How to get under Bus without air?

[B_K]

If the drive wheels were off, is that enough access?

Watch, SOS pads have soap impregnated in 'em. Course steel wool will do the job.

Get these jobs separated. First job is access, then the repair.

Can you get air to the suspension? Choose a side to pull drives off, JB weld prep and apply. Go about your business and decide what to do about the long term later.

the tow needs air in the suspension anyway... time spent is money saved.

This would be so much easier standing there beside you...!

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

BW thanks for remembering to point that out. I don't actually use SOS pads, but rather a soap free copper similar type of pad and could not think of the brand name and so used SOS as a reference to type of pad to use not thinking about the soap in the SOS pads.

Also agree 100% about it being easier of one were right there beside him to help. And as a side note I had thought about recommending he contact Scott Crosby of the BGM board to come help him. I forgot about Dick and several other BGM members being in that area that might be able to assist.

But I am also in agreeance that a temp repair is a better route than a tow since to proprly tow it they need to air up the suspension as well as release the brakes. Of course a Landoll could be used to haul it w/o airing it up, but to load on a Landoll w/o damage w/o air is going to take a very skilled operator a very signifagant amount of time which equals $!
Also as noted taking the drive wheels off the driver side may just be the ticket to access the area needing repair.
 BK  

[luvrbus]

It is so friggn cold there I feel for the young man,I hate removing air takes on a 80 degree day   

[Scott & Heather]

Ok guys, I just finished cleaning, degreasing rinsing, sanding rinsing, and then drying with a torch and heating it up before applying an entire package of JB weld. Now I’ll wait the 24 hour set time before starting the coach. Crossing fingers with a prayer.

I have one question, can someone please tell me definitively which tank this is? I have to order a replacement from Luke because I think this one actually might be too far gone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[B_K]

I am pretty sure as someone posted above it is your "dry tank" and Luke should have or can get you one.
  BK 

[brmax]

Good day there

Floyd

ps: an incandesent drop light suprisingly is a wealth of heat in this situation.

[luvrbus]

First tank inline from the compressor or dryer is your wet tank from there it goes to the dry tank from the dry tank it goes to the others like parking,brakes and auxiliary tanks on a C and other MCI's,MCI's get a little screwy on plumbing with air dryer mounted at the front axle.Not being there I would guess dry tank since it is not building pressure to open the valve to fill the other tanks   

[bevans6]

My 1980 MCI has the dry tank at the rear axle bay in front of the driver's side tires, but behind a wall,  You access it from the luggage bay.  Yours looks like the dry tank.  That huge air line would be from the wet tank, the other lines feed the R8 valve and the E9 foot valve, and the rest of the air system.

[Scott & Heather]

Ok so I just tell Luke “I need the dry tank” and that should do it? JB weld is applied and drying. Tomorrow I’ll test it...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[windtrader]

I've got 50 that it works fine! Y'all have the experience doing things right. My badge says hacker and JB Weld if applied to clean surface is bombproof. It's magical stuff and really is like metal - you need to grind it off once set.

[Dave5Cs]

No do not grind the JB weld. Let it seal and dry and leave it alone until you can replace or weld the tank.

It is the "Dry tank" like I said way back. It is the only tank back there and generally laying down with the drain in the middle and 3 big lines going and coming from it. On the 5C's they are behind an "L"shaped metal wall with 2 small hinged flaps. One to get to the drain and one to get to the electrical regulator up on top. I took out that wall and the tank is all exposed to get to everything.

Scott you may not have the wall. Maybe your's is in the well wheel on your model? or just inside the back bay on driver side.

[Scott & Heather]

Man I can’t see any kind of removable wall but that would explain why it’s been so hard to mess with this. I can’t do it anymore. My hands are torn up bad and I have to play piano and sing this weekend for $$. If this doesn’t work, I’m calling a mobile repair guy. This is nuts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Branderson]

Man, 2018 starting out rough for ya brother.

[Oonrahnjay]

 Looks like that has been leaking for a while and he probably has a another air leak besides his tank.  

        It also looks like the leak is right along the mounting bracket original weld.  That makes me think -- along with the leaking for a long time part -- that that bracket was put in under stress or tension when it was installed and it finally broke from too much force on it.  I'm sure it can be JB Welded up (or even metal welded) to go for a while but if it was carrying enough force on the mounting brackets that it broke, why wouldn't it break again or why aren't the other brackets and parts overstressed also?  
        If it were my bus, I'd have a new tank in there -- and I'd be sure that mounting points on the bus weren't out of line or misinstalled in a way that would break the brackets off the new tank too.

[luvrbus]

DaveC some C3's have 4 tanks at the rear 2 vertical and 2 horizontal and the only you can remove any of the 4 is from underneath the bus and you had to remove the 2 vertical tanks to remove the dry tank a real PITA   

[Geoff]

I've got 50 that it works fine! Y'all have the experience doing things right. My badge says hacker and JB Weld if applied to clean surface is bombproof. It's magical stuff and really is like metal - you need to grind it off once set.

I'll take you up on that "50", but do you mean $50 or 50/50 chance it will hold?  I do not think it will hold under 120-125 psi pressure.  It needs to be brazed for a more "permanent" fix, but Flex Steel is easier to work with but I am not claiming it is permanent either.  And you can't put it on if the JB fails, it is too late.  I say JB Weld will not hold because it is made for non-pressurized leaks... it has failed me on that score.  Yes, it needs to hold until a new tank is put in, that is a stress crack.

Geoff