Community Forums

SC40QS · 09-18-2018, 02:50 AM

I've got an '07 Sportscoach Legend 40qs that sits on the Freightliner chassis and is powered by a Cummins ISL 400.

Problem is, the fan clutch has failed in the slow setting (almost freewheeling) after a $900. diagnosis at Portland Cummins to find out what I told them it was in the first place, and what, after a couple hours of diagnosis time, the computer could not get the fan to lock up, it took them the rest of the $150. per hour time to complete their diagnosis and tell me that they now, after 6 days with them, did not have time to fix it before I needed to leave on a trip...

OK all of that is another story!

What I'm trying to find out, has anyone with similar setup had to replace their fan clutch? it's got a full shroud around it and not a lot of access from behind... I'm told that you can even manually lock it with a couple bolts IF, you can get between the fan and radiator.

I'm figuring they will have to pull the rad to get it done... anyone want to give me hope that they can do it without pulling it??

TIA!

gatorcq · 09-18-2018, 05:26 AM

Call Freightliner 24/7 hotline. They will tell you which fuse to pull, or why don't you just disconnect the connector from the Horton Fan Clutch? Lay on engine and you will see the cable.

SC40QS · 09-18-2018, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gatorcq

Call Freightliner 24/7 hotline. They will tell you which fuse to pull, or why don't you just disconnect the connector from the Horton Fan Clutch? Lay on engine and you will see the cable.

I was led to believe by Cummins that the clutch fails in the off position because it takes power to make it lock... certainly would make sense for it to fail in the LOCKED position wouldn't it! I'm not at all impressed with their work. How it took an additional four days and 8 hundred dollars beyond what they initially told me... (three hours) not to mention, Cummins has a program "power team" where they offer that they can diagnose your problem in 15 minutes or they credit you $250. toward the actual diagnosis time... NOBODY MENTIONED THAT TO ME when I dropped it off, only that they had a 3 hr minimum diagnosis time.

I got bent over and they didn't use vasolene! IF the damn thing only needed to be unplugged to allow me to make my trip without constantly operating the heater and going 35 up hills in 3rd gear and still hitting a high of 231 deg for a minute or two...

They called me to day to ask when I was going to bring it back to finish the job... hell, they never STARTED the job!

I'll get to the bottom of this.. IF, as they say, it takes power to make it lock, then how in the world could it take an additional 800 bux worth of diagnosis after they discovered the first day that it was not locking. Couldn't they have just run a 12v cable to the damn thing and seen if it was in the wiring or the unit itself..

Smokin mad at Cummins and I will scream bloody murder to upper management as soon as I return, luckily, the outside temps dropped a bit today and I managed to stay within spec except one excursion at 221 deg for one minute.

RichKimball · 09-19-2018, 06:41 AM

Dale is correct in his post. I don't have an ISL 400 (6.7 ISX) but I was having issues with overheating. A call to Freightliner was in order as they are the ones who install the fan clutch (Not Cummins).
They told me to pull the fuse (I think a 5 or 10A) from the fuse block which should lock up the clutch. When I still had overheat issues...I was told it was the Horton clutch slipping and needed replacement. All of this advice was free.

I was able to replace the clutch myself in about 1 1/2 hours but I had cut part of my shroud out earlier to aid in cleaning the CAC and radiator and then covered it back up with a piece of sheet metal. Cost of the clutch alone was $650 from Freightliner.

Good luck with your issues. You got hosed down pretty good at Cummins sorry to say.

SC40QS · 09-20-2018, 03:38 AM

It does look like it (hosed) I tried to call Freightliner 25/7 line and nobody was available, call back if you leave message... that would work but I'm the only one in the family who stays up late, call would not be appreciated

LOL

I can see where the wire and connection are through the itty bitty hatch between the bed and closet, if I can't find the fuse location (not in any of the blocks located in the electric compt up front (outside) likely in the engine compt? Looking at manual to find other fuse locations, it didn't show fan anywhere in the illustrations in the chassis book for the coach And I didn't see it looking at the two boxes there.

I'll let you guys know how this turns out.. I'd thought about cutting the shroud! Glad to know that it works.. how big of a hole did you need to cut?

gatorcq · 09-20-2018, 06:45 AM

There is a module, which I will need to look at mine. The fuse is/may be located inside.

gatorcq · 09-20-2018, 07:28 AM

Page 3, this is what you are looking for. Take a look at the shape.
My Chassis 2007 with C.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6...3EzQUdKYXJGTUk

RichKimball · 09-21-2018, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SC40QS

It does look like it (hosed) I tried to call Freightliner 25/7 line and nobody was available, call back if you leave message... that would work but I'm the only one in the family who stays up late, call would not be appreciated

LOL

I can see where the wire and connection are through the itty bitty hatch between the bed and closet, if I can't find the fuse location (not in any of the blocks located in the electric compt up front (outside) likely in the engine compt? Looking at manual to find other fuse locations, it didn't show fan anywhere in the illustrations in the chassis book for the coach And I didn't see it looking at the two boxes there.

I'll let you guys know how this turns out.. I'd thought about cutting the shroud! Glad to know that it works.. how big of a hole did you need to cut?

The hole is about 7x10 I think. I cut a piece of heating duct and lined it with heavy duty stick on insulation to help seal it and then secured with sheet metal screws (pre-drilled).

The closet hatch is big enough to gain access to the fan bolts and harness. I put several old sheets/blankets down under the fan to catch falling screws (which of course will happen and I had dropped at least 2 fan bolts and a wrench before I thought of it. LOL)

The fuse box for ECM etc is, on many chassis, located in a rear most passenger basement compartment near the engine. Mine is different than the one commented on and also contains the fuses for the trailer tow plug lights too.

Fkrel · 09-23-2018, 09:33 AM

To manually lock the horton fan clutch there are 2 bolt holes in the steel part of the clutch its the part thats attached to the fan that compress to the clutch materal but is between the fan and the pulley the belts ride on, the bolt holes are 5/16x18 one inch or 1 1/4 long bolts install bolts turn the fan untill you find the bolt holes that the bolts thread into. you can get a major kit for the fan clutch and rebuild it they are not that difficult the kit has new clutch disc, bearings, all seals, and a friction plate and new studs and is cheaper than a new fan clutch. Once you have it off the engine. Also there are a few videos on utube that shows how to rebuild it. ( One trick if you do it your self the clutch materal ring is held on with several screws that use a torx bit before you try to remove the screws put the torx bit in the screw and tap on it with a small hammer it will loosen them up so you dont strip out the torx hole the kit comes with new screws.)

RichKimball · 09-23-2018, 10:09 AM

That may be the case for some models. None of that applies for mine however. Can’t manually lock nor rebuild.

SC40QS · 09-24-2018, 05:12 PM

Coach is now with Freightliner (McCoy, Portland) and since they have body shop in house, torn rear cap can now be fixed in same location..

Still wondering how to get back at Cumminis for their highway robbery! There is simply NO WAY that it can take more than a few minutes to discern if the fan clutch or the wiring it bad.. Pull the wire, clutch will lock if functional, period, 0 voltage is what triggers lock up, not the other way round. In either case, testing of voltage readings at computer side of connector likewise should either read voltage or not in proper setting from computer.. easy check!

I don't expect to see the coach for a couple weeks, at least Freightliner seems to know what they are doing. My expert advise is to NEVER NEVER NEVER take a coach to the engine builder for repair!

SC40QS · 05-25-2019, 04:01 PM

Coach is back, we did our first trip this week. They replaced the fan clutch and repaired a minor exhaust manifold leak. Performance is up, not getting the fan to speed when accelerating causes the boosted air to not be optimally cooled, thus loss in power.. same with the exhaust leak, minimal but noticeable effect in power.

I still swear it is a very bad thing to take your coach to Cummins, they do not like working on RV's and, at least the Cummins NW shop I went to are very bad at diagnosis!

Freightliner, truthfully, not much better. Last thing I had them do was change oil in both engine and gen.. they left the safety pin out for the gen slider and they left the exhaust pipe hanging from the gen, out of its hanger... nearly scraping on the ground.. .Also had them replace wiper blades and outer washer hoses... $350 later, washers are pitifully leaky and the drivers side only wipes half of the window.. Apparently, at least Mcoy freightliner here in Portland does not check their mechanics work.. Also, coach was left UNLOCKED several times while at their facility and I had a very nice leather coat stolen....

Just a little update... I'm looking for a true RV shop that only works on RV's and does not need to go to school every time they get a FL chassis to work on...

I really did try to work with Freightliner to give them second chance... they managed to complete the three strikes, you're out scenario... Paint is not really a superior match on the body repairs as well.. slightly lighter than the original, not immediately noticeable but noticeable.. for a very high end repair, it did not measure up..

oscarvan · 05-27-2019, 09:13 PM

Go to the FCCC website and find an Oasis dealer. These are allegedly committed to being nice to RV'ers.

SC40QS · 05-28-2019, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscarvan

Go to the FCCC website and find an Oasis dealer. These are allegedly committed to being nice to RV'ers.

Allegedly would be the correct definition, unfortunately. McCoy Freightliner in the PDX area is listed as the Oasis dealer here.. Now, they were VERY nice people to deal with, they just don't seem to know what to heck they are doing, or, at the very least, they just don't care!

For instance.. wiper blades for my unit are 36", they run about 35-40 bux a pop... not a pair. So they call me and tell me that they are $50. apiece and wanted to know if I still wanted them installed... was a bit shocked at the markup but, I did not want to go up the ladder to fix them myself since I'm currently taking some antibiotics that make me pretty dizzy. I also asked them to REPLACE the rubber hoses for the washer because I could tell they were brittle and breaking.

Fast forward to first trip with coach.. tested wiper blades, wiped only half the drivers side, lacked pressure at the far end of the stroke (these are from the top wipers) so... I got up on the ladder... ahem... both the nut that holds the wiper to the shaft and the shaft nut that holds the unit to the coach body were FINGER TIGHT! This allowed the wiper to rock on the shaft losing all of its spring tension at the bottom of the stroke. The looseness worsened the already present "stripping" of the splines on the shaft and wiper arm.. you really have to get that outer nut TIGHT or they will slip and strip the splines..

And, the mechanic merely "fixed" the hoses.. i.e. cut off the end and stuffed the brittle hose back on the fitting.. it's going to break again and I will have to go up the ladder and fix it.. $350.+ is what they charged me for the labor and the blades.. that's $250. to literally put on the blades and MESS up both the position of the wiper blade (set it one notch too low, wiper was trying to wipe air going past the side of the window) In my opinion, they ripped me off for at least $200. of that $350. that I paid them to FIX my wipers... I had to spend an hour up and down the ladder, yes, still dizzy and I'm the proud owner of a knee needing replacement so I had to suffer an evening of intense pain from going up and down the ladder... what's the point in going to a shop if they just do not do the job??

I've been a mechanic, fleet manager or was, for over 18 years, actually a mechanic since teen years much earlier but 18 as fleet manager with Freightliners and other 3 axle trucks 2 axle trucks and several company cars... It's just mind boggling how they can charge almost $200. per hour to give such crappy service!

So... maybe, maybe, someday, I'll find a decent honest SKILLED shop that actually gives a rip about the end result and not just a mechanic wanting to finish the job and go onto something easier to work on...