The fun begins: My oil leak fix started

white-eagle · March 28, 2011, 06:50:33 PM

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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

white-eagle · March 28, 2011, 06:57:47 PM

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).

white-eagle · March 28, 2011, 07:11:51 PM

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.

crown · March 28, 2011, 08:00:02 PM

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

JohnVickrey · March 28, 2011, 08:00:34 PM

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.

crown · March 28, 2011, 08:14:34 PM

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

white-eagle · March 28, 2011, 08:15:06 PM

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!

baker4106 · March 29, 2011, 06:21:31 PM

Sounds like you did great. congratulations Hope to see you in the fall

luvrbus · March 29, 2011, 06:25:35 PM

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

Chopper Scott · March 29, 2011, 06:49:30 PM

Someone said margarita? I could have sworn I heard it.....

JackConrad · March 30, 2011, 01:18:32 AM

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

JohnVickrey · March 30, 2011, 06:15:51 AM

Mr. Conrad, Your spot is available. Tom & Fran left in a downpour.

white-eagle · March 30, 2011, 02:07:17 PM

The latest!!!
We are just outside Beckley, WV. John, (with my help) did an outstanding job. No oil film on the van today!!

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.

white-eagle · March 30, 2011, 02:43:04 PM

More bus porn:

This is why things are going so well so far

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.

edroelle · March 30, 2011, 03:08:01 PM

Congratulations Tom and (Fran).

I am sure it feels great when all the work you went-through, corrected the problem.

Ed Roelle
Flint, MI