[Archived]

Harry,

First, is it water or coolant? Second, nobody but you is in a better position to see the origin of the leak because nobody but you has the opportunity to get your head in the engine area and with a flashlight and some paper towels poke around and dry things off and see if moisture appears somewhere.

You don’t say how long your bus sat over the spot where the liquid is and it might not even be from your coach. But if it is from your coach it is my expert opinion it is coming from a leak in one of your water or coolant hoses, fittings, radiator, surge tank or Webasto system.

[Tim]

Hi Jon,

Today was the first time I noticed it and I don’t think it was there before. I say that because I plug and unplug the battery charger with each run (red power cord in first picture) and didn’t notice the wet before. It doesn’t have a smell and now that I think about it I didn’t notice any discoloration of the concrete you’d expect with water/antifreeze combo from the radiator.

The bus has been sitting over the spot for 8 days and I think you’re right when you say “But if it is from your coach it is my expert opinion it is coming from a leak in one of your water or coolant hoses, fittings, radiator, surge tank or Webasto system.”

I’ll do just as you say “get your head in the engine area and with a flashlight and some paper towels poke around and dry things off and see if moisture appears somewhere.”

Today turned pretty ugly but as soon as the suns out I’ll go over and see what I can see…

Thanks Jon,

Harry

[Bernie]

Your model is totally different than mine Harry, but in the passenger rear of my bus, I have a condensation hose from my bedroom cruise air.

[Dick]

Did you try tasting it? Anti-freeze/coolant has a distinct taste. Can you determine what the color is? Oil will have a unique feel.

Try putting a large pan under the bus in that area next time. That will keep the stuff (if anymore appears) from migrating into the concrete before you get back there to check.

When we bought our coach in 2014 with no maintenance records it went to ETLC for a rigorous zero out by Jeff and crew. From time to time (but not all the time) it would leak coolant sitting on its pad. Talked to Jeff about it … he’d put all new all new hoses on it and fresh coolant in it. When it was at ETLC next, no leaks that he nor the crew could find. Finally on the second or third trip back they could see the leak that turned out to be caused by a cracked or broken hose clamp; cracked was hidden from view, loose just enough that a tiny leak would occur especially when there would be temp changes. New clamp (under ETLC warranty) and we’ve had NO leaks under the back of the coach since.

Next time you exercise it, go back the next day and check. Put some shop towels in the pan and that will hold the fluid where it dropped if come back the next day or two. But keep in mind that a leak in the engine compartment will likely travel (especially if up high), just like a leak in your roof at home.

So Harry … be patient. Keep looking. If it takes you a while to find the leak, you’ll probably increase your knowledge of your coach.

[Tim]

I agree with Jake. Harry you should have the same thing. Were you running the A/C? Check and make sure your A/C drain tube is not partial obstruted. You have a pan under the Condenser and in 26 years it may never been cleaned so the tube is draining slowly. Pan under the area as stated and collect, look, touch, smell and and taste but not too much.

[DON]

Dick said, “Did you try tasting it”?

You do know that Coolant is poisonous 🙁

[Dick]

Don’t worry Tim, these guys have been trying to poison me for months.

And no I didn’t run the air when I went on my run on the 10th. When I disconnect from shore power I forgot to change the transfer switch to generator.

We had a big rain here last night so I’ll have to wait a couple days until things dry out. I have a large sheet of plastic I’ll put under the bus to see where the liquid is coming from? I know water travels but I hope to find not only where it is but what it is.

Thank you one and all,

Harry

[glen]

Colder weather has always resulted in occasional minor leaks in the air and coolant systems on the coach and the cure is vigilance to spot them, and a screw driver or wrench to tighten the fitting or clamp.

There is one thing true about all our coaches and that is we constantly have to be observant when it comes to little things. Minor leaks of coolant, air and oil will never repair themselves and as soon as we realize we have a leak we should fix it. Since my service interval is 5000 miles I have a lot of opportunity to notice wet spots, hear a slight air leak, or see some black around a fitting for an oil line.

I not only try to fix the leak, I also use brake cleaner, Simple Green or some means by which I can clean and dry the area of the leak so it is on my radar for checking the next time I service the coach. We don’t need to be a mechanic to tighten a fitting and we don’t need special skills to find leaks. They can be wet oily spots such as behind the pulley on the AC compressor, or at any oil line, they can be a drip of coolant showing up on the bottom of a tube or fitting, or they can be the slight hiss of air that should not be. I attack them with a vengeance because if maintenance is deferred over time they add up and then trying to stop the leaks becomes a major project.

Some leaks I accept because the cost in time or money to fix them is unjustified, but they are rare, and at every service interval I make an effort to completely clean the area around the leak. A clean engine or clean engine compartment makes leak detection significantly easier than when everything in the engine area is wet and greasy.

If you have more bales of Benjamins than you need, let someone else have your coach to fix leaks. But be aware it can real expensive, real fast. If on the other hand you want to get to know your coach, make the effort yourself to poke around looking at things, tightening those things that just need a little twist and keeping everything as clean and dry as possible. It is not difficult.

[Rudy]

Always sumtin Harry. The fluid doesn‘t look the same but Mine leaked fluid (all under coach) a few years back and it was the power steering pump o ring on back and top of engine (over batteries to right and up) and had to replace o ring. Look above and on top of engine and see if leak is coming down engine. That is if it’s oily. Do you have valves on other side of engine with hoses running up? I would put paper down and watch for drip.

Harry did you say you to have to manually change from shore power to gen set with switch? On mine. It will always default to gen set even if plugged to shore power when gen set is started, automatically.

[Liam]

I agree with you again Jon, checking that nuts, bolts and screws are tight is just smart. And even a Pilgrim can tell a cracked and damaged hose. I’m starting on the outside and working my way in. A person with any smarts should have a working knowledge what’s in each bay and to keep them clean and ship shape.

Hi Glens, It’s a negatory on the auto switch to gen set. Whatever I’m using needs to be manually switched. I’ll try your idea of putting paper down on the plastic I’m using. If it does nothing for the leak it will be appreciated by the dogs in the area.

Harry

[Archived]

Harry’s coach may have started life with an automatic transfer switch, but at some point a previous owner re-engineered the house electrical system in a fashion that completely removed the excellent system installed by Beaver.

A manual switch to select power source may have been one of the changes.

[Greg]

Hi folks,

I want to thank you all again for your help and let you know I found the leak. It’s a short hose less than 12″ long that I believe goes to the radiator overflow (on the right-rear by the firewall). It was leaking and with closer inspection you could tell it cracked. I’ll buy the new hose next week and get her all fixed up! I’d expect I’ll have to replace any antifreeze i lose right? I checked the site glass and it showed half full as required, so that’s good.

I took the bus for a good run today and it ran like a champ. I’ll be taking it up to Jeff in the next week or two to tackle the Jake Brake and leaking belt tension valve issues.

Thank again everyone for your input…

Harry

[John]

I fixed the hose today, a straight forward enough Job but not easy to get to. And talking about a hose that doesn’t want to come off, but get it off I did! But not without pulling off the hose behind it as well. I never knew I could stretch that far to push it back in.

I lost about 2 gallons of antifreeze and know I need Ethylene glycol antifreeze GM 6038-M or ASTM D 4985. Is this standard antifreeze you can find in an auto parts store?

Harry

[Jim/Chris]

Harry

you need to buy an NON ORGANIC (OAT) antifreeze that states its “ low silica” and is suitable for “two strokes”. And DO NOT use or let someone talk you into EXTENDED LIFE.

And you CANT mix antifreeze colors, if yours is green, buy green No to Detroit Power cool and it’s pink. that’s for Series 60s

And you need to use a “low ash” single weight oil, either SAE-30 or SAE-40. DELO 100 is best if you can find it. We bought ours at a local bulk distributor. Shell Rotella T or the like other “Mufti weight oils are a No No.

[Harry]

Glad you found the issue.