Flxible/Grumman owners

[Adarian]

I have an 88 Flxible Metro, bus tops out on the hwy at 65mph according to the speedometer, is that normal? Voith D863.3 transmission. Cummins L10 270hp and 810 torque. I have no idea what the gear ratios are. In a brochure they show 59 and 56 mph as top speeds. I have no idea what the engine rpms are, no tachometer.

Is it normal not to have the kneeling feature? I have a kneeling warning light but I don't see any buttons to make the bus kneel. Even if it was disable wouldn't there be some switches someplace? Bus does have wheelchair lift.

No fuel gauge, how do you know when to fuel is low?

In the rear of the bus in the engine compartment there are 3 gauges; oil pressure, engine temp and transmission temp, is it possible to add these gauges up front?

What size fuel tank does the bus have? I know fuel tank length is the width of the bus.

What are the systems capacities? Cooling, oil, power steering and transmission.

Thanks
the explorations continues.

[TomC]

Most transits did not have fuel gauges-they simply filled them every night, so no worries.  I drained and pulled my tank (on my AMGeneral transit [130gal]) and discovered on the top of the tank were two 5 hole round covers ready to go.  I used one for my sending unit (universal 5 bolt-just order it with the right tank depth), and the other I used to make my Diesel generator pickup.  Unfortunately, you'll probably not know until you drop the tank. 

One of the things I did was to get 5 different colored (yellow, orange, green, red, red with black stripe, purple)50ft extension cords and run them from the engine compartment up to the drivers compartment.  Now I have 15 extra wires available to wire whatever I need in between.  I've already used two wires for the speed generator for my King Cruise control, and another two wires from the tachometer generator to power my tachometer.  The other wires could be used for additional gauges also. Good Luck, TomC

[RJ]

Adarian -

Best way to check speedo accuracy nowadays is with a GPS unit.  If you speedo matches the GPS, then you've probably got a 4:56 rear axle ratio.  The Voith is 1:1 in high gear.

It's very possible your coach does not have the kneeling feature, even tho you've got a dashboard light for it.  Flx used a standard panel for the idiot lights, regardless of the coach's options.

Most folk who don't have a fuel gauge use a piece of garden hose stuck down the tank's throat to guesstimate how full the tank is.  Keep it as full as possible - you DON'T want to run out - repriming's a bi**h.

IIRC, your fuel tank is 125 gallons, and no, it cannot be easily "dropped" fro cleaning, unless you want to wrestle (literally) with the big "A-frame's" bushing that supports the rear suspension.  Be safe, figure only 100 of those are useable.

It is possible to add the same gauges to the front as are in the rear, just use electric ones and some spare wires.  Problem will be figuring out where to put them on the funky Flx dashboard, unless you do what the rice racers do and mount them on the "A" pillar.

Dunno exact capacities, but cooling is approximately 58 quarts, oil about 7 gallons, auto trans 2-4 gallons (more with a torque converter drain), P/S probably a gallon or so.

Did you figure out if the wheelchair lift works??

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Adarian]

Thanks for the answers.
The PO told me 100 gallons but that didn't seem right.
Would the gauge be 12 or 24v or does it not matter as I could tap into either power system?

On the wheelchair lift, I can get it to work manually, but not through the switches. When I hit the step/platform switch, the power light dims. So the motor may be bad.
Going to order manual from the Hogan company.
Without a kneeling feature I truly need the wheelchair lift to work.

RJ you are in Fresno, I am from Selma.
I graduated from McLane high in Fresno a long time ago.

The current project is getting it to start without having to jump the rear solenoid. I know the front solenoid is bad, the rear one one is good. But the small wire(green wire labeled 75a) going to the left small terminal of the rear solenoid does not get any power. I am trying to trace it, but can't figure out if it gets power from the neutral safety switch of the starter lockout switch. If i can figure out what interrupts the circuit for the starter lockout that would help. Is it oil pressure or fuel pressure? I know I have two oil pressure switches and a gauge in the rear.
I am thinking the neutral safety switch is fine as the fast idle works.
By the way where is the neutral safety switch? I also have a voith transmission manual on order also.

The wires goes into a junction label JB3 at the rear but I can't find that junction in the front of the bus.

Also is it normal for the fast idle to stop after a short period of time? It will fast idle for maybe 2 minutes and then go back to normal idle. I can reset the switch and it will fast idle again no problem.

I am still waiting on a manual to arrive.

[AdrianLA]

My 88 Flxible with Cummins and Voith tops at 72 mph.  The kneeling light will come on occasionally when the wheelchair lift is activated, as well as when the front end is not level...  There is a lever under the front of the bus near the wheelchair lift to release that light to make it so you can move again.  My fuel tank is 125 US Gallons.  I have my maintenance manuals for my bus, in the bus in storage.  When I get to play with the bus on Sunday, I will look up the additional information you are looking for.  Do you have a supplier for parts for your bus?  I am looking for a few things for mine.  Where did your bus originate at (transit company)?  Mine is from Los Angeles.  I am looking for some dark sliding openable windows for mine.  Mine has clear windows that are "transom" style and want to try and trade mine for a set of sliders.  Hope to hear back from you and hope this helps.  Adrian M. from L.A.

[Lostranger]

I owned an '87 Metro for 11 years. I was told that my tank was 130 gallons. It had a fuel gauge, but I never got it working. The available final drive ratios were 513, 456 and 411. I swapped my 513 for a 456 and went from 61 to 67 mph top end. That was with the 6v92TA wound tight. Even with the lower drive, that bus climbed like a dog. 411 gear sets are rare in the used market. Someone quoted me $2500 for a new ring and pinion about ten years ago. I hear that a third member from an RTS will fit the Flx housing, but I cannot confirm that info. I bought a complete 870 to get the 456 gears, but even that third member would not fit my housing. We had to swap the gears into the original carrier.

We still had the Metro in 2010 when we decided to go full time. We decided against using it because of several issues which I consider design flaws. I never could even slow down the roof leaks. Final straw was research into pulling the engine to fix the main seal leak. Apparently, you have to have a special jig to hold the body in alignment while the motor and vee drive are out. Otherwise, the body splays apart, and you can never get it back together.

I advertised the bus on Craig's, and a scrapper offered me within $200 of what I had paid originally. Let me keep my appliances. He paid for the haul. I was happy to see it gone.

I do not mean to throw cold water on your project, but if I could go back to the day I bought a Flxible Metro, I would have stayed home and kept my money in the bank. It's no accident that this bus put Flxible out of business. I recommend selling or parting out the Metro and buying almost anything else for your project. Your motor and transmission might make a good repower for a GM. Good, retired transits from Gillig and others can be had for scrap prices, and those are generally down.

Of course I'm just one voice, and my experience may be unique. In any event, I wish you the best with your bus experience.

Jim H.