Water Spray on Diesel Radiator

[Sammie]

Has anyone ever found a need to run a water spray on a diesel radiator. I always ran one on my gas rigs so that when I pulled a long grade in the summer and the engine temperature got a little high I could just flip a switch and spray a fine mist of water on the radiator and presto the engine temp would come back down almost immediatly.

[Sammie]

Has anyone ever found a need to run a water spray on a diesel radiator. I always ran one on my gas rigs so that when I pulled a long grade in the summer and the engine temperature got a little high I could just flip a switch and spray a fine mist of water on the radiator and presto the engine temp would come back down almost immediatly.

[John_Canfield]

We can manage our temperature nicely by keeping the engine RPMs up to ~2,000 when climbing long grades. This might mean selecting 4th or 3rd gear or as we were climbing up the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming, 2nd gear .

[smlranger]

Sammie:

I fretted about the possibility of overheating when we went out West last Sept. While we didn't do any pulls like John described, we did some climbing in SD, Colorado, Wyoming. Never moved past normal towing my Explorer. Now I meticulously cleaned my radiator (used Gunk followed by Simple Green, then washed it well with garden hose...from the inside under the bed then from the outside). I was amazed at how grimy the entire engine compartment, fan, radiator, etc. was.

Our rear rad. rigs can get dirty radiators and intercoolers, especially if your crankcase vent (slobber tube) is venting so that oil mist gets sucked into the radiator. Just make sure the slobber tube is extended way down and periodically wash the radiator and you should be fine.

[tomsm]

Don't think you're going to need it. We spent 6 months out west last summer/fall and crossed the Rockies several times along with several other ranges. Our Journeys are so light for the power available - never got below 4th gear, that I remember. My temp normally runs 190 on the flats and the highest I saw after a long climb on a hot day was 195.

[skigramp]

Sammie ...

I think you are overly concerned about overheating ... I have been across the rockies 5 times on I-70, I-80, and I-90 and have never had any heating problem ...

I have a 2004 39W Journey ... I always tow a 4200 SUV

I do clean my radiator every year ...