Thank you guys so much for all of your help you have provided me learning the in and out of searching for a coach. Another issue I have heard about is the transmission cooler rusting out and contaminating the transmission fluid and the engine oil. This one looks bad, right? Newbie. :-)
That must be the same coach with the bottom rusted out. The outside of the trans. cooler doesn't show where they rust out on the inside.
Looks like in the first 2 pictures you have a drip waiting to fall from that rubber hose,the whole engine could use a degreasen,will look a whole lot better and be alot easier to work on.
Sorry so saying this but it seems you are still considering buying this coach? Transcooler failure is internal.
Pierce
No more interest in this coach for me. Just using it as a learning experience. Thank all of you for your help!
The housing on the trans cooler is very thick. Others have replaced their coolers which looked similar to yours or worse and found the internals just fine. Just wire brush and keep paint on it.
I have discussed the trans cooler issue with two retired Allison people. The problem is not rust on the inside or outside. The problem is metal fatigue on the cooling bundle inside the cooler. There is a newer style cooler available that has a different design than the original and is not subject to the coolant contamination issue.
I replaced the cooler on our 2003 about 3 weeks ago.
Glad to hear that you "took a pass" on this coach; just not worth all the work that has to be done. My guess is that the radiator is in pretty bad shape as well. I know, because I had to replace everything under there.
This is the first I've heard about internal metal fatigue, something I associate with constant bending of metal. How would the inside fatigue? Expansion and contraction of the tubes as they heat and cool (doesn't seem like 250 degrees would do that.
It is the expansion and contraction along with vibration that makes the internal parts fail. The new style is floating and doesn't have that issue. There was a long thread on this awhile back.
Would think it is the expansion and contraction of solder joints and disimilar metals.
When I cut through my old cooler I tried to loosen up the copper tubes without success. I wanted to separate out the copper. I was impressed with how solid it was. If the experts have a different experience, I will defer to their judgement.
Prices have changed, still looking for the Rocore information on the difference between the old and new style cooler.
3-1279B by ROCORE THERMAL SYSTEMS - OIL COOLER (https://www.finditparts.com/products/10572275/rocore-thermal-systems-3-1279b)
Here is the information from the horse's mouth.
Transmission cooler replacement order (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=36582.msg348175#msg348175)