Estimated repair costs-Prevost Marathon XL

[grantgoold]

Folks, I am trying to determine the cost of the following bus repair work! I am trying to estimate the cost of getting a bus road worthy for a 200 mile trip. The bus has an 8v92 DDEC and five speed allison. 1998 Prevost Marathon. Good rubber and air suspension.

Complete oil change with filters
Complete lubrication of all zurks
Air filter replacement
Fuel Filter change out
Water Trap Cleaning
Complete coolant change
Complete transmission oil change with filters
Main serpentene belt replacement
Brake check

Not looking for exact costs just an idea of what it may take to get this work done!

Thanks for the info!

Grant

[belfert]

I would think in excess of $1000 and perhaps even beyond $1500 based on $90 to $100 an hour labor.  At $95 an hour it costs me around $500 for oil change, lubrication, fuel filters, and brake stroke check. 

[luvrbus]

About + or - 1500 bucks I had about the same done at Prevost in Ft Worth on a series 60 engine in a H-41 was 2200.00 dollars if you add the synthetic to the transmission it gets on up there lol

good luck

[Ace]

I'm thinking more like $2500.00 max but could be lures depending on who you get to do .

[luvrbus]

You are probably real close Ace if he takes it to Prevost they were very proud of the belt 2 years ago,then he may get lucky and they have a special on oil and lube I got a flyer from WW Williams in Phoenix they have oil and lube special for 10 days for $225 not a bad price 

good luck

[grantgoold]

Thanks for the input. I will take the average and begin working with that info.

Anyone have an idea of things that these particular coaches struggle with? I am not familar with the Prevost Marathon units.?

Things I can see are an issue include all non-factory windows will need to be removed and updated.

The fast idle does not work and so the bus takes quite a bit of time to air up. No real rust issues.

The house bank includes 6 each 8D batteries. This is an all electrical bus with 50 amp service.

Anyone know where I might be able to get more information on these units? Build out sheets, wiring schematics......

Thanks

Grant

[prevosman]

There was no 1998 Prevost with an 8V92. Maybe a 1988.

I do all my own work and what you listed is about 2 days of work if the mechanic takes his time and includes a complete inspection. Changing coolant is a real PITA and unless you are satisfied with dumping and filling leaving 5 to 8 gallons of the old coolant it takes a lot of time to purge the system, refill and bleed. You don't mention if the coach has over the road air which adds a little time to the coolant change.

If it is an '88 model brakes are manual adjustment. On any coach that age I would spend a lot of time checking air bags for cracks, making sure it did not get the "leans" over time because all the rubber parts in the suspension system, including the valves don't age well.

I would especially look for bad hoses because going to the trouble and expense of a coolant change almost mandates insuring the hoses have not aged out.

The same holds true if it is a 98, but I doubt it.

[grantgoold]

Jon, thanks for the input. You are correct, my bad it is a 1988 not 98! Two days worth of mechanics time starts to add up especially as he finds things wrong. If the oil, coolant, brakes and suspension check out what kind of other issues are common in these units?

Do you know if there is anyway to get the paperwork or owners manual that would have come from marathon?

Thanks for your help.

Grant

[luvrbus]

Grant, you will find those windows on Prevost till I believe 1996 or 1997 then they changed those are factory with all the rivets showing ugly huh,
Marathon won't be much help for you with a build sheet they didn't keep very good records back then and wiring can be a nightmare on one so can the Cruise Air ac they installed the units back in the engine compartment and they never worked because of the heat so most were changed over to roof airs by po's  




good luck

[prevosman]

Jon, thanks for the input. You are correct, my bad it is a 1988 not 98! Two days worth of mechanics time starts to add up especially as he finds things wrong. If the oil, coolant, brakes and suspension check out what kind of other issues are common in these units?

Do you know if there is anyway to get the paperwork or owners manual that would have come from marathon?

Thanks for your help.

Grant

Grant,

If you want to skate through just give a mechanic your to-do list and ask him to not go beyond what is on the list. That is the cheapest way. Make sure you insist on Dextron for the transmission and not Transynd, make sure he uses Detroit spec coolant, but only the two year life coolant, not the EC-1. You wil get exactly what you ask for.

If it were my bus, knowing what I have learned by 21 years of ownership, and about 15 or 16 being the only one who has maintained or repaired my coach I know an older coach without detailed maintenance records has the potential to be a nightmare. Unless brake chambers, air bags, Norgren valves, hoses, tires, shocks, etc. have been replaced recently every one of the items listed could have "aged" out. I am not talking about mandated replacement, but replacement because the rubber after a period of time no longer seals, it cracks, and at some point just gives up. A blown air bag has you driving with the coach just about sitting on the ground or up on a trailer. A ruptured brake diaphragm means you have compromised brakes. bad hoses can fail and dump your new coolant. You see where I am coming from. Pay me now or pay me later. Usually deferred maintenance is way more costly than biting the bullet and doing it when it makes sense. The best time to change coolant hoses is when the system is drained. Don't forget it is likely your coolant hoses are also inside the coach at various heat exchangers.

As far as the windows, Prevost on occasion has specials. I bought three recently for $130 apiece. It might pay to check with Prevost and see if they have any more specials coming up.

The underside of the coach is pretty reliable except the items I listed above do need special attention. Other than those I cannot think of anything beyond possibly being faced with a radiator recore that was a problem. I think the 8V92 tends to plug radiators despite good coolant maintenance so just watch your temps. Your biggest ongoing battle will be chasing air leaks, especially in the aux air system relating to the suspension. Yours is sensistive to that because once the aux air drops below about 35 PSI your rear air bags will dump air and the coach will drop. That is the way it was designed so NEVER get beneath the coach unless it is supported.

[grantgoold]

Awesome, thank you very much for you information. Sounds like we could have major issues with the coach's air system.

Regards,

Grant

[prevosman]

Grant, I forgot to mention and I hope this doesn't violate forum rules, but the Prevost Owners Group is another site in addition to this one that you should visit.

I belong to a number of Prevost related forums and there is no such thing as too much knowledge.What you gain by participating in a range of sites is a varied perspective on ownership and in POG in particular you are apt to find others with your vintage coach that can give converter specific advice. I'm a Liberty owner so my assistance on the Marathon conversion portion of your coach is worthless.

This site is excellent for mechanical aspects of the coach and the specific knowledge these folks have on the drivetrain is awesome.

[grantgoold]

Got it!

Thanks a bunch!

Grant

[TomC]

If you've ever done oil changes on a car, doing all those things on your list isn't exactly brain surgery.  The biggest problem is what to do with the 8 plus gallons of used oil.  I have a 55gal drum for old oil and have it emptied every other year.  If you don't know how to do these relatively simple jobs you've described, it would be a good idea to find someone that will look over your shoulder to do it yourself.  As you can see from the estimates previously mentioned, you'll save a boat load of money in the long run.  And just because you take it into a professional shop doesn't ensure you that the snotty nose kid that's changing the oil (usually the lowest on the totem pole for mechanical work) won't make a mistake somehow.  Just that fact is why I prefer to do my oil changes myself-then I know it is done correctly.  Yesterday on my Kenworth, I replaced the transmission, engine oil, water and two fuel filters since the old ones were Baldwin filters-which have been shown (we've lost a few engines because of this) to disintegrate over long periods of time.  Advice-do not use Baldwin filters.  Detroit's filters are made by Donaldson.  The only other filter I'd use is Caterpillar.  Good Luck, TomC

[Len Silva]

The Prevost part is relatively easy.  Lots of documentation, manuals, and experience out there.

The Marathon part is another story.  It's a damn shame that the docs are not with the bus, who would do that?

I would work my way back through the previous owners if possible,  you might get lucky.

If it were sold through a dealer, they often remove the doc package so it won't get pilfered.  Again, you might get lucky.  I don't think you will have much luck going through Marathon, but it's certainly worth a try.