What does it take to make the walls stop rattling and other questions

[Paladin]

May I beg some wisdom from others who have been there?

A couple of things I noticed on my freeway ride home was that fiberglass walls rattle pretty loudly and you rumble down the road with white knuckles on the wheel but a big grin of yer face. They are of course just long stretches of fiberglass wall riveted on and not attached to the wall frame. Do I need to somehow fasten them to the framing? Sikaflex?

I also imagine that windows and insulation between interior walls also make quite a difference.

Another thing I found was that the hole where the lav was in the rear drops right down to the engine compartment. There was only a sheet of tin laying over it and it moved allowing quite a bit of engine noise and a smell of diesel exhaust in the bus. While I enjoyed the sound of the roaring engine and didn't even mind the smell much I don't really want it as a permanent feature, my jacket still has a faint smell of diesel on it. What have people done to cover that hole? Just rivet a plate with adhesive around the bead? That area will be framed in with steel and insulated and probably made into the bedroom closet eventually.

I also noticed that the starter button didn't seem to want to engage the starter when the engine was cold although after it ran a bit it was fine again. I had to hold it down deep and hard a couple of times. Why?

One last thing, the damn thing wouldn't shut down twice. I didn't want to trip the red 'oh $#!%' switch and it eventually did shut down but it was really slow on wanting to. I shut off the master and it just kept running for a few minutes and then finally just shut off.

Many, many thanks!


-Dave

[bubbaqgal]

Dave, you know what's better than 1 roll of duct tape?? Two rolls of duct tape.  Sorry, just couldn't resist.

Insulation will help and lots of screws holding things in place will work.  Don't use fiberglass insulation but the Styrofoam  will help with the temperature as well as the noise.

[cody]

I can't speak about the outside because that was already done on mine, but what I did to quiet down the interior was to carefully cut and fit 1 1/2 inch blue foam in between the uprights then glued up an 1/8th inch thick strip of felt on the uprights, over this I glued and screwed 3/4 inch plywood for my interior walls, the felt was to prevent any squeaking that might occure between the plywood and metal while going down the road.  the floor is 3/4 inch marine plywood with 1/2 inch of foam and another layer of plywood over that, it makes for an extremely quiet interior.

[Hi yo silver]

Dax,
One point you might want to consider in closing the opening between the living quarters and the engine compartment is that it should ideally be fire resistant.  There are materials that are designed specifically to close openings in fire resistance rated walls in buildings that would serve the same purpose in a bus. In some cases these materials are referred to as being "intumescent", meaning they expand when exposed to extreme heat, sealing the opening even more tightly, preventing the passage of heat or smoke.  I'm not sure how effectively the partition is sealed otherwise.  Perhaps some of you experienced guys can chime in here.  But my point is that containing any engine compartment fire to that compartment would be a good thing!  If anybody wants more specific info  regarding these materials, I'll see if I can't find some references, even though mine might be a little outdated.
Dennis

[jjrbus]

Spray foam has gotten expensive but will quiet down the bus. 2nd choice would be 1 1/2 in foam board cut to fit. With all gaps filled in with cans of foam. we use to be able to get large cans of the foam for the gaps from builders supply, I do not know if they are still available.

[skihor]

For the not shutting down, My MC5A needs some air built up before it will shut down. I don't know why or how much air it needs but it will not shut down until the air reaches a certain point.

Don & Sheila

[Paladin]

These answers are REALLY helping, thanks! I didn't think of or was aware of Hi yo Silvers input!

Good ideas on the rattling and how to address.

On the air pressure before shutdown, that may explain mine as I did have an air leak last night, see other post:

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=5895.0


Thanks!!

-Dave

[Tony LEE]

On the topic of shutdown -- once you have air up and the shutdown does work, watch what is happening on the top rear of the engine. 

When you switch off, a small air cylinder pushes against a lever to shut the engine down. Unless it is an emergency, you can push the lever by hand to shut down if you can't be bothered waiting for the air pressure to get up - but watch out for the fan belt.

Another way of course is to stall the engine.

[Barn Owl]

I also noticed that the starter button didn't seem to want to engage the starter when the engine was cold although after it ran a bit it was fine again. I had to hold it down deep and hard a couple of times. Why?

One last thing, the damn thing wouldn't shut down twice. I didn't want to trip the red 'oh $#!%' switch and it eventually did shut down but it was really slow on wanting to. I shut off the master and it just kept running for a few minutes and then finally just shut off.

There are lots of possibilities here, so you need to approach this by using the process of elimination. Start with the easiest to do and eliminate; check to make sure your electrical grounds are good and that each electrical component has a good ground. Then make sure you have full operating voltage to all of your solenoids (starter, skinner, etc.). Don't get discouraged or overwhelmed, troubleshooting is simply taking large systems and breaking them down to small manageable pieces and then narrowing your search by dividing and concurring one component at a time. The best part about having to troubleshoot and repair your own bus is the confidence you will gain knowing how each system works. I'm not nearly as concerned about getting stranded as I used to be because of what I have learned after dealing with it in my driveway. Update us on your progress.

Good Luck,

Laryn

[Busted Knuckle]

For the not shutting down, My MC5A needs some air built up before it will shut down. I don't know why or how much air it needs but it will not shut down until the air reaches a certain point.

Don & Sheila              

Don & Dave both,
The shut down cylinder on top of your engine between the thermostat housings is controled by air pressure (about 60 #s I think is what it has to have), when you flip the switch it goes to an elec/air solenoid (sort of like a relay) that sends air to the cylinder. If theres not enough air, the cylinder will not work until there is!

On the topic of shutdown -- once you have air up and the shutdown does work, watch what is happening on the top rear of the engine. 

When you switch off, a small air cylinder pushes against a lever to shut the engine down. Unless it is an emergency, you can push the lever by hand to shut down if you can't be bothered waiting for the air pressure to get up - but watch out for the fan belt.

Another way of course is to stall the engine.

Tonylee,
Good explination & great idea telling them to watch how it works! Of course the part about the emergency could confuse some folks if they weren't quite familar with what yer talk'n about! Now as far as stalling it, that works great with a manual trans! But how about an automatic?

 BK  

[Busted Knuckle]

Dave,
I forgot to mention empty shells are noisy! it will quiten down as you insulation and build inside it!   BK 

[Songman]

We just had to figure out what was wrong with Don Fairchild's 8V92 Country Coach not shutting down a couple of weeks ago. In his case, it was something electrical.  Everything worked just as it was supposed to except the engine wouldn't shut down. He was on the phone with Country Coach for hours and pulling wires out all over the bus! Finally, after he hung up with them we started talking about possibilities. It finally turned out to be a shorted out voltage regulator in the alternator. Had the alternator rebuilt with a new regulator and everything worked like a charm.

[superpickle]

Ear Plugs