Texas Trip Begins

[kwood]

Fueled up the bus, pretripped, checked all fluids, checked the air in the tires.  We are off in a couple hours for Texas with 2 adults, 4 kids, 2 labs, 1 goldfish, 2 bearded dragons, and one guinea pig.  Everything else will be shipped by the company.  Heading down I-5 south from Seattle to Bakersfield, then across I-40 to Texas.  Stopping by Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater on the way.  Too bad I am not leaving a few days later as I am going right past Bus'n USA tonight.

Hoping for an uneventful trip.

Kevin

[luvrbus]

Kevin, if you have any problems or need a over night parking place we are off I 40 6 miles north of Needles on 95 your best bet for fuel is at the Lake Havasu exit Love's and Pilot have RV pumps and you save 8 cents a gal off the posted price.Sure you know this but OR is the worst place to buy fuel they add .25 a gal over the posted price for a RV



good luck and drive safe

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Maybe we will see you,  we are also leaving in 2-3 hours to head to BUSN".  Going from Ellensburg to Yakima to I-84 to I-205 to I-5 in Oregon.  Channel 19 on the CB.

[Dreamscape]

Enjoy your trip! Lots to see in do along the way. And Clifford happens to be on the way!

Be safe and have fun!

As per below post!

And RJ too!

[RJ]

Kevin -

If you peel off of I-5 in Stockton to CA 99, it's a much better connection to Hiway 58 in Bakersfield enroute to Barstow.

Take the Hiway 4 cross-town in Stockton, it's only a couple of miles before it puts you onto 99.

If you miss that, you can also make the 99 connection via Hiway 120 in Manteca, just a few miles south of Stockton.

Somewhat more traffic on 99, but not as desolate.

Should the dogs decide they need a break, making a pit stop in Fresno could score you & the troops a free Pepsi, too!  559, two six zero, 4106 is the magic number - call now, operators are standing by!

Drive safe, don't push it, take breaks, enjoy the journey!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[kwood]

THanks, guys!  We are leaving in 1 hour, just final loading and picking up the kids from school.  I will keep you all up to date as wi-fi permits. 

Looking forward to this trip, it should be fun!

Kevin

[kwood]

Made to Albany, OR KOA.  Seems to be running good, just strolls down the freeway.  However, it used quite a bit of oil.  I actually just added two gallons.  I see a leak at the right front valve cover.  Can't fix it until tomorrow as I don't have the correct wrench.  The cover bolts use 3/8 12 point and I only have 6 point in the box, go figure.  I also see oil above the pulleys in front of the blower.  I don't know how much I am losing out of either leak as the engine is not that much of a mess (was pressure washed last winter and not run much since) and it is not leaving a pool of oil on the ground from running out.  I don't see any black smoke (or even grey) when driving so it does not seem that it is burning oil.  Just not sure where that much is going.  I have enough spare oil to last the trip but I will need to figure where the oil is going.  I also have slobbber tubes but there is no oil running out of them when stopping so it doesn't seem to be blowing out of them.  Hmmm.

Leaving early in the morning so I can hit the Southern Oregon and Northern California mountains by midmorning.

I saw several bus conversions today.  I saw an old GMC with an greyhound painted on the side and two Prevost.  Honked the airhorn and waved.  Hi to any of you I saw. 


Regards,
Kevin

[robertglines1]

Kevin...ck oil and add only after engine not running and shut down for 20 minutes...my apologies if you already know that...have a great trip...Bob

[rv_safetyman]

Kevin.  Like others, I love these threads that talk about hitting the road.  

I always try to generate pictures in my mind of the trip and it would help if we knew more about your bus.  I looked at your profile and you have not listed that kind of information.

Good luck on your journey and thanks for giving us the details.

Jim

[kwood]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips around Stockton to 99, they worked great.  We are now in Kingman, AZ.  We have covered 1470 miles in 2 1/2 days.  Going to check out the Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater tomorrow as we continue east.

It is a bit hot as the OTR ac gave out in Redding.  Go figure.  It blows hot air now.  Worked fine in Seattle where we never actually needed it.

Still having an oil issue.  I have a bad leak either at a right front valve cover or a possible crack in a fitting below the head at the right front of the engine.

When stop I do see some oil dripping out of the right tube off the top of the right valve cover.  I wonder if I am blowing oil out of this tube that runs from a breather on top of the valve cover to the ground under the coach.  During one of our four hour runs something interesting happened.  I have been having to add oil every couple hours.  During one stop  I forgot to put the oil fill plug back on top of the right valve cover.  Of course it blew a fine oil mist all over the compartment on the right side of the bus, but during this four hour run it used very little oil on the stick.  I put the plug back in and the oil consumption went back up.  Not sure what to make of that.  Is something putting too much pressure in the right side valve cover and blowing the oil out of the tubere under the bus while runnign?

Anyway, going to rest by the pool while the kids play before bed and an early start tomorrow.

Regards,

Kevin

[kwood]

Made it to Holbrook, AZ last night after quick visits to the Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater.  The kids agree that we need to come back and spend more time at both.  Heading eastward again early this morning.  Will be in Texas soon!  Still having  the oiling problem.  Hope to find a shop that can help before I need to have the bus inspected for the change of residency.  I do have a bit of time as my wife reminded  me we cannot change the residency until we actually have a house so we have an address.  Besides the oil problem and lack of ac, the bus is running strong.  I will post some pics once we reach Texas and have a bit more time.  This hasn't been that much of a relaxing trip with the 12-13 hour driving days.

Regards,

Kevin

[robertglines1]

Kevin...hope your where your going so you can have a break...sounds like you need it....sounds like bus is doing good and you and family like the adventure...when you get settled the valve cover vents that have the large hoses going to bottom of engine toward ground need serviced from time to time..just take them loose and wash them out in solevent...the other leak you mentioned at valve cover could be oil forced out by the crankcase vents being dirty..or bad gaskett....leak on side of engine?is this the return hose from a acessory or the air box drain valves(the air box drain valves would have small hose going to ground also)...the air box drain valves can be disassembled and cleaned also...note how you take apart;there is one on each side of engine below heads...when you get ready just post and our knowledgeable members will guide you...Enjoy life and family time..Bob

[kwood]

Whew, made it to Amarillo.  We will be in Midland by 12-1pm tomorrow.  It has been fun, though.  Today we saw a cool dinosaur museum just west of the Texas border in New Mexico.  We have been doing the KOA thing each night.  They have been really great to us and the kids have fun in their pools. 

Robert,  thanks for the tip on the breather.  You may be right.  As I think about it I did not have this problem in the past.  We added jake brakes to the engine a few months ago and so taller  valve covers were added.  I wonder if one of the breathers is clogged from sitting so long or something in its past life.  I will pull the cover and look after we get settled in Midland.  It would make sense to force oil out the gasket too if it is under pressure.  This is only happening on one side of the engine.  If not, it might be a leak in a return hose from the compressor.  There is a ninety degree fitting that goes into the head in front of the exhaust manifold and below where the valve cover leak is.  Can't tell if the oil is leaking down or spraying up at this point.

Another board member suggested that I may be putting in too much oil, but I don't know.  My dipstick has part number 5102092 V.  It measures 20" from the bottom of the cap that covers the tube to the end of the stick.  Does anyone know if this is correct for and 8v71?  When I add oil it is at the very end of the stick so I am reluctant to not add oil at this point.

I will update soon.

Kevin

[RJ]

Kevin -

Proper oil level is 1" below the interface between the block and the engine's oil pan.  Run your dipstick alongside the tube and see where the marks are in comparison to the block/pan interface, and go from there.

Oil level is best checked cold - first thing in the morning.  Mid-day or fuel stop checks should be made after the engine has been stopped for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Agree w/ others that if it's only on the one side after installing new "used" valve covers for the Jakes, you've probably got a plugged vent.

Air box drain (slobber tubes) checkvalves can also stick sometimes, another thing to check.

Glad the Stockton suggestion worked for you - sometimes older routes are more direct.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[kwood]

Thanks for all the advice.  I have been working hard at the new job in Midland so I haven't even been back to look at the bus in a few days.  Once things settle down I will check into the tips listed above.

Thanks to all!

Kevin