Need help on parts for a Neoplan AN440

[sorenbarr]

I have been thinking about converting a bus for years and finally bought a 1986 Neoplan AN440 Transit bus with the 6V92TA DDEC and  Allison v731 V-drive and a Engelhart catalyst retrofit. It's got a few deferred maintenance issues that I'm working through and I've found cross references for the fuel, oil, trannie, and coolant filters, but there are a few parts that I need that I'm having some trouble with.

Radiator - The bottom half of the radiator is pretty bad, although there are no leaks. It looks like road grime may have rotted the bottom out. I cannot find the bus listed anywhere so a new radiator does not seem available. My options seem to be a similar radiator from another truck or recoring the radiator. Any thoughts on these options? What might I expect to pay to buy new or recore?

Engine compartment lift gas struts. These things are very short, but lift a heavy engine cover. I have the original part numbers, but I can't find a replacement for sale, just a listing on the manufacturer's website with no information on how to buy. The parts I have are:
Hahn 10 23 80 1 248 AR27 AB11 1200N
This is all code, but it's basically an 248mm (9-3/4") extended length 1200 Newton (270lbsF) strut. Anybody know where to find something similar or what custom struts cost? The engine cover is a beast to lift without these.

Air filter, I'm surprised that I can't find this, but the air cleaner element has very little marking it, including no manufacturer information. It has something like this printed on it:
542753 ^AIR FLOW^ 0731U1
It's about 14" diameter and 19" long with metal ends and foam end seals. Does anybody know what this is or what a replacement element might be?

I've been gathering a lot of data on these and have a service manual, but no parts manual. If anybody needs basic data or info from the service manual for these let me know.

Soren

[Eric]

No worries tons of parts out there as the wife and I had one! Just take the air filter to a truck stop and they'll help you. Parts sourcing I preferred old new and used checkout a company called Neopart out of PA..also where are you located.. I salvage ours and it had tons of new parts


Have fun !

Eric

[sorenbarr]

I'm in Minnesota with a bus that started life with DART in Dallas apparently.

I took a look at Neoparts website and while it looks slick it's pretty useless. I'll have to call them to see if they can help. Thanks!

Soren

[Eric]

Hey we had a dart bus look at my avatar what number do you have??

AlsoSean will chime in here soon as he is the Neoplan Guru

Have fun !

Eric

[Sean]

...
Radiator - The bottom half of the radiator is pretty bad, although there are no leaks. It looks like road grime may have rotted the bottom out. I cannot find the bus listed anywhere so a new radiator does not seem available. My options seem to be a similar radiator from another truck or recoring the radiator. Any thoughts on these options? What might I expect to pay to buy new or recore?

You won't find a new one unless you have it custom made.  We had ours re-cored; IIRC, cost $600 or so in aluminum.  Yours is probably smaller than mine so might be a bit less.  Shop around.

Engine compartment lift gas struts. These things are very short, but lift a heavy engine cover. I have the original part numbers, but I can't find a replacement for sale, just a listing on the manufacturer's website with no information on how to buy. The parts I have are:
Hahn 10 23 80 1 248 AR27 AB11 1200N
This is all code, but it's basically an 248mm (9-3/4") extended length 1200 Newton (270lbsF) strut. Anybody know where to find something similar or what custom struts cost? The engine cover is a beast to lift without these.

Hahn USA will be happy to sell them to you.  Email them at aegis@hahn-gassprings.com for a quote.  They are spendy, so if you can match them up to more standard items at, say, McMaster-Carr, you'll be money ahead.  I need a pair myself (different part number than yours) but so far, no luck finding any suitable replacements.  I might have to bite the bullet and order from Hahn.  Still cheaper than Neopart, though.

Air filter, I'm surprised that I can't find this, but the air cleaner element has very little marking it, including no manufacturer information. It has something like this printed on it:
542753 ^AIR FLOW^ 0731U1
It's about 14" diameter and 19" long with metal ends and foam end seals. Does anybody know what this is or what a replacement element might be?

On the 2-strokes, Neoplan used a Napa 2960 cartridge.  Later coaches with 4-strokes probably had something different so I can't help you here.

Neopart can quote you on most parts for that coach.  Plan to have a high limit on your credit card.  Whenever possible, we cross-reference the parts to something easier to find and less expensive, but that can be difficult with Neoplan's byzantine parts numbering system.  The web site, as you note, is useless, you will need to call and talk to someone, probably Jean, or maybe Phyllis.

HTH,

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[sorenbarr]

Hey we had a dart bus look at my avatar what number do you have??

AlsoSean will chime in here soon as he is the Neoplan Guru

Have fun !

Eric

I'll have to see if I can find the number. The bus was repainted purple and white and used here in Minnesota for a few years after being taken out of service by DART. The only number evident is the new number, which is 210. There may still be evidence of the DART number, but I haven't seen it yet.

Soren

[sorenbarr]

Thanks for the help Sean. I got a local quote for a recore, but they send it out and it was very expensive at about $2000. I think I'll pass on that. I've got a new thermostat on the way and when I change the coolant I may try to pull the radiator to get a better look at it's condition.

I got a quote from Hahn. It's $320 for 4, $340 for 6, or $320 for 10. If I order through them, I'll buy 10 and have a few spares or try to resell them on eBay or something. I hadn't thought to try McMaster Carr, I'll check there as well, there may be other bits and pieces there as well. I'm also working with a guy on eBay who's working on a quote, so I'll find something that works.

Can either of you Neoplan owners (or former owners) tell me how the engine cover is suppposed to stay closed? There is no latch on my bus, and only gravity keeps it closed.

The 2960 filter looks very much like what I have, except that I don't think mine has the flange on one end. I'm not convinced that I have an original air cleaner, though. Is it normally mounted in the center compartment near the main air tank, or in the passenger side compartment?

Sean, I think that you have or have an AN440, do you have any blog posts or pics of that bus? Is there any cross reference or part number list online for these anyplace? I have a bunch of info that I've gathered and I'd love to share it as well as see what other people have gathered. Maybe I'll need to create a blog specific to the AN440 and our bus conversion.

Thanks for the help guys!

Soren

[Eric]

Air cleaner should be on the right of the massive rear access panel ... Also that shouldnt be your main air tank it should be just plumbed to the air starter unless its been changed to electric since Dart service. The rear hatch has no locking mechanism as its so stinking heavy .. As far as your radiator let me check the yard I sent ours too last I drove by it was still there our rad was pristine. If I may suggest check the the drain valves on your 2 air tanks on the passenger mid area.. Drain them.. I ended up replacing one as it was rusted to a dangerous point. Check your bump stops as ours where actually gone.we pulled the roof heat / ac unit and it handled 100% better forklift required and 4 crazy people on the roof.. Backhoe may have worked better. Does you Trans kick down function properly when you step on it, dim headlights ? I re wired a good portion of the control panel and main junction panel as mice politely chewed through that nice harness heading out found lots of easy fix issues that way .. No blog but lots of pics I'd be willing to share. We put 50k on it and it ended with 702k miles till we retired it due to some personal issues. We full timed in it for 3 years. Email or pm me and I'll help out anyway I can.


Have fun !

Eric

[Sean]

Thanks for the help Sean. I got a local quote for a recore, but they send it out and it was very expensive at about $2000. I think I'll pass on that. I've got a new thermostat on the way and when I change the coolant I may try to pull the radiator to get a better look at it's condition.

Sorry I led you astray; your post here prompted me to dig out the invoice for my re-core and it was $1,800, not a third of that amount as I wrote earlier.  I've heard memory is the second thing to go as you age, and I can't remember the first...

Still, for us it was money well-spent, and I wish I had bitten the bullet and done it eight years ago.  We struggled with overheating problems for years, and we haven't had a single issue since we replaced the radiator core.

Also, for anyone following along, let this be a lesson:  use only 100% pre-mix, or mix only with distilled water when filling or topping up your cooling system.  That's all we've ever used, but clearly not the case with the previous custodians of our coach.  Pictures of our calcium-plugged core are in this post:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2011/07/another-week-passes.html

...
Can either of you Neoplan owners (or former owners) tell me how the engine cover is suppposed to stay closed? There is no latch on my bus, and only gravity keeps it closed.

When you have a properly working set of gas springs on there, they will keep the door closed.  The strut geometry is such that once the door closes past a certain point (just a few degrees "open"), the struts start to push the door in rather than out.

... Sean, I think that you have or have an AN440, do you have any blog posts or pics of that bus?

No, I have an N117/3 Spaceliner, built in Germany.  Hundreds of pics are on the blog, the main web site, and the companion photo site, all linked from the blog home page.

Is there any cross reference or part number list online for these anyplace?

Nope.  You should have a parts book, though, and if you don't, Neopart might still have one for your coach.

HTH,

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com