replacing 2003 w22 coolant thermostat?

[mrd341]

Hello all! I am about to replace the coolant thermostat (i think it is stuck open) in our 2003 winnebago adventurer 35, 8.1 vortec and was wondering if anyone that has done this before has any tips or suggestions that i could use to make the job easier? thanks for any help!
dennis

 

[Bill N]

Never done it but interested in the answer.  What makes you think it is bad (indications)?

Bill

 

[jubileee]

Just for grins I searched utube for changing thermostat in 8.1. Many videos popped up. You may have already done so, but I always shoot both sides of the thermostat with an IR gun before tearing into it. Saves frustration of pulling good thermostat when an airlock, sensor, mix door, or ect. is the culprit.

 

[mrd341]

thanks for the responses, we bought this unit a couple of months ago and i have been finding a lot of things that the previous owner had failed to mention, I have fixed quite a few of them after a short (500 mile) trip that we took last month. I noticed that the heater temp was blowing luke warm, not hot like it was a month ago, but of course it is a lot colder here now. it seems to take a long time fr the engine to reach operating temp (temp gauge centered between H and C) 45 minutes to an hour. I used an IF non contact and noticed that the upper hose at the thermostat was only reaching 160 degrees max after an hour and although the heater valve is opening, the lines are warm but not as hot as they should be, so i figured that i would swap out the thermostat ( if there even is one) and be done with it. everything else seems to be working ok, now i just have to locate the petcock to drain some fluid out!

 

[mrd341]

just for an update, I found the petcock but it was made out of nylon and little chewed up, I tried using a quarter inch socket extension but was afraid of damaging it further. I was going to take off the bottom radiator hose to drain it, but the screw was facing upwards and nearly impossible to reach without cutting the clamp off, so I opted to just remove the upper hose from the thermostat housing, I only lost about a half pint of antifreeze that was in the short hose. Replaced the thermostat and gasket with a new 195 degree one, (the old one was stamped made in the USA so it was most likely the original!) re assembled everything and topped off the radiator and started the vehicle up to let her run for a bit, NO CHANGE!!!! it took 45 minutes for the engine temp gauge to reach center, and the air coming out of the vents never got above 75 degrees although the heater hose with the valve on it reached 115 degrees and the other hose coming out of the heater core was 90 degrees. The really strange thing though, is that when i turn on the coach heater, it blows nice and hot as it out of the floor vent between the seats like it should!!!!!!tomorrow, i will try to reverse flush the heater core and see if that makes a difference, this thing is driving me nuts trying to figure out what is going on!

 

[Arch Hoagland]

I'd suggest getting an UltraGauge:

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm 


You can monitor the temperature and a bunch of other stuff with it.



You'll need it when you start getting Check Engine Lights

 

[mrd341]

would these work on a 2003? i didn't realize that so much info could be monitored through the obdii port?

 

[Bjwinspect]

I use a scan gauge on a 98 winnebago.  All sorts of info available as well as basic trip info such as mpg avg.  Miles driven, air temperature.  I leave mine connected all the time
  Plug and play

 

[Arch Hoagland]

would these work on a 2003? i didn't realize that so much info could be monitored through the obdii port?

Absolutely. Mine is a 2004 Monaco built on a 2003 W22 8.1 chassis. 

UltraGuage helped me find a Check Engine Light reoccurring problem. 

 

[mrd341]

update, I carefully removed both hoses from the heater core (they were stuck pretty good and i was afraid of damaging the tubes),reverse flushed the core and it looked pretty clean. While i had the hoses off i took the coolant control valve off and found out that it was not opening all the way due to some corrosion inside on the flapper valve itself (this valve is mostly metal with black pvc inlet and outlet) i searched all over and finally found a replacement, but it has not arrived yet. In the meantime, I bought some new heater hose (5/8") and a 1/2" brass ball valve with 2 screw in 1/2" x 5/8" adapters that i had read about others doing. I installed the ball valve in the outlet line from the heater core so i could shut it off when using the a/c in warm weather. I then installed the other hose directly to the inlet of the heater core with no valve in it just to test it while waiting for the new valve. this set up works great and has fixed my "low heat" problem. Where i was getting a 75 degree
temp out of the vent after almost an hour of idling, I am now getting 155 degrees after 20 minutes! in conclusion, I should have suspected the heater valve in the first place, as it would have been much easier to replace and i would have saved myself a lot of work and skinned knuckles had I done so! thank's for the suggestions!
Dennis

 

[mrd341]

just another update! The new coolant control valve arrived today and although it looks just like the old valve, it is about half the size, it looks like it would work because the inlet, outlet and flapper valve are the same size as the old one. the metal dome canister containing the vacuum diaphragm is the part that is about half the size of the old one. After much searching, I can't seem to find the correct coolant control valve that is listed for this vehicle anywhere, very frustrating!

 

[Bobtop46]

https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/W0002215-Valve-heater-Continuous-

Not sure if this is the part that you are looking for.  If not, give these folks a call, very good customer service, and they can point you in the right direction.

 

[mrd341]

hello all, thank's for the responses, after much research, I found that the valve that I was on the rv was an "old style" valve which is why it was so difficult to find! The Winnebago diagrams have a "new style" valve listed, I found a replacement and have it on order. It is this one, Victory SCS 034-00014 Water Valve - 2 Port, Black. I had occasion to drive the rv today, and without the valve, We now have plenty of heat coming out of the dash and defroster vents, as well as the coach heater when it is on! A very noticeable difference from when the old valve was in! Thank's again!