The things you find

Topic: The things you find (Read 1513 times) previous topic - next topic

The things you find

June 10, 2012, 04:27:33 pm

So I finished working on my shed preparing for a new 50 amp service for our coach and for no particular reason opened the radiator grill panel. I was quite shocked by what I found under the radiator. I have no idea what it was, but it is now a big pile of gooey wet rubbery stuff. So I took some pics and stuck the camera in where I can't get an eyeball and found more "stuff". The paper towels etc. that were on top I managed to reach in and pull out

So hopefully this is a foreign object and not a disintegrated part of the FT and I guess now I need to know how to clean it out. Any suggestion?

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Re: The things you find

Reply #1 – June 10, 2012, 04:35:05 pm

Wonder if it is the sound insulation coming apart-- like disintegrating foam. Look at the ceiling and walls in that compartment.

Brett

Re: The things you find

Reply #2 – June 10, 2012, 04:54:32 pm

Brett, I took a look and there is nothing that appears to be of the same material in that area. The "stuff" is concentrated around the hose running to the rear and up between the engine radiator and the outer one.
I am wondering if some kind of leakage at that pipe may be causing the buildup. It's a lot of stuff though and it does smell and feel like a rubber type substance.

Re: The things you find

Reply #3 – June 10, 2012, 05:32:01 pm

Dean, That is a mystery, I am with Brett, Is it insulation that has fallen down ? Or, Long shot is it debris left over from assembly of the coach. How about old critter nest ?
I would start with a bath of simple green or similar and then see what is left, It may disintegrate with water, don't use a pressure washer, radiator fins can be damaged.
Keep digging , I am curious now.
Gary B

Re: The things you find

Reply #4 – June 10, 2012, 05:36:17 pm

Quote from: Gary Bouland – June 10, 2012, 05:32:01 pm

I would start with a bath of simple green or similar

Steve says to be sure to use the aluminum-approved Simple Green if you do this. Regular Simple Green is not and would probably not be good for the radiator.

-M

Re: The things you find

Reply #5 – June 10, 2012, 05:40:59 pm

Frequently Asked Questions

Extreme Simple Green

Brett

Re: The things you find

Reply #6 – June 10, 2012, 05:44:30 pm

Dean,

Although there are some stones in one of the pictures that may point to road debris, several others look like the disintegrating foam from the insulation, as Brett suggested. I recently replaced all of my insulation and yours looked a lot what I found. However mine was about 17 years old. Yours is much newer. As Gary B. mentioned, Simple Green sprayed on, let it set for 15 minutes or so, then rinse off with the water hose, should work for you. It does for me.

Re: The things you find

Reply #7 – June 10, 2012, 05:55:35 pm

The more I look at this the more I don't believe it's road debris. It appears to be consistant of a finely ground up rubber and is wet. Does anyone know what the pipe is that is going to what appears to be the Hydraulic Fan cooler? Is it feeding that? What liquid is running through it.

I really do not believe it's insulation. How would it get sucked in from the inside to between the radiators? The closure surounding the radiator area looks tight And there is no sign of degrading insulation. The rest of the radiator is clean, including the engine side and it is definately concentrated to this rear pipe area.

Re: The things you find

Reply #8 – June 10, 2012, 06:14:13 pm

Quote from: Steve & Michelle – June 10, 2012, 05:36:17 pm

Steve says to be sure to use the aluminum-approved Simple Green if you do this. Regular Simple Green is not and would probably not be good for the radiator.

-M

I will pick up the Extreme Simple Green tommorow if I can find it and give it a bath and keep an eye on the area. Like I said i still think that pipe may have a slight leak and is attracting the junk. I am assuming at this point that there is hydraulic fluid in that line.

Re: The things you find

Reply #9 – June 10, 2012, 06:20:03 pm

Does it look at all like this?:

Partially plugged cooling core

If so, maybe Dick can shed some light on what he found.

Re: The things you find

Reply #10 – June 10, 2012, 06:29:00 pm

Quote from: Steve & Michelle – June 10, 2012, 06:20:03 pm

Does it look at all like this?:

Partially plugged cooling core

If so, maybe Dick can shed some light on what he found.

Getting warmer.........Except it's the middle radiator and at the bottom rear. But I can see how the road debris is sticking to the leak area in Dick's pic. Very similer looking to my issue as shown in first post.

Re: The things you find

Reply #11 – June 10, 2012, 06:46:31 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – June 10, 2012, 05:40:59 pm

Frequently Asked Questions

Extreme Simple Green

Brett

Doesn't appear to be availabe at retail stores. etc. I thought maybe NAPA would carry it. Has anyone safely used Dawn dish det. for something like this?

Re: The things you find

Reply #12 – June 10, 2012, 07:04:19 pm

List shows Grangiers and Fastenal might carry the products. Both have stores nationwide.

I have now learned Simple Green is not so simple, and have dozens of products solutions.

Re: The things you find

Reply #13 – June 10, 2012, 07:29:06 pm

On our coach the radiator / intercooler is surrounded by separate pieces of conveyer-belt type material that act as shroud to direct outside air being pulled through radiator from radiator hydraulic fan motors.

Conveyer belt material is probably made of different rubber compositions and maybe some petroleum based material got to the conveyer belt material and started to disintegrate it. Or it just started to fall apart on its own. Maybe the coach had or has a hydraulic fluid leak or spill during some past maintenance.

Talking about the Foretravel shroud, one very important way to improve engine cooling is to seal all the gaps in the conveyer belt material, some quite large, to prevent warm air from engine area from being recycled into radiator fans. We used spray foam to fill holes, forcing all air being pulled from radiator fan to only come from through the outside grill.

It is also a good idea to put a piece of hardware cloth behind outside slats to prevent grass, leaves, twigs, rags, etc from being sucked into intercooler..

Hope you can find what the 'stuff' is and where it came from. Could it have been there for a long time? Have you ever looked at the area before?

Re: The things you find

Reply #14 – June 10, 2012, 07:36:21 pm

Quote from: Dave and Dolly Cobb – June 10, 2012, 07:04:19 pm

List shows Grangiers and Fastenal might carry the products. Both have stores nationwide.

I have now learned Simple Green is not so simple, and have dozens of products solutions.

Yep Dave, I just learned the same thing. I am going by Grangiers tomorrow so I will see what they have. What's strange is Simple Greens website does not seem to list the Aircraft approved stuff. I was also reading an aircraft forum today and members were not recommending the Simple Green stuff for cleaning fuselage.
Like you said, not so simple.......

Re: The things you find

Reply #15 – June 10, 2012, 07:50:40 pm

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – June 10, 2012, 07:29:06 pm

On our coach the radiator / intercooler is surrounded by separate pieces of conveyer-belt type material that act as shroud to direct outside air being pulled through radiator from radiator hydraulic fan motors.

Conveyer belt material is probably made of different rubber compositions and maybe some petroleum based material got to the conveyer belt material and started to disintegrate it. Or it just started to fall apart on its own. Maybe the coach had or has a hydraulic fluid leak or spill during some past maintenance.

Talking about the Foretravel shroud, one very important way to improve engine cooling is to seal all the gaps in the conveyer belt material, some quite large, to prevent warm air from engine area from being recycled into radiator fans. We used spray foam to fill holes, forcing all air being pulled from radiator fan to only come from through the outside grill.

It is also a good idea to put a piece of hardware cloth behind outside slats to prevent grass, leaves, twigs, rags, etc from being sucked into intercooler..

Hope you can find what the 'stuff' is and where it came from. Could it have been there for a long time? Have you ever looked at the area before?

I took a pretty good look at the radiator enclosure and the material appears to be clean and in very good condition. I agree on the hardware cloth and sealing any voids etc. I had seen your prior posts on this. Good advice.
I had looked at the area during the buying process but I must have just plain missed it. This coach had been stored indoors it's entire life so everything underneath and in the engine compartment is very clean and rust free etc. Very easy to spot a leak or degraded material.
I still suspect that middle radiator hose that I think is the Hydraulic fan cooler. One thing is for sure, I will find the source. Just depends on how much time and effort will be involved on how long it will take.

Re: The things you find

Reply #16 – June 10, 2012, 09:15:45 pm

As I posted above-- Simple Green for aircraft/aluminum on their website:

Extreme Simple Green

Re: The things you find

Reply #17 – June 10, 2012, 10:27:34 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – June 10, 2012, 09:15:45 pm

As I posted above-- Simple Green for aircraft/aluminum on their website:

Extreme Simple Green

Found the best price for this online at Skygeek. $17.99 gal. About $10.00 gal cheaper than most suppliers. Ordered 2.

Re: The things you find

Reply #18 – June 11, 2012, 10:23:11 am

I'm Glad this subject was discussed. I acquired a spray bottle of Greased Lightening, It worked so well on my lawnmower that I was going to use it to clean the condenser on my dash air. However... when I read the cautions it is apparently tough on aluminum. Guess I'll go back to Simple Green.
When all else fails RTFI
Gary B

Re: The things you find

Reply #19 – June 11, 2012, 12:39:54 pm

Gary,

Try this stuff for the condensor:

Air Conditioner Coil Foaming Cleaner-AC-920 at The Home Depot

Keith

Re: The things you find (revisited)

Reply #20 – July 10, 2012, 02:55:17 pm

So I got to number 5 on my Foretravel to do list which is the mystery gunk under the radiator. I mixed Simple Green Extreme & water 50/50 in my one gal. garden sprayer and soaked the radiator and the gunk around the hyd. hose connection with it. Then rinsed and repeated until gunk was gone.

It became quickly apparent that the "gunk" was the radiator belting under the hyd. hose connection. I believe the connection has a slow leak and the hydralic fluid was eating the belting. I can actually stick my finger into the belting and it feels like it's soft and melted.

As soon as everything drys out I will fire up the engine and see if I can see the leak. Hopefully it's as simple as tightening the connection because I hate to think about pulling that CAC out. BTW, Simple Green Extreme is my new best friend.

Dean

Re: The things you find

Reply #21 – July 10, 2012, 03:57:11 pm

I have to revise my melted belting diagnosis.

I took a flat blade screwdriver and started scraping the soft material out and the belting below is fine. So it has to be a peice of foam rubber or something else that got sucked in around the fitting and disintergrated. The belting does look like it got very hot under the hose connection. I still think there may be a leak there but am hoping for the best.
I will just keep an eye on it for now.

Dean

Re: The things you find

Reply #22 – July 10, 2012, 04:47:52 pm

Quote

Gary,

Try this stuff for the condensor:

Air Conditioner Coil Foaming Cleaner-AC-920 at The Home Depot

Keith

Keith, I used that Condenser cleaner and it did a super job, Now the DW has me looking at the Home AC, when it cools off I will LOOK harder.
Gary B

Re: The things you find

Reply #23 – July 10, 2012, 07:18:45 pm

The most important info from this thread is Rinse, Rinse, Rinse anything you use on aluminium surfaces. In fact, rinsing is the key to longevity of any surface that has been chemically cleaned or treated.

Re: The things you find

Reply #24 – July 10, 2012, 07:31:30 pm

Quote from: Kent Speers – July 10, 2012, 07:18:45 pm

The most important info from this thread is Rinse, Rinse, Rinse anything you use on aluminium surfaces. In fact, rinsing is the key to longevity of any surface that has been chemically cleaned or treated.

Rinse I did Kent. It was a beautiful afternoon here so standing there with the hose spraying out the radiator was kind of fun compared to some of the other coach projects I tackled this week. Flushed it out until the water ran clear and then some.
I read the instructions carefully but was tempted to try it straight without dilution because of the mess I was trying to clean up. Glad I didn't. The 50/50 mix was perfect.
My radiator is clean as a whistle now.
Simple Green Extreme is a great product. Safe for use on aircraft engines and fuselage and it cuts dirt and grease wonderfully. Thanks to all that recommended it.

Dean

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