M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

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M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

September 19, 2019, 03:52:08 pm

Driving east on I-70 through Utah with some 6% inclines my coolant temp. never got above 192º. But once I got on US 50 heading south out of Grand Junction my coolant temp was running 190º, nothing steep, normal is 178-180º. Pulled over to check things out and the slobber tube has some vapor coming out of it when idling and there are some spots of oil on the front of my toad. Oil level was about 2 quarts low from where it was this morning, coolant level is ok. Oil pressure at idle is 27# and at fast idle is 40#. These readings are from the VMSpc. Any thoughts?

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #1 – September 19, 2019, 03:59:27 pm

Oil temps are probably up a bit as well. Check your air filter when you have a replacement ready to go. Lots of dust going to Alaska and back.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #2 – September 19, 2019, 05:27:44 pm

192 degrees on a 6 percent grade is not getting hot at all. No matter what the road signs say for elevation, if the weather is warm, the density altitude will be higher so the air is thinner. The fan, radiator don't work as efficiently so temps may be a little higher.

Check your air restriction gauge and make sure it's within the specs for your engine. All three manufacturers have different specs. If the restriction is high, it may cause the engine to over fuel a bit leading to higher EGTs especially up at altitude.

27 psi at a 600 RPM idle is fine and 40 psi at 1000 RPM is good. Some vapor out the breather is normal but 2 quarts low since morning is high. Check other spots around the engine for a leak/drip. Park for the night over a piece of cardboard and check the drips in the morning. Check hydraulic fan drive components as well.

Pierce

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #3 – September 19, 2019, 07:17:54 pm

The fan drive is not engine oil. In the mountains grades can be deceiving. I use a gps to verify up or down hill.

210 plus is nothing to worry about.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #4 – September 19, 2019, 07:55:32 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – September 19, 2019, 07:17:54 pm

The fan drive is not engine oil. In the mountains grades can be deceiving. I use a gps to verify up or down hill.

210 plus is nothing to worry about.

Our fan drive IS engine oil. Not Delo 100 but a 20-50 engine oil.

P

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #5 – September 19, 2019, 08:01:12 pm

Yep, air filter is clogged, good call guys and many thanks!
I'll pick up a new one at Napa in Gunnison tomorrow morning and hopefully that's all it is.
When I see something out of the ordinary I like to pull over and check it out before it can become more of a problem. Tomorrow I climb up Monarch pass so want it working properly.
After this first post I haven't lost any more oil and temps were a bit better. No signs of oil leaks, fan was working, coolant level ok.
And the filter gauge was in the middle of the yellow but the filter is really plugged up.
I had planned to change the air filter when I got home....

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #6 – September 19, 2019, 08:04:12 pm

Pardon my not being precise. The systems are separate is what I meant to post.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #7 – September 19, 2019, 08:08:49 pm

Remove the old filter carefully, clean the canister as best you can. My Cummins guy said if you open the canister put in a new filter.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #8 – September 19, 2019, 09:54:18 pm

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – September 19, 2019, 08:08:49 pm

Remove the old filter carefully, clean the canister as best you can. My Cummins guy said if you open the canister put in a new filter.

Sage advice! Also note the orientation of the filter.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #9 – September 19, 2019, 10:30:25 pm

Foliver, we left Clifton next to Grand Junction heading to Wyoming on Tuesday. We came up 50 from Delta after having been up to Grand Mesa at friends cabin( about
1700 sq ft) and 10000ft. Anyway comi g across Utah on 70 about 2weeks ago I got to 214f coolant due to 100f temps outside. Coach ran fine and is towing 5500 lb Durango. Bit more weight than the old Tracker was
JohnH

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #10 – September 19, 2019, 11:04:14 pm

How does the air filter leak oil?

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #11 – September 20, 2019, 09:56:21 am

Nothing above said it did,they said a clogged air filter will cause higher engine temps.
Also,this is another case of the air filter minder being worthless.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #12 – September 20, 2019, 10:05:38 am

Quote from: John44 – September 20, 2019, 09:56:21 am

Nothing above said it did,they said a clogged air filter will cause higher engine temps.
Also,this is another case of the air filter minder being worthless.

How is the air filter minder worthless??

P

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #13 – September 20, 2019, 10:17:07 am

Just changed air filter, oil level didn't drop from yesterday. No drops on engine or underneath so should be ready for Monarch pass.
John, I was surprised at the condition of US 50 from GJ to Delta. Some areas I was down to 40mph, as bad as the frost heaves in the Yukon and Alaska! We passed through there last year and don't remember it being that bad.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #14 – September 20, 2019, 10:22:23 am

His filter was clogged causing a problem and he said the minder was in the middle,not indicating a problem,I know they were'nt
the same engines but have seen many filter minders not working and the air filters ready to implode,if someone is using a minder to
exclusively monitor an air filter get ready for a problem.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #15 – September 20, 2019, 10:29:58 am

Air filter minders are very easy to test-- a 2 minute job.

Remove the hose from the filter housing.

Suck on it-- it should peg the gauge-- highest reading.

Reconnect hose.

Push the button to reset.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #16 – September 20, 2019, 10:51:14 am

After testing the filter minder and finding it bad, they are very inexpensive and easy to replace. I re-positioned ours so I can read it when checking oil. As long as the reading is in the green for your engine, it's doing it's job. A used filter will do a better job than a new filter. When ours collapsed after getting wet from the rear wheel spray, the filter minder was in the red.

If you see a high reading on the gauge and feel it may be related to water (GVs with air intake behind the rear tires), wait until it dries out and then check again. A new filter that sucks in moisture may indicate red on the filter minder.

Pierce

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #17 – September 20, 2019, 12:42:22 pm

Monarch pass was no problem, coolant stayed below 185º, oil temp max 207º.
I know that 200º coolant is not a problem but where I would normally run 180º or below something changed to where I was 190-200º on the same roads. Changing the air filter definitely helped and I'll check the oil level each day just for my own satisfaction but haven't lost any since the first time. I'll also keep an eye on the filter minder and plan to change it out later.
Thanks!

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #18 – September 20, 2019, 02:44:46 pm

Temperature makes a very big difference. 8000 feet on an 80 degree day with average barometric pressure and low humidity is 11,200 feet. This is the altitude your body and engine, radiator, fan, etc see so none of the above are as efficient. Essentially, there is no normal.

P

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #19 – September 20, 2019, 09:06:34 pm

A filter minder will only read correctly if you regularly run wide open throttle. If I see the minder level start to rise I start planning filter replacement.

Re: M11 slight overheating and oil loss?

Reply #20 – September 20, 2019, 09:13:22 pm

Yup.

After first drive with some WOT at higher RPM AFTER replacing filter element, make a note of the air filter minder reading.

This is now the "base line" from which the filter will start to clog/increase restriction.

But, be aware that there are ways that a filter can fail that will not be indicated by a filter minder. A tear in a pleat (particularly likely if one tries to "clean the filter" by banging it on a hard surface), break down from water, etc will actually reduce restriction (yes, and allow lots of dirt into the engine resulting in what is known as "dusting").

Installing the incorrect filter element can cause the filter to collapse, resulting in dusting/low filter minder readings. Though two filters could have exactly the same dimensions, they may not be interchangeable. Support for the filter media depends on direction of air flow-- from outside to inside or inside to outside. Neither direction is better/worse, but if the structure supporting the filter media is not correct, the filter element can indeed collapse.

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