Re: hydraulic fan motor
Reply #10 –
Part of the leaking seal issue in my preliminary testing IMO is the fans switch to high speed totally at 190 degrees which is marked on the controller. It's a twenty degree or so ramp up in speed so it starts at around 170 going from the idle/low speed mode that works dead cold to increasing its speed.
Draws 37 hp at high speeds,
The Vpms recent mpg would occasionally show 1-2 more mpg in flat ground, no wind conditions.
As I am trying to improve both the power which is not what was advertised from the factory and the mpg I have researched this extensively ever since.
The more normal fan controls are rated for full speed at 210 degrees which matches the m11's on the engine block electrical switch to turn on the clutch for the forward mounted cooling fan in a truck.
The thermostat does not open fully to 195 on an m11.
Mine runs 175 almost anywhere except for big grades and hot weather then it can run to 200 on the silverleaf and 210-215 on the factory dash gauge.
The silverleaf gets its signal from the ECM on the engine as is more accurate than the place on the output area of the plumbing that the dash gauge uses and shows according to my cummins shop foreman.
His comment was that the lower temp controller would make the fans run more than maybe necessary which causes heat in the system which might be causing the leaking seals quicker than would otherwise occur.
Probably the main reason for the running the cooling system more on higher speeds is so the higher temperature indicating dash gauge comes off its normal position less.
As a Foretravel manage long ago I had countless conversations witn concerned owners about ANY temp gauge movement.
I am sure Foretravel had the same calls. So increase the fans speeds earlier than necessary maybe needed so as to lessen the gauges movement in warmer weather is how I read it.
All the parts connected to the hydraulic system would be getting un necessarily hot from the hot oil in the reservoir?
Steering box comes to mind.
So I located what I hoped to be a higher temp fan controller on a close out from Canada. Labeled 210 degrees and had it installed.
Mileage on a up and down hills trip seems better and the temp gauges both exhibit the exact same readings so far.
Power seems better but I also installed a xl 5050 resonator at the same time.
The ramp up fan speed is now starting 20 degrees higher than before. In mild weather it's not off its low speed mode I am thinking and at high temps the engines thermostat might finally open fully.
I have driven countless diesels in the desert and mountains in hot weather and hardly would notice if the normal temp came up from the 175 the Vpms shows.
Time will tell as summer is coming up but I doubt I did anything but decrease the systems operating temp and lessen the parasitic power losses on the engine and increase my mpg over time.
The 175 engine temp at full load and the low fan speed that it's running seems to me to indicate the cooling system has a lot of reserve for my actual power as built by cummins.
My CPL is 2178 and the actual power is 420hp and 1050 torque. Not 450/1450 as advertised.
So I have maybe less heating input from the engine from the lower power actual build.
If mine was 450/1450 I would have changed the controller also as the possible temp gauge increase would not bother me as much as someone else.
Normal trucks run 200-210 and my buddies 2013 tour gets to 210 on the gauge then drops as the fans come on fully and drops back.
The post here before mine about straight line steering was from a member recently who mentioned they have most of the pumps installed in stock for exchange and have a south location in riverside, ca.
I noted their info and plan to see if they have either the seals and/or the pumps.
Bernd seems to be retail priced on his very good work. Being as a lot of any repair tickets money is labor the actual parts needed if no pump damage has occurred might be a small fraction of the bill.
If I had the 450/1450 engine I probably would not have looked at the systems trying to figure out why the performance was not up to my expectations.
More powerful CPL's get better mileage normally in my experience and the lower temp controller might show less gauge movement.
My take on why my recent mpg would show a fairly large increase is that the 2.200 pound engine finally cooled down the block enough to have the controller go to the low speed mode for longer periods which would lower the 37hp draw and increase the mpg.
Need a long flatter ground run to see but I seem to be correct so far.
The mpg in my ECM is 7.5 over its 120k life so far. A long term increase in power and mpg without any major cooling issues would indicate to my mind that the fan was on too high unnecessarily.
I kept the original one as these are $500 plus parts.
Hopefully your search for the right seals will produce results that can help all of us in the future.
Hard to tell if the weaping seals are from wear, temp or ago or a combination of those inputs.
Reducing the speeds should allow less wear IMO.
Topic: hydraulic fan motor