We are just south of Bentonville on the shoulder right now. Low air alarm light came on. Suspect the compressor for now. Am going to try to hook up my shop compressor and try to get off this highway. Does anyone know of a good shop not to far south of here? A am heading out now to chk things out and to try hooking up the small comnpressor. TIA
Bentonville, Where?
just south of bentonville- on 71
John, I don't know of a bus shop but Browns RV will repair it or help you find a shop they are located in Springdale or Rogers
JohnZ, it is rarely a compressor, they go forever as a rule.
I am hoping for a new leak somewhere.
Good luck!
Jack
I looked under and around the bus and could hear no leaks. It dropped to about 50 pounds and pretty much stayed there. After hooking up my elec compressor the air came up and is holding well. So i think it is the compressor. I doubt the coupling failed cause i could feel it was still turning over.
Browns RV does not have mechanics, but they gave me directions to a couple truck stops at Springdale, so am heading down there.
Any other shops who could replace or whatever the comp between here and south TX would be appreciated to hear about them. Thanks.
John,
Disconnect the governor on the compressor and plug the line. It sounds like the governor has gone titsup. If it were the compressor, it would most likely not pump any air at all if it were broken. If it pumps at all, it is working.
If you plug the governor, beware that the pressure will go up to 150PSI and the over pressure valves will release on the tank.
Good Luck!
Dallas
John, are you headed toward Ft.Smith and Van Buren
yes- we are headed towards fort smith-
thanks
Debbie
John,
If your going toward Phoenix, there is a great shop south of the airport. They did some work for me and treated me right.
It's Michelangelo's 602-340-0018. Sometimes they work on Saturday. You would want to speak to Eugene or Andy. They run charters all over the west. They may know of someone your way that can help. Give them a call, Andy is great.
Good luck,
Bill
oh- thank you so much....JOhn will call him, and well let you know whats happening. thanks to everyone!
Deb
wait- Phoenix? we're in arkansas...did you mean fort smith? airport in what town?
Your in Ark,,,, not the dersert........oophs.
Bill
ok- we are on our way to springdale...will keep in touch.... thanks
Oh so sorry,,,,,(let me switch states).... ???
I had work done at a place in Little Rock, called Glover's Truck Parts & Equipment. 1-800-321-0046. They are a truck shop, not a bus shop. The service guy is David Wright.
Bill
John
About an hour from you is Cabin Diesel service in Big Cabin, OK, they do a lot of work on coaches. The owners name is Trace 918-783-5529
John, these are old numbers but may work for you
northwest ark truck 800-495-4551 springdale
meris bus 800-776-2429 van buren
If all else fails I know of one in Tulsa OK
Holiday Coach Lines Inc.
Springdale,AK
800-442-9339
After hours - 479-750-3440
Info from my Bus Garage Index - I am not affiliated with,or know anything about them.
Hope it might help.
What and AWESOME resource this list is!!! You guys are great! OK, the little elec compressor is working great! I think if i had to i could drive all the rest of the trip this way, , except for the cost of running the genset all the time. I was disparate to get off that freeway shoulder Dallas, and i had the compressor almost hooked up when you wrote, so i just boggied south. We are now heading west on I-40 and have stopped in Fort Smith for the night. Tomorrow i am going to pull the governor and see if the compressor is pumping air or not. If it is the governor i should be able to track one down tomorrow and swap it. If it is the compressor, i think i will take my time and get on the road to southern tx. So if i need it tomorrow, i will ask for names of a good shop from the Dallas area south to McAllen that can replace or repair it. Thanks everyone for your quick help,,, it is very much appreciate. ps - just got an email from home, and although it is only 49 degrees here right now, that is 50 degrees warmer than the blowing snow they have at home!
John, a D-2 air governor will cost about $20. a 7/16" a 1/2" and a 9/16" wrench should be all you need to change it
I agree with Dallas. Stick on a new governor and if it solves the problem, great. If you have to get an exchange compressor you will need the new governor anyway to put on the exchange.
John, there's 2 large napa stores in Ft Smith that will have a governor by the way it's 76 degrees in McAllen right now
Thanks, guys, i have all the tools i will need to change out the governor, and like you said, i will probable need it either way. Luvrbus - well this high 40's feels pretty good to us. It was 4 degrees for most of the minnesota and iowa drive last night, and believe me, i have found lots of air leaks that will need attention. If any of you want to discover where the air is infiltrating, come on up when the temp is in the single digits. A short drive will point them all out to you. Thanks again guys! I will let you know tomorrow what happens. Now it is time for supper, than a few cocktails and a movie!
If it is your air comp governor you can get that repaired at any truck shop. It is a very simple replacement if you have a regular truck type gov.
I had an oddball gov on my 4104 and still managed to replumb it to make the newer type work. The gov was only $20.
When mine failed the 150psi every few minutes pretty much freaked me out, I still can't believe noting on my ancient one blew out.
There is a bus company in LR, Arrow Stage Lines 800-632-3679.
John Z,
If it is not the governor and the compressor is self destructing be aware that the bits and pieces end up in the engine oil/crankcase.
Good luck,
Don 4107
Good morning all. Just sitting here having morning coffee. Slept in this morning. The sound of a gentle rain was conducive to being lazy. After all, i am on vacation. After some breakfast i will dig out a rain coat and get the governor off and test the compressor. Don, i appreciate the tip about the bits and pieces dropping into the oil,,, i sure hope that is not going on, but will chk for it if i get that far. First order of business is to figure out where i am parked right now and track down a parts store. Enjoy the day!
Quote from: John Z on February 15, 2008, 02:14:49 PM
I looked under and around the bus and could hear no leaks. It dropped to about 50 pounds and pretty much stayed there. After hooking up my elec compressor the air came up and is holding well. So i think it is the compressor. I doubt the coupling failed cause i could feel it was still turning over.
Browns RV does not have mechanics, but they gave me directions to a couple truck stops at Springdale, so am heading down there.
Any other shops who could replace or whatever the comp between here and south TX would be appreciated to hear about them. Thanks.
This would indicate to me that the compressor is not defective. At least the coupling is not broke.
Richard
Richard, i am guessing the drop to 50 was caused by using the brakes. When i pulled over it was about 50 pounds. As i sat there on the shoulder of the road with the engine running, it just stayed around 50. I took this to mean there were not any major leaks, but also that the compressor was not making any air. OK,, i am coffee logged and cannot put it off any longer, and the rain has pretty much let up. so it is time to pull off the governor.
OK, it does not look like it is the governor. No air coming out of the third hole. Hmmm, i doubt i can get anyone to look at it on a Sat, so will probably try driving a bit further.
Quote from: John Z on February 16, 2008, 09:29:43 AM
Richard, i am guessing the drop to 50 was caused by using the brakes. When i pulled over it was about 50 pounds. As i sat there on the shoulder of the road with the engine running, it just stayed around 50. I took this to mean there were not any major leaks, but also that the compressor was not making any air. OK,, i am coffee logged and cannot put it off any longer, and the rain has pretty much let up. so it is time to pull off the governor.
I agree. If you do not have any leaks the pressure would stay up. Sounds like you have a good air tight system.
Richard
Quote from: John Z on February 15, 2008, 02:44:12 PM
ok- we are on our way to springdale...will keep in touch.... thanks
I'm 125 miles from springdale Ar. in MO If you need help I'll run down
mike
John, I am not sure that you have been given good instructions on how to test the governor/compressor. I poked around the internet and can't find any good source.
I looked at the D2 Service Data Sheet (http://www.bendixvrc.com/itemDisplay.asp?documentID=2382) and it does not have a good trouble shooting section. However, it seems to me that if you disconnect the unloader line temporarily, that will cause the compressor to go into compress mode. Be very careful as the compressor will continue to build pressure in an uncontrolled mode.
Please understand that I am not an expert and I hope someone will jump in here to confirm or deny that this will work.
Jim
Jim is correct, I didn't give very clear directions. If the line is removed from the unloader to the governor, and the governor end is plugged while the unloader end is left open at the compressor, you should build up air pressure to around 150# at which times the safety valves on the air tanks will release.
Sorry about the confusion. I knew what I meant, even if no one else did. ;D
Dallas
PS: If the compressor builds up any pressure at all, it is working, I would go ahead and replace the governor anyway as was mentioned before. If the compressor is going into self destruct mode, you really need to quit driving it before you cause damage to the engine from parts falling here and there!
DF
Well, we are parked again. We are sitting in a weigh station at Colbert OK just north of the TX border. The electric compressor has quit pumping air now! Mike - i sure do appreciate your offer. Too bad i was headed in the other direction. Dallas - i really doubt the compressor is falling apart, but this is just gut feelings. It is making no noise at all and i sure hope it is not dropping bits into the pan. I looked in my manual and it does not even show the compressor so that was no help. I got on line to look at the engine manual and it does not show it either. I don't know what is the unloader line. If i am looking at the right part to be the governor, it is on the right end of the compressor. Held on by two bolts. It only has one air line to it. When i took it off this morning, there is a third hole into the compressor right between the two bolts. I thought that was where to chk for air being built up, but there was none.
John, never fear your in sonnie gray area now I will call him for you, theres a large Rv dealer not far from you but they are closed on sunday can you email me your cell number so I can get you some help
John,
The air compressor and governor section are from pages 96 to 108 in your 4104 manual.
Remove that line you spoke of and start up the engine. see if you start building air pressure. If not, plug the line and the hole in the governor where it went.
Attached is a photo of the governor.
John, here's 2 in Dallas for you, just south of you.
Your governor will only have 2 air lines, and 2 long bolts securing it to the air compressor.
The 3rd hole you mentioned, between the 2 mounting bolts of the governor, is where the governor "talks" to the air compressor - telling air comp to "unload", or stop pumping.
If you remove the air intake flange on the air comp, look inside rectangular hole, on bottom. The unloaders are located in there and sometimes don't seat properly every time - piece of carbon, etc.
Make sure they are seated in down position. They can be removed with a long nose pair of pliers if you need to. Work carefully because they have a small spring in there too. Best of luck, you'll be fine. Let us know if you need more phone numbers.
Stewart & Stevenson
214-631-5370 (24hrs)
800-460-7711
MCI
214-366-5900
800-248-4942
800-241-2947 - after hours
luvrbus has put us in touch with a local busnut who lives 15 - 20 miles from where we are stopped. He is coming out in the morning with an elec compressor, and then we are driving to his shop and will attempt repairs there. I have to give high marks to luvrbus and his friend - they certainly are busnuts to say the least. Dallas, that picture is exactly what is on my compressor. I removed it and started the engine but it did not pump air. Sammy - thanks for the phone numbers and tips,, but it is dark and windy (man is it windy!!!) so i am staying inside. We appreciate everyones help more than we can say!
OK, it turns out it was the drive gear on the compressor, which is some kind of composite material, had stripped. It just happened that this guy had an engine tore down so had a spare compressor. They took the gear off the spare one and put it on mine and we were back in BUSiness in no time. These were not the ideal conditions i would have picked to meet a couple busnuts, but it really did work out just fine. So hats off to Clifford, Sonnie and Mike, we owe you many thanks!
Now,can someone give me the name of a place to get some good TX barbque? We are about 45 min south of DFW and heading to the McAllen area.
Thanks to all of you for your help.
Now JohnZ...don't you know that ALL TX BBQ is GREAT! ;D
Glad it worked out for you. I sat back and read the post thinking...man...if I ever get in trouble...help aint far away!
You folks are awesome!
Jack
John,
Glad Sonnie was able to help, he is always helpful, along with Clifford and Mike. Even though you have met several bus nuts from your problem, that is a great way to meet them. That's how I met Clifford and his wife Sonja when I broke down in Palm Springs on my way to Abilene TX. That's one of the many benefits from having great bus nut friends.
If ever in Abilene I know of several great steak places.
I got your message and will call you this morning.
Paul
Following this post goes to show that true bus nuts don't recognize name brands my point Eagle owners doing everything possible to get a GM owner back on the road good job fellows
Well John I am sorry I was stuck in Gatlinburg, Tn all weekend w/no internet! I am glad you got'r goin'! If I'd been where I could'a seen this early enough I could have hooked you up witha good mechanic friend just N. of Fort Smith. Glad to see that others were here looking out for you too! ;D BK ;D
BK,, if it had not been so darn cold and windy when we got to southern Iowa, we may have ended up on your doorstep! We had considered coming down that way, cuz i want to chk out that area. But we were so darned cold we just wanted to head straight south and get warmed up! Your friend in Ft Smith would have worked out nice, but as it all turned out, it was ok. Thanks for the kind thoughts.