I have a confession to make...

[RickB]

I decided awhile back that if wifey wouldn't let me put an 8v92 in "the old fashioned" way I would just hammer the throttle on my 8v71 and see if I could blow it up so I can justify the cost of getting a new motor. Great plan right?   WRONG! The darn thing is running better than ever! The only thing I've accomplished is a better running motor and more fuel used. $$%$^#$^%!

I need a new plan...

Rick

[happycamperbrat]

  LOL buy wifey some flowers!!

[Eric]

Wow....just wow......


Have fun !

Eric

[Seangie]

Rick -

Start running it on WVO or WMO.  It would be a great way to start playing with alternative fuels, save you cash from having to buy diesel and if it keels over you can take it apart and let the rest of us know what failed so we don't make the same mistakes

Worse comes to worse it will run forever and at the least your not paying hard cash for Diesel. (bank it away for the new engine)

-Sean

[RickB]

Sean I wouldn't want to invest the time and money and the overall hassle of WMO or WVO. Biodiesel isn't cheap enough so that's out too. This motor will probably outlast me. It's the best running 8v71 I've ever encountered.
Oh well there's always that loose oil drain plug if I can't get it to blowup through "conventional" means. Watch, now it really will blowup and I won't be laughing then!
Rick

[RJ]

Rick -

Let me see if I understand you correctly: The purpose of replacing a perfectly good engine for the monster motor is related to:

A: "Tim Allen Syndrome"

B: Bragging rights at a bus rally

C: Saving all of five minutes on a 250-mile drive by being able to climb a 6% grade at 45 rather than 35.

D: Losing 1 - 2 mpg fueling the bigger injectors all the time, even when the extra HP isn't needed.

E: All of the above.

[wal1809]

Sean I wouldn't want to invest the time and money and the overall hassle of WMO or WVO. Biodiesel isn't cheap enough so that's out too. This motor will probably outlast me. It's the best running 8v71 I've ever encountered.
Oh well there's always that loose oil drain plug if I can't get it to blowup through "conventional" means. Watch, now it really will blowup and I won't be laughing then!
Rick

I have less than a grand invested in my wvo system in my bus.  The cost of a fill up of 140 gallons is about $3.50 for a home house filter, $10 for the WVO primary filter and $15 for the secondary filter.  I have shut down and only collecting oil from the two best restaraunts.  Si one day a month I hook up to a my oil trailer, go collect from these two spots and an hour later I am home.  Now that I have 1500 gallons of surplus oil it really is no hassle at all.  I don't even get dirty.

[RickB]

Wal1809, It seems like you're forgetting the whole removal of water and glycerin steps or you're choosing to not do them. Those steps, the methanol, testing kits, the trial and error learning curve and the kits itself (around 5-10k I'm not going to take the time to learn and build it myself) all of these things are just hassles to a guy with two young kids and a love for camping. I love camping in my bus, working on it 24/7?... not so much. No diesel alternatives for this guy. I'll drink the kool aid until i can't afford to drink the kool aid.

RJ, I've heard the argument a thousand times to slow down, stop and smell the roses and I do. But an underpowered non-turbocharged bus doing 15-20 mph in 70 mph plus traffic at 10,000 feet is as dangerous, in my opinion, as old, weather checked tires, working on your bus without wood cribbing, driving with a known major air leak and worn our brakes combined. It may not be actually that unsafe but it sure feels like it when families go ripping by you in a minivan after just barely avoiding plowing into your rear bumper.

I don't want power for power sake or I would've changed out the motor a long time ago. I want to stop planning my trips around the mountains because I'm afraid of causing a huge wreck with my flashers on at 15 mph over eisenhower pass.I really don't care on the flatlands because I am able to reasonably keep up with the flow of traffic. With the low speed limit being 45 on most American freeways I believe I would be found to be endangering folks by not being able to maintain a reasonable speed on grades.

Just my two cents... Now I'm going to heed your advice RJ and hop in the bus with the kiddo's and the wife and do 60 (maybe 65 LOL!) on our way to two days of camping in Hayward Wisconsin. The land of no mountains.

Rick

[Scott & Heather]

Go Rick Go! Drive her like you hate her! Which it sounds like you do ;-) She will fight back by running like a champ just to spite you :-) For what it's worth, my good friends on this club think I'm missing a screw, but I'm still running WMO through my coach. Had an episode recently, but resolved it and looking ahead. But yeah, really, you could just give that 8-71 to someone who blows their motor :-) Your wife can't blame you for charity right??? 

[belfert]

I suspect if you're getting down to 10-15 MPH that there are plenty of other vehicles going far less than 70 MPH on that same grade.  The slowest I've been down to an an Interstate is about 35 MPH unless I get stuck behind a slow vehicle and we lose momentum.  Now, I do have a turbo so my bus isn't comparable to yours.

I've had plenty of temptation to go to a larger 400HP+ motor, but I always realize it would way too much work and money.  I think a larger motor might actually get a little better MPG since it wouldn't be working so hard.

[Uglydog56]

Rick -

Reality check time!

The purpose of replacing a perfectly good engine for the monster motor is related to:

A: "Tim Allen Syndrome"

B: Bragging rights at a bus rally

C: Saving all of five minutes on a 250-mile drive by being able to climb a 6% grade at 45 rather than 35.

D: Losing 1 - 2 mpg fueling the bigger injectors all the time, even when the extra HP isn't needed.

E: All of the above.

I don't see anything wrong with any of these reasons.  I NEED that 5 minutes! 

[RJ]

Rick -

Greyhound (and their charter brothers) have been pounding the pavement over various mountain passes sittin' on the governor at 35 mph forever.  Same with many, many 18-wheelers.  Goes with the territory (you know, "Tortoise & the Hare.")

Ike pass on I-70 is the odd duck - everybody's hard pressed to do 70 mph climbing the pass at that altitude and frequently cook their motors attempting to do so (ever notice all the tow trucks strategically placed on both sides of the summit??)  If a four-wheeler plows into the back of a slow-moving vehicle in this situation, they're the problem, not you.  Simple Physics 101 says they'll lose, too!

BK will probably back me up on this, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a Highway Patrolman in the country that will cite the driver of a heavy vehicle for being below the 45 minimum freeway speed limit while pulling a 5% or greater grade.  If someone did, he's gonna look like a complete idiot in front of a judge when the driver takes him to court for his stupidity.  (And I'd be the first one to do so!)

Here in CA where I reside, I've got to climb 6% grades to go anywhere, as do all the buses, RVs, trucks, cars, Harleys, taxis, trikes, bicycles (yup) and the birds, for that matter.  I guess I'm so used to it, that hearing somebody express anxiety and frustration about driving these types of roads in their coach and not being able to keep up with the cars causes me to internally express bewilderment.  Add in talking about spending thousands of dollars to add 100 or 150 hp to a vehicle to go an additional 10-15 mph up the infrequent mountain a few times per year and the bewilderment increases, sometimes to the level of expressing it vocally/textually.  No harm, no foul intended, but attempt to educate reality.

In the meantime, your signature line it correct!  Drive it like you just slammed your hand in the door, use the correct oil, keep it in the "sweet spot" while pulling grades and your 71 Series will treat you well.

Have fun camping!!

[Seangie]

Sean I wouldn't want to invest the time and money and the overall hassle of WMO or WVO. Biodiesel isn't cheap enough so that's out too. This motor will probably outlast me. It's the best running 8v71 I've ever encountered.
Oh well there's always that loose oil drain plug if I can't get it to blowup through "conventional" means. Watch, now it really will blowup and I won't be laughing then!
Rick

Rick,

Might it be cheaper to buy an already converted bus than to replace the engine in yours?  I am completely guessing at this but (back me up Clifford ) all the time and money to buy another motor, pull the old one and put in the new one along with all the unknowns that come with that new motor, (would be best to have it rebuilt before you put it in?)that it might be cheaper/easier to sell what you got and buy something with an 8v92 (or a 4 stroke) already in it.  If your bus is beautiful and your wife loves it, might be a hard sell but I have seen some really nice buses owners were ready to sell for 45k that are in beautiful shape and in mint condition.  I am guessing an engine swap would be no less than 25k and probably closer to 30 when all is said and done. My wife would be happy to upgrade to the larger engine if it was "prettier".  Might take some time to find the right bus but might be time better spent than going through the engine swap process.

-Sean

[gumpy]

I decided awhile back that if wifey wouldn't let me put an 8v92 in "the old fashioned" way I would just hammer the throttle on my 8v71 and see if I could blow it up so I can justify the cost of getting a new motor. Great plan right?   WRONG! The darn thing is running better than ever! The only thing I've accomplished is a better running motor and more fuel used. $$%$^#$^%!

I need a new plan...

Rick

Here's a plan.... start listening to your friends!