Getting the bus ready for Yellowstone.. alot of work!

RickB · June 08, 2010, 06:57:42 AM

Hey all,

Oil change, fuel filters, coolant filter, air dryer cartridge, and a bunch of other little things like new tailpipe and muffler inlet pipe, new oil pressure gauge in the engine compartment etc. Decided to spend a little more on a rebuilt purge valve with the idea that I would return the rebuild kit I bought a few weeks back and... you guessed it.. the rebuilt one leaked. So i rebuilt my old one with the kit and it works great. Moral of the story, sometimes it's best to do it yourself.
Bought a rebuilt air compressor and governor to be put on this week (a little oil in the air system) and that is gonna be a hazardous undertaking for a guitar player. That thing is heavy!

I hope to have it in the shop here in town to have them look at my bus A/C and hopefully they can troubleshoot it for a reasonable amount although I'm not very hopeful. They wanted 6-8 hours to chnage out my air compressor that would bring the total to $1000 for a compressor. That's a bit rich for me so I'm doing it myself. I'm also gonna learn how to adjust my brakes using the throw measurement instead of the back it off a half turn approach. I've been having some serious brake fade and I want to make sure it's nothing else more serious than just out of adjustment. It sure seems like the front brake are doing ALL the work and they get really hot and stinky sometimes.

AC and brakes are in that category of "I could learn to do it myself but I would feel better with another set of more experienced eyes on it". Dan at C&J is a really thorough and talented mechanic. I trust him.

We leave on the 20th and as long as Lea's dad doesn't pass away while we're gone we are looking forward to a great family hang. Lot's of hiking and caterpillars and animals and love. This IS why I own a bus.

Rick

Tom Y · June 08, 2010, 09:30:31 AM

Rick, GET ER DONE. Ha Ha Just kidding, may see you there if things go well. Tom Y

robertglines1 · June 08, 2010, 10:56:32 AM

we went to yellowstone about 20 yrs ago with kids...they are in their 30's now and still talk about it...good family time...enjoy

kwood · June 08, 2010, 11:20:49 AM

Changing the compressor is not that bad a job, just a bit heavy. I installed one for under $400 parts (my labor was free). Just be sure to match all the fittings and plugs or you will have either air or oil leak.

Have fun,

Kevin

eddiepotts · June 08, 2010, 12:31:31 PM

How much oil are you finding and how often are you finding it to decide you need a compressor. I am asking because I don't know how to tell when you need a new one. You said you were having problems with your dryer. Could it have been a dryer problem with oil carry over with water? I would just be thinking about the cost of the compressor if I was getting all the air I needed and had other problems in my system. I pick my rebuild kit up in an hour. Just thinking about what all I need to be looking at. I could be wrong to but it should be easier to rebuild your compressor than a lawn mower. I would be looking into a rebuild kit for it.

Van · June 08, 2010, 12:44:36 PM

Hiya Rick, I am glad to see that you are in the final stages of prep before your trip. I know how much you and the family have been looking forward to this trip, especially after all you have gone through in the past months. Just wanted to take the opportunity to wish you the best, and a safe trip (Lord knows you deserve some time off with the family) all the best from us, please do take some photos for us folk that cannot hit the road (at least this year any who

) any time soon.

"Git er done"

Van

RickB · June 08, 2010, 12:50:15 PM

Eddie,
There are a few reasons that I decided to replace my compressor.

A small but steadily increasing amoount of oil in my system. ( My thinking is if you start to smell oil and see a misting of oil on the ground during purging cycles that it might be time to look at a rebuild.) It helps to know the mileage of your last rebuild I didn't know when the PO had gone through this unit.

The unit itself is leaking oil

Lastly, the compressor seems to be taking quite a bit more time to not only reach the 90 lb lo air shutoff but it is also taking more time to cycle between the 90 lb governor kick in and the 117 lb governor kick out.

I paid $299 for the rebuilt compressor and around $15 for a new governor as well. The price made me throw out the idea of rebuilding the compressor myself.

Does anyone know at what psi Bendix presets the governors to kick out at?

Tom Y keep in touch with me about Yellowstone it would be good too see some fellow busnuts out there.
Rick

Sam 4106 · June 08, 2010, 01:15:06 PM

Hi Rick,
Man, you are doing a lot of maintenance before your trip. I thought a person was supposed to have an ongoing maintains program so you wouldn't have to do so many things at once. Maybe your PO was as lax on that as the PO of our bus. I am finally approaching the bottom of my list, with all of the major items completed. It has taken most of the nearly one year that we have owned the bus to get this far. Now it's mostly cosmetic things, both inside and out.
We wish you a great trip with your family and hope to see you sometime this year.
Good luck, Sam MC8 and Char

Busted Knuckle · June 09, 2010, 11:04:42 AM

Rick,
$299 for a rebuilt tu-flo 750, really? Wow, where? Please tell us you did get a 750!
A bus has a larger air system than trucks and most buses use a 750 or bigger to keep up!
FWIW

BK

Marcus · June 09, 2010, 03:01:42 PM

We were in Colorado and Wyoming in 2006. The best advice I got and heeded was to put misters on my radiators. I had new radiators and no overheating problems, but decided to put them on anyway.Glad I did. I was there in July. I have an 82 mc9 871w/ Allison 740. Just my experience. Marc

pvcces · June 09, 2010, 07:22:07 PM

Rick, if you're smelling brakes or experiencing brake fade, you should gets those issues solved before climbing into mountainous country because you will be needing these things to work right.

I got the definite idea that you have a brake unbalance problem and you want them all to be working together when coming down grades. That's the only way that you can keep from overheating the ones that are doing the work right now.

Good luck.

Tom Caffrey

RickB · June 09, 2010, 09:15:06 PM

Bryce
I went with the 700 it was what it came with.
I have one more fitting left to connect and remount the fuel pro, fill it with coolant and we will check for leaks.
Lots of work.
Having the brakes checked at the best shop around. Won't take my kids into the mountains unsafe.
Rick

RickB · June 10, 2010, 11:05:28 AM

I am not having the best luck with rebuilt parts right now. The rebuilt purge valve I bought leaked and when I got my compressor in and fired the bus up had a substantial oil leak from the small bottom drain plug. It turned out to be a cracked casing so I pulled the cover off my old one and it quit leaking.

Now for the bestest, greatest, most excellent bus news ever!

Not only did my bus quit leaking air (probably the unloader) but it pretty much quit leaking oil as well. Hallelujah.
Pretty happy camper right now.

Taking it in today to have them adjust my brakes and find out why my A/C compressor doesn't seem to be compressing. Sounds expensive just thinking about it.

Glad I own a bus today... how about you?

Rick

dbenck · June 13, 2010, 06:49:05 PM

Hi Rick...what is the outcome of the A/C check.
Been real busy, sorry for the delay.

David Benck.

belfert · June 13, 2010, 08:22:12 PM

The bad part about some of the remanufactured parts is you often can't buy new ones. For some reason a lot of replacement parts are only available as remanufactured. I guess all the new ones only go on new vehicles.

I had the opposite experience with the purge valve for my air drier. I rebuilt the valve using a kit, but it constantly purged air. I decided to buy a rebuilt valve and it worked just fine.