Update on my son's Scenicuriser adventure

[mike802]

As many of you know my son is in Alabama with his friend Rob, they are getting their Scenicuriser's ready for the drive north to Vermont.  He has been working steady on both buses for about a month now, neither one has been on the road recently and needed work done to the air system, breaks, fuel lines, lights and both needed new tires.  Brand new tires were out of the budget, but good usable used tiers have been installed.  If anyone recalls, my sons bus lost the clutch, this video was posted some time back. They have adjusted the clutch and have been driving the bus around town, my son, Nick, thinks it will get him home.  He is not totally sure if the clutch is working right, or he just does not know how to shift the thing properly.  His bus has an Eton 13 speed transmission and because this transmission was originally installed behind an engine and is now in a bus installed in front of an engine, the shift pattern is reversed, plus he is unfamiliar with this transmission in general and is having a hard time shifting gears smoothly.  They only have small stuff to do now, getting the heating system to work, replacing blown out lights and fabing up a way to tow their cars behind the buses.  They wanted to head out tomorrow, or sometime this coming weekend, but it looks like they may need a little more time. He has the camcorder, so video of the whole adventure will be posted at some point.

[Slow Rider]

I wish them a safe journey, keep us posted.

Frank

[kyle4501]

Thanks for the update!

[TomC]

The easiest way to shift a 13spd (at least until you get used to it) is to start in 3rd gear lever position on the low side (with the range selector down).  Then shift to 4th, pull up the button and start over again in the 1st gear lever position.  Go through the gears up to the 4th gear lever position without using the overdriver splitter.  Once you get to freeway speed and you want the overdrive, simply click the button over, release the accelerator until you feel it clunk into gear, then accelerate. To down shift with your foot on the accelerator, release the accelerator, click the overdrive back over to direct, then hit the accelerator again-no clutch needed for either upshift or downshift of the overdrive splitter.  Remember-you don't have to use the overdrive splitter at all if you don't want.  And you can skip shift also-like shifting from 4th to 6th to 8th-just need to allow about twice as long between shifts so the engine can come down more. The 13spd does NOT have synchronizors (crash box) so the driver is who has to synchronize the gear changes.  Once you get used to the 13spd, you'll never want to use anything else.  Good Luck, TomC

[wg4t50]

Using either the 10 or 13 speed Road Ranger Transmission, once your moving, using the clutch is immoral. They shift like magic and very smooth.
Having good linkage is a must and not difficult.  I had the RTO910 in my MCI with the 8V-71, 12V-71 and last the 8V-92.  Would have had the 13 spd behind the 12V, just not enough room, had to use a 9.4" drive shaft with the 12V engine, center to center  with the slip joint, that is a rare piece.
FWIW

[mike802]

TomC and wg4t50: thanks for the shifting tips, I will pass them along to him.  I don't think his shift linkage is very good, in one of the videos I posted earlier you can see the linkage, it looks to be poorly jerry rigged and is exposed on the inside of the front portion of the bus, before the stairs going up to the elevated seating level.  He is going to have to deal with this until he can change the transmission, or build, or obtain better linkage, this is all speculation as I have not had the opportunity to see this bus in person yet.

Thanks everyone for the good wish's, I will breath much easier when these two beasts are parked in Vermont.

[mike802]

I will get the video up as soon as the guys get home and it gets edited.

[lostagain]

Looking forward to it.

JC

[Mex-Busnut]

If the sloppy linkage won't let him shift without the clutch, then the answer is double clutching. These trannies without synchronizers shift smoother if you double clutch: Once to get out of the gear you are in, and again to put it in the next gear.

The two double-clutching videos others on these forums sent me to are here:

Double Clutch Downshifts

How To Double Clutch

[TedsBUSted]

The easiest way to shift a 13spd (at least until you get used to it) is to start in 3rd gear lever position on the low side (with the range selector down).  Then shift to 4th, pull up the button and start over again in the 1st gear lever position. . . .

Just clarify to Junior that the Low lever ("cane" or "stick") position is not the same as the 1st gear position.
Low lever position is only  used when the splitter (selector valve) is in Low range.
The Low stick position is skipped when repeating the shift pattern after a range change up, when as TomC described, the stick movement pattern repeats starting from 1st gear position, and not Low position.

The clutch - Either it's adjusted correctly and holds well, or not. Clutch condition needs to be confirmed.
I wouldn't recommend heading out with a slip.
If engine speed will "flare" when accelerated hard in a higher gear, at low speed, that's an indication of slip.

Ted

[mike802]

Thanks for the dbl clutching videos Doc.  I talked to Nick on the phone tonight and it seems the linkage in binding.  It is home made clutch and shift linkage and not well made at that.  Sometimes the clutch linkage hangs up and does not let the clutch engage fully.  Also the air solenoid is slow to split the gears at times, the transmission has a 1/8" nylon hose that he suspects might be the problem.  The binding linkage makes it necessary to yank the shift lever out of gear and this causes him to unintentionally try to shift into a different gear.  He is pretty sure the clutch is not slipping when the linkage is not holding it up.  Time is short for these guys and they may end up only being able to bring one bus home. I would like to see both rigs make it home, but rebuilding poorly designed linkage could take a lot of time, guess well have to wait and see.

[mike802]

Talked to Nick again tonight and they will be heading home on Monday the 2nd. ,both buses are coming.  The transmission was very low on gear oil and filling it made a big difference.  They also added a spring to the linkage to help it pull back and not bind up, he is getting better at shifting, but will not have time to put a larger air line on the transmission.  He thinks the 1/8" line is stock, but originally it did not have to run almost 50 feet.  The only heat in his bus is the defroster, lets hope the warm weather holds.

[Joe Camper]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh

the good old days  

This thread is probably stirring enough memories to fill more than a few threads. Reminds me of a bunch of "adventures"

[mike802]

They got a late start on Friday, went 30 miles and had a flat on one of the outside drive tires.  They found 3 nails in it, don't know if they hit them, or if they were there because all tires have been replaced with used ones. They are looking to hit Kentucky on the first night, so far everything is running good.  Nick had to replace the compressor in his bus before they left and it is leaking oil, so they have to keep a close eye on that.

[artvonne]

   Probably most people out in the rest of the world would think this is all foolishness, or dangerous, but others of us know better. Ive read stories of guys saving old aircraft that faced similar situations and budgets, and pulled it off. Oil leaks are only dangerous when you dont know about them or are so ignorant you dont care. While they may not have money burning holes in their pocket to buy everything brandy new, they could likely keep these things going with tools and know how for quite a long while and still remain safe.

  What I dont understand is going north this time of year and bringing those old girls into the salt belt when they are spreading it on thick. I would have stayed in sunny Alabama, lol.