Couple Detroit Series 50 Questions

jmblake · January 02, 2016, 07:50:22 AM

Its definatly a Allison you can see it on top of the casting, when I get back tonight ill try and post the pictures.
Jason

luvrbus · January 02, 2016, 09:45:02 AM

Post us a couple of the photos on F/B for us it's so easy there just one click and you are done

luvrbus · January 02, 2016, 10:10:07 AM

Jason, I looked the photo on F/B that is a B400 or B500 with a retarder you are good to go buddy,I love that photo posting feature on F/B quick and easy

thomasinnv · January 02, 2016, 01:30:17 PM

Yes them oem parts are expensive. I've got over 8k in mine just in parts and I didn't need any heads.

jmblake · January 02, 2016, 03:52:38 PM

Thanks Cliff, I posted another picture of the rebuild tag and a short video of it running. Is the retarder as good as the jake?

jmblake · January 02, 2016, 04:16:09 PM

Another question would that bus be 12 or 24 volt?

luvrbus · January 03, 2016, 02:26:02 AM

All I saw are 24v with 2 -50amp Vanners for the 12 volt supply,I'll buy one of Vanners if you sell those

jmblake · January 03, 2016, 02:37:10 AM

That would be good news, since I use my oem air and heat. Is a retarder as good as a jake? I don't use a vanner now so I see no use for one now lol

luvrbus · January 03, 2016, 02:56:51 AM

Jake vs retarder is a personal preference as you will find out here the Jakes don't generate as much heat as retarder.You will probably end up buying a joy stick to control the retarder and taking the automatic control away from the engine.

I sure wished I lived closer I would install that setup for a trade on some of your beautiful cabinet work damn you do nice work !!!!!

jmblake · January 03, 2016, 03:01:50 AM

Thanks Cliff, I wish you lived closer also, Is the retarder activated like the jake (when you take your foot off the throttle)? If I get to do this and it has a vanner it's yours!

luvrbus · January 03, 2016, 03:53:52 AM

Most retarders in the transit buses are programmed that way with a % of application that why a joy stick is better you can chose the % of braking and not rely on the pre set %

robertglines1 · January 03, 2016, 05:14:23 AM

Need to pay attention to oil pan configuration and mount for engine just behind pulley. could be expensive items to find. just throwing that out. Bus app would prob have best of both. Bob

jmblake · January 03, 2016, 02:46:29 PM

Can any detroit shop tell from the numbers on the rebuild tag how many miles or when it was rebuilt? or is that tag just from the shop that did it?
Thanks Jason

LuckyChow · January 03, 2016, 04:14:21 PM

In response to the original questions, if it has 320K on it, it's probably not the original engine. That should be a pre EGR engine though, and they last longer than the EGR models. It will probably have a B-400R transmission behind it. I had about 60 of them at my last property. They would start failing around 320K - 350K miles in transit service. The balance shaft failures were all over the map. If they didn't fail early, around 150K seemed to be the sweet spot. I've had some last 200 miles. Our shop had at least 3 of them that had to be removed immediately after replacement because the new one was bad. The classic symptom is low oil pressure at idle. The one caution I would give you is that Series 50 parts are getting harder to obtain. Last summer we had two buses down for over a month because we couldn't get replacement balance shafts. Most properties are retiring buses with Series 50 as early as they can now.

Regarding the transmission, most properties locked out 6th gear. My bus is also a Gillig with a B-400R. I had my transmission computer reprogrammed so 6th gear was activated. Just a heads up on the reprogramming; Detroit will likely require you to get an authorization letter from the bus manufacturer before they'll do it. I didn't have a problem, but I've heard of others that have.

jmblake · January 05, 2016, 12:12:45 PM

Well my series 50 deal is going down the drain real fast

, So now I found a Gillig transit bus with a Cummins ISM with a 6 speed allison but don't know if it would fit. Looking back at other posts I see my 871 is 47" + the 740 is roughly 37" witch is 84" long, now I see the ISM is 58" and acording to the allison site a b400 is 28" long witch is 86" so I don't think the overall length would be a problem but the lenth of the engine may be at the topat the floor line. Now to the hight, I could cut the floor out more since it would be under my bed if needed. Plus I don't know what Hp it is set at but how much work is it to turn a ISM up to say 400hp? I thought I had it all figured out now Iam back to square one. Thanks Jason