We started pulling the engine yesterday between raindrops. (N. Ga backwoods garage). Got the turbo intake and exhaust loose, bumper off, anti-freeze out, belts off. Oh, and we ran it a little to verify it is still leaking from the same place, as if the bumper, tow cable, and the toad hood wasn't enough.
We plan to replace the hose connections on the waterlines, check oil lines, replace buffers any worn spots or fix them so they don't rub, and maybe add a little paint. any other suggestions?
Tom,
Glad ya'll had a safe trip, tell Sis HI. When we replaced all the short sections of coolant hoses, we also replaced the hose clamps. After the engine is back in the coach, some of those clamps can be very difficult to access if they fail. Jack
PS: Wish we could have followed ya'll up to John & Lois'
Tom,
Good luck with the oil leak. We made it back to Maine with the Eagle and Prevost both with no problems except the price of fuel. Keep us posted on the engine work. Just put our Eagle out for sale.
Dennis and Karen
I identified a number of oil leaks on my old engine as I tore it down. It was leaking a ton, probably half or more of my 600 miles per gallon oil usage.
The compressor was loose on the unreachable lower bolts. The blower drive hose was loose, leaking a lot onto the top of the engine and it would run down all over. The alternator pulley drive seal was leaking. The alternator vent hose was loose. The alternator drain hose was kinked, probably pressurizing the alternator when it shouldn't. The main seal behind the flywheel was bad and putting out a lot of oil. At the front, the crank seal was OK but there was a major leak from the bottom of the front engine plate. There may have been more, but that's all I found for sure. Hard to tell, it was a major oily mess.
Brian
The engine is back in the bus! But we still have some lines to connect, put the governor back on, and add fluids of various flavors. Please cross your fingers that we didn't break something while fixing the oil leak.
John Vickrey is amazing. He showed me a lot, devoted a lot of his time to helping me to help him pull my engine, and managed to set the engine/tranny right down on the bolt holes so that all but one of the bolts just dropped in when we pulled the bus back onto the engine where it has been sitting for almost 10 days. For those deprived of having an eagle, our engines sit on 2 large crossmembers bolted to the bus frame with 8 bolts.
We (I) hope to have it running tomorrow. The good part of doing this at a backyard garage is that you crawl out from under the bus, wash up, and the wives have the BBQ ribs just waiting. Mmmm! The bad part is that i'm sore all over from being cramped up behind the transmission, reaching 2 inches beyond my arm length to try to get wires on the alternater, or flat on my back trying to hook up wires, cables and hoses. Did i mention gravel floor? Ouch!
My Daddy told me things like this build character. My wife says it worked because I am one. :-)
It feels good when a plan comes together and there's a satisfaction in having done it yourself, despite the arthritis that may have been aggravated. I hope you bled on it a lot. I regard blood as either a penetrant or a thread locker - depends which direction I am going.
Tom,
We will keep our fingers crosssed for ya'll (since it would be hard for you to do anything there if you are standing around keeping your fingers crossed). Sure would have been nice to have had some of Fran's ribs for supper last night. But, we did finish off the angel food cake and strawberries. Jack
Quote from: white-eagle on March 25, 2011, 07:54:23 PM(snip) The bad part is that i'm sore all over from being cramped up behind the transmission, reaching 2 inches beyond my arm length to try to get wires on the alternater, or flat on my back trying to hook up wires, cables and hoses. Did i mention gravel floor? Ouch!
My Daddy told me things like this build character. My wife says it worked because I am one. :-)
Sounds like you need a "Georgia creeper" (the box a refrigerator came in, flattened). Congrats on the progress, hope that the remaining work goes well and quickly and all proves successful.
Tom, you should have check the backlash and the meshing of the gears on your alternator with gear marking compound while the engine was out there is a adjustment inside the spacer if you didn't remove or turn the 2 set screws you should be alright but I know you had to remove the spacer to repair the oil leak one of those things you don't find in the DD bible it is a supplemental book
good luck
You will need to double that (cardboard creeper) if you are on gravel, as they will ooze on through. Oh,and good luck on the oil leak repair. Glen Rice, a little further in the Ga. mtns.
ATTA Boy Tom! ;) Hope all turns out well! It's was the last CM bolt that got me. ;D
Van
Keep us posted on the results and maybe some pictures (gotta get your bus porn)
thanks
Melbo
Rain, Rain go away!! >:(
Tom I wish I could be there to sit with a cold beverage and watch you work and help eat the ribs.
Good luck on the repair.
Bus porn for those that like pics, melbo.
On Eagles, we hide the tow bar behind a logo since it's not needed often:
More ...
Our hi-tech garage area
followed by "pulling the engine" actually we pulled the bus off the engine/tranny.
make sure you block the flywheel in. Note the wire in John's hand.
we took pics of the gears to make sure we put them back in aligned and timed
actually, the last shows the tranny in the process of being pulled, this shows the wire ready to use.
On any job, supervison is important. Jan Sell and Lois Vickrey. (Fran's the Photog).
and the update:
Engine is back in, and we took a successfull test drive today, about 10 mi. top speed 70, low speed 20. Kept a cup of coffee just fine on the stove countertop (hurray for eagle suspension). We missed tightening 2 hoses, tranny linkage was off (no reverse), the governor leaked until i put new gasket in, and 2nd seems not to want to shift to 3rd unless i let up on the throttle. throttle was sticking until we adjusted the turbo air intake off of the cable. Not bad for tearing the engine down just to fix an oil leak.
Thanks to Carl Sell who stopped to laugh at this fiasco, but actually caught a few errors or made some good comments, and real kudo's to John Vickrey who did a bangup job of teaching me, showing me, getting greasy, doing the really important stuff, and making us feel like family during our time here.
My only issue is the warranty. John said it's 12k miles or 30 seconds out the driveway, whichever comes first.
hey tom i think you need to get the 5 /5 warranty 5 minites or 5 miles whatever comes first
looking good tom say hi to fran john / lidia
Updated warranty, 9 miles or 9 minutes, whichever occurs first.
John, I was posting the 9/9 warranty while you were posting the 5/5 warranty. Prehaps I like the 5/5 better. ;D ;D ;D
john you might get in trouble with that 9 / 9 warranty after fran makes tom a few margretas remind him about
the 5 / 5 warranty that might fix it john /lidia
ps see you guys soon
Some notes: We had the benefit of the marking on the gears from Reliablit. Williams DD was kind enough to look up my info based on SN of the engine. Installed in a tour bus in Nashville in 1998. they had the specs, and the knowledge to send me the right parts, gaskets, and bolts. We did change the flywheel bolts, although i was advised it was a waste of time and money. $27 for the 12 bolts, $40 to ship overnight since they weren't close. Atlanta williams facility was no help, had to get parts from Toledo and Cleveland. FYI. Doug in Cleveland and Bill in Toledo were great and knowledgeable.
NAPA did not have the parts, nor did Freightliner in Augusta.
We re-used the anti-freeze, didn't need much oil, and added new ATF to tranny and power steering.
New gaskets for everything.
Oil everything up as you put it back in, make sure you consult the manual for torque and sequence, unless you know it all. John rotated the engine with the starter a few 100 times to get oil and water around everything again before we actually let it start. When it did start later, we only let it run for a few minutes at a time until we were sure all was well. John had a starter clip to bypass the usual bus start checks. We always had a stick on the fuel shutdown.
i list this for those that are ignorant of such procedures as i was, so that you may not ruin your engine if you try to do it yourself.
go slow and do it right. take pictures so that you can consult the photo instead of trying to remember which port the air lines were in, oil line connects, etc.
enjoy the experience!
Sounds like you did great. congratulations Hope to see you in the fall
Good going Tom that is the toughest leak to fix on a DD and the most expensive also little different than doing the electronics gig huh lol
good luck
Someone said margarita? I could have sworn I heard it.....
Congratulations!!! I knew you and John could do it. Tell Sis to enjoy Dae-Dae. we hope to see ya'll someplace down the road. Oh Yeah, leave our parking spot at Camp Vickery all ready for us. LOL Jack
Mr. Conrad, Your spot is available. Tom & Fran left in a downpour.
The latest!!!
We are just outside Beckley, WV. John, (with my help) did an outstanding job. No oil film on the van today!! ;D ;D
Oil pressure just under 40 (normal). Temp stayed about 175-180, even going up the hills in WV, shifted OK, down and up on those hills. Jake worked well, air pressure fine.
Now if it would just get warmer :(. Temp tonight 29 and we've been warned to stay here since it's snowing in OH???? :(.
Jack, you are welcome to the spot at John's house. We cleaned it up before we left, and God is doing his own wash job on it for you.
Between the rain and the traffic, I'm ready for the margarita, but it's too darned cold. instead, we're going to snuggle with some hot tea, sweetened with an ample amount of Wild Turkey Amercian Honey Bourbon and a bowl of Fran's homemade beef veggie soup/stew.
Jack, tell sis Fran raised the bar for Lois's guest cook expectations. :D
More bus porn:
This is why things are going so well so far ;D
i take instructions well as John (and Carl) point out what to do
and for those that wonder how you re-connect all the cables, wires and hoses.
Congratulations Tom and (Fran).
I am sure it feels great when all the work you went-through, corrected the problem.
Ed Roelle
Flint, MI
Tom and Fran,
Glad it worked out great for you. Still cold up here in Maine but getting warmer. See you down the road.
Dennis and Karen