New ISC owner -- DIY parts?

[marka]

Howdy,

We just picked up a '99 Newmar DutchStar with an ISC Cummins on a Spartan chassis. Its my first 'real' diesel, though I've had a Cummins in an '05 Ram before.

I can't find records anywhere, so I'm assuming I should give it a 'full' service to start fresh. That's kinda my leaning anyway. And, of course, I had some questions.

Regarding coolant... The existing coolant is a normal green color. I assume that means I should be checking it for additive level or SCA's or whatever its called, right? I've seen some folks mention switching to 'Everlast' (I think it was) coolant... Is the point of that that you don't need to worry about additives? Is it recommended by Cummins / a good idea / whatever?

Looks like it has an LF9009 oil filter and a FS1242 fuel filter. I only saw one fuel filter... Is there another one hidden somewhere? There's what looks like a filter next to the oil filter, but no markings are on it. I've always heard you should carry a spare fuel filter on a diesel... True? And regarding that sorta thing, is there a procedure somewhere to re-prime the fuel pump if I stupidly run it out of fuel or whatever?

On the oil filter, RVChassisParts.com (is that really Spartan?) shows both just the oil filter as well as a "Filter Maintenance kit"... What's the difference?

There's also no numbers on the serpentine belt... RVChassisParts shows one for "Serpentine Belt - C8.3 after '96" and one for "Serpentine Belt - ISC, ISL (prior to '03 - has red valve cover)"... I've got a '99 ISC and its got a black valve cover, IIRC...

Trans is an Allison MD3060... I don't see anything on RVChassisParts for transmission stuff. I assume there's a filter that needs to be changed somewhere?

Anything else? What about air system stuff? There's dryers and filters for that too, right?

Appreciate help with the newbie questions... I'm a reasonably competent DIY mechanic type, but most of this stuff is new to me...

Mark

[AFChap]

If you have no records about when service was done, you would be wise to do it all.

Are you sure the coolant is green? ...or is it perhaps blue? Mine is blue, but looks a bit green through the overflow bottle. I have also seen red for our big diesels. My blue is Compleat ES (extended service). I believe the red is normal service -- has to be changed more often. Compleat coolant is pre-mixed, no adding SCAs is required. However, the SCAs still need to be checked, and the balance can be adjusted by replacing the coolant filter with one that has the indicated required balance adjustement.

Some have only one fuel filter, some have two depending on the MH mfg'er. One place to look for a hiding fuel filter is on the passenger side of the block high above the starter. The unidentified filter you mentioned could be a hydraulic system filter.

The big Allison trannies normally have a filter kit (two filters I believe) that is replaced with a fluid change.

If you got no owner manuals with the coach, you should be able to get manuals from Spartan and/or Cummins. That would be a major help on service intervals, etc. If you could find a diesel service place that knows what to do and would let you observe, that would be a super way for you to learn what is there and what you need to do to properly service the rig.

Enjoy!

[gizmo]

Mark. go to filterbarn.com for all your filters. best pricing. once you get your belt numbers go to NAPA. get the HD series. the filter beside the oil filter is the coolant filter with SCA. Use fleet charge antifreeze . takes 10 gallons of 50/50 mix, plus a whole lotta distilled water.when you change the coolant ,change the thermostat on the top of the engine.(if the coolant is green somebody put in the wrong stuff)
If you go to a cummins dealer with your engine serial number, they will give you all the numbers you need .Ie belts ,thermostat

[tom wilson]

can give you some info about my 1996 newmar, spartan chassis. allison has 2 filters that need to be changed. get transynd trans oil so you only need to change the oil every 4 years. get final charge coolant so it will last over 5 years. no dca chemicals required. 2 fuel filters needed. midland haldex air dryer needs coalescing filter changed every 3 years. big spin on top filter is good as long as it is clean and dry. cummins sells a remote fuel filter kit so you can change the filter on the side of the cummins easier.
fill the 9009 oil filter before you install it. my 8.3 cummins takes 23 quarts to refill.
differential takes 3 gallon+ to refill. i do mine every 3 years. 88000 miles and still going strong.

[Gary RVRoamer]

A 99 should have two fuel filters, but one may be inline and hidden away somewhere. You will just have to hunt or maybe a call to Spartan Support can give a clue.

Cummins permitted the use of only one fuel filter for about a year & a half in 2003-2004 timefraem. Your 99 is definitely in the "two filters required" era.

[marka]

Howdy,

Thanks for the info!

I'm basing the green color solely on the color I see looking at the sight glass in the overflow/expansion tank mounted above and to the rear of the motor... It has what looks like a regular radator cap... Can I just pull that off and dip my finger in it (with the motor cool) to check the color for sure?

If its the wrong stuff... How big a deal is that? I'm planning on a full fluid / filter service, but I wasn't going to do it before our first trip (about 2k miles all together). I suppose if I have to, I can take a day off work to get it done earlier.

Mark

[gizmo]

you can use a turkey baster to get a sample of your antifreeze. DoNot mix red and green antifreeze. dealer did that to me. what happens is a Green goo developes in the cooing system.(google green goo and it will explain what happens) liked to never got that crap out of the system.Make sure your
diesel generator has the right coolant also.i dought that your sca/dca level is correct. Napa sells test strips .you might want to check before heading down the highway.

[ua40j]

This biggest deal about the coolant is amount of chemicals it contains that are in the coolant to prevent pitting of the liners and corrosion of the block. If your coolant looks good (no discoloration, floatees, hunks of aluminum, oil slick, etc) you should still get coolant check strips from your Cummins dealer to check the level of dissolved minerals and additives.

If the test strips say its okay, then you're good to go.

I'd also like to extend the "one filter era" to include 2001 to 2002 engines. My 02 ISC only has one fuel filter. And the date of manufacture for that engine/chassis was in 2001. Confirmed by Cummins and Spartan and about a gazillion hours spent looking for the 'phantom' filter.

I'd feel better with 2 fuel filters, but the one has served us well.

[marka]

Howdy,

Thanks folks. I'll pick up some strips at NAPA. Do they also sell the additives, or is that something I'd get at a truck stop?

I can take the sample from the overflow tank mounted above the engine, right?

Mark

[Ecker]

Written several years ago and not specific to uour year but may be helpful to you;

Diesel Engine Coolants – the color of MUD?

Engine coolants are a very complex subject and somewhat controversial as well. One of the complexities has to do with color of coolant. There are no real standards that forces coolant manufacturers to adhere to a color for a specific type. Therefore, one can get a pink and a green, which might be the exactly the same. In addition to color, heavy-duty diesel engines require what are called supplemental coolant additives (SCA) to prevent liner pitting from cavitation or did until the recent new ELC coolants. Coolants thus may or may not contain these additives.
The Truck Maintenance Council has recommended practices that act as guidelines for coolant manufacturers. There are three colors. GREEN the TRADITIONAL coolant and requires SCAs from day one. PURPLE the FULLY FORMULATED coolant i.e. it comes charged with SCA’s and requires adding SCAs for ongoing maintenance. And the new RED coolant is EXTENDED LIFE coolant that doesn't require SCAs. One should be sure and check the coolant container conformance to the engine manufacturer’s coolant specification as well. Cummins coolant standard for the ISx series engines is 14603.
Here’s another complexity. Manufacturers may install a coolant filter on a vehicle and the filter itself may or may not have SCA incorporated into it. Those filters that do have the SCA are designed to bleed it out slowly over time thus replenishing the SCA’s in the coolant and thus no need for operator intervention except changing filter as scheduled.
Let’s start where our Newmar DP motor homes begin at Spartan. In recent years Spartan has filled the diesel chassis coolant systems with extended life coolants. Initially, Shell Rotella ELC and more recently Final Charge Global ELC. Labels stating this are affixed to the coolant recovery tank. Note- one must be careful in looking at labels because brand names are nearly the same for different coolants.

Here’s another of those complexities.

You’re talking to a Cummins or some other diesel engine technician and ask him/her what antifreeze to use. He replies without ever asking you any information on your specific vehicle and assumes you are using a fully formulated coolant and says Fleet Charge or some other equivalent brand. Actually your vehicle came with ELC and he should have advised to use Final Charge Global ELC or equivalent brand.

What’s the difference – read on?

Extended Life Coolants (ELC) are red in color as noted above and provide up to 600,000 miles and 6 yrs (whichever come first) of usage with a single recharge of an extender at 300,000 miles or 3 yrs. There is no necessity to add SCA’s to the coolant.



So following the advice of the technician you have inadvertently added a fully formulated coolant that may kill the coolant. The problem comes to how much dilution will kill the ELC coolant. There is some controversy here but the range seems to be between 10–25%. Once exceeding those levels one will have to treat the ELC as fully formulated and begin periodic testing and replenishment of SCA’s. Shell has developed a kit to be used to changeover old trucks to ELC that have used non-ELC coolants in the past. I presume one could get back to ELC status by employing this kit.

Note- SCA’s are not required for the Cummins ISB series engines.

LHE 10/28/2006 REV 1

[Gary RVRoamer]

Thanks for the tip about some 2001-2002's only having one filter. The Cummins rep told me it started in late 2002 and end in early 2004, but I guess he was off a bit on the dates. On the other hand, we were talking specifically about ISLs rather than ISCs, so may there is a difference.

[Avalondanes]

Years ago the color was an indicator, not now. Green coolant for heavy-duty engines comes SCA precharged and is low silicate, phosphate free and is mfg by many brands. I use SuperS Fleet that I pick up at my local truck stop. Use the test strips. That will tell the tail and add SCA if needed.

Richard