Well I'm back on the hunt again and have come across an MCI 9 locally. Thought I'd go check it out. Older conversion, 8-71, Allison auto. Supposedly in great condition and road ready... What should I check for for in particular? Engine is supposed to have 33k, but you know how that goes...
QuoteEngine is supposed to have 33k, but you know how that goes...
And do we ever! There must be an unwritten rule and force of nature that
any bus add must state that a rebuild was done around 30K ago. Oh, and good luck with the documentation for that! Lesson to anyone rebuilding your engine. You will be spending lots of money to only sell it 30k miles later! I plan on keeping my bus longer so that is why I don't rebuild it. It didn't get the name "Wheezy Bus" for nothing. :D
I think I might know why all engines are rebuilt... (tongue firmly in cheek) They reset the hubometers when they rebuild engines, so whatever that reads is the engine mileage.
Good Luck on the MC-9 Marc.. Only bad thing about a local bus is that you miss out on the maiden voyage home which is half of the fun in buying one. Best thing though is that you won't have to travel hundreds of miles to check it out. I must have gotten shafted...because my bus didn't come with the famous recent rebuild.. :(
Jimmy
9 8 5 or a 7 they are all about the same for stuff to check
Air beams would be the big one for me ---- Radiator compartments could use some checking
When I bought my 8 the rads were shot and the engine spread oil like a gulf oil spill however I didn't get one of those buses with a "Fresh Rebuild"
Tires Brakes --- Listen for air leaks ---- I had more leaks than the Wiki Leaks guy --- but how would I know --- He parked the bus in front of my house pointed at a bunch of stuff and left.
Lights check all the lights --- if they don't work isn't a big deal but could indicate some grounding problems (don't ask) but it gives you something else that is good or bad
Have them show you how to start from the front and the back and the "magic switch" that will lock you out --- simple but good to know
Look in BOTH the front and rear low voltage electric panels and look for mods or wire that is "A MISS" or " out of place"
The Battery Compartment will give you a good idea about his Maintenance schedule --- see how neat and clean it is and that the wires and terminals are up to par
Look for "cut up stuff" or loose stuff --- but that is all water under the bridge for me --- just stuff I could have asked about.
HTH
YMMV
Melbo
Quote from: Melbo on January 28, 2011, 10:03:02 PM
Have them show you how to start from the front and the back and the "magic switch" that will lock you out --- simple but good to know
HTH
YMMV
Melbo
Melbo... Very good tip.. I carry about a 4ft stick in one of my bays just incase that magic switch locks me out...AGAIN... It is just long enough to stick through the drivers ticket window and reach the magic air valve and release the air pressure to the door.
Jimmy
There is supposed to be a cable to release the air valve for the door externally. On mine the cable is inside the electrical bay space beside the driver, on others I think it was near the front wiper panel.
I agree with the others. Running gear, air beams, air springs, radiator condition, condition of the framing inside the bays and inside the locked compartments, good running engine. Check the compressor recovery time - engine on, high idle or 1,000 rpm, air pressure up to cut-out at 120 psi and stable (no discernible drop in one minute with engine off, that way you know the suspension is fully up to pressure) with the engine running fan the brakes rapidly to drop the air pressure to 60 psi, verify that the low air warning light and buzzer operate correctly. Now, let the pressure begin to build, and time the rise from 85 psi to 100 psi. Must be less than 45 seconds, should be around 20 seconds (mine averages 18 seconds). Do that a few times to get the compressor working for a while, then with the pressure all the way up go out and bleed the wet tank. Look at what comes out. Nothing is good, a little water is fine, a ton of dirty oily water is bad. Also observe the purge valve on the air dryer while it is purging - look for excess water and oil. A little clean mist is fine, gobbets of mung is bad.
Look up inside the spare tire compartment and inside the front tool bay for rust. Look inside the rear upper compartment where the rads and the fans are for rust. Inspect the engine framing, probably too dirty to see much but look anyway. Look for signs of grounding the rear of the bus. Look at the wiring of the chassis, does it look "stock" or is it well or poorly modified? Look for signs that the bodywork has been pushed out of line by hidden corrosion. Inspect around the windshields for signs of leaking, particularly on the dash between the windshields.
Spend some time sitting in the bus with it running, quietly meditating (I know, "bus whisperer strikes again") and trying to become one with the bus. Try to bond with it, see if it likes you. Seriously. What you are doing is giving your mind time to process a lot of what you are learning about it, and thinking "is all right with this bus?" A bus is a big complicated thing and you need to get an overall impression of it as well as look at details.
hope this helps a bit.
Brian
Quote from: bevans6 on January 29, 2011, 06:16:26 AM
There is supposed to be a cable to release the air valve for the door externally. On mine the cable is inside the electrical bay space beside the driver, on others I think it was near the front wiper panel.
I agree with the others. Running gear, air beams, air springs, radiator condition, condition of the framing inside the bays and inside the locked compartments, good running engine. Check the compressor recovery time - engine on, high idle or 1,000 rpm, air pressure up to cut-out at 120 psi and stable (no discernible drop in one minute with engine off, that way you know the suspension is fully up to pressure) with the engine running fan the brakes rapidly to drop the air pressure to 60 psi, verify that the low air warning light and buzzer operate correctly. Now, let the pressure begin to build, and time the rise from 85 psi to 100 psi. Must be less than 45 seconds, should be around 20 seconds (mine averages 18 seconds). Do that a few times to get the compressor working for a while, then with the pressure all the way up go out and bleed the wet tank. Look at what comes out. Nothing is good, a little water is fine, a ton of dirty oily water is bad. Also observe the purge valve on the air dryer while it is purging - look for excess water and oil. A little clean mist is fine, gobbets of mung is bad.
Look up inside the spare tire compartment and inside the front tool bay for rust. Look inside the rear upper compartment where the rads and the fans are for rust. Inspect the engine framing, probably too dirty to see much but look anyway. Look for signs of grounding the rear of the bus. Look at the wiring of the chassis, does it look "stock" or is it well or poorly modified? Look for signs that the bodywork has been pushed out of line by hidden corrosion. Inspect around the windshields for signs of leaking, particularly on the dash between the windshields.
Spend some time sitting in the bus with it running, quietly meditating (I know, "bus whisperer strikes again") and trying to become one with the bus. Try to bond with it, see if it likes you. Seriously. What you are doing is giving your mind time to process a lot of what you are learning about it, and thinking "is all right with this bus?" A bus is a big complicated thing and you need to get an overall impression of it as well as look at details.
hope this helps a bit.
Brian
Actually makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for the advice.
Getting ready to leave now, it's not
that local, 3 hours away, but after considering buses 1000+ miles from here, it seems local. LOL
Anything less than 1000 miles IS local! ;D
Good luck, Jumpsuit, hope it's the one. Are you coming towards WNC?
Quote from: brando4905 on January 29, 2011, 06:45:14 AM
Good luck, Jumpsuit, hope it's the one. Are you coming towards WNC?
After this much time and so many deals falling through, I have become quite patient (a very good thing), but I am always hoping the next one is "the one". My wife likes it right off the bat, so that's a good sign.
I am actually going to S. Carolina to see this one.
QuoteI have become quite patient (a very good thing)
You will get the best deal that way. There will be more buses for sale as things warm up. Even more if fuel keeps going up. Time is your friend on this quest.
We saw the MC9 today. It was fun. The owner was a very interesting guy. He seems to be quite a free spirit. He and his wife bought the bus 8 years ago from a a Bus dealer in Nashville, TN. They have put 10k miles on it going back and forth to Florida. It has been sitting for about a year.
He admits that when he bought it he was totally green. He put all his faith in the bus company and fortunately they took care of him. Since then, he says he kept up PM's and fixed everything it has ever needed, but he still knows very little about the bus systems and has only done what his mechanic has told him to do for maintenance. The good thing is that he had a regular mechanic take care of it, but it sure would have been nice if he was more knowledgeable.
It ran absolutely great, no smoke whatsoever. When he went to move it, the brakes were sticky, but he pumped the pedal a few times and they freed up. When they freed up, up, he drove us around. It seemed to run very strong and shifted fine. He kept reiterating how the bus has never once let him down. In fact, he must have said that 10 times.
Turns out that this was a band bus that he and his wife converted in a very basic way. In fact, the black tank he installed is the type with a handle that you take out and roll over to the dump station. There is no fresh water tank at all because he said that they just plugged into the water at campsites. No generator either. So those things will need to be addressed... I don't see myself rolling my waste tank around, could you?
There are a few dings here and there and a dent in the rear bumper, but overall the bus is pretty nice. I saw absolutely no rust whatsoever. One very good thing is that he is open to trades.
Hypothetically, if we proceeded, we would definitely have it looked over by a professional and have all issues addressed on site before taking possession. It did have a bad air leak at the wipers???. The tank depleted fairly quickly, could that have been caused by the wiper air leak? It went down within 5 minutes. Tires were good, maybe 2 were questionable. He said he had installed 4 within the past 5 years. The fast idle was not working. He said sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Of course, I would want that fixed as well.
We will continue to look, but will keep this one in mind and continue to talk about it. Looks like the kind of thing we could pick away at. I had a very good feeling about it from a mechanical standpoint.
This has the possibility to make a start for someone, depending on the quality of work already done:
1982 MCI MCI-9, crusader II (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130480667100&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AUS%3A1123)
There are some issues, such as the non-RV gen-set as an example.