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

[hogi6123]

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 

[hogi6123]

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.

[chessie4905]

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.

[hogi6123]

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.

[dtcerrato]

Probably a good time to check threads on studs & nuts and for any cracks in the wheel stud holes.

[jap42]

Pro Tip: Leave the tire on the ground and loosen all the nuts 1/2 a turn or so, then lift it.

[hogi6123]

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?

[apr67]

You need to set a few days aside and watch a bunch of Bus Grease Monkey videos. 

[lostagain]

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

[hogi6123]

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.

[DoubleEagle]

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. 

[hogi6123]

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.

[dtcerrato]

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.

[lostagain]

You are one of the lucky ones. Not every rebuild and fix from that source turned out as good.

[hogi6123]

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.