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Old 09-24-2017, 10:18 AM   #1
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2002 T444E cooling issue

Hi there.

Yesterday (it was 95 Deg) my bus got pretty hot. (At one point driving on the highway the temp warning light came on briefly, but I slowed and then turned on the heat and it came down). Normally my bus when driving in the warm gets to about 211 then it cools down to about 200 and will cycle this.
However now it just kept climbing. No cycle down. The fan is spinning when I'm parked but perhaps the clutch is not kicking in at high speed and high temp any more? How can I troubleshoot this?

Also ( but I believe it was like this since I got it) one of the fan blades is chipped badly. See picture. Should I get that fixed? What would a service center charge for a fan and clutch replacement?

Thanks
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Old 09-24-2017, 10:25 AM   #2
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Location: Eastern WA
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Year: 2002
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All American RE (A3RE)
Engine: Cummins ISC (8.3)
Rated Cap: 72
What kind of bus?

Do you ever hear the fan clutch engage?
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Old 09-24-2017, 11:04 AM   #3
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Year: 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartan View Post

Also ( but I believe it was like this since I got it) one of the fan blades is chipped badly. See picture. Should I get that fixed? What would a service center charge for a fan and clutch replacement?

Thanks
Do not drive until you replace fan or it will explode and kill your $$$ radiator. It is a fast spinning balanced thingy. Does not like to be out of balance.

fix now.
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Old 09-24-2017, 12:47 PM   #4
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Year: 1991
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that is just like mine before i changed my clutch.. when you temp gets up you should hear the fan Roaring like a jet engine.. if you arent hearing that then you possibly have a fan clutch issue..

the fan spinning when stopped is a minimum speed of the clutch... it should always be spinning at 300-450 RPM even when idling.

some of these clutches are adjustable and you may just need to clean the thermal coil on the front and adjust the temperature..

also make sure your radiator is clear of dirt and debris in its fins. that can cause the clutch to not engage.. your coolant needs to be full!.

these split radiator designs can cause issues with getting enoiugh hot air to the fan to make it engage.

here is my video on adjusting these clutches if you have an adjustable one.



-Christopher
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Old 09-24-2017, 02:07 PM   #5
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At the shop now. Hopefully just a fan and clutch or clutch adjust.
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Old 10-01-2017, 02:43 PM   #6
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Well, $630 later, back in business.

It turned out the main issue was the louvers that hold closed to help the bus warm up faster in the winter.

my mechanic said the sensor was bad, and was expensive to replace. therefor he removed the airline and capped it, and jammed the louvers permanently open. now the bus warms up a bit slower, but never have to worry about that again.

also, replaced that broken engine fan. finding used parts is a nightmare. so i had to buy new at the international dealer at a cost of $300.

all back and ran great on 400mi trip this weekend.
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Old 10-01-2017, 03:03 PM   #7
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Join Date: May 2009
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Year: 1991
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Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Those shutters are known to fail, they are supposed to always fail open but reality is they don't. I have them on my dev bus and on a dt360 they help hugely with getting my heaters warm and staying warm.

On my t444e bus I don't have the louvers and don't have the exhaust back pressure warmup valve and it still warms up fine . If those louvers have already made a difference in how fast you warm up, might want to Check the thermostat . I had one fail partially open on the 444e. It opened all the way for cooling but always stayed 1{3 way open even when cold so if it was say 30 outside I never got above 140 driving in town. It was fine on the freeway. After I changed that then my heat warms up fast
Christopher
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartan View Post

my mechanic said the sensor was bad, and was expensive to replace. therefor he removed the airline and capped it, and jammed the louvers permanently open. now the bus warms up a bit slower, but never have to worry about that again.

also, replaced that broken engine fan. finding used parts is a nightmare. so i had to buy new at the international dealer at a cost of $300.
Sounds like the shutterstat died/stuck. They run ~ $100 if you dig. I've rebuilt the ones on my army trucks- few dollars of o-rings and some time. One failed and caused me some grief- it was allowing compressed air into my cooling system, causing leaks. Hopefully he removed the sensor component and plugged.

Glad you got a new fan- if it was metal blades, boneyard is fine, but plastic blades get brittle, so boneyard fan isn't much better.
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