460 Overheating?
Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 30
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From: Garden City, MI
I had this same problem on my 1990 Class "A" Motorhome. The temperature gauge fluctuated in all kinds of applications. I too went through the cleaning of the cooling system and installing a new 180* thermostat (PITA). I still had the same problem.
I thought about the problem and finally bit the bullet and tried a 195* thermostat and lo-and-behold, it seemed to correct the problem, well more or less. Mostly more. There are times that under certain conditions I still have what looks like an overheating condition, but it is for a short time and settles out (usually under a hard pull). You have to understand that I have a Class "A" motorhome that is 16020 pounds full of fuel an propane and myself only in the coach.
I believe that the 195* thermostat is keeping the water in the radiator just long enough to cool the water better for the engine.
Sorry that this is almost a year late, but I just joined the board.
"Doc"
I thought about the problem and finally bit the bullet and tried a 195* thermostat and lo-and-behold, it seemed to correct the problem, well more or less. Mostly more. There are times that under certain conditions I still have what looks like an overheating condition, but it is for a short time and settles out (usually under a hard pull). You have to understand that I have a Class "A" motorhome that is 16020 pounds full of fuel an propane and myself only in the coach.
I believe that the 195* thermostat is keeping the water in the radiator just long enough to cool the water better for the engine.
Sorry that this is almost a year late, but I just joined the board.
"Doc"
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,056
Likes: 8
From: Union, Washington
Originally Posted by PHOTOG101
I had this same problem on my 1990 Class "A" Motorhome. The temperature gauge fluctuated in all kinds of applications. I too went through the cleaning of the cooling system and installing a new 180* thermostat (PITA). I still had the same problem.
I thought about the problem and finally bit the bullet and tried a 195* thermostat and lo-and-behold, it seemed to correct the problem, well more or less. Mostly more. There are times that under certain conditions I still have what looks like an overheating condition, but it is for a short time and settles out (usually under a hard pull). You have to understand that I have a Class "A" motorhome that is 16020 pounds full of fuel an propane and myself only in the coach.
I believe that the 195* thermostat is keeping the water in the radiator just long enough to cool the water better for the engine.
Sorry that this is almost a year late, but I just joined the board.
"Doc"
I thought about the problem and finally bit the bullet and tried a 195* thermostat and lo-and-behold, it seemed to correct the problem, well more or less. Mostly more. There are times that under certain conditions I still have what looks like an overheating condition, but it is for a short time and settles out (usually under a hard pull). You have to understand that I have a Class "A" motorhome that is 16020 pounds full of fuel an propane and myself only in the coach.
I believe that the 195* thermostat is keeping the water in the radiator just long enough to cool the water better for the engine.
Sorry that this is almost a year late, but I just joined the board.
"Doc"
Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Garden City, MI
Bear:
I have a 7 blade fan and the largest radiator that will fit in my motorhome at this time. I even tried an electric fan before the overheat problem was solved to my satisfaction.
Class "A" Motorhomes have the additional problem with not being able to getting rid of the heat that builds up in the dog house area. I think that after the addition of headers, that will change somewhat, or so I have been told by other Class "A" drivers.
The only other thing to make the cooling system more efficent is an aluminum radiator that is the same size as I have now.
Thanx:
"Doc"
I have a 7 blade fan and the largest radiator that will fit in my motorhome at this time. I even tried an electric fan before the overheat problem was solved to my satisfaction.
Class "A" Motorhomes have the additional problem with not being able to getting rid of the heat that builds up in the dog house area. I think that after the addition of headers, that will change somewhat, or so I have been told by other Class "A" drivers.
The only other thing to make the cooling system more efficent is an aluminum radiator that is the same size as I have now.
Thanx:
"Doc"
Thread Starter
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Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 28
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From: Buffoonalo, Yew Nork
Originally Posted by Brad Johnson
You can't get a hot acid dip anymore, but you can get the same result by removing the radiatior, laying it on it's side, and pouring it full of plain old white vinegar. Over the course of a few hours tt will soften and dissolve the hard water deposit just as well, if not better than, the dipping method. Just take care to flush THOROUGHLY and repeat if necessary until all the deposits are gone. The great thing is vinegar is cheap - around a buck a gallon here - and there is little elbow grease involved other than the removal and reinstallation of the radiator.
One warning. Do NOT do this with the radiator still in the car as the vinager can attack some cooling system component's you'd probably rather not have damaged, or some of the deposits can come loose and chunks of it can migrate into the engine block and water pump.
Brad
One warning. Do NOT do this with the radiator still in the car as the vinager can attack some cooling system component's you'd probably rather not have damaged, or some of the deposits can come loose and chunks of it can migrate into the engine block and water pump.
Brad
Anyway, I just gave my whole system the acid test this week. Just got back yesterday from a 1000 mile, round trip from Buffoonalo to Long Island. I went and picked up a 34 foot, 10,000 lb, 5th wheel. The trip there was not the greatest or uneventful, (as if driving through NY City and the full length of Long Island could ever be uneventful).
Before I left I’d checked the timing, it was waaay off, (or so I thought). I checked the service manual on the Duraspark II timing and discovered that when you put the distributor in, you drop it in right at TDC, line up number one and one tooth on the reluctor wheel perfectly in line with the magnetic pickup and tighten the distributor down, period, no setting the timing manually. The ignition control module is supposed to control all timing functions and you’re not supposed to even touch the timing, ever. I pride myself on being a “Ford man”, but that little procedure somehow escaped me all these years. Well anyway, when I did it “by the book”, it would hardly run, (way retarded). So thinking that because the pollution system must be part of the formula and I didn’t have any pollution stuff on it, I set the timing manually at 8 BTDC, hooked up the vacuum advance to the timed port on the carb, (like a non-pollution system), and let it go at that. It seemed to be running fine before the trip, no missing at any rpm and temp was good.
On the trip to LI, the temp was staying around 190 with a 180 degree thermostat in it and would climb to about 195 on the hills, with no load. Well, it developed a real bad low speed idle miss and occasional backfiring when I had to push the gas pedal down at higher speeds. When I revved the engine when I wasn’t driving or it was running on the road at high rpm, it seemed to be purring, no miss, (except for an occasional backfire). I thought it might be bad gas, clogged fuel filter, etc.. Also, although I’d put a new cap, rotor, vacuum advance and Duraspark II control module in, I'd never put a new reluctor wheel or pickup in the distributor, therefore I wasn't sure that they weren't causing/part of the backfire/rough idle problems.
So, when I stopped for gas I pulled the vacuum advance hose off, (thinking that it was causing the timing to be too far advanced), plugged it, but that didn’t help the low rpm miss. However, it DID help a LOT with the engine temperature. It went right down to 180 and stayed there for the rest of the trip to LI!
Since I’d be dragging that big-assed 5<SUP>th</SUP> wheel home, when I got to my destination at LI, I put a new wheel and pickup in the distributor. I also checked the fuel lines and fuel system, changed the filters and discovered that the see-through filter, (just before the carb.), had hardly any fuel in it when the truck was running. Also, when I shut it off, all of the fuel drained back out of the filter. I put in a new electric fuel pump, that seemed to help the rough idle a bit, (although it really never went away), and it didn’t help too much better in keeping that filter full, but no more high rpm backfire. When ever the truck was at high rpm and pulling, it seemed perfect, strong, no miss, no overheating.
I had to cross some of the toughest "humps" on the east coast, and in fact, on some of the long, hard pulls with the 5<SUP>th</SUP> wheel on, the engine temperature actually went DOWN from when I was on a higher speed, flat pull! I think a combination of high engine rpm, the 4 core radiator and that big aluminum flex fan did the trick on the hills for me. During the flat runnin' loaded, the temp. normally stayed at 180, never exceeding 185.
Well, that’s it for now. I made it home and about the first thing I’m gonna do is ****** that new Edelbrock off and carry it back to Pep Boys for a 1405, (the electric choke quit on the new carb. too), change all the old rubber fuel lines, make sure my tanks are clean, and see what I can figure out as far as this friggin’ timing situation. I’m gonna get back into the service manual and try to understand the system better and more try configurations, but any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I don’t really know anything about Duraspark II systems, don’t really wanna. If it keeps frigging around I’m gonna fix it with a brand new aftermarket distributor and ignition system!
Hope I didn’t put anybody to sleep with this long ol' saga…….
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