For those who had to replace a radiator on a Spartan chassis, what mileage?

[Jpcoleman]

Originally Posted by brobox

Mine did not fail...I have not seen as many new radiators posted with failures, but it has happened with new model replacements.. One I know of was a bad install, the fan hit the radiator.

Jpcoleman what did Spartan say about that radiator? It might help the next person shopping for a used Entegra about checking the history.

Well, I picked the coach up today. Spartan said no action on the radiator, so.... The coach has a tick over 10k miles and drove from Hotlanta to MS today no problems. I guess we will see. I do think I will call and see if I can get a pressure check, but with no problems unless it blows it out then probably will be a normal test.

The only other issue is steering. We drove a 2019 Anthem and of course it was perfect. The coach we bought, 2016 Anthem has about 15 to 20 degrees rotation “slack” for lack of better word in which the steering wheel turns with no outside wheel motion. I hope my steering box is not dying. The ball joint recall and alignment were done before pickup. It tracks well, certainly better drive than the gasser I traded, but still a bit of a handful.

[brobox]

Just keep an eye on the sight glass and you can tell if you are loosing coolant without a pressure test.

As for the steering play, changing my shock to Koni's solved that problem for me. Lots of post regarding changing to Koni shocks. The 19's have larger 60mm shocks where the 16's only had 48mm and in my opinion under shocked. Being a new coach to you, I have it greased properly and a front end alignment if having steering problem. http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/koni...ng-297539.html
Welcome to Entegra ownership.

[rbr]

Originally Posted by Jpcoleman

...
The only other issue is steering. We drove a 2019 Anthem and of course it was perfect. The coach we bought, 2016 Anthem has about 15 to 20 degrees rotation “slack” for lack of better word in which the steering wheel turns with no outside wheel motion. I hope my steering box is not dying. The ball joint recall and alignment were done before pickup. It tracks well, certainly better drive than the gasser I traded, but still a bit of a handful.

I've had that issue since new on our '15 Anthem (built late in the model year). Spartan looked at it while at the Academy in August '15 and basically said "normal". I had a good coach suspension shop look at it the next summer and they said some slack was normal in IFS coach suspensions but mine was worse than normal - found a castle nut that was loose, but the pin was still in it - making us think it was loose from the factory! Tightening that up and installing Koni shocks helped but still not good.

Fast forward to Sept. '18. Back at Spartan for annual service and asked them to look at this issue again. Tech came back and said he found several joints loose! Since I was there in '15 they've found that some of the built-up suspensions they received from Reyco-Granning were assembled by R-G with spindles painted before assembly! The paint disintegrates over time allowing the originally properly set joint to loosen up! This explains the loose castle nut with pin in it we found in '16. The tech took all of those suspect joints apart and cleaned the paint out of them and reassembled. I rode along while he test drove after his repair and he went down a country road for 30-45 seconds with his hands off the wheel - prior to repair I would have gone back and forth across center 10-15 times in that same period!

I have about 500-miles on the coach since this repair and so far it's what I think the steering should have been all along. Happy Camper.

There are certainly other possible causes of this issue, but I've not seen this one described before, so fwiw...

[jrugarber]

Chuck,

Your mention of the sight glass indication caught my eye...
Should the sight glass be completely full with coolant when the engine is cold? Doing some maintenance last week I noticed that my coolant eye was clear, there are no leaks or moisture in the area of the lower corners of the radiator nor any leaking/dripping underneath the engine or radiator area, and after driving it to the storage facility (45 minutes away) the sight glass showed full w/reddish looking coolant fluid. I also just recently (1 month ago) had the fuel filters changed, they had been clogged, and took a 1,500 mile trip and for the life of me can't remember if the exhaust area at the tailpipe had been your standard black/dark grey (Pre-Trip) or should be the color I saw, which is light grey/white (currently). I know exhaust color can sometimes be indicative of possible coolant/engine issues, just wondering if it could be coincidental?
In re-reading my post before sending, I think I know the answer.... nothing with these vehicles is ever coincidental!!!
I will call Spartan tomorrow and check on any radiator replacement completed in the past.
I will keep everyone posted on the out come

[brobox]

I keep the sight glass with coolant right in the center. If it does loose fluid, at least I know the starting point when I add coolant again. If it is filled covering the site glass there is no way to know where it was full to, then it's simple a guess how much fluid was lost.
Having coolant show in the sight glass after warming up is a good sign, if there is a leak, it is a small one. Mine was so small, it was not showing. It would evaporate while the engine was hot and could not be seen, but I would take about a cup of colorant in 500 miles. The leak did not show until it was pressure tested when the engine was cold. But from the level on the sight glass, I was loosing fluid. A trip to CA and back to FL used less than a gallon of coolant.
As to the Exhaust color, the new DEF engine run much cleaner and no longer have the black diesel soot on the exhaust tip, which is nice. Also the radiator leaks are all external with noting leaking into the engine. The leaks are usually in the left rear corner of the radiator.

[lowejug]

the eye on my coolant overflow tank is a mystery to me.. I can't figure it out..
I need to add antifreeze sometimes.. I would say a half gallon once a month.. I don't know where its going..
I had the radiator replacement done and it still does this.. never anything on the ground.. I did just take it to my local shop for its yearly service and after the inspection I was told they found a fitting on the motor leaking coolant..
of course I am having them fix it.. so maybe thats the issue.. we will see...

[W0GEN]

Originally Posted by lowejug

the eye on my coolant overflow tank is a mystery to me.. I can't figure it out..
I need to add antifreeze sometimes.. I would say a half gallon once a month.. I don't know where its going..
I had the radiator replacement done and it still does this.. never anything on the ground.. I did just take it to my local shop for its yearly service and after the inspection I was told they found a fitting on the motor leaking coolant..
of course I am having them fix it.. so maybe thats the issue.. we will see...

Using a pressure test should ID all leaks. I had one with my business, and let it go when I sold it... About ready to purchase another one as I have to have every tool before I die!
But seriously, pressure test is the best way to find leaks on your system...

[jrugarber]

Called Spartan this morning, ~19,000 miles and the radiator has NOT been replaced. You can bet your breakfast buns I'll be keeping a close eye going forward and start my documentation folder! We plan on making a trip to Spartan next year for our check-up (Summer) hopefully everything will remain as is until then.

Thanx for the response's

John & Maria

[SAS30]

Originally Posted by Jpcoleman

My wife and I are considering a 2016 Anthem with 10,000 miles on the odometer. At what mileage did most owners experience the radiator failure that I’ve read about? The coach is just off warranty and I want to make sure enough mileage has accrued that this problem will show up.

Our 2014 first leaked at 12k miles. If you have one of the defective radiators, the leak usually first shows up as a seepage on a cool morning. Mine showed up at the first 40 degree morning of the fall. It’s an issue with the bonding they used between the radiator tanks and cooling flues. Mine did not leak after bringing the engine and cooling system to normal operating temperature.
Good luck with your new coach. We love our Anthem. You can’t beat the drive or ride(after new Koni shocks).

[Craneboy302]

We have a 2015 Aspire 42deq & lost our first one at less then 2K miles. Was south of Spokane & stopped for a sandwich. Checking the car trailer saw a small drip on the road. Called Spartan & he said go back to Cummins in Spokane & they would send a “New Improved” unit. We did that & unloaded the car & drove home (8hrs) & they called after about 10days that it was ready. Then while in Eastern Canada I found a leak on the second one. Went to a RV shop in Montreal. Took 10 days but Spartan picked up the tab on that one too. They weren’t going to pay for our stay there because the second was put in wrong & wore a hole in it. I wrote them a strong letter & they did pay for our stay. Over 30K now & now trouble yet.

[Jpcoleman]

All of this is very good to know. Our coach has about 11,000 miles on it and approximately one year left on the warranty for Spartan. We’re hopefully going to drive it a pretty good bit over the cooler months and hopefully if the radiator is going to grenade, will know it before the warranty expires.

[757driver]

Our original radiator went at almost the 3 year mark and 22454 miles.

[lowejug]

Originally Posted by Jpcoleman

All of this is very good to know. Our coach has about 11,000 miles on it and approximately one year left on the warranty for Spartan. We’re hopefully going to drive it a pretty good bit over the cooler months and hopefully if the radiator is going to grenade, will know it before the warranty expires.

that was my hope too...I was barely out of my warranty and fortunately on year 3 just out of my warranty
I got the dreaded drip...

I would start calling spartan now if I were you and start pleading your case... lay dow a trail of concern... through out my warranty I disclosed I felt my radiator was leaking and if it wasn't for that documentation
I would not of got help...

[Lault]

We have 30,000 on our 16 with no issue, and 7 months on spartan warranty, it better go to hell soon!!