Engine surge tank

[tomkat4725]

Purchased a 3 year old Tiffin Phaeton 36QSR with a 2013 XCR-Series Freightliner Custom Chassis. ISC 8.3 Cummins engine. Have owned it for a year and have 27,000 miles on it. This unit has the radiator in the rear and a coolant surge/expansion tank sitting on top of the radiator. It is nearly impossible to view much of the engine side of the radiator or expansion tank. What concerns me is that the portion of the expansion tank (which is plastic or a plastic like material) which I can see has spider web lines running all over it. It is a semi transparent material. Also, it has a seam running horizontally across it which is brittle and crumbly. This tank doesn't look healthy to me. Anybody out there run across this problem?

[Trackrig]

This might be similar to yours.

I had to do mine on a Freightliner with a Cat C7. The Freightliner shop in Billings had the tanks on hand because so many of them went bad. They said it was due to the poor plastic used and the high engine heat.

We had to take up the floor boards in the closet (that means emptying the whole closet). There are sensor and hose connections that you can't get to from outside the rear of the MH. It's a lot easier with two people so one person doesn't have to run in and out so many times.

Bill

[fcooper]

Yes, but it was a 2000 Freightliner XC. Changed it myself after ordering the tank from Freightliner. If I remember correctly, it took about 2 hours, and some folks report having to cut a bolt on the side but I was able to get the bolt removed.

I made a black plastic cover for the tank from an old antifreeze jug that seemed to work at keeping the sun off the tank.

Fred

[sdbounderdiesel]

Mine had the same issue a couple of years ago. I think Motorhome Magazine had a maintenance article about it. If I recall, the article said it was caused by the plastic surge tank being exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods when the rig is parked. I had the surge tank replaced at my local Freightliner dealer, but after seeing how straight forward the job was, I think it might be a DIY job. I think the article said there was a "fix" (probably from Freightliner) that was basically an aluminum foil shade that could be pasted onto the exposed side of the surge tank to keep it out of the sun. Another option I heard about, but can't verify for sure it actually exists is an after-market surge tank made of metal instead of plastic. Good luck.