This was the second trip with the newly resurrected Allegro. It was only half the distance as my first excursion, but it was not without issue. Minor issue, but a concern nonetheless.

So I live in Northern NJ and like to avoid the interstates with my '84 Allegro. It's just not built to travel at the speeds people travel these days. 55 is about it and at that speed it's an obstruction. My choices for this trip to the Promised Land State Park were pretty much I-80 W most of the 65 miles or 206 N to I-84. I would be on I-84 for 20 miles. 206 is a nice, slow ride with only a couple of tight spots through congested areas. So, I chose this route.

I didn't realize that this route is pretty much uphill most of the way. It was hilly and twisty as I approached route 84 and then my time on 84 was mostly climbing hills. Temps were in the high-70s. The temp gauge creeped up into the red as I was merging onto I-84. Thankfully there was construction that had the speed limit reduced and people were moving at around 50 MPH. The rig really seems to like this speed. On a flat or downhill run the temp gauge actually swings left of center toward the cool side. But then the hills on I-84 started and by the time I got to my exit I was in the red again. I got off the highway and pulled off to the side to assess the situation. I let it run at about 2000 RPM with the clutch fan roaring. Helped bring it down a bit, but not enough where I felt comfortable driving it. It never boiled over - I was just relying on the gauge. I was 4.5 miles from the campground, but I didn't know what lied ahead hill-wise. It was a 40 MPH road and the part I was on was uphill.

I threw caution into the wind and pulled back onto the road. At 35-40 MPH it cooled down almost immediately.

The ride home today was totally uneventful. It was a few degrees hotter outside, but it stayed cool the whole way home. 

So what are my options to keep this thing cool then? It recovers quick, but I don't like it getting that hot. It's not an airflow thing as it gets hot at highway speeds. It seems like it needs more cooling capacity (bigger radiator?). Water pump is new. I'm not sure it's a flow thing either because if I slow down and drop it to 2nd it cools right down. An electric fan would be good at idle as it does creep up a bit but not what I would consider "hot".

Anyway, the better news is that my GF totally loves the thing. It had been consuming a lot of my time and funds. She referred to it as "the big stupid motorhome" (mostly kidding, but not 100%). Our last trip to the Promised Land was in a tent. She's totally sold on the RV thing. Hook line and sinker. Loved every minute of it (except for the overheating, but she's cool in the face of adversity - pun intended).

Our next trip is to the Pocono Raceway. It's a shorter (45 mile) trip, but it's going to be pretty hot out in August. I'm taking the whole family this time - her kid, my kids, etc. I HAVE to fix the steering by then. The thing is a handful to keep in a lane.

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  Jim, as an engineer I'm NOT going to tell you that having a tranny cooler or an oil cooler does NOT contribute at least to some extent in adding heat to the entire radiator assembly, HOWEVER if the radiator is okay I just don't see that overheating will be cured ONLY by removing those two extra sources. ITS MY OPINION your radiator is either clogged/gunked up or you have some other problem and I doubt removal of the internal tranny cooler or oil cooler etc will cure the overheating problem (may help only very slightly). I had several older Class A's that would overheat and it was cured EITHER by taking the radiator to a radiator shop where they rodded and used acid or whatever to clean it out ORRRRRRRR if it was available and bolted right in, I added an extra core such as a new 4 versus the original 3 core radiator.

 Usually the line to the cooler on power steering is on the low pressure return NOT the high pressure line I THOUGHT???? NO WARRANTY. Those are such low pressure a hose and hose clamp type system usually works just fine. I would KEEP the oil cooler

 Again, I use that Super Cool or Wetting Agent which seems to help and a new T stat and radiator pressure cap with a cleaned out or resized radiator I bet will cure the problem assuming the fan clutch is okay.

 John T

I'll check the power steering cooler. The low pressure (return) line is usually rubber with spring clamps. The cooler is hooked up to the steel line with the threaded fittings. And it's leaking.

I probably should have replaced the radiator while I had the engine out but it looks like it will come out anyway. I know it's going to snowball. I tried to get the fittings off while the engine was out. They wouldn't budge so I didn't mess with it. The radiators are readily available for a few hundred bucks. It's probably a worthwhile investment. Getting hot at speed is generally a flow and/or capacity issue. I was just hoping for an easy fix....

Okay. Just went out and took another look at it. That IS an aftermarket trans cooler. The steel line runs down past the PS pump so it fooled me. They unhooked the line from the rad, put a rubber line on it, and ran it to the cooler. No big deal - it should be fine like that. It does appear as if it's leaking though. There's a lot of oil on the rad support and those lines that looked to me like PS fluid. But the trans fluid isn't great looking to begin with, and when it mixes with the grease it's brown by the time it gets to dripping off of the steering linkage. I'll have to clean it up and tighten down that clamp.

On the cooling thing. I got some water wetter and a new radiator cap. It looks like I have a small leak at the neck. I don't know if it's supposed to be like this, but the fill is basically an extension off the front of the radiator clamped on with a rubber hose. That hose is weeping a bit, meaning that it's probably not pressurizing like it should. The overflow tank isn't drawing everything back in as a result. The level stays pretty much where it is when it's hot once it cools down. I didn't notice all this until today.

When I first got it, it was filling the overflow tank and puking out coolant. Apparently it matters which tube you connect the radiator to on the overflow tank cap. If you do it wrong, the overflow tank doesn't work properly. I thought it was fixed once I got it hooked up right.

I keep replying to my own posts, but....

The hydroboost line is indeed leaking. So it is power steering fluid dripping off of the crank bell. It's not a ton of it, but it will need addressed eventually. And the trans cooler line is leaking a bit, too, but again just enough to make it damp. It's not dripping or pouring out of it.

For my next trip on 8/1 I'm going to focus on cooling and steering. It will be half suburban roads (40-45 MPH) and half interstate 80 (55 MPH in the section I'll be on). If it gets hot, I stop. There are plenty of exits in that region.

I'll get to the oil leaks later on.

I have an '88 Explorer 370 with a 454..yup it runs around 200 too..This week the waterpump got a bad leak through the weep hole..Am going to put in a high flow pump and a balanced thermostat and add water wetter to it..My spring tune up consisted of a K & air filter, m.S.D . Coil, cap and rotor and msd plug wires with E-3 plugs..Got new Bridgestone tires all around filled with nitrogen. .I know it sounds like I'm getting it ready for Englishtown..Will get back with how the new pump goes..Looking at Milodon pump.

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