2000 Spartan Motorhome problems

Filed Jul 15, 2016 · Engine · 45,000 miles · NC · fire

Engine fire while on the highway. We recently had a disaster in our motor home. A fire broke out in the engine compartment while on the highway (oct 2015 near asheville nc). What I discovered was a seal had failed on the hydraulic motor that drives the fan. (this unit has a side radiator) when the seal failed it sprayed oil on the fan blades thus spreading oil over the turbo and exhaust manifold of the engine. Have seen 3 other coaches in flames with the same problem. Looked on the web at many coaches in salvage yards and almost always the fire starts in this same location. This is a potential life threatening situation. By the time I had the coach stopped it had completely filled with thick black smoke and I had problems getting my wife out the door, also a very expensive problem. I think a shield around the motor to keep oil from getting on the fan blades or a double seal on the motor shaft with a drain tube between seals would be an easy fix and not too expensive. The coach we lost was on a spartan chassis the last one I saw burn was on a freight liner chassis. I think all the coaches with side radiator have this same issue. I sincerely hope you will look at this issue.