Bus Inspection

[MikeH]

Hi all,

Thought I would post this question, but pushed the wrong button and ended up in the Bus Garage! After a little detour, I made it back here.

What things should I look for in a bus inspection? I have heard the first thing is to look for the right nameplate under the windshield, but that is a debated topic.    If I find one with the right nameplate, what else should I look for? I have heard rust is a biggie. Obviously, the engine, but that will be a separate thread. What about air bags? Compressors? Anything else? And please help me know what I should be looking for when I see them, not just "check the compressor". I have seen the inside of 3 converted buses, but have never looked at anything except the floor plan. I'd really like to know what I am doing if I am going to go look at a bus.

Thanks in advance for all the great ideas.

Mike

[buswarrior]

Rust is cancer, rarely cured, lingers and returns. Not surface rust, that deep, perforated, holed, thinned by flaking off, cancerous rust.

The drive train is an expensive show stopper, get one that won't need attention.

After that, the rest doesn't matter as much, it will be worn out, or not, and need preventive maintenance or replacing.

Which it was designed to do, and has been done on most systems before in its long life.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[cody]

Mike, some of the best money spent is given to a qualified BUS mechanic to go with you and inspect the bus, he'll not only give you a good idea and point out problem areas but will give you the thumbs up when he finds things he likes, I stress bus mechanic over a truck mechanic simply because they are 2 completely different animals that share simular drivetrains in many ways.  I prefer eagles because I have one, I chose mine because I didn't want air suspension problems to crop up over time, I was aware that rust can be an issue and paid special care to find one with minimal rust (all buses have rust issues to one degree or another), another thing is to determine if you want a manual tranny or auto, it's far cheaper to buy the bus with the engine/tranny setup that you want to begin with rather than modify later.  The next issue is engine choice, I have a 6V92, I like it for the fuel economy over an 8V92 but I give up some horsepower to get it, you can boost the horsepower thru the injectors but you risk heat problems and shortened engine life. Take an oil sample and get it anaylized, it'll tell you a lot about the condition of the engine, pay attention to the condition of the cooling components they are critical to the bus engine running properly, in todays market it's a buyers choice, there are many fine conversions on the market that are already converted or mostly done at bargain prices, take your time and look at as many as you can, hit a rally or 2 and talk to present owners and kick some tires, this should serve as a good start.  Remember, every bus for sale has had a recent rebuild, ask for the documentation, no papers = no rebuild.