Antifreeze leak, Itasca Sunstar

bbeezzz · 04-28-2018, 07:53 AM

Our 2015 Itasca Sunstar, developed an antifreeze leak so we took the unit to Ford, thinking that it would be a warranty issue. Ford explained it was an after market hose, routed incorrectly, that was rubbing against something and developed a leak, near the dog house. The hose in question goes to the hot water tank to provide hot water while on the road. Has anyone experience a similar coolant leak on their units?
Winnebago claims they have not had this particular issue and declined to reimburse us the expense.

rhodesaz · 04-28-2018, 06:35 PM

We had a small 6 inch or 9 inch heater hose "blow-up" on us in Cheyenne Wyoming last year. After the mechanic took off the dog house in was at the 1 o'clock area (as you face the dog house from inside the RV) He also said it was rubbing, which is what caused the leak.
Scared the crap out of me. Every light on the dash board went off as I lost power at 65 MPH. Luckily we could limp the 1/2 mile to get off the highway. We were towed to Big Al's Auto and Muffler repair. They allowed us to "boondock" in their parking lot and even gave us the password to their WiFi. They also gave us free 20 amp electricity. In the morning around 9 am, they fixed it. Total cost $89. Just figured it was what it was. Didn't go through the warranty, but Insurance towed us. Insurance paid $800 for the tow. Thank you Big Al's!!!!

RandyLee · 04-29-2018, 06:59 AM

I have a 2015 sightseer with 20K miles and no problems yet but I will check the hose routing today. If I find an issue I will report back.

Americanrascal · 04-29-2018, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeezzz

Our 2015 Itasca Sunstar, developed an antifreeze leak so we took the unit to Ford, thinking that it would be a warranty issue. Ford explained it was an after market hose, routed incorrectly, that was rubbing against something and developed a leak, near the dog house. The hose in question goes to the hot water tank to provide hot water while on the road. Has anyone experience a similar coolant leak on their units?
Winnebago claims they have not had this particular issue and declined to reimburse us the expense.

bbeezzz- I had the exact (it sounds like) same problem on our 2016 Adventurer 38Q with the F-53 chassis about 18 months ago. I was finding coolant pooled around the cylinder head crevices and pooling in the blow out plugs. I panicked and was spending hours writing for input on the forums about how a brand new Ford engine could experience either head gasket or blow out plug (freeze plug) failure. This went on for several weeks and the puddle under the engine eventually grew and grew. I figured I was headed to a major Ford truck shop for a new engine the way things started to look!

Then one day I wanted to get a better look at the problem from the top of the engine. So I got my son and asked him to help me get the dog house off. We unfastened all the locks and gave a lift- it seemed to spring back down and would not release. We kept pulling and pulling.Suddenly it popped up! What we found was the folks in the factory had drilled the fastening screws for the cup holder on top of the dog house directly down through the dog house and into the heater hose that was routed atop the engine that served the coach heating system in the rear of the rig. It had quite a spray coming out of it.

The fix was easy. I cut the hose at the leak and inserted a heater pipe repair coupling splicing the 2 ends together(about $4 at the auto parts store). Rerouted the pipe away from the long screw extending from the dog house cup tray connection.Fixed in 5 minutes. Glad I didn't drive 70 miles to the nearest dealer to seek a new engine from Ford for what obviously was a WBGO factory goof! I'd have had to drive it 150 miles to get Winnebago to fix it at their dealer. It was clearly a WBGO installation error.

All that said I felt mighty sheepish about all those forum postings I did worried about freeze plug or head failures on my new rig and thinking all those negative feelings about Ford that I should not have felt! LOL

By the way- I notified Winnebago about the problem. Guess they conveniently forgot ?????

bbeezzz · 04-29-2018, 06:38 PM

Thanks guys for all the responses thus far. Ford charged us $800 to inspect and repair the hose. I have presented my case with documentation to Winnebago hoping for a full or partial reimbursement, so shall see what happens.

Americanrascal · 04-30-2018, 04:54 AM

WOW! Any idea how Ford approached dealing with the repair? I could maybe see that charge if they replaced the entire line- which is extremely long and complicated in its routing.

staggerlee · 04-30-2018, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

WOW! Any idea how Ford approached dealing with the repair? I could maybe see that charge if they replaced the entire line- which is extremely long and complicated in its routing.

X2.

bbeezzz · 05-01-2018, 12:29 PM

Ford pressurized the cooling system to find the leak One hour charge.
They then replaced the hose and re-routed it. Two hours. I can not see a splice repair on the hose that goes near the dog house and without taking the dog house off, I do not know if it is a full replacement or not. And does it even go through the dog house? Suffice to say I will contact Winnebago again later this week, as they have not responded to my detailed e-mail and Fords report.

staggerlee · 05-01-2018, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeezzz

I do not know if it is a full replacement or not. And does it even go through the dog house? Suffice to say I will contact Winnebago again later this week, as they have not responded to my detailed e-mail and Fords report.

What does the receipt say?
It should at least say if it was feet of hose, or inches.

bbeezzz · 05-01-2018, 07:15 PM

Staggerlee...Checked the invoice and does not say length of hose other than 3/4 inch size. At $16.00 maybe it was a short fix. Only one clamp shown on the invoice.

staggerlee · 05-02-2018, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeezzz

Staggerlee...Checked the invoice and does not say length of hose other than 3/4 inch size. At $16.00 maybe it was a short fix. Only one clamp shown on the invoice.

At $16.00 a short one no doubt.

bbeezzz · 05-21-2018, 09:48 AM

So as a follow up with the antifreeze leak, with out pictures of the leaking hose in position and the fix by Ford, Winnebago refused to reimburse any of the out of pocket cost and basically said good bye. Even with the requested pictures, there was no suggestion that they would cover the cost. The only picture we had was of the substantial antifreeze stain on the rug on the passenger floor next to the dog house, which they ignored. The fried transfer switch, which is on recall by Winnebago, was repaired at no cost to us at the Winnie dealer in our town. Happy travels everyone!

ExBuckeye · 05-21-2018, 10:54 AM

We are a new owner of a Winnibago Vista. This certainly sounds like a Winnibago problem. They are the only one who touched that hose during installation! Is this the kind of responses we can expect for the next year???
Andrew

bbeezzz · 05-21-2018, 12:10 PM

Just a note Andrew that our unit was past warranty. Should that absolve Winnebago of, according to Ford, an installation flaw? No. We just did not have the for sight to have Ford document everything with pictures. Even then, Winnebago may have used that information to their advantage, not ours.

moblguy · 06-30-2018, 04:23 AM

As a fleet maintenance mechanic for 30 years I have found and repaired countless hose chaffing issues. Coolant, fuel, brake line, etc. New does not mean perfect. Recently found a major issue with one of my customers, who is running a fleet of late model Ford F59 chassis with step van bodies. Every one of their trucks with the V10 engines had the lower hose being chaffed by the battery cable running next to it. Area of concern was where the coolant hose from the reservoir tank ran over the right front of the frame down to the lower area of the radiator. The battery cable also ran over the same area of the frame.
I was able to protect the area with a piece of heater hose cut and installed between the hose and the cable.

Purchased a 2004 Itasca Sunrise 36M with low mileage two years ago. I did a pre-purchase maintenance check. Handed the selling dealer a laundry list of concerns. They repaired almost everything. There were many areas of chaffing concern. Only a matter of time until a break down.