hydraulic fan, pouring out fluid

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Mathetes

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Jun 17, 2012, 5:42:30 PM6/17/12
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I need some advice - I have a 2003 TS, 40' 400 hp cummins,

Last Thursday I had the 44 point check done at Charlotte MI. They also changed all the fluids including hydraulic fluid for power steering and the fan. They were great.  On Friday going home, we smelled something burning rubber and then I noticed my steering wheel was hard to turn. We got off the freeway quickly to a Pilot station in Charleston, Missouri. Hydraulic fluid was pouring out the fan. I managed to park it @ the Pilot. Well, there is nothing around Charleston, but before I went on the trip I got coach-net, thank God. They were so helpful. They got a wrecker and towed my TS to a freight liner dealership who said they could do it. They know nothing about RVs whatsoever, but there is no RV repair shop anywhere close. I did agree to have it towed there.

Now, my problem. I don't know if they can get the fan motor and fix it. Maybe they can fix it, but getting the fan motor. I was wondering if I should or have them to call the Spartan Co to get the fan motor. I am stuck for sure and afraid of being in Charleston, MO for a long time. If you have some ideas, please let me know.  Thanks.

Bernie Dobrin

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Jun 17, 2012, 6:13:58 PM6/17/12
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On 6/17/2012 2:42 PM, Mathetes wrote:
>
> Now, my problem. I don't know if they can get the fan motor and fix
> it. Maybe they can fix it, but getting the fan motor. I was wondering
> if I should or have them to call the Spartan Co to get the fan motor.
> I am stuck for sure and afraid of being in Charleston, MO for a long
> time. If you have some ideas, please let me know. Thanks.

I wouldn't worry about being at a Freightliner dealership, as long as
they are willing to work on your coach. I had my fan replaced by a
Kenwood Truck dealership and they did a nice job, Spartan did ship the
fan to them.

Bernie Dobrin
We Travel Supreme in our '02 TSDP, pulling an '06 Chevy HHR
If you tow, it must be PressurePro
When we're there, home is Goodyear, AZ

John Becker

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Jun 17, 2012, 7:21:47 PM6/17/12
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If you have insurance call them 1st so they can inspect the problem.


From: Mathetes <cgk...@gmail.com>
To: travelsupreme_...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2012 2:42 PM
Subject: hydraulic fan, pouring out fluid

I need some advice - I have a 2003 TS, 40' 400 hp cummins,

Last Thursday I had the 44 point check done at Charlotte MI. They also changed all the fluids including hydraulic fluid for power steering and the fan. They were great.  On Friday going home, we smelled something burning rubber and then I noticed my steering wheel was hard to turn. We got off the freeway quickly to a Pilot station in Charleston, Missouri. Hydraulic fluid was pouring out the fan. I managed to park it @ the Pilot. Well, there is nothing around Charleston, but before I went on the trip I got coach-net, thank God. They were so helpful. They got a wrecker and towed my TS to a freight liner dealership who said they could do it. They know nothing about RVs whatsoever, but there is no RV repair shop anywhere close. I did agree to have it towed there.

Now, my problem. I don't know if they can get the fan motor and fix it. Maybe they can fix it, but getting the fan motor. I was wondering if I should or have them to call the Spartan Co to get the fan motor. I am stuck for sure and afraid of being in Charleston, MO for a long time. If you have some ideas, please let me know.  Thanks.
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Mathetes

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Jun 17, 2012, 9:31:40 PM6/17/12
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Okay, that is a relief, thanks Bernie. If I had your number in the middle of this crises I would have called you. I have read enough of your posts to know about the roadside insurance, Coach-net. Thankfully I had enough sense to purchase it. They saved me big time.

No I don't have insurance, now I wish I did.

Jayhawk

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Jun 18, 2012, 9:30:55 PM6/18/12
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I had the same problem last year.  What happened, The wife and I were traveling around the state of Pennsylvania and seal went out on the hyd fan motor.  The motor cost me around $700.00.  More to follow on that one.  Well the Freightliner dealership ordered a hyd motor, installed the motor, fill the reservoir with hyd fluid, power washed the engine bay, and we were on our way after the bill.  $700.00 for the motor and $600.00 for the install.  After a few miles I did notice that the fan motor would not engage the high speed side of the motor.  So I hit the GPS to take us to Charlotte MI.  Need to get the coach fixed and fixed correctly.  As you know Spartan always provides great service and this was no exception.  It did take the full day for the service tech to find the problem.  There is an orifice inside the motor that was not seated.  While I was there I had the old fan motor rebuilt for a spare. The fan motor is a spartan part that sales for a lot less the $700.00 I was charged.  So watch for the pass through cost from Freightliner. 

Good Luck 
Gary

Bernie Dobrin

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Jun 18, 2012, 9:44:56 PM6/18/12
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Don't forget, Freightliner dealerships are independent franchisees,
Freightliner has little control over them. When I had an FL chassis, I
was very unhappy with over half of the dealerships I dealt with. That's
why I suggested checking with Spartan parts for pricing and availability.
Message has been deleted

Mathetes

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Jun 19, 2012, 9:32:15 AM6/19/12
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I did call Spartan to check on the availability of a fan motor. They had one in stock and quoted me the price of $700.00. The service manager from freight liner called me a little later and told me the cost for the fan motor and installation would be $1,500. That seems about right.

Jayhawk, the orifice inside the motor that was not seated was not the fault of installation, right?  It sounds like it came from the factory that way. Let me know about that. I do agree with you on the service at Charlotte, MI, top notch for sure. Now, I am wondering if I should go back and have them to check this out.

I appreciate you guys responding to help. I am not yet retired so right now this is part time for me.



Mathetes

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Jun 19, 2012, 9:44:14 AM6/19/12
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Jayhawk, your fan motor was much less than $700.00? Wow, inflation has kicked in for sure. It seems ironic that the price you paid is the actual price now


Jayhawk

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Jun 21, 2012, 9:17:50 AM6/21/12
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You are correct the orifice was not the fault of the install process,
sort of! The motor can still be installed but the installer needs to
check and ensure that the orifice in installed correctly be the
install. The orifice just unscrews from one of the connections. Have
the installer call Spartan before he starts the install. Also it
might be a good time to change your hyd filters.

Good luck.

Jayhawk

Mathetes

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Jun 22, 2012, 3:54:23 PM6/22/12
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Jayhawk, the same thing happened to me as to you, except while at the Freightliner shop as they were testing the new fan motor it blew a return hydraulic hose. Because of your email, I called Spartan and talked to Tyler. Tyler then talked to the technician working on the TS and it was an orifice turned wrong - they broke it apart fixed it and now I am home. Thanks for the heads up or I would still be in Charleston, MO broken down.

Mathetes

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Jul 10, 2012, 9:50:31 PM7/10/12
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Black cloud will not go away
As stated previously, hydraulic fan went out. I spent several days stranded, but finally a freight liner repair shop fixed it by calling spartan chassis in Charlotte. I got it home and in storage - everything working fine, no trouble. I went to the storage to get it out today and hydraulic fluid was pouring out of the hydraulic fan. I don't know what to do now. Any advice would be welcomed. 


gptexas

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Jun 15, 2014, 7:52:57 PM6/15/14
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I now have the same problem with the hydraulic fan motor in my TS 2003-40DS01. Replaced fan motor once and replaced seal once and it still blows out the seal after about 60 miles. Does anyone have a solution to get this fixed?? Already contacted Spartan and bought the first new motor from them. First fix was in Stephenville ,Texas at Truck Ag & Auto for $2700 and the tow truck tore up my mud-flap. They refused to follow-up  with the fix !!!


On Sunday, June 17, 2012 4:42:30 PM UTC-5, Mathetes wrote:
I need some advice - I have a 2003 TS, 40' 400 hp cummins,

Last Thursday I had the 44 point check done at Charlotte MI. They also changed all the fluids including hydraulic fluid for power steering and the fan. They were great.  On Friday going home, we smelled something burning rubber and then I noticed my steering wheel was hard to turn. We got off the freeway quickly to a Pilot station in Charleston, Missouri. Hydraulic fluid was pouring out the fan. I mnaged to park it @ the Pilot. Well, there is nothing around Charleston, but before I went on the trip I got coach-net, thank God. They were so helpful. They got a wrecker and towed my TS to a freight liner dealership who said they could do it. They know nothing about RVs whatsoever, but there is no RV repair shop anywhere close. I did agree to have it towed there.

Frank O

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Jun 15, 2014, 8:11:10 PM6/15/14
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Unfortunately the fan motor is proprietary to Spartan Chassis and you can't source it out.  Mine is the one made by Italian manufacturer, can't recall the name at the moment. I was quoted $587 (around there). Unless maybe you find a hydraulic guru.

Thank You

Frank O

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gptexas

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Jun 16, 2014, 10:39:47 AM6/16/14
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Thanks--Frank---but I had Truck Ag & Auto replace with new one from Spartan @ $850 and it blew again. It seems to be something else is causing pressure to rise and keeps blowing out the seals. Looking for possible solution. Thanks for your help.
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Carroll K.

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Jun 16, 2014, 10:44:45 AM6/16/14
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When a freight liner put mine in they put it in backwards. It started leaking again after 140 miles.  You need to a a hydraulic service repair specialist handle it. I did that and they got it right
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Carroll Koon
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Carroll K.

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Jun 16, 2014, 10:58:00 AM6/16/14
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I dealt with this over 5 months. So frustrating and no one could help me. I took it to a spartan repair place and they referred me to this hydraulic repair shop. They discovered it was put on backyards. That is right . The fan was running in the wrong direction. If you can go to spartan in Charlotte but if not go to a hydraulic shop


On Monday, June 16, 2014, gptexas <gpa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
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gptexas

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Jun 16, 2014, 1:15:11 PM6/16/14
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Thanks--Carroll------I know what you mean by no help. I had a hydraulic shop replace the seal and we checked rotation provided by Spartan drwg and air was also going inward towards the motor. It still blew a seal. I have a mobile mechanic coming out this afternoon to see what's wrong and see if we can figure out why it's getting such high backpressure.


On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:58:00 AM UTC-5, Mathetes wrote:
I dealt with this over 5 months. So frustrating and no one could help me. I took it to a spartan repair place and they referred me to this hydraulic repair shop. They discovered it was put on backyards. That is right . The fan was running in the wrong direction. If you can go to spartan in Charlotte but if not go to a hydraulic shop

On Monday, June 16, 2014, gptexas <gpa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Thanks--Frank---but I had Truck Ag & Auto replace with new one from Spartan @ $850 and it blew again. It seems to be something else is causing pressure to rise and keeps blowing out the seals. Looking for possible solution. Thanks for your help.

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:11:10 PM UTC-5, Frank O wrote:

Unfortunately the fan motor is proprietary to Spartan Chassis and you can't source it out.  Mine is the one made by Italian manufacturer, can't recall the name at the moment. I was quoted $587 (around there). Unless maybe you find a hydraulic guru.

Thank You

Frank O

On Jun 15, 2014 4:52 PM, "gptexas" <gpa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I now have the same problem with the hydraulic fan motor in my TS 2003-40DS01. Replaced fan motor once and replaced seal once and it still blows out the seal after about 60 miles. Does anyone have a solution to get this fixed?? Already contacted Spartan and bought the first new motor from them. First fix was in Stephenville ,Texas at Truck Ag & Auto for $2700 and the tow truck tore up my mud-flap. They refused to follow-up  with the fix !!!

On Sunday, June 17, 2012 4:42:30 PM UTC-5, Mathetes wrote:
I need some advice - I have a 2003 TS, 40' 400 hp cummins,

Last Thursday I had the 44 point check done at Charlotte MI. They also changed all the fluids including hydraulic fluid for power steering and the fan. They were great.  On Friday going home, we smelled something burning rubber and then I noticed my steering wheel was hard to turn. We got off the freeway quickly to a Pilot station in Charleston, Missouri. Hydraulic fluid was pouring out the fan. I mnaged to park it @ the Pilot. Well, there is nothing around Charleston, but before I went on the trip I got coach-net, thank God. They were so helpful. They got a wrecker and towed my TS to a freight liner dealership who said they could do it. They know nothing about RVs whatsoever, but there is no RV repair shop anywhere close. I did agree to have it towed there.

Now, my problem. I don't know if they can get the fan motor and fix it. Maybe they can fix it, but getting the fan motor. I was wondering if I should or have them to call the Spartan Co to get the fan motor. I am stuck for sure and afraid of being in Charleston, MO for a long time. If you have some ideas, please let me know.  Thanks.

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Carroll Koon
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Carroll K.

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Jun 16, 2014, 2:15:21 PM6/16/14
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That's exactly the same thing mine was doing.  Wish I could tell you how they fixed it but I can't .  They just knew what yo do.
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gptexas

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Jul 5, 2015, 11:36:34 PM7/5/15
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Sorry--I never finished about that hydraulic motor problem. I spent over $5K on 4 different mechanics and finally discovered that the return orifice came loose in the return to tank fitting and got side ways causing extreme back pressure blowing out a hose and several motor seals.
Now I still seem to be running too hot. I used to run 180/195 now it's running 180/215deg. Does anyone know  how to make that fan go faster?? Maybe remove that orifice altogether will be a solution. advise if anyone has experienced and fixed this type of failure. I want to go back to Colorado & Alaska. THANKS


On Monday, June 16, 2014 at 1:15:21 PM UTC-5, Mathetes wrote:
That's exactly the same thing mine was doing.  Wish I could tell you how they fixed it but I can't .  They just knew what yo do.

On Monday, June 16, 2014, gptexas <gpa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Thanks--Carroll------I know what you mean by no help. I had a hydraulic shop replace the seal and we checked rotation provided by Spartan drwg and air was also going inward towards the motor. It still blew a seal. I have a mobile mechanic coming out this afternoon to see what's wrong and see if we can figure out why it's getting such high backpressure.

On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:58:00 AM UTC-5, Mathetes wrote:

Thank You

Frank O

On Jun 15, 2014 4:52 PM, "gptexas" <gpa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I now have the same problem with the hydraulic fan motor in my TS 2003-40DS01. Replaced fan motor once and replaced seal once and it still blows out the seal after about 60 miles. Does anyone have a solution to get this fixed?? Already contacted Spartan and bought the first new motor from them. First fix was in Stephenville ,Texas at Truck Ag & Auto for $2700 and the tow truck tore up my mud-flap. They refused to follow-up  with the fix !!


Carroll K.

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Jul 6, 2015, 9:03:43 AM7/6/15
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I had the same problem as you with the fan motor. Recently we went to Colorado Springs and the rig was getting too hot.  200 to 230. When we finally got to Colorado Springs. We took it to cummins and they replaced the thermostat. Now it runs like before 180 to 200. But I too am still concerned about it. If it is possible to get the fan motor to run faster

Take care
Carroll
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claude Couture

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Jul 6, 2015, 9:37:55 AM7/6/15
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If the hydraulic fan motor seal blows up . There is a small screw inside the hydraulic manifold that could have come loose.(Easy too repair)But nobody knows its there , not even Spartan.

 

De : travelsupreme_...@googlegroups.com [mailto:travelsupreme_...@googlegroups.com] De la part de Carroll K.
Envoyé : 6 juillet 2015 09:04
À : travelsupreme_...@googlegroups.com
Objet : Re: hydraulic fan, pouring out fluid

gptexas

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Jul 9, 2015, 1:15:22 PM7/9/15
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Thanks for the help but I don't know about the screw inside the manifold except the orifice/pipe plug that came loose and caused all this $$$$problems that we finally discovered. It's located in the return to tank at the bottom of the hydr control block. The orifice/plug came loose and wedged into the return elbow tubing fitting causing excessive backpressure. Still working on motor speed. Spartan advised to disconnect solenoid wire plug at manifold and motor should go high speed. Mine is turning 280 rpms and waiting for weather to clear to check. Will advise.

gptexas

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Jul 13, 2015, 8:00:40 AM7/13/15
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Disconnected   solenoid wire to hydraulic block and fan turns 570 rpm now. had to go from inside couch to access wire connector. Will advise if it helps once I get back on the road.

Frank O

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Jul 27, 2015, 9:29:34 AM7/27/15
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Just curious
Where exactly is the solenoid for the fan motor located ?
Is it the hydraulic block/ junction on the drivers side about where the transmission & engine connect ?

I developed a hydraulic leak on that block. It turned it a Allen screw came loose and was leaking fluid. Made a real mess on the under carriage.

Thank You

Frank O

gptexas

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Jul 28, 2015, 8:14:32 AM7/28/15
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That's correct. It has all the hydraulic hoses going to the fan motor. The electric coupler is on the electric wires that go to the solenoid on the hydraulic control block. I had to access mine from inside the coach and the fan went into high speed( 280rpm up to 570rpm). Major help in engine temperature. Now runs 180 to 195 deg going thru Okla heat wave 102deg. Too hell with the slight decrease in mileage. Try it !!!
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