Lost all antifreeze !

[Mike Lutz]

'02 Horizon, no problems. Conditions normal, got a warning light! "Low Water" with buzzer. Went under coach to look for leak ! Lost ALL antifreeze. The plastic ties that hold the antifreeze lines came loose. The antifreeze line that runs to the water jacket for the "motor aid" rubbed on the drive shaft. The source of the problem was a .04 plastic tie ! Had to replace the antifreeze line and of course the antifreeze. I did it myself and it cost $100.00. Wish now I would have (inspected) looked under there at the start of the season. 2 minutes would have saved a lot of work and a close call to damaging the engine due to overheating. Our investment is worth it ! I have had the full inspection at Freightliner 3 times and it never showed up. Now I know what to look for. Will not allow this to happen again !

[Mike Lutz]

'02 Horizon, no problems. Conditions normal, got a warning light! "Low Water" with buzzer. Went under coach to look for leak ! Lost ALL antifreeze. The plastic ties that hold the antifreeze lines came loose. The antifreeze line that runs to the water jacket for the "motor aid" rubbed on the drive shaft. The source of the problem was a .04 plastic tie ! Had to replace the antifreeze line and of course the antifreeze. I did it myself and it cost $100.00. Wish now I would have (inspected) looked under there at the start of the season. 2 minutes would have saved a lot of work and a close call to damaging the engine due to overheating. Our investment is worth it ! I have had the full inspection at Freightliner 3 times and it never showed up. Now I know what to look for. Will not allow this to happen again !

[troth]

Good tip Mike! It doesn't take that long to look around an engine and see which things "could be a problem" if the plastic zip ties broke.... I did the same on my 8.1 gasser in a few places. Remember to use zip ties that are UV resistant (generally not the white colored ones).