Southwind Overheated, Need Some Thoughts

[RovinOn]

This is a baffler. at least to me anyway. I have an 05 Southwind with the 8.1 Vortec in it. The coach has 11,000 miles on it and this is my 2nd year of ownership.
I went to the storage yard tonight to pick it up since we are or were going away for the holiday weekend.
As I always do, I turned on the batteries and started it up. Opened my windshield curtins and closed the fridge doors.
By the time I got back to the drivers seat the engine already had some temp showing on it which is unusual, it was more than usual. Now before I could leave the storage yard this thing looks like its going to overheat? I have never had temp problems with this. Anyway I don't live but maybe a 1/2 mile down the road and by the time I get there this thing is overheated, Gauge was in the RED zone? I shut it down to let it cool maybe 15 minutes or so and I check the engine compartment, the overflow bottle is full, never seen it full before but it wasn't hot. no overflow to the ground and nothing was leaking. Antifreeze looks good but it is time to change and flush.
After a little while longer I turned the key back on and the gauge is reading about normal as it should. Restarted the engine and ran again and it did not give me a repeat performance,,, No overheating.
I have ran this for awhile and checked to make sure all fans were operating, the electric fans never came on since it didn't get hot enough.
Checked temps of the hoses with my electronic thermometer and nothing seemed abnormal.
After letting it cool again I did open the radiator cap and this wasn't low on antifreeze .
What's your thoughts on this? A stuck thermostat maybe? All belts are in place everything looks good.
I will be calling my service garage tomorrow morning to see if they have time to check it.
Anybody ever have this happen before?

Regards,

RovinOn
05 Southwind 37C

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RovinOn What's your thoughts on this? A stuck thermostat maybe? All belts are in place everything looks good. I will be calling my service garage tomorrow morning to see if they have time to check it.

RovinOn, Very weird! The thermostat will usually stick open so I would rule that out. One thing that is recommended is to not idle your engine for any length of time. It's better to start it and get on the road rather that letting the vehicle idle.

If you were to look at your recovery bottle right now I expect that all the coolant in the bottle went back in the engine and the level should be at the cold mark. If not you probably have a bad radiator cap.

There is a viscous dampened clutch on the front of your fan that should cut in when the engine gets hot. If your engine doesn't roar when it gets hot perhaps the clutch is bad. I have had mine replaced already.

After the engine is completely cool, remove the radiator cap and check to see that the coolant is right up to the bottom of the cap.

[RovinOn]

Driver, Thanks for the thoughts!
When I start this I don't let it idle long, just enough to open blinds and close the fridge and then pull away.
I did check the antifreeze in the radiator and it's where it should be.
While I ran this at home I crawled underneath and the engine fan was turning, Could the fan clutch have been stuck or frozen?
The thermostat as you say should stick open so I kind of have ruled that out as well.
I'm going to check the overflow bottle again in the morning.

Don't know but I wouldn't do it again,,, not tonight anyway.

Regards,
RovinOn

[Full-Timers]

If your engine fan wasn’t roaring on the trip home and the coolant in the bottle was not hot, I would say you didn’t actually have an overheating problem. Can’t explain the full bottle though.

[RVhauler]

don't rule out a stuck closed thermostat. have had it happen even if it is rare and have seen others stuck closed. If it was mine the stat would be replaced immediately. Have to agree the fan clutch should have kicked in and made some noise and would be also a secondary suspect after the the stat

[mfire1339]

If the t-stat stuck closed, which it probably did, the fan would"not" sense a problem and speed up because the radiator would still be cold. Change the stat.

Mike

[RovinOn]

An update on this, my coach is in the shop, It did not overheat again and they are unable at this point to find anything wrong. They are flushing the system and they will be replacing the T-Stat. Hopefully the T-Stat will show up as the culprit.

[Full-Timers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfire1339 If the t-stat stuck closed, which it probably did, the fan would"not" sense a problem and speed up because the radiator would still be cold. Change the stat. Mike

Good point. You are right.
This might also explain the coolant in the bottle not being hot. The cold coolant in the radiator was pushed into the bottle by the hot coolant expanding in the block.

[speed racer]

If you don't take the cap off the radiator and check the fluid level in the radiator It could have been low and cause this condition. If the radiator cap goes bad it won't suck the fluid from the canister back into the radiator. It is important to check the fluid level in the radiator but do it when its cold. If every thing is working correctly it will be full.

[RovinOn]

Thanks All for your thoughts.
The coach has been fully serviced and is ready to hit the road for the weekend.
In discussing this with the mechanic who worked on this he believes it was a stuck thermostat, which has been replaced. He tried to get it to overheat again and it would not do it.
So it went in for a problem and came out fully serviced and they ordered my brake repair parts to boot, which should be in next week.
This Workhorse repair Center is on the ball!

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RovinOn This Workhorse repair Center is on the ball!

RovinOn, Did you recover the old thermostat? I'd a boiled the heck out of the thing to see if it stayed closed. All's well that ends well.

[RovinOn]

Driver,,, No I didn't! But I feel pretty confident with the mechanic that worked on my coach,,, he's pretty sharp and we had a long discussion as to what occured and frequence of operation in regards to the fans.
He did tell me that the T-Stat was scarred when he removed it, he offered it to me but I didn't think to take it!

Regards,
RovinOn..........

[millsrv]

I have seen this before, I am a mechanic and I believe that based on your description that the thermostat is the problem. A thermostat can last for many years or fail at a early age.
Checking your old thermostat with boiling water may not indicate a problem, they can be intermittent. Thermostats are something that I always replace any time the cooling system is serviced, (water pump, hoses, or flushing). In any case I believe that it is the problem and that your mechanic was correct to replace it. Make sure to recheck your coolant in the morning when the engine is cold.
Have a great weekend!

[RovinOn]

millsrv, I agree, and part of their flushing service is to replace the T-Stat.
I will check the bottle in the morning.
I've been dealing with these folks for quite awhile and this particular mechanic has helped me out before, he's pretty sharp and I trust his word.

Regards,
RovinOn
05 Southwind 37C