I have a 2004 Holiday Rambler with 25,000 miles on it. I am told by a mechanic that my over heating problem is due to dust collection on the radiator which cannot be observed unless the radiator is taken out.
To take it out and clean it and replace it will be about 10 hours labor costing about $1,000. Has anyone ever heard of this problem?
Run from this guy, clean it yourself. warm soapy water applied with a garden pump up sprayer, soak, backflush with garden hose, repeat as necessary. lots of other posts on this with more detail. do not use pressure washer!
Bill
Bill (Driver)
BUCS (SCW) USNR Ret.
Helen (Navigator)
Furry Kitty Kids
Linus
Lucy
Peaches
2000 Country Coach Magna 40
2000 Grand Cherokee, Aventa II and Toad-Stop
A common problem if you have a rear-facing radiator. The crankcase vent tube (AKA "Slobber tube") spews some oil which collects on the radiator, causing it to pick up road dust. This blocks the airflow and can lead to overheating. The simplist cleaning method is to spray the radiator with a grease cutter such as Simple Green, let it soak in and hose it off. You have to spray from both sides.
To minimize overheating on hills, keep the rpms up around 2000-2200 by manually downshifting. A longer term solution is to make an extension on the slobber tube so that it dumps outside the area where the radiator can catch it.
First off, we are assuming this is a DP with rear rad. OP doesn't say.
Sounds simple but if it has gotten really dirty over time, spraying it with Simple Green or Greased Lightning and hosing it off isn't going to do much. There is often several layers of intercooler, radiator, etc and the rad has to be takien out and steam cleaned. You should do new hoses and belts while its apart. $1000 for the R&R is pretty standard. Labor rate is what $100/hr? I mean, go ahead and try it, but if it still overheats, you don't want to risk overheating a $25K engine do you? If you spray and wash every six months or so you can keep oil/dirt from building up but if it gets really bad, it has to be cleaned properly. You can shine a flashlight around the edges and get an idea.
If it is a rear radiator DP, then the Holiday Rambler (Roadmaster) will have the coolers and radiator stacked and not sandwiched together, which makes it very easy to see and clean both sides of the radiator. When I clean mine with simple green and a garden hose, I get a little wet doing the engine side as I use a creeper and you have to get up in behind the engine, however you can spray in on the radiator fairly easy once your up under there.
My fear in your situation would be that you will pay $1,000 for a R&R and cleaning, but once it is all back together may have the same problem due to other issues.
Dan & Tracy
2 kids ages 4 and 6
2003 HR Neptune 36PBD
300 ISB Cummins/5-Speed
I had a '02 Endeavor. Depending on the access covers that you have in the bedroom, you might be able to get a good view of the backside of the radiator for inspection or cleaning. All the previous advice for soaking, hosing and flushing and lengthening the slobber tube will probably clean the radiator just fine.
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