Engine Temperature Management

[ButchT]

RE: '14 Cornerstone

As I'm fairly new to this coach, I'm curious to know, before I leave on a trip through the Sierras, what others have to say about managing their engine temps on long climbs. On my last coach ('07 American Eagle), I found the Cat 400 HP seemed to stay the coolest in a climb in 4th gear and 1800 RPM's. The temp would still climb to approximately 210 degrees but rarely higher.

What should I expect in the CS?

[Ann n Gene]

Cornerstone will hardly notice the climbs. Will stay cool, temp will NOT be a problem, just keep the hammer down and climb to the top in style. We have pulled the longest steepest grades pulling a Ford F-150 or Lincoln MKT and never got hot.

[Matt D]

Butch, we are spending a lot of time in the Rockies this year. With our new 450 HP setup we will likely go about the same speed uphill due to our increased weight. Downhill will be a breeze with the engine brake.

From what I've read from Cruzer and others, the CS will likely take grades in stride, easily keeping up with most typical speeds. I've not read or heard of anyone with 600 HP coaches running elevated temps that were noticeable or a concern.

Downhill grades should be the easiest you've experienced, with the significant engine braking available.

I never felt the need to manually shift our old ISC 380, will not on our 450, and can't imagine doing so on a 600 HP coach. D for Drive it like you stole it.

One thing to note, the newer engines are designed to run at a much warmer temperature overall than your C-7 was. Don't be alarmed to see it happily churning along at 200 degrees.

-Matt

[brobox]

One thing I never see posted is cleaning the outside of the radiator to help keep the engine running cool. I use Awesome from the $ store, beats Simple Green or the others by a mile. Spray both sides down, let sit a couple of minutes then hose the radiator out, careful with high pressure nozzle not to bend the fins. It is amazing how much dirt come out. Most of us Classics have new radiators, so they're not due yet.

[hawgguy]

Mine will routinely climb up to 210 then that triggers something and it rapidly goes down to 192 and starts building again.

[xtechgeek]

I cross the Rockies and the Eisenhower tunnel 4 to 6 times per year in my coach. The only time I've been above 220 F was in late June towing my 6500 lb van trying to keep 55 MPH up the mountain from Denver to the tunnel. I backed off the throttle to 50 MPH and was passing semis with no problem.

I didn't buy the coach for the power, but have really come to appreciate the 600 HP engine!

[ButchT]

Thanks everyone for your input. I guess I'm being overly concerned by a rising temp gauge on the climb. Maybe due to the AH hose blowing off on my last trip.

[Mwoodofd]

Originally Posted by brobox

One thing I never see posted is cleaning the outside of the radiator to help keep the engine running cool. I use Awesome from the $ store, beats Simple Green or the others by a mile. Spray both sides down, let sit a couple of minutes then hose the radiator out, careful with high pressure nozzle not to bend the fins. It is amazing how much dirt come out. Most of us Classics have new radiators, so they're not due yet.

When I was at Spartan last fall, they said my radiator needed cleaned on the outside. (it looked normal to me because I wash the coach myself and inspect the radiator for leaks often). I authorized them to clean it (like $35), and I can see where some of the cleaning took off some of the black paint. I did not notice a change in operating temps, but have not been in the mountains since.

[coachmanrvr]

We've been all over towing an Isuzu Trooper and motorcycle in a 28ft enclosed trailer and never had any issues with heat. (near 10K lbs) Towed the trailer and Trooper over near Franklin, NC in 9% grades and never got too hot.

The side mounted radiator does its job well...