I hate my bus grrrr

[bevans6]

 At least today I do.  As ever, I am working on my MT647 install.  I ditched my plan to build a mechanical linkage using the OEM 4 speed shifter and rails and ordered a tower, shifter and cable just like a grown-up would do.  Therefore I decided to remove the old clutch linkage and shifter mechanism so I can install the tower and route the cable down where the shift rods used to run.  That when I discovered that the clutch mechanism et-al was obviously installed before the floor was installed because there are numerous nuts behind blind panels that you can't reach with normal hands, arms and wrenches.  Removing the main linkage cross-bar at the front was a simple matter of 8 nuts and bolts, three hours and pain-killers after.  Today I was so optimistically going to whip out the shift lever.  After careful study it seemed that I needed to undo 8 bolts, two clevis pins and that was it.  Four hours later, after much cursing, pain, suffering (I just don't seem to be able to lie on my back inside of the spare tire compartment and work upside down the way I used to be able to, if I ever could...) I got the 8 nuts and bolts, plus 4 more, plus the 2 clevis pins and the whole mess came out.  Back inside for more pain killers...  Tomorrow I will try to figure out how to get the clutch pedal arm out.  4 bolts, 4 blind nuts, should be either a piece of cake or a job for the flame wrench...

Brian

[Geoff]

I feel your pain, but I have run out of pain pills so I'm down to a lot of beer breaks.  It's been six weeks since my back surgery, so I am ready to fix my broken engine after warming up with some small jobs.  Working through the little hatch at the rear of the bus also involves working in a fetal position-- something I couldn't do before the surgery. 
Hang in there!!

--Geoff

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Brian, as i have gotten older i found that if i take a couple of  Bayer, Aleve, or whatever i have on hand,.....before i go work on something, my pain level is less when i finish.  

[bevans6]

I'm already taking Naproxen for gout (whole 'nother story of genetically derived suffering, my Dad had gout and we all kind of snickered, now I have gout and my friends think it's hilarious...) so a "pain killer" is a judicious application of Wild Turkey, today at least.  Sometimes my friends Jim or Jack come over for a wee visit...   

[Zephod]

I feel you. Although probably not in as cramped space, I had to contort to install my waste barrel hangers under my bus. It sounds like I had way more space too. I came away aching with aches that lasted days.


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[Dave5Cs]

Brian I have been in that same position in my 5C too. Don't know why they hung everything from the ceiling in there. I also had to take out the drivers seat what a pain to get to the nuts under that ceiling in the tool bay.
Health food store has this and it works well for us. I take two before going to work on the Bus and fixes pains with out the drugs. It's Turmeric based. I do not have any affiliation with these companies....

http://www.lifeextension.com/Vitamins-Supplements/item00407/Super-Bio-Curcumin

For Back pain we use it or a cream called "Rub on relief" Rub it on my shoulder and it works wherever you have pain joints muscels etc..

https://www.amazon.com/Rub-Relief-Inflammatory-Arthritis-Fibromyalgia/dp/B009SQ7U28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499628177&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=rub+on+relief&psc=1

[TomC]

Now you know one of the main reasons I'm switching to a truck conversion-easier maintenance.

[oldmansax]

Now you know one of the main reasons I'm switching to a truck conversion-easier maintenance.

Hey Tom, what websites do you read/belong to concerning truck conversions? I am considering going that way myself. Might try to buy something already started or done.

TOM

[bevans6]

Since this came back up to the top, you will all no doubt be delighted to know that I got all the clutch and shifter mechanism out without breaking anything (on me or the bus) and I only had to drill two holes in the floor to access bolts that could not be reached from underneath.  Next I tackle the electrical system, adding a neutral start relay and hooking up the reverse light switch.  My new shifter kit should arrive next week.

Brian

[HB of CJ]

Bus Conversion gymnastics is still a required activity?  Unfortunately.  When that BIG Rx bottle of 7.5 mg hydro codeine runs low so does the anticipated Bus fixes and upgrades?

For me it was crawling, (?) under my old Crown Supercoach and discovering, (re?) all the hidden grease zerts that were known or thought to exist.  Wow.  They were everywhere.

Did some manufactures used midgets to help build their Buses?  It would seem so.  But looking at the bright side ... think about all the fun you have dealing with ALL the pain. 

[Oonrahnjay]

Since this came back up to the top, you will all no doubt be delighted to know ... 

      Good news and good work.  Hope it goes well and quickly from here - let us know!

[bevans6]

AAAAND BOOM - deal done.  I love my bus again.  I installed the shift cable today, marking the official demarc between starting the job and finishing.  I have stopped starting, and started finishing this install!   To recap for posterity the next time some sucker, I mean Busnut, does this, I ordered the official shifter with a 13" tower and a custom cable shifter cable on Monday of this week, today being Thursday.  The custom cable order went to the Canadian distributor of such things, located in Toronto, on Monday around noon, I guess they made the cable up on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, getting it in the Tuesday overnight courier to my vendor in Fredericton on Wednesday morning, who packed it with my shifter kit and got it in the Wednesday afternoon courier to me in Tatamagouche (which is about as far from an actual city as it's possible to get in Nova Scotia, I have found out) and I got it at 11 am on Thursday.  Freaking amazing turnaround time for custom work, less than three days from order to delivery.

For the further record, I ordered a 410" long cable, tip to tip, and it will work perfectly in my 35 ft MC-5C.  I think I can put the shifter on either side with that length cable.  I pushed it through the tunnel for the clutch pull rod, it seems that tunnel is lined with a fiber case and the cable went through slick as snot and didn't hang on any of the many cross bulkheads.  I was dreading this because it took me three days to fish my throttle cable through said bulkheads, this cable took less than a minute.

On to the neutral relay.  I am going to use the existing emergency stop relay, since all my sensors are disconnected anyway.

Brian

[plyonsMC9]

Congratulations Brian!

And this thread seems to have opened up a topic I've NEVER seen discussed on this forum; which meds we take and injuries sustained working on the vehicles;

My last battery-moving-cleaning incident; back injury - numbness in leg & foot.  Countless Ibuprofin & started regular visits to chiropractor to straighten out my back.  3 months healing.  Never done the chiropractor thing before but didn't want a surgery if it could be avoided.  They did pretty good. Took a few months and I know it doesn't work in all cases.

Don't want to hi jack the thread - but interesting topic.



kind Regards, Phil

[sledhead]

so have you had a test drive yet

dave

[busfan]

Alcohol is the cause of the gout sadly

And Cigarettes.. Sux but you lean to love life without them.