Infaltion and rebuilding a 2 stroke engine

[David Anderson]

Don't read it wrong I am not bashing the younger group,my door has been open for many years to younger people that want to learn,and it doesn't cost them a dime, it is when they develop a crappy attitude then we have a problem.That happens with the older crowd too some of those really get a attitude.We have fun and laugh alot around here,I let Gary Hatt get good and frustrated before I offer to help,LOL Gary will give out but he never gives up 

Gees you guys.  Y'all are spreading fear and terror on social media. 🥺
Yikes 😬

[rancher]

Hey Rancher,
Don't let us scare you away from adventure. I have only had my bus 18 months but we love it. It is solid and fun to drive. I've had an engine run relay fail at 65 mph, fried my inverter, and had to replace my refrigerator. And I do have to take parts and fluids, but we still love the bus!
In 2005 I retired and we took a 2 year old Allegro bus all over the country for a year. But guess what. Two years old. TWO! and (drum roll please)
Three times the slide would not come in. The hot water heater blew up, levelers would not come up. Only one would come up a month later after Allegro "fixed" it. Tail lights went out at night on I-10 due to wire harness rubbing on the frame. Took a week to find that. At Allegro!
Watch some of the U-Tube stuff with these 5th wheels. Yikes. We saw a wrecked one on our last trip. At least I think it was a 5th wheel. Stuff strewn over 50 yards of highway. Buses don't strewn.
I guess I am just saying you pays your money and takes your chances. Since we had a year on the road we developed itchy feet, so we are going to get back out there. In a 1980 bus. That has a 42 year old engine (rebuilt once). And when it breaks, I call some of these guys. They taught me how to bypass my run relay so I could get to a repair shop. It is wires and things you can see and maybe fix. A printed circuit board behind the dash of an Allegro Bus dashboard? I couldn't fix that.

No you aren't scaring me off. I understand newer stuff can have issues also. Been working on all types of equipment since I was a kid growing up in a smaller truck stop that my folks owned and my folks had trucks also. I am just trying not to purchase something that I will regret buying. Keep all the ideas coming I am listening and alwaying learning.   

[luvrbus]

Sourcing parts is the biggest draw back to a older bus,MCI is not that bad but they come at a hella of a price for the parts,lol as said before repairing a old bus can become a restoration project in a hurry   

[Tedsoldbus]

I do worry about parts and who will work on it, but I found two "will work on it" guys within 90 minutes of here.
But it is worth it! The bus is so solid. No fiberglass or particle board. It is just cool every time I see it. We never had a bit of love for the Allegro bus. It got us around. A bit faster than the bus and Rita found it easier to drive, but she too ( having been raised in a 4106) loves the bus.
This debate can go on for hours, but sure of one thing....
Once you ride on air bags, it is hard to go back.

[luvrbus]

A lot of class A motor homes have air bags I ride on 10 of the jello bags in my Country Coach,lol the Eagle bus was the best ride out there and they didn't have air bags

[chessie4905]

Eagle?? What's  that?😉

[yeeolde48]

Hi guys, going back to the original topic, I am in the process of rebuilding a Mechanical 8V92 for our bus, the local Detroit dealer doesn't support them, but there are plenty of places that do (new, rebuilt and used parts).   There are still a LOT of marine units racking up thousands of miles and business ready to support them.   The only issue I had getting parts was some delays in shipping and remember almost everything on an old 2 stroke can be rebuilt and doesn't often need to be replaced.   Just rebuilt the water pump this afternoon with an $85 seal kit (bearings and impeller were like new), and did the blower, turbo and a bunch of small parts over the last couple of weeks, just freshening everything before I put all the pieces back together.   I do have a couple of spare motors so I can pull parts off those, if needed.  Our bus has 2.3M miles and still got a lot more left in her.   When I get her back on the road (hopefully this summer)  it will have a rebuilt motor, fresh HT750 trans, all new brakes, bearings, bushings, so there isn't much else that may go wrong, but I'm sure we will find something :-).   Finding and fixing problems is part of the adventure, even if they have to be done at the side of the road, but wouldn't trade our old girl for any newer bus. 

[luvrbus]

Hi guys, going back to the original topic, I am in the process of rebuilding a Mechanical 8V92 for our bus, the local Detroit dealer doesn't support them, but there are plenty of places that do (new, rebuilt and used parts).   There are still a LOT of marine units racking up thousands of miles and business ready to support them.   The only issue I had getting parts was some delays in shipping and remember almost everything on an old 2 stroke can be rebuilt and doesn't often need to be replaced.   Just rebuilt the water pump this afternoon with an $85 seal kit (bearings and impeller were like new), and did the blower, turbo and a bunch of small parts over the last couple of weeks, just freshening everything before I put all the pieces back together.   I do have a couple of spare motors so I can pull parts off those, if needed.  Our bus has 2.3M miles and still got a lot more left in her.   When I get her back on the road (hopefully this summer)  it will have a rebuilt motor, fresh HT750 trans, all new brakes, bearings, bushings, so there isn't much else that may go wrong, but I'm sure we will find something :-).   Finding and fixing problems is part of the adventure, even if they have to be done at the side of the road, but wouldn't trade our old girl for any newer bus.

There is a bunch of aftermarket parts for the 2 strokes some are ok some are junk,and you cannot get some parts from the aftermarket circle  it is best to have engines to rob from,I prefer OEM but they are imposable to obtain sometimes   

[dtcerrato]

Eagle?? What's  that?😉

[chessie4905]

Maybe this?


https://www.google.com/search?q=image+of+amc+eagle&sxsrf=AOaemvIE_cDisPKyVI-_nk0IpMExVAQ9vw%3A1642812781063&source=hp&ei=bVXrYYYcnInK0w-HlqfoAg&oq=&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBABGAAyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwguEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyDQguEMcBEKMCEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECdQAFgAYJsIaAFwAHgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAsAEP&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp#imgrc=EPWpnmyJne1JDM

[dtcerrato]

Maybe this?


https://www.google.com/search?q=image+of+amc+eagle&sxsrf=AOaemvIE_cDisPKyVI-_nk0IpMExVAQ9vw%3A1642812781063&source=hp&ei=bVXrYYYcnInK0w-HlqfoAg&oq=&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBABGAAyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwguEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyDQguEMcBEKMCEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECcyBwgjEOoCECdQAFgAYJsIaAFwAHgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAsAEP&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp#imgrc=EPWpnmyJne1JDM

[chessie4905]

This?

[fortyniner]

There is a bunch of aftermarket parts for the 2 strokes some are ok some are junk,and you cannot get some parts from the aftermarket circle  it is best to have engines to rob from,I prefer OEM but they are imposable to obtain sometimes

Now that is very worrying.  How the heck to you know whats what? 

[richard5933]

Now that is very worrying.  How the heck to you know whats what?

It's not really different than working on any vehicle that is decades out of production. Nearly all the parts out there for any vintage muscle car are going to be aftermarket, with the same issues regarding questionable quality on some parts.

Best thing I know to do is seek out a reputable parts supplier who as skin in the game and buy from them. This extra layer adds a middle man but it also adds someone that is looking at the parts and doing at least a preliminary investigation regarding quality before sending them out.

Buying aftermarket parts direct from unknown sellers online is a recipe for getting bad parts.

An example would be buying from someone like Luke. True, on occasion even he has had to deal with bad parts. But when that happens he stops sending them out and seeks out a better source, if one is available. He knows what we need and tries to screen out the junk before we ever see it.

[Jim Blackwood]

As a purveyor of vintage Buick engines I quite agree. Find the right source and always be alert for new ones. Keep a stock of spares. Some things just won't be available any other way. Of course keeping a spare bus or three around may pose some issues...

Jim