Heater Core Update
DeLores Wilson
suddenly remembered he was an old friend of my late husband) and the service
manager together. The fluid level was down some. Not clear whether they
didn't make sure it was full when they serviced it or if I lost it when it
overheated. They put the system under pressure test this morning and a
"drop" of fluid came out of the heater core. Temp gauge and sensors are
fine. The problem could be either the heater core is starting to have
problems or a problem with the fan sticking. They have agreed to not charge
me for anything so far and the service manager is going to drive it from
Banks out Hwy 6 towards Tillamook tomorrow up the first major long grade to
see if they can replicate the overheating. They will not charge me for his
time to do this either. Will see how it goes.
--
DeLores Wilson
Hillsboro, OR
dh...@iname.com
Bob Hatch
news:joRZa.773$wg6...@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
before repairing. I cannot see how, without the lose of a *lot* of coolant,
the rig could over heat from a leaking heater core. Please keep us informed.
Like updates on others problems/solutions.
--
http://www.bobhatch.com
Our web site about RV Stuff
A work in progress
DeLores Wilson
:-)
--
DeLores Wilson
Hillsboro, OR
dh...@iname.com
"Bob Hatch" <bobh...@go.com> wrote in message
news:bh8pgs$vatfn$1...@ID-85448.news.uni-berlin.de...
Neon John
>Will do. I also read them Neon John's suggestions of things to check out.
>:-)
One other thing to make sure of. Have them check the clamps and hoses going
to the heater core.
About a year after I changed the core in mine I started getting steam out the
vents and the smell of antifreeze again. I just knew that the core was
boogered up again. Several weeks later I got around to checking the hose
clamps. They had relaxed on the new hose. A tiny jet of coolant was
squirting from between the hose and heater nipple, right through the foam
firewall seal and into the heater air box. I tightened that clamp and the
problem went away.
One other thought. If that drop of coolant really did come from the heater
core, you might try some anti-leak before paying the big bux. Oh, maybe 8
years ago the core in my 68 Fury started leaking. I saw another dashboard
removal looming so I tried the Bars-leak. I didn't really want to put that
stuff in the coolant because the sodium silicate in the stuff is hard on pump
seals. What I did was rig up a little pump loop between a small pump (one of
those el-cheapo drill motor operated pumps such as Harbor Freight sells) and
the core itself. The pump circulated the solution in a loop. I used a heat
gun to heat the core enough to activate the stuff. After a couple of hours I
flushed the heater very well with clean water and connected it back to the
coolant system. Hasn't leaked a drop since.
This stuff contains a mix of metal particles and sodium silicate ("water
glass") The metal particles agglomerate at the hole and mostly block the
flow. Water Glass reacts with CO2 in the air to make a glass hard substance
that cements the metal particles in place, totally blocking the leak. As long
as there's no flexure at the point of the leak the seal should be permanent.
I wouldn't expect the dealership to be able to set up such a system but an
independent or a friend might be able to. A radiator flushing machine would
be ideal for the task.
Even if the heater core is leaking a little it has nothing to do with the
overheating. I'm betting either glazed belts or a fan clutch gone south.
Unless you've really abused the cooling system by adding dirty water or
something like that, the rig is probably too new to have scale problems.
John
---
John De Armond
johngdDO...@bellsouth.net
http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/o/johngd/
Cleveland, Occupied TN
DeLores Wilson
to the service manager. He is getting curious about this huge group of
"friends" I have who know something about MHs. ;-)
--
DeLores Wilson
Hillsboro, OR
dh...@iname.com
"Neon John" <johngdDO...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:01mgjvo42ej91pn66...@4ax.com...
Neon John
>Thanks for the advice, John! I am printing all this stuff out and giving it
>to the service manager. He is getting curious about this huge group of
>"friends" I have who know something about MHs. ;-)
Another Internet bushwhack. he doesn't stand a chance.... :-)
DeLores Wilson
I would have to authorize a tear down and pay for it if the warranty did not
cover it, then would have to wait for a rep to come take a look at it and
determine if they would pay anything on it. Ford service manager said the
fan clutch is good, belt not slipping and in good shape, pressure test
showed a drop or two, test drove it to the top of the pass and back and the
gauge never moved, radiator is clean and hoses tight. I told him I would
pick it up then and would not authorize the tear down. I will be going back
over the pass again the last weekend in Sept to this group's get together
and will see what happens then. If it is still a problem at that time I
will take it to the other place where I trust their judgement. Those of you
at the gtg can give me more advice when I get there depending on how it does
getting there! :-)
--
DeLores Wilson
Hillsboro, OR
dh...@iname.com
"Neon John" <johngdDO...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:oh7ijvo2e8m6hbfvo...@4ax.com...
Bill Tolle
> removal looming so I tried the Bars-leak. I didn't really want to put
that
> stuff in the coolant because the sodium silicate in the stuff is hard on
pump
------------<SNIPPED>---------------
Skip the BarsLeak and put about 1 tablespoon of pepper in the radiator. Yes,
ordinary pepper like you have on the dinner table.
Pepper will not harm anything in the system. Pepper does not dissolve but
does soften. When it hits the leak it dries and hardens.
Dad taught me that one when I was rebuilding a wrecked 53 Mercury. We
soldered the big leaks where the fan had hit the radiator and still had
about 15 pinhole leaks. Pepper stopped every one of them.
Old timers had to learn to fix things with whatever they had on hand.
Bill Tolle
bro...@shaw.ca
Motors. It's a large tablet about 1 inch in diameter and about an inch thick, a
shiny gold in color. You are not risking a lot of money to try it. No down side
I'm aware of.
As per John, Bars Leak is one of the oldest on the market. I can recall my
father selling it in his garage and he sold the business in the early 60's. (Use
to be in a little glass jar with yellow printing). Now why do I remember that and
yet can't remember where I put my stuff yesterday!!
Myron
bill horne
>
> Another coolant sealer that is quite cost effective is the one made by General
> Motors. It's a large tablet about 1 inch in diameter and about an inch thick, a
> shiny gold in color. You are not risking a lot of money to try it. No down side
> I'm aware of.
I hope there's no downside. The service manual for my 96 LTGT says:
--------------------------------------
NOTICE: Two sealant pellets GMSPO part no. 3634621 must be added to the
radiator whenever the coolant system is drained and refilled with fresh
coolant. Failure to use the correct pellets may result in premature
water pump leakage.
--------------------------------------
And then what do they do? The sell them to you in blister packs of 3
pellets. If I keep my truck 15 years, it'll come out even.
> As per John, Bars Leak is one of the oldest on the market. I can recall my
> father selling it in his garage and he sold the business in the early 60's. (Use
> to be in a little glass jar with yellow printing). Now why do I remember that and
> yet can't remember where I put my stuff yesterday!!
> Myron
--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.
bro...@shaw.ca
bill horne wrote:
> bro...@shaw.ca wrote:
> >
> > Another coolant sealer that is quite cost effective is the one made by General
> > Motors. It's a large tablet about 1 inch in diameter and about an inch thick, a
> > shiny gold in color. You are not risking a lot of money to try it. No down side
> > I'm aware of.
>
> I hope there's no downside. The service manual for my 96 LTGT says:
> --------------------------------------
> NOTICE: Two sealant pellets GMSPO part no. 3634621 must be added to the
> radiator whenever the coolant system is drained and refilled with fresh
> coolant. Failure to use the correct pellets may result in premature
> water pump leakage.
> --------------------------------------
Neon John mentioned in his post that some sealants could promote premature seal
deterioration. Your quote confirms what he said.
Bottom line is that one manufacturer recommends using the pellets whenever the coolant
is replaced so the pellets must have some efficacy.
Myron
<snip>
Neon John
>
>
>bill horne wrote:
>> --------------------------------------
>> NOTICE: Two sealant pellets GMSPO part no. 3634621 must be added to the
>> radiator whenever the coolant system is drained and refilled with fresh
>> coolant. Failure to use the correct pellets may result in premature
>> water pump leakage.
>> --------------------------------------
>
> Neon John mentioned in his post that some sealants could promote premature seal
>deterioration. Your quote confirms what he said.
>
>Bottom line is that one manufacturer recommends using the pellets whenever the coolant
>is replaced so the pellets must have some efficacy.
Just so there's no confusion, the GM magic pellet and BarsLeak and similar ilk
are quite different. I've never bothered to find out what is in the magic
pellet but it can't be water glass. Water glass is hard on the water pump
because when the pump is idle, a little can seep through the shaft seal. This
reacts with CO2 and forms a glass-like substance that is very abrasive. Not
good on the carbon/ceramic seal. In fact, sufficient leakage can momentarily
stick the two together.
There's a joke going around that GM uses those pellets to make up for an
inability to cast non-porous blocks nor do precision machining. I'm sure the
real reason isn't that bad :-) I doubt that the gold pellet would seal a
major leak like a heater core perforation. It really does just address
seepers plus adding a water chemistry package - anti-corrosion, etc.