4104 in ditch ..... Help! Couple of questions

[Rick59-4104]

 Headed down my lane to the blacktop this about 4 this morning, bus slid off the drive and is sitting at an angle steep enough the oil pressure sensor shut the engine down... Now have no air so spring brakes are set..... Tried pulling it with a bobcat no go. I am going to try and dig my way to the rear brakes and back them off.
My question, are you better off pulling from the front hooks or the front axle? Front hooks below the bumper don't look very solid attached to me. I can gather enought HP to pull it with the rear brakes set but worried something might break so for now until I hear different I'll be digging to get to the Spring Brakes and back them off...

Have good sam but since I'm about 200 yards from the house thought I'd try and save them some money..

Oh and does the oil pressure shut off automatic reset? Manual is not clear but it looks like if on level ground and you crank it and it gets a couple of lbs of oil pressure it will start?

Thanks
Rick

[TedCalvert]

Could you drag enough air hose and/or extension cables to get air to release brakes?  I wouldn't want to dig under a bus, especially in that location.
Good luck. Be careful!  Saving Good Sam money isn't worth your life!
Ted.

[lostagain]

If the shut off is a air cylinder pushing on the shut down lever on the governor, can you remove one mounting screw and swing it to the side, so the plunger will miss the lever. Or take the electrical wires to the solenoid off, so the air cylinder doesn't activate. There is got to be a way to disable the shut down system. Good luck.
Put more oil in the engine so the pump will pick it up, maybe.
JC

[Rick59-4104]

 I put an extra gallon of oil in thinking the same thing JC... I run it a quart or 2 low to keep it from blowing it out....Did not pick it up...Right now I am going to look at rigging a compressor up to the tank in the drivers front left compartment and see if I can build air and get the brakes to release...any ideas on the best place to pull from? I am thinking maybe 2 chains to the front axle. Had about 2 inches of rain yesterday but I am about a foot from solid ground..

  Any thoughts on where or where not to pull the bus from from my cell is 870-Four-one-Six-6420, I'll be back at the bus for a while....

[Rick59-4104]

 Plumbed a compressor into the front air tank, bus is out of the ditch but bus is not starting....no smoke not hitting when I crank it 20 lbs of oil pressure when cranking...
Going back to see if I drug a fuel line off?  When it died the low oil pressure light came on and then after about 10 seconds or so the engine shut down. Acts like it is not getting fuel at all..Air shut off is in the running position. heading back to crack a fuel line and see if I am getting fuel, Bus was sitting pretty much on the ground on the passengers side.

Any other ideas??

[trucktramp]

How much fuel is in the bus?  If it was tipped much it may have sucked air up the pickup tube.  Check your filters for fuel.  If they are dry you will need to reprime. Don't keep cranking the engine because you don't want to run the injectors dry.  If all else fails you can prime with starting fluid.  It isn't pretty but it does work.

[Rick59-4104]

 Fuel tank is a little more than 1/2 full, but it sure acts like not getting fuel, no smoke at all when cranking. I'm about to head back and start bleeding fuel lines. With half a tank I would not think it would put fuel level below the pick-up tube but the bus was leaning pretty good..

Thanks
Rick

[Rick59-4104]

  Seems like if a 671 sits at too much of an angle they will lose prime, looks like enough fuel drained out of the filter to get air in the top 1/3 or so of the filter. All is OK now,

Thanks for all the help/advise.

Rick

[John316]

Rick,

Don't leave us hanging. Are you out? Did you call a tow? Did you do it yourself?

You don't get off that easily

John

[gulfyankee]

I do know that the front hooks can handle a D6 yanking hard enough to pull out a 4104 buried in mud

[Rick59-4104]

 Got the best brother and son-in-law around, we're farm boys, with a tractor holding the rear axle steady with just enough tension to keep the rear from sliding in deeper from the side and the brothers bobcat (biggest tracked Bobcat they make) pulling from the front as soon as we got air to the system and the brakes released we got it out...No dings, no dents, got out of the situation in good shape. I called a wrecker they sent a small one while we were waiting for the a bigger one we hooked and pulled it and got it out about the time the big wrecker arrived. I used to do some part time over the road driving for the wrecker company so they went easy on me.  It could have been bad, our lane out to the highway is pretty narrow, gravel and clay with some deep ditches. It is a county road but remember I am in Arkansas.  

We have had several inches of rain the last few days, I got a little too close to the edge when it gave it sucked me and 24,000 lbs of 4104 over about 2 feet and in the ditch. Where it happen was probably the best place it could have as the ditch gets a lot deeper a little farther along. About 20 more feet down the road it probably would have laid over.

Ended up pulling from the front axle, a chain to each side of the axle to spread the load out. Also hooked the chains as far apart on the Bobcat as possible to avoid pulling inward on the axle. Chain configuration was more of a rectangle than a triangle if that makes any sense. The 2 hooks in the front below the bumper may be stronger than they look but I figured the axle was the strongest place to hook to.

Thanks everyone,

Rick

[RJ]

Rick -

Good job, and thanks for the follow-up!

Now you've got to get it on nice solid ground so you can pressure wash all the mud off the undercarriage before you head to the Blytheville show!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[chessie4905]

I'm glad you knew enough to keep tension at rear side to keep it from sliding in deeper. Some wouldn't think about that and really get themselves in trouble.