Coolant Tank Replacement

[TEO]

This is related to an earlier thread, but I didn't want to add to an older thread. We were up in the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec when I noticed some antifreeze on the hood of my toad. It was obviously coming from the coolant reservoir on the Freightliner chassis. It was not a major leak, but some seepage coming through the plastic. I called Freightliner and got the part number and a local dealer, but since I was on the move, I didn't want to order locally and wait for the tank to come in. On the internet, I found another dealer about a week away and ordered the tank from him. In the mean time, I fashened a repair using strips of fiberglass cloth and epoxy.

The fiberglass worked for a few days and then leaked again. I tried again with a product called GOOP fiberglass repair. This worked very well and I had no further trouble.

When I got to the dealer in New Richmond, Quebec, I went in wearing mt Freightliner hat and my Freightliner Chassis Owner's Club shirt. Ronnie asked if I worked for Freightliner and I told him that I just belonged to the club, but I hoped he's "take care of me". The tank, in Canada listed for $142.00 and change, but he gave it to me for $90.00 and change. That figures out to about $78.00 US.

Getting the old one out was a real pain as one bolt was impossible to reach. Eventually I snapped the old tank off and easily removed that last bolt. Installation was easier as I used an extruded bolt on that hard-to reach spot. I also adapted the baffle over the radiatior so Icould slide it in after I got that last bolt started. When completed, the coolant level was still above minimum and need no addition.

A special thanks to the guy who suggested the extruded bolt.

Paul

[wagonmaster2]

What does an extruded bolt look like? And how does it work by replacing one previously impossible to reach? I have a 2004 DP on the FL chassis so I guess this is going to be something to look forward to.

Could you tell where the leak was coming from? Does the tank develop a crack or does it leak at the seam between the top and bottom half of the tank?

Wagonmaster2

[TEO]

Wagonmaster2,

The term "extruded nut" was found on the package of three I bought at NAPA Auto Parts. I'm not sure what the other term is. The actual item I have is a one piece nut and clip that slipped over the end of the tank connection. It would have been impossible to put a nut back there.

In the past, and on my car, the similar item is a square nut held in place on a clip of spring steel. The clip slips over a hole and the nut is held in place. The bold is then inserted and there is no need to hold the nut.

The problem with my tank was that sunlight had deteriorated the plastic. There was no leaking seam. The area above the seam was getting porous and the antifreeze was oozing through the rotten plastic.

Paul

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks Paul - I've used that type of nut before but never knew what it was called. A couple years ago when I first started reading about these sorry tanks FL was using I began to use a sun protection spray on the tank and placing a piece of card board in behind the grill to ward off the sun damage but I may have started too late to prevent future leakage.

Nice to have the installation instructions from someone who's been there, done that. Too bad even these expensive toys we play with are made with a built in degeneration factor.

Thanks for the reply and hope this will take care of your problem as long as you own your coach.

Wagonmaster2

[MrTransistor]

J-Type Nut Retainer

[ichn2go]

Bet a little Eternabond would have gone a long way. I always carry some on the coach. Good Miles

[wagonmaster2]

Paul -

Were you able to do all the work replacing the tank working from the back side? I just replaced the 2 thermostats on my Cat C-7 engine by removing the bed and accessing the engine from the top (which was a chore in itself) and that exposed the tank very nicely. But wouldn't want to have to do the tank replacement that way if it can be done from the rear over the radiator.

Wagonmaster2

[TEO]

In my case, working from both sides was an absolute necessity. One bolt and all the hoses must be taken off from the inside. In fact, I removed all but one bolt from the inside, that one bold being next to impossible from either side. I was finally able to get it out by breaking the old tank. Then I removed the baffle above the radiator and modified it a bit to facilitate its replacement. With the baffle out of the way, it's possible to replace three of the four bolts from outside. However difficult, getting under the bed is absolutely necessary.

Paul

[Wicked Whippets]

I'm on my third Freightliner plastic coolant tank in one month. It was replaced twice by Freightliner Los Angeles about three weeks ago and the second one started leaking and was replaced yesterday by Affinity RV in Prescott, AZ.

It seems Freightliner's coolant tank supplier produced a batch of bad tanks.

[Party Barge]

My tank started to leak at the seem after leaving the winni rally. Limped in to an oaisis in Rapid City, cost $250. plus labor for a new tank and the black cap on the neck leaked after two days. the cap would strip or pop over the plastic treads when you tried to tighten it. The dealer said he had seem two more new tanks that did the same thing in the last two weeks. So it does seem that the suppler is sending some defective product. Lucky for me he had two tanks in stock and the second on has held up for a couple of days now.

[wagonmaster2]

Boy, its bad enough when something that takes only 10-15 minutes to replace has to be redone several times due to a defective product, but when it can take an hour or so just to get to it, that's really a terrible situation we have to contend with. Somehow Freightliner should have to pay for replacement every one of these defective tanks regardless of age. I know they didn't produce them but they are aware of the problem and should go back to the original source. And are the ones who requested the tanks be made of plastic instead of a material that would last.

Wagonmaster2

[Party Barge]

About two weeks after having two tanks replaced I rolled into my Las Vegas Freightliner where I was told that they had replaced 50 or so tanks with a truck tank, which takes a little bracket alteration. The different tank seems to be more reliable.

RAB

[TEO]

The first thing I did was to contact Freightliner at their 24/7 phone line. With my chassis serial number, they were able to give me the exact part number for the replacement tank. The new tank was, indeed, an exact replacement and all the hoses and caps fit perfectly. They were also able to give me an assortment of Freightliner dealers in the are to order the tank. It was a bit of a pain getting the old one out, but I'm very happy with the result.

Paul

[Party Barge]

After going through 3 of the stock tanks and running in the desert envir. I lost confidence in the part and took the suggestions from my Las Vegas fl. and converted to the truck tank.