Radiator Hose Replacement

[chasfm11]

I'm getting ready to start this job. I have pictures from JWalker from his performing of a similar task recently. Since our chassis is the same but our manufacturers are different, I thought that I would start with the coolant plumbing diagram in PartsPro on Access Freightliner diagram. This is a mistake.

The diagram is both inaccurate and incomplete. For example, there is a surge tank (in addition to the recovery tank) in the radiator system and hoses to the surge tank are not show. The diagram does show a petcock and hose from it but that hose connects to the block side of the exhaust manifold. The coolant recovery tank plumbing is also shown incorrectly. Keep in mind that I'm supposed to be looking a an application showing the specifics for my chassis. In fact, the diagrams are generic and I would bet that most XC/XCS chassis diagrams are the same as mine.

I contacted Freightliner Custom Chassis technical support and they FAXed me a Bill of Materials showing the missing hoses. This was important to me because I want to buy all of the parts in advance, not by taking parts off and then running around, trying to match them up physically from local suppliers. With the BOM, I have the IDs of the hose that I need to buy locally along with the estimated quantity. As a result, I should be able to save a lot of time and effort, not to mention a potential local out of stock situation at a critical time in my task.

Anyone who wonders while the Freightliner dealers spend so long and charge so much money for jobs like radiator hose replacements needs to go through this personally at least once. While some dealers have some "guilt" in not having trained RV techs like their Oasis status says they are supposed to, situations like this prove that Freighliner has a little piece of that guilt, too.

[chasfm11]

I'm getting ready to start this job. I have pictures from JWalker from his performing of a similar task recently. Since our chassis is the same but our manufacturers are different, I thought that I would start with the coolant plumbing diagram in PartsPro on Access Freightliner diagram. This is a mistake.

The diagram is both inaccurate and incomplete. For example, there is a surge tank (in addition to the recovery tank) in the radiator system and hoses to the surge tank are not show. The diagram does show a petcock and hose from it but that hose connects to the block side of the exhaust manifold. The coolant recovery tank plumbing is also shown incorrectly. Keep in mind that I'm supposed to be looking a an application showing the specifics for my chassis. In fact, the diagrams are generic and I would bet that most XC/XCS chassis diagrams are the same as mine.

I contacted Freightliner Custom Chassis technical support and they FAXed me a Bill of Materials showing the missing hoses. This was important to me because I want to buy all of the parts in advance, not by taking parts off and then running around, trying to match them up physically from local suppliers. With the BOM, I have the IDs of the hose that I need to buy locally along with the estimated quantity. As a result, I should be able to save a lot of time and effort, not to mention a potential local out of stock situation at a critical time in my task.

Anyone who wonders while the Freightliner dealers spend so long and charge so much money for jobs like radiator hose replacements needs to go through this personally at least once. While some dealers have some "guilt" in not having trained RV techs like their Oasis status says they are supposed to, situations like this prove that Freighliner has a little piece of that guilt, too.