Broke down in LasVegas

[bobsw]

I thought that I had joined the ran out of fuel club. We are on the side of I-15 just out of Las Vegas. The bus acted like it ran out of fuel. After adding 18 gal of fuel and filling the filters and trying to get it going Good sam sent out a mobil mec. We were able to get it to run with a small fule pump from a can to the bleeder on the filter. After about three hours he pulled the fuel line above the filter and found no suction he says the fuel pump is bad and will cost about $ 2000.00 for the labor to remove and replace it not counting the cost of the rebuild. The bus is a 73 mci-7 with a 8-v92. Does anyone know a good shop in Vegas and about what it schould cost ? The Tow truck is on the way they will tow us to a parking lot untill the shops open on tuesday. I will be reading the posts. also anyone with shop ideas my cell phone is 425-280-1344 I appreciate any help you can give      Thanks   Bob  PS Happy new year.

[captain ron]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I had a fuel pump go out on my 8v71 and it was easy to change and was cheap. don't let them rip you off like that. I'm sure some other member can help you better on the 8v92 as I have had very good luck with mine so don't know much about it yet.   Good luck and happy new year

[pipes]

I replaced the fuel pump on my 8V71 about 4 years ago... I THINK I paid $90 for it ....Installed it myself In LESS than an hour.!!!!

[TomC]

WW Williams is the Detroit shop in Las Vegas.  The fuel pump is about $100.00 and take about an hour to replace!  Also check the ball valve in the fuel line.  Good LUck, TomC

[bobsw]

I got hauled in to a caisno parking lot by Quality Towing.   Super service They know how to treat a bus.  In the parking lot of the casino I was greeted by another bus nut that showed me the fuel pump. It only has three bolts and two lines. If I can't change that I schould walk home. I looked in my box of spare parts  and i have a spare pump.   Bus nuts are the best. Thanks for the replies.  If you are ever broke down in Las Vegas beware of Master Mobil Mechanics.

[Dreamscape]

Glad to hear you had a spare....
Sounds like we all need to dedicate a spare bay for spare parts...LOL
Hope you got on the road soon.

Happy Trails,

Paul

Dreamscape

[plyonsMC9]

Bob  - Wow!   Glad you are back on the road!  Busnuts are the best.      Are you going to let Good Sam know they are sending out scam artists to help their members?  That was really bad.       I'm also in Good Sam - this is  a great warning.  I would have been thinking that who they sent out should have been trustworthy.

Best Regards, Phil

[NewbeeMC9]

Glad to hear your ok and it is working out well,  hope this a Good omen for you new year and lucky enough to be stuck at a casino   There are worse ways to be broke down.

Would you mind posting a picture of it so the rest of us intelgentlly disabled (me in particular) can see it.  I'd like to find mine on my 8v71.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!![/size]

[NJT 5573]

Bob, these pumps ususally outlast the Quill Shaft that drives them. Make sure its turning. also if you don't know the easy way to prime a DD with either let me know.

[Cary and Don]

Glad to hear you had the help of a busnut like we did at Christmas.  We broke down on Saturday before Christmas and couldn't find a part until Craig Craddock saw our post the day after Christmas and brought us the little plastic gear on the transmission governor. There were a ton of busnuts that called to offer advice and help. We were lucky too, we limped 10 miles down I5 at 25mhp to an rv park.

There are so many of us newbies out there that are at the mercy of mechanics on the road.  Maybe, someone with more knowledge than us can start a file that lists all the parts that we can carry for these easy, and common fixes.  We had two boxes of items and that little gear wasn't even thought of, yet three people that answered our posts carried it at all times.  We spent our whole Christmas in the middle of nowhere because of a $25 part that took ten minutes to change.

Don and Cary

[skip102dl]

Bob, Glad it all worked out. I'd be interested to know which casino allowed you to stay in their parking lot? Last time we tried to spend one night at the Santa Fey casino, were told by security new Co. Ord. prohibits sleeping in vehicle in any auto/truck parking lot. They then mentioned that if I bought a room at Santa Fey that they would overlook us if we then decided to sleep in our bus if we keep shades closed. We elected to spend night at Fly'n J. Next night in Reno, same type ord. Golden Nugget appears to ignore the ord. as 41 other rv's in their lot.I Now avoid Nevada completely......   Lots of Ca. Indian casino that likes to welcome overnighters . Happy New Year All.  Skip

[jjrbus]

 By the price I assume the guy is trying to rip you off!! Unless you were standing right there and are %100 sure there was no suction at the pump. Check the supply line from the fuel tank to the filters it could be clogged with alge or ?? You can do this with compressed air. If you blow from the filter end you will hear the bubbles in the tank, but risk pushing a blockage into the tank. Better to blow from the tank end. But in a pinch do the best you can. Do not use lots of pressure, 5/10 pounds at the most or you risk damageing a line.    HTH

[Stan]

It is hard to say if the mechanic was trying to rob you or was just incompetent. The fuel pump is a gear pump and will have almost zero suction wihen not filled with fuel (see all the posts about priming a DD). It is also unusual for a fuel pump to just totally quit unless the drive breaks. The normal failure is for the seal to leak fuel or a worn out pump will not provide enough fuel for full horsepower.  Another indication of a worn pump, is that it sucks air and lets the fuel drain back to the tank when the engine is stopped.

I really hope that your new pump solves the problem, but I think you may still have a fuel problem between the pump and the fuel tank.

[bobsw]

I got the pump changed about a twenty minute job if I had all the correct plumbing parts. the spare pump had the ports for the fuel lines in a little different location so we had to go to 6 different places to find some very common fittings. After changing the pump with some help from another bus nut we fired it up with a little ether  It picked the fuel right up and is running like a champ.  The casino was the oreleans  Quality towing told me that he has droped several buses their with no problem. The security guys were great Iask them about fixing it in their parking lot and he said it happens all the time no problem. Their was several buses and motor homes that had been there for a week or more one that had been their for more than a month. I am not set up to post a picture of the fuel pump maybe someone else that is more up on all this computer stuff can post one. Thanks for all the replies.  Bob