Radiator leaking need some advise

[Craneboy302]

We have a 2015 Entegra Spire & we had less the 1K on it when the first one was leaking. Luckily I found early & drove 2hrs back to Spokane Wa. By morning the radiator was empty. Next I was in Canada above NY & found another leak. I should have gone back into US because it took 10 days to get one to the RV shop. They found out it was put in wrong in WA. They weren’t going pay for our stay in a park but after a strong letter they did pay.
Have over 35K on it & keeping my finger crossed.

[philnail]

So far so good Arrived today at Quality Car & Truck Repair in Big Rapids, Mi. They have replaced 4 of these radiators and after speaking to the mechanic it sounds like he knows what he is doing. He will lift the coach and slide the old radiator out then slide the new one in. He says he can do them in 8 hours and he will be done tomorrow.

They have 30 amp power here out back and so far they seem like a great shop. They are a Spartan authorized shop. He suggested taking the old radiator with me and having it rebuilt as a backup.

[ATTACH]246770

[lowejug]

Originally Posted by philnail

So far so good Arrived today at Quality Car & Truck Repair in Big Rapids, Mi. They have replaced 4 of these radiators and after speaking to the mechanic it sounds like he knows what he is doing. He will lift the coach and slide the old radiator out then slide the new one in. He says he can do them in 8 hours and he will be done tomorrow.

They have 30 amp power here out back and so far they seem like a great shop. They are a Spartan authorized shop. He suggested taking the old radiator with me and having it rebuilt as a backup.

[ATTACH]246770

So just over $2,500 bucks gets this issue completely taken care of...

That’s a great price... you chose well

[Gary.Jones]

I watched my radiator installer for radiator #2 and they had the old one out and the new one in in ~ 5 hours. Then it took them a while to get the right coolant into the system. if it is factory, warranty, Spartan pays shops 8 - 10 hours to do the job, but my guys were drinking coffee and thinking about what they were going to do after they went home after 5 to 6 hours. Those guys were good. Dropped radiator out the bottom. Only replaced the radiator, not the charge air cooler which came with the package. Maybe the 8 - 10 hours for to replace both.

Gary

[EVsCoach]

Originally Posted by philnail

So far so good Arrived today at Quality Car & Truck Repair in Big Rapids, Mi. They have replaced 4 of these radiators and after speaking to the mechanic it sounds like he knows what he is doing. He will lift the coach and slide the old radiator out then slide the new one in. He says he can do them in 8 hours and he will be done tomorrow.

They have 30 amp power here out back and so far they seem like a great shop. They are a Spartan authorized shop. He suggested taking the old radiator with me and having it rebuilt as a backup.

[ATTACH]246770

Make sure they check the coolant reservoir for rust in the neck....also a known issue Spartan will not cover, especially after two inspections, two years apart at their facility.

[DeeGee]

I could swear that I saw several someones state that it was covered. I hope so - I checked my 2018 Sunday and the neck is incredibly corroded.

[Victory Blue]

Originally Posted by DeeGee

I could swear that I saw several someones state that it was covered. I hope so - I checked my 2018 Sunday and the neck is incredibly corroded.

When Spartan replaced our radiator in May 2018, they also replaced the tank because of corrosion in the filler neck. Both were covered under warranty.

[EVsCoach]

Originally Posted by DeeGee

I could swear that I saw several someones state that it was covered. I hope so - I checked my 2018 Sunday and the neck is incredibly corroded.

Get ahold of Spartan ASAP as Hunter Smith said ours wouldn’t be covered even after I questioned the fact that it was at their academy for their factory inspection, twice, in 16 and most recently 08-18. I believe they knew of this issue then and chose to take the position of ‘don’t ask-don’t tell. He said that was a component that they just don’t check. Make sure you contact them as I’m sure he said they were only covering the 19’s. But your 18’s should be covered under the two year warranty. Just don’t delay. Oh and the reservoir is just over $740 with the sensor another $75 or so. I didn’t ask if it came with a radiator cap[emoji23]!

[mikena]

Why would you not take it to a radiator shop?

[raceday]

Phil like many I had the leak 2 months out of warranty, it appears To leak when engine cools down. Like some said I would go keep a eye on it and have some extra coolant or water. Good Luck.

[shootist]

If you stuff the leaking area full of bondo , dry the radiator of course, and are sure to get it pressed through the fins well passed the leaks it is more or less a permanent fix. I have bondoed almost half a radiator that was fan damaged in the accident, for a flat broke customer. Can't tell you how many years he drove it that way , and no overheating issues either, around town driving of coarse. Just an old school patch, like a chunk of bar soap to check a gasoline leak. I have no idea if it works as well on ethanol. Bondo over it to keep the outside water off it.

[jillmerriman]

We just had the same problem. We just kept putting 1/2 gallon in a day. When we got home my husband took it out and we found a radiator shop in Tacoma. He had heard of this problem with the Integras. We got a brass and copper radiator for. $3400 and going to put it back together this week. Wish us luck it is a beast.

[dieseldug]

My coolant leak story is a little different but illustrative of some of the issues. My Tiffin Allegro bus started leaking coolant when the rv was two years old. I left it at Red Bay as I had a list of other items. After a month or so Tiffin said they needed a certified cummins man to fix it. The leak was on the engine not the radiator. On Tiffin Powerglide chassis the radiator is a Tiffin install. Since the engine was on warranty, only technicians certified on that model cummins engine are allowed to work on it. Red Bay claimed a tech was coming and finally a week before Christmas they said it was ready. What they meant was that they had filled the coolant tank. By the time I got to Charleston the coolant was below the glass. Under Tiffin warranty they adamantly require Rotella coolant. So for the next 2200 miles before I got back to Fort Worth when I stopped for fuel at Loves or Pilots I would buy Rotella at $15/gal and get the coolant back on the glass every day. When I got home, I put my jeep in the garage and it was just drooling coolant. I didn't want to be a polluter but if you leave your coach at the place that built it and they can't fix the leak, who can? I took the coach to Cummins in Ft Worth who had it fixed the next day. Hose clamp on the compressor. I asked them about Rotella and they told me that Cummins is a Valvoline company. What I learned in all this is that the coach has 56 gallon capacity for coolant, that using a gallon per 100 miles was not hurting anything(other than the environment) as long as I kept replenishing. And that other than the cost, its almost better to be off warranty for repairs. My advice to the OP is drive that thing as far as you want, just keep topping off the coolant.

[philnail]

We wish you luck with the new radiator