does Not smell like Glycol... Does this sound like anti-freeze???  We are going to low 20's later this evening.... I am contemplating pouring in a gallon of automotive type anti freeze... Absolutely no expierence with "Truck and Bus"

I have extracted half an ounce and it is in the freezer (-1 degree F). I guess if it doesn' ice up we will survive!

[Keith Moffett]

John
I would not mix any antifreeze.  Especialy if I were not familiar with it.  Certain antifreezes are not compatible and some can clot when intermixed.
Each of our coaches came with dubious maintenance records so we had a shop pump the entire system and replace the antifreeze with CAT Extended life.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

John,
Sounds like you may have Dex-Cool. Info indicates it is superior to green ethylene glycol and should not be mixed with it.
https://www.getahelmet.com/jeeps/maint/dexcool/
Steve

[Edward Buker]

John,

Good not to panic here and mix another type with this antifreeze as Keith points out. If it is a truck and bus antifreeze it is likely an extended life coolant made for diesels, but that is not a sure thing. You can get a hygrometer at a local parts store and test the fluid for freeze point. Good that you are doing your own freeze test. This article discusses some of the types and colors.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2013/05/how-much-do-you-know-about-heavy-duty-coolants.aspx

If you can source the shop that did the change by contacting the prior owner or within the records that came with the coach, that would be worth some effort to avoid changing fluid unnecessarily. You could check with a Cat dealer and see what info a fluid analysis would provide.

Later Ed

[john brunson]

First concern was lack of protection... The small  sample has been in the wife's freezer for an hour - it would be ice if  it was water.... Feeling better about it now... The dry brake resivoir kinda got my attention earlier today - I am growing to love driving this beast... Fuel mileage on this trip was 10.4 mpg... That is better than the SUV pulling the travel trailer!   New Sky light was installed while at the lake this weekend.

Thanks for answers guys... I am still a babe in the woods but I bet it would take a pocket FULL of cash to replace a freeze plug.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

John,
If the indications are that the coach was not maintained correctly, you are probably better off flushing the system and replacing the coolant with Cat Extended Life Coolant (IMHO). There are a number of posts on the procedure, but in a nutshell; drain system, and flush 4 times with water, 4th time with distilled water. Then add 1 gallon of concentrated ELC and follow that with 50/50 mix of ELC and distilled water till system is full. Depending on condition of drained coolant, you may want to use a cleaner in first flush. Also, open vent "nut" when draining/re-filling to ensure you get fluid on both sides of thermostat. Nut should be in/near t'stat housing. Run engine between each flush. If you have a preheat system that circulates engine antifreeze through a heater, turn on preheat pump for flushes after draining coolant to be sure old mixture if removed.
Steve

[john brunson]

I got a list a mile long ; going to a rally with a list of questions next month.  I noticed yellow paint on the small fan belt last night...as in the yellow paint they spray at Peoria. Replacing That needs to be a priority I believe.

[Gerald Farris]

John,
A fluid analysis of you coolant should answer any question you have about it's serviceability. As you know, replacing the coolant is not cheap and is probably totally unnecessary, so have an analysis ran for about $25 for your records and maintenance scheduling.

Also, if you were 3 quarts low on brake fluid, you should check for excessive pad wear or fluid leaks.

If you are going to a rally for answers to technical questions, you may or may not be disappointed depending on who the other rally attendees are. Some rallies have no technical experts in attendance, while others have a wealth of technical knowledge in attendance like the Quartzsite rally that just ended.  Rallies are not normally designed as a place for coach maintenance, but as a social and entertainment event where we normally overeat on good food. If you have technical questions, you should ask them here on the BAC Forum, and go to rallies for enjoyment.

Gerald 

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

There is one rally specifically designed for maintenance issues -- the Holiday Ramblers Maintenance Session to which Beaver owners are invited (we share the same corporate parent).  The 2016 session will be 4/28 through 5/4 in Goshen, IN.  We will be attending as I need all the help I can get  .  Here's a link: http://www.ramblinpushers.org/.  I believe some other folks who frequent the BAC forum also will be attending.

Larry

[Bob Jae]

That Maintenance Session is the most informative rally I have ever been at.  Besides that is was a lot of fun.  So much to learn there you can not do it all in one year.

[Stan Simpson]

We were there when we had the HR Endeavor. Well worth it.