Red Fluid Leak - Help Needed

[GARYGIBSON]

Emergency help needed - 2011 Tiffin 32BR Breeze Maxxforce 7 (Navistar) engine -Leak of red fluid from driver side rear of vehicle. Looks to be seepage from a radiator type hose. I checked transmission and oil dipsticks and levels appear fine. Looking in the engine compartment there is a site glass on driver side in front of radiator. It has a thin red line in center of glass like a thermometer. It shows no fluid level or anything. What is that for and how do you read it? What is the red fluid? Can I drive the vehicle to a repair center. What action should I take? 817 300-0349

[wolfe10]

Gary,

Not familiar with our chassis, but red fluid means either ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) which can be used for hydraulics as well as for the transmission, OR coolant. By feeling it/smelling it you should be able to tell the difference between an oil and a coolant.

And the manual that came with your chassis should tell you what that reservoir/site glass is for.

Plan "B": Hopefully, someone with the same chassis will be log in. If not, call Tiffin in the morning.

Brett

[GARYGIBSON]

THANKS! I was able to get a better look (despite my "not fully healed" cracked ribs and partially collapsed lung). It does not appear to be oily so figured it must be radiator fluid. It uses Rotella Extended Life Fluid and it is leaking from a radiator like hose that is fitted inside another radiator hose. There is a black box on DS with the radiator fluid sticker and it has the sight glass I refer to. I stuck a paint stick into the box and got "0" fluid :eek: so this is probably the problem. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP AND THE HELP FROM PAUL DUBOIS OF FMCA (who telephoned and coached me). Who says it doesn't pay to belong to FMCA?

[chucknewman]

Gary,

You posted "There is a black box on DS with the radiator fluid sticker and it has the sight glass I refer to. I stuck a paint stick into the box and got "0"

Be careful. I've seen purple, yellow, green, and orange coolant, but never a red color like ATF. That said, there are a lot of things I haven't seen.

The important point is you really need to be sure what goes in that leaking hose. Assumptions can cost lot's of money and/or work. I know!

I have seen reservoirs with a sight glass. All of them were ATF for power steering system.

Trace the leaking hose to it's end. Does it have only a "hose clamp" on the end? Then it is either water or (possibly) transmission fluid. If the hose has a type of "screw on" connector, that will be your power steering hose -- which uses ATF (or equivalent) also.

Chuck

[wolfe10]

Chuck,

Just FYI, Caterpillar ELC coolant IS red. I am positive, since I drained mine today to replace a faulty block heater.

So, as you say, color is NOT a good determinant of fluid type/source.

Brett

[chucknewman]

Brett, I replaced my poly/plastic expansion tank for the radiator a couple weeks ago. When adding the lost gallon of ELC it looked burgundy color in the shade. But lifting the bed and looking through the expansion tank today with daylight behind it, the ELC did appear red.

With all the lines in a coach using ATF (red) you would think the ELC engineers would have come up with another color. Yellow, green, and orange are taken. Burgundy and violet are too close to red. How about blue?

Chuck

PS: Brett, since I was asking about that subject recently, how much ELC did you have to drain/refill to replace the heater? Can you minimize the coolant loss by quickly pulling one heat element and replacing it with the new one? Thanks.

[GARYGIBSON]

Just a follow-up to my "scared me" coolant leak.

Based on my current medical situation (cracked ribs & partial collapsed lung) I called my friend from church, who is a mechanic by trade, and asked him to come help me with pressure checking the cooling system.

I wanted to make sure I had tightened the compression sleeve hose clamps and stopped the one known leak. Especially in light of the fact that my selling dealer said they haven't been able to locate ROTELLA ELC 50/50 for several weeks ANYWHERE! GOOD THING I DID! I tried several phone calls to locate Rotella ELC Coolant and got answers of "we don't carry or we don't sell that brand of coolant or Rotella is only oil not coolant .

Then at the urging of my friend I called an International truck dealer who said "I have a warehouse full of it." The Parts guy was in disbelief of the "supply" difficulties. So I went and secured 8 gallons because I didn't know how much had actually leaked out.

The first thing I discovered was that the "cheap" radiator cap that Tiffin installed was bent and deformed. It was EXTREMELY difficult to remove. I replaced it with a new one. Works great now like it should. So we started the pressure test and pumped it up to 16 lbs. HOLY COW! NOW I HAD 5 ADDITIONAL LEAKS!!! Anyway, a good thing we checked. My friend was able to crawl underneath, locate and tightened all the additional hose clamps. The alarming thing was that every hose clamp was NOT even tightened. A couple of the clamps were barely even threaded into the worm gear of the clamp!!! How the other hoses hadn't started to leak yet is beyond me.

After he tightened them all, we re-tested the system and NO LEAKS. Ok, so we started to add coolant. IT ONLY TOOK 1 GALLON and filled the sight glass to 3/4 of the way between LOW and MAX. Started the engine to make sure of no air locks. But that's ok. Guess I'll save the additional Rotella Coolant for a future date.

Makes me wonder if I should report this to Tiffin or would they even care? WHAT DO YOU THINK? I did get a call this afternoon from my selling dealer who told me that Tiffin agreed to sell them a case (6 gallons) at $5.89 per gallon higher than what I paid for it. Plus they are having to pay express freight! Can you say "Selling dealer is kinda dumb!" I called the Parts Dept Mgr of the selling dealer and gave them the Shell distributor's name in Houston as well as the info on where I bought it locally.

SO I AM READY FOR MY CHAPTER'S DEC RALLY! THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE !

[GARYGIBSON]

Don't know what happened to my "THANK YOU" posting from yesterday but I'll try it again. It is humbling to think that you, Wolfe10, chucknewman and Paul Dubois, yes, Paul Dubois the National Vice-President for the Northeast Region of FMCA, wrote or called me personally to help out with my dilemma.

Currently I am healing from cracked ribs and partially collapsed lung so I can't get up or down very well. I noticed a pool of red fluid under the rear of my new 2011 Tiffin Allegro Breeze MH. I wasn't sure what to do or what it was since this is my 1st diesel pusher.

These guys came to my rescue with hints, suggestions, and phone calls. CAN ANYONE SAY THAT BELONGING TO FMCA DOESN'T COME WITH BENEFITS BEYOND IMAGINATION?

Who am I??? No one. Just a loyal member of FMCA from now to eternity....

Thanks again.

[wolfe10]

Gary,

The vast majority of hose clamps/the whole cooling system is installed by your chassis maker. So, if it is Powerglide, indeed give Tiffin a heads up. If not, contact Freightliner, Spartan, etc.

And, be happy they used an ELC. The OAT-based coolants are a lot less work (no checking and adding SCA as with regular diesel coolant) and more expensive than standard coolant-- kudos to them.

I assume you added the pre-dilute coolant not concentrate???

[rossboyer]

These guys came to my rescue with hints, suggestions, and phone calls. CAN ANYONE SAY THAT BELONGING TO FMCA DOESN'T COME WITH BENEFITS BEYOND IMAGINATION?

Who am I??? No one. Just a loyal member of FMCA from now to eternity....

You have discovered one of the greatest benefits of being an FMCA member. Another member has had the same experience that is causing you trouble and is willing to help another member.

[GARYGIBSON]

Yes. Rotella ELC 50-50.

[GARYGIBSON]

You are absolutely "spot on", MRBOYER. Spot on!

[squeakkos]

sounds like you will tell Bob Tiffin. He is a great guy and he would like to know. I have a Tiffin Zephyr and they do make a great MH.