Community Forums

MurphyMan · 11-03-2022, 03:48 PM

We've owned our 2006 Winnebago Outlook for 6 years now and it has 90,000 miles on it. It had 50,000 miles when we bought it. I can find no record of engine antifreeze change, so I put that on my to-do list. I'm wondering if I should change out the water pump at the same time. Anybody have a clue how long they will last? My reasoning is; to change the water pump you have to drain the antifreeze, so as long as I've gotten that far with the process maybe I should just put in a new pump at the same time.

Any thoughts on that one? Thanks.

donr103 · 11-03-2022, 04:27 PM

What about the hoses, thermostat, and fan clutch.. if it was me.. I would put hi performance water pump and heavy duty fan clutch.. along with lowest thermostat you are comfortable with.. and make sure radiator is clean and check transmission cooler.. oh I forgot belt.. oh and when was diff and transmission oil changed ?
Good luck and keep us posted

MurphyMan · 11-03-2022, 04:40 PM

The transmission and rear end fluids are well in date and I changed the serpentine belt last year.

I didn't think of the fan clutch.

kwftlaud · 11-10-2022, 07:54 AM

when i had to change out my fluid out in sept I had the same question. Most everyone I talked to said leave the water pump alone as they don't often fail just change the fluid.
I had to change mine because I was going to leave it in Ohio and I needed to get a higher concentration of antifreeze to protect it down to neg 20 degrees.
Well, getting the coolant out is not easy. I had to drain it, then run it, and drain it again. It took a while.
Then, getting it all back in was not easy either. I had to fill it up, run it up to temp, let it cool off,, repeat. After about 4 rounds I got heat to come out of the heater, so I finally got enough inside the system.
I had to wait an hour or so between fills in order for the system to suck the coolant back in.
One thing you want to do is use full strength antifreeze. Not 50 50 . I have
heat assist that heats my coach hot water, so, there is a lot of coolant left over in the system, so its nearly impossible to get all the old coolant out. Especially if you live in a cold winter climate, you want to try and get all of the old coolant out so you can get enough new antifreeze back into it.
I could not find any way to get the fluid out. Maybe there is an easier way, but I could not find it.

twinboat · 11-10-2022, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwftlaud

One thing you want to do is use full strength antifreeze. Not 50 50 . .

Full strength antifreeze gels up, you should never use it full strength.

Some antifreeze is pre mixed to 50/50, that needs to be used full strenght. Read the container.

twinboat · 11-10-2022, 08:17 AM

Sure you need to drain the coolant to replace the water pump but then you just catch the coolant.

There is a lot more work replacing the water pump then there is changing the coolant, work not needed until the pump fails.

theoldwizard · 11-10-2022, 09:33 AM

The water pump and hoses were 24 years old when I sold my E150.

IF IT IS NOT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT !

I use Prestone Cooling System Cleaner (2 bottles because my E150 had a rear heater). I also double rinse. Because it is impossible to get all of the coolant/water out of the system, I use 100% coolant. Drive for 30 minutes and check the strength. If over 50%, remove (and save) some and add water.

theoldwizard · 11-11-2022, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

Full strength antifreeze gels up, you should never use it full strength.

The point of using 100% is there is still a large amount of water in the system after flushing and rinsing and rinsing ...

If you use 50%, you'll never get 50% in the entire system. Sure with 100%, plus the water that is leftover, you will likely exceed 50%. Remove a couple of quarts and add water.

SergioP · 11-11-2022, 09:53 AM

Solves the antifreeze strength question

ga traveler · 11-13-2022, 05:13 PM

My motorhome is a 1998 pace arrow. In 2020 I replaced all hoses and the water pump and the fan clutch. Also the thermostat.The coach was 22 years old and had 80,000 miles. Rubber gets brittle with age. That includes the seals in the water pump.
Yours is 16 years old. I would consider doing it now, but I would certainly do it by 20 years.
When I was a service manager at a large RV dealership, I advised my customers to do this at 15 to 20 years.

Randalpho · 11-15-2022, 10:14 AM

Look up the cooling system capacity and after flushing the cooling system with water, add half that amount with 100% anti-freeze. The rest can then be topped off with water to give you a 50/50 mixture.