Engine Running Hot

[mitchtazz]

My CM871 has been running hot for a few months. It stays at a constant 200* and the slightest load causes it to climb whichave causes the fan to engage. So for the most part I've been running down the road with my engine fan going none stop.

So yesterday the wife helped me pull most of the front off so I could pressure washer it. Hopefully it helps.

If not, I'll just grab a thermostat from Peterbilt while I'm up there having them check my calibration.

[Wiseman]

Your condenser need attention.
Be very careful with the pressure washer not to bend the fins .

[Hammerhead]

Nicely done Mitch!!!

[mitchtazz]

(06-20-2016 )Wiseman Wrote:  Your condenser need attention.
Be very careful with the pressure washer not to bend the Finns .

Thats actually the radiator, the condenser is on top of the engine. The condenser and CAC were relative clean. The radiator was just horrible. I can only guess that when I get washes at the Beacon, they blow all of the dirt and trash through the condenserr, CAC and it ends up on the radiator.

We got it all apart and cleaned, but it still got hot going to Peterbilt, so I picked up the thermostats. I'm pretty sure the coolant one was stuck close cause i had to use a screwdriver to get it out. the top would move but that cup portion wouldn't. It ended up popping free. When I put the new one in I saw how the cup portion was supposed to slide up and down within the thermostat housing, so once dispatch puts a load on me, i'll know for sure.

[biscuits and gravy]

Good job.

Your lucky you have a wife who will help with the hands on maintenance. The only thing my wife will help with is complaining or typing up invoices to send to brokers for payment needed.

By the way, nice looking k9 you have guarding the tractor and trailer.

[mitchtazz]

(06-22-2016 )biscuits and gravy Wrote:  Good job.

Your lucky you have a wife who will help with the hands on maintenance. The only thing my wife will help with is complaining or typing up invoices to send to brokers for payment needed.

By the way, nice looking k9 you have guarding the tractor and trailer.

When I first got out of the military and bought a truck from a repo lot and started hauling brokered flatbed freight, I asked her to help me book loads and she whined and complained something serious. So I never bothered her about helping me with the truck anymore..

She's more interested in the disassembly of things cause sometimes I let her break things and she enjoys being destructive.

My Beau? Yeah, I bought him off a girl on craigs list for $100 three years ago. He use to ride but then he got too big to maneuver inside the truck, so I started leaving him home.

Well it was definitely the thermostat, truck ran pretty much all day and just hovered around 180* and 190*. The only time it made it above 200* was when i was taking off in traffic while pulling a load up a grade.

Now that the heat issue is taken care of, I shall shift my focus over to this turbo actuator. It throws codes when i'm idling, and it's messing up my regens. So once the truck cools down (I just parked at a Loves) i'ma see if i can re calibrate it. Hopefully it fixes it.

[Rig Wrench]

I do most of our trucks once a year. Some people say to use compressed air. Idk. I use a hot water pressure washer with the water stream goin straight on the fins. Keeps em from bending.. Good call on the t-sat

[mitchtazz]

(06-22-2016 )Rig Wrench Wrote:  I do most of our trucks once a year. Some people say to use compressed air. Idk. I use a hot water pressure washer with the water stream goin straight on the fins. Keeps em from bending.. Good call on the t-sat

wow, and i thought mine was bad.

Yeah, i think i'm gonna have to come up with some type of maintenance schedule for stuff like cleaning the radiator. There's other things, but I just never can remember them until they start causing me problems. Like buffing my head lights. I swore i buffed them last year, but they're yellow again.

[Hammerhead]

You inspired me Mitch, so I decided to clean mine really good. I found some streaking indicating small leaks in the rad, so out she come and off to the rad shop for pressure testing and beefing up...

I clean my cooling system every spring. I have used Simple Green, Spray 9, and Zep Purple degreaser. I do it cold, I have a thin sheet of plastic I slide between the condenser and CAC, soak it down with one of the above (I found the Zep best) and use a garden hose with one of those brass spray nozzles set on high pressure so I don't damage any of the fins. I usually do each component twice, but will do a third run through if it's still coming out dirty on 2. After the condenser is done, I unbolt it and move it out of the way on the flexible hoses so I don't have to drain and recharge the system as I don't have that equipment. Then I slide the plastic sheet between the CAC and the rad and repeat the process. When the CAC is clean, I pull and do a leak test on it and then repeat the cleaning process with my rad. I use the sheet so that I don't push the crap from one piece to the next, then when I do the initial soak of each component with cleaning agent, it gets the full concentration. After four years I pull the rad and have it pressure tested and gone through by the rad shop. I know this sounds extreme, but running 150-200,000 loaded, I need all the cooling I can get. I'm going to roof mount the condenser "Old Skool" on the next truck to remove some CAC/rad restriction.