BCM Community
Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: hogi6123 on June 09, 2020, 07:37:32 PM
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Hi guys,
I bought my first bus, a converted 1981 MC-9 with 8v92t, about a year ago, mostly to be an extra bedroom. Driving it is fun. At this point I'm not sure I can come to terms with the maintenance aspect -- time and cost that will be required over time -- I'm starting to look at tracing air lines, and thinking about the engine, it feels like too much bus for me. It seems to be in good shape but needs a few things, like an air bag replaced and some other air leaks fixed.
I am considering switching to some type of smaller bus, such as those built on a van or truck body.
Anyway, was wondering if anyone has any advice for me, and if you know of anyone near central Illinois that would be willing to go over it with me?
Thanks.
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Hi guys,
I bought my first bus, a converted 1981 MC-9 with 8v92t, about a year ago, mostly to be an extra bedroom. Driving it is fun. At this point I'm not sure I can come to terms with the maintenance aspect -- time and cost that will be required over time -- I'm starting to look at tracing air lines, and thinking about the engine, it feels like too much bus for me. It seems to be in good shape but needs a few things, like an air bag replaced and some other air leaks fixed.
I am considering switching to some type of smaller bus, such as those built on a van or truck body.
Anyway, was wondering if anyone has any advice for me, and if you know of anyone near central Illinois that would be willing to go over it with me?
Thanks.
HI.
I would suggest you put about 1,000 miles on it and see if you change your mind.
air bags are not too hard to change. I have done about 6 of them so far with two to go.
Good luck ;D
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Thanks for the advice :)
A few specific questions:
Where should I order an air bag from? The air bag that's (currently :P) leaking is on my tag axle.
When I drive it, a sort of dirty oily smell comes out of the ventilation ducts. Is this something that can be cleaned out or do I have to live with it?
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Thanks for the advice :)
A few specific questions:
Where should I order an air bag from? The air bag that's (currently :P) leaking is on my tag axle.
When I drive it, a sort of dirty oily smell comes out of the ventilation ducts. Is this something that can be cleaned out or do I have to live with it?
Oily smell is a lot better than the prison MCI 9 with a 8v92 bus I am working on but oily smells are easy once you find the source
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Thanks for the advice :)
A few specific questions:
Where should I order an air bag from? The air bag that's (currently :P) leaking is on my tag axle.
When I drive it, a sort of dirty oily smell comes out of the ventilation ducts. Is this something that can be cleaned out or do I have to live with it?
Hi;
You can get parts from Luke. He usually has most parts in stock. Keep this phone number, he is a good guy to work with.
Luke at US Coach = (856)794-3104 :D
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The bags on the tags are easy to change.
What part of central Illinois are you in. Central Illinois covers a lot of area from way down south to way up north and from the Mississippi River to Indiana.
We will be near Macomb in late July
Melbo
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LOL time to re-label my map... I grew up in Champaign, and Champaign-Bloomington area has been "central Illinois" to me. I'm just a little north of Champaign now.
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I found a good bus mechanic that was nearby and I replaced all the air bags on my MC-8. It wasn't that expensive but then again I don't have the mechanical experience to do it on my own.
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I'm feeling ever so slightly more confident now ;)
I have plenty experience working on vehicles, this is just a HUGE jump from the size I have experience with.
I decided to tackle some other lighter issues before the air bags.
Figured out the headlights: the previous owner had connected several wires to the wrong terminals when hooking up the batteries. :o My Vanner had been hooked up with both terminals to +24V. Headlights on one side just didn't come on, and on the other side they immediately burned out. ::)
I aired up the bus several times with shop air, and after shutting off the air it drops pretty quickly to about 50 psi. I think I need to isolate some circuits to narrow down where the leaks are at. Also need to redraw the air diagram, it looks like tangled spaghetti to me now.
The smell is from the large area under the bus where the heater core is located. Hopefully vacuuming out that area will reduce the smell.
I have large A/C units mounted in a storage bay. Yesterday noticed water is dripping where it shouldn't be, it's not draining correctly. Only problem: I see no way to dismantle the A/C unit with it in the bus!
Oil pressure gauge on the dash doesn't reading anything. How do I track this down? How does this gauge work, does the sending unit output a voltage or change resistance or something else?
I should replace most of the tires also. Front tires are good, 6 years old. Rear tires are 20+ years old. Tires on the bus are 315/80R22.5. I was given 2 new 12R22.5 tires, maybe I should put those on tag axle and get 4 new matching ones for the drives. I know there's a lot more information on tires here if I just had time to read it all.
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I have 12 R22.5 on the tag and 315 / 80 R22.5 on my drive. Works great.
I would love to see pictures of how those A/C units are installed. If they are the RV basement style I bet your drain pans/tubes are plugged. So the evaporator pan overflows. If you can see where the drains are you can use a shop vac to clear them out. Just hold the up to the end and use your hand to get as much suction on the tube as you can.
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Ok, here's one a/c unit. There's one just like it on the other side. I intend to see if there's any blockage I can clear after removing the white drain pipe. It's siliconed in there pretty good.
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Replace that white pipe with something clear. It will help you see if there a stuff building up in there. That looks somewhat custom. At least the brackets are.
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I have a 40ft transit I converted myself and been using it now for 20 years. Love the bus, but hate the lowness of it and the difficulty of servicing (putting up on blocks and crawling around to grease and change filters). This is why I'm converting my '85 KW with Cat engine. Easy to work on, parts still available from KW. And if I break down with the truck it is easy to get repaired. With the bus and 8V-71, where do you look for a repairman? I'm going to Boise, Id and a 1,900 mile trip. Am a bit nervous about breaking down even though I've rebuilt everything on the bus with low miles now. Good Luck, TomC
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Maybe I am biased, but in my opinion, anyone who buys a bus...or even thinks about buying a bus to convert, should subscribe to Bus Conversion Magazine and read everything you can about converting, maintaining, servicing, and traveling in a bus conversion before you spend one penny.
Before I bought my first bus, I did exactly that and I actually read almost EVERY issue of Bus Conversion Magazine before I bought my first MC-7 Combo bus. It was reading the many articles about the ruggedness and flexibility of the layout of the interior that helped me decide to buy my first bus, and my second, and now my third.
I liked the magazine so much, I bought the company and continue to run it 8 years later and really enjoy my bus and the great people I meet at bus rallies and in my travels.
Sign up today using Coupon Code 2020fathersday and save 50% off the subscription price and you will also have access to over 100 back issues and also several Books on PDF that will walk you thru everything you need to know about how to convert a bus to a home on wheels.
Gary
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There was no blockage in the drain pipe.
The a/c unit is tilted away from the drain, but it shouldn't be too much: there is a deep plastic pan around the evaporator, and it stays basically empty.
The insulation in the bottom of the unit is filled with about 1" of water.
I'm guessing the drain pan is cracked.
We're pulling the unit so I can do a proper investigation and repair.
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Thanks Gary, I'll probably take you up on the half off.
I doubt I would have bought any bus if I had thoroughly researched them first :)
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The A/C unit had a ton of dirt caught in the fins because of a lack of an air filter. This apparently fell down and plugged up the drain pan where it's only about 1/4" deep, and caused the water to overwhelm the sealant at that location.
I finally went to gain access to the leaking air bag, tag axle left side of the bus. Put a wrench on one of the wheel nuts, it turned. Umm the whole wheel turned, not the nut. So after a break and lots of thinking, wrapped a tie-down strap around the tire tread and strapped a chunk of 4x4 to it. That kept the wheel from turning. Put the wrench back on the nut. It was hard. Turned it quite a bit, didn't get any easier to turn. Tried a few other nuts. None of them are getting easier. So we pushed harder on the wrench. Suddenly the socket adapter snapped in half! Good thing I said "We're going to wear eye protection, this could be dangerous." At that point I ran my fingernail around the threads on one of the bolts, and realized we've been tightening the bolts not loosening them because they're reverse threaded! I've heard of this before on some cars but didn't expect it on a bus. Found another configuration of wrenches that would work, and tried again, this time turning to the left. After that, the nuts came off easily.
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Socket adapter snapped? What size drive are you using? Usually at least 3/4" drive ratchet or breaker bar with 3 /4 drive sockets. One inch drive is better but that size stuff can get pricey.
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The adapter that snapped was 1" to 3/4". It was pretty well used so could have been pre-stressed I suppose. We tightened the nuts pretty good but I don't think we got above 1000 ft lbs.
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Probably a good time to check threads on studs & nuts and for any cracks in the wheel stud holes.
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Pro Tip: Leave the tire on the ground and loosen all the nuts 1/2 a turn or so, then lift it.
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That's one I know. But my tag axle did not have any weight on it, even before being jacked up.
Some of the pushrod yokes on my brake actuators are rusted solid to the slack adjusters, they're supposed to pivot freely at that joint, correct?
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You need to set a few days aside and watch a bunch of Bus Grease Monkey videos.
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Using service shop manuals for your bus and for your engine and transmission is a lot better than learning from some internet wantabe star...
JC
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I watched a half dozen of his videos today. Thy were very light on technical information and mostly long drawn out showing broken parts, turning wrenches, starting engines, driving buses. The important parts for someone trying to fix their own bus amounted to about 1-2 minutes per hour of video. He may be a good mechanic but his videos are not good for teaching how to be a good mechanic.
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There are some knowledgeable mechanics that have the opinion that his mechanical skills are not elevated beyond shade tree status. Not everyone is happy with his work. There are many that are grateful for his assistance and his willingness to work on the oldies, but check with those that were not served well. :o
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In my case, most of the time I can look at something and say "That doesn't quite look right", and take it apart and look and say "That's why it's not working" and know how long it's been like that. I can also take a bag of parts and usually figure out how they are meant to go together even if I didn't take it apart. I can frequently clean up/lubricate the part or fabricate a repair or follow the lines and say "The last person didn't put this together correctly, and this is how it should go". Wiring diagrams etc. are extremely helpful but sometimes they just aren't available and I can make my own when necessary.
Starting to work on my bus has been a bit scary because it's many times the size of anything I have worked on in the past with large complex systems that work completely different than the smaller vehicles. (air lines and diesel engine mostly). Now that I have worked on it a bit, I'm getting a little used to it and it all seems manageable and I'm not scared so much.
Thank you all for your support.
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We are the recipient of an in-frame rebuild on our 671 DD IL we assisted Bus Grease Monkey with and the results are delightful IMHO.
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You are one of the lucky ones. Not every rebuild and fix from that source turned out as good.
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Thanks for the heads up, I didn't have any idea. Definitely it's good to extensively investigate before paying for someone like that. I fix as much as I can on my own, mechanics cost too much and they can't afford to fully diagnose issues before replacing parts. Actually I enjoy it. My vehicles go to the shop for tires and alignment, that's it. And I might figure out how to measure the alignment myself because I haven't been satisfied with the last two I had done.
How hard is a DD rebuild? Mine will probably not need it before I die though LOL.
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Just reading your posts in this thread, it is easy to see you are a LOT more knowledgeable and mechanically inclined that I am. Like about 1000 times more lol. But, I have been calling my bus(s) home for about 15 years now and loving every minute of it (ok so not EVERY minute, but most every minute lol). Started out with an MC9 and after about 7 years moved up to a MCI 102A3 in order to get the extra room with the width and a stronger engine, moving from an 8v71 to a 6v92.
The bad news is that parts and repairs can be darned expensive, especially for a guy like me that can not do a lot of it himself (both due to knowledge/experience, and also to spinal cord damage). The good news is that, if you have a well maintained unit to start with, repairs are very few and far between.
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My bus was driveable, but I'm really glad I am working to fix the seemingly minor maintenance items because they had the potential to become major at any moment: air bag leaking through cracks, hole rusted in an air tank, no oil pressure reading, very old tires. I discovered other issues while doing the work: frozen brake linkages (which damaged the brake diaphragms), chafed brake lines, leaking air valves. My opinion is still that my bus was in decent shape when I bought it but now it will be much safer. Definitely it's important to do a thorough inspection and lubing regularly, and whenever anything just doesn't seem right. Or have them done by a mechanic you can trust. (That goes for all vehicles!)
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I might figure out how to measure the alignment myself because I haven't been satisfied with the last two I had done.
The process for doing it yourself is called "stringing". There are plenty of discussions about it out there for cars and trucks, but the principles would apply to buses.
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Oh and the pre-trip DOT air brake test is also NECESSARY if you want to be safe! Your stopping depends on it! :)