New MCI owner... What advice do you have for me?

[ccbmster]

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.

[hogi6123]

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!)

[DoubleEagle]

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.

[hogi6123]

Oh and the pre-trip DOT air brake test is also NECESSARY if you want to be safe!  Your stopping depends on it!