Hole in the wall

[peterbylt]

In the back of my Bus (1989 96A3) on the back of where the Back seat would be There was this patch put there by some previous (mechanic).

Looked like a piece of Corrugated aluminum roof screwed over a hole underneath, I had always wondered what it was covering.
This weekend I opened that can of worms.

It looks like they took a can opener to it then the cut pieces were rolled back like a sardine can.

This was done to get at a bolt that looks like it mounts the front of the Squirrel cage drive.

When they were done, they stuffed the area with fiberglass insulation and screwed the ill-fitting piece of roofing over it.
 
I cut away most of the rolled back metal and plan on riveting aluminum patches over it.
My question is:

Is this the only way to get at the Squirrel cage drive mounting bolts?

Should I use screws instead of rivets to make this an easily removable access panel?







Peter

[Utahclaimjumper]

  It could have been done a HOLE lot neater.>>>Dan

[Dave5Cs]

There are only 4 bolts and got to mine from the back outside pretty easy. It is harder to get the whole unit out than to take the bolts out. You have to pull it out all together then dissemble it.

[Brian Diehl]

I have had the blower unit in my 1985 96A3 out.  I did not require any interior access to the bolts holding the blower gear box in place.  Do a professional job on the fix as you'll never need access again.  My 2 cents on the subject...

[Lin]

I have got to say that I don't think I have ever met an access point I did not like.  Although it is likely you will not need this one for that purpose, I would always wonder whether there could be another circumstance that would make it useful.  Certainly, you would want to close it up in an acceptable fashion, but I do not see why that would preclude doing it in such a way that would leave it viable. 

[oltrunt]

My OCD couldn't stand that raggedy assed hole.  Though once cleaned up. I'd sure want to keep the spot accessible--just in case.  More OCD
Jack

[luvrbus]

I have seen that done on several MCI buses for what reason I have no idea

[Brassman]

A bad day on the line?

[peterbylt]

I have the pieces cut to cover the holes.

I've been thinking about it and come to the conclusion that I need to closely examine the bolt that was exposed.

There has to be a reason that method of accessing the bolt was used, a broken off captured nut, a stripped or broken bolt?

Hopefully the issue was fixed correctly, most likely it was just repaired enough to correct the current issue.

A closer examination is warranted before I close it up.
 
The design for the bedroom called for that area to be relatively inaccessible, I may have to rethink that design.

The wife has put a lot of thought into the way she wants that area to look and it does not include a squirrel cage access hatch.

Peter

[opus]

I'm afraid I'd have to be in therapy, if I had a hole that looked like that.   

[DoubleEagle]

Whatever you do, make sure the hatch or repair is absolutely sealed to keep fumes out because they will seep in if given the opportunity.

[buswarrior]

seal it up properly, not for fumes, but for cooling system integrity.

Sucking air in through that hole, does not suck air through the radiators!!!

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[B_K]

From what I can see some lazy @$# mechanic did a hack job to get at something rather than spending the time/effort needed to properly do the job at hand.

I notice it has a Welch Industries style aux. A/C unit mounted directly above that hole.
And I know most Welch added on A/C units mounted the compressor on top of the gear box (which may have hampered the access to the bolt)
Or they could have actually been working on the add on A/C unit and needed access to it. (again not the proper way to do it, but not everybody has high work ethics)

Now as stated it is most important to leave access to the engine compartment when building your conversion.
(yes it's OK to cover access panels, but remember to make it where they can be accessed with a little disassembly of the conversion!)
If you'll notice there should be a access panel below that nasty hole in the horizontal flat section of the bench and on the floor in front of it.
These panels are very important if any repairs are ever needed on the top or back sides of the engine/transmission.

If it were me I'd clean that shitty hole up and patch it nicely with a removeable cover and make sure I had access to all 3 in the future in case needed. (better to have them and NOT need them, than to NEED them and NOT have them!)
  BK 

[peterbylt]

I made sure I could easily get to all the mounting bolts for the cooling fan drive.

B_K you are correct and there is a Welsh Aux air compressor mounted above (that will be removed, the inside part has already been removed) although that did present a small issue the bolts were still relatively easy to access from the back.

I cut back the metal until I had all good metal and covered the inner and outer walls with sheet aluminum that had formerly been part of the overhead bins.

I filled the space between the inner and outer walls with great stuff closed cell foam and sealed the aluminum patches with Sikaflex 221 calking and riveted the patches in place.

Looks good and appears to be airtight, now to cover the hole left from removal of the MCI toilet.

The original access panels will be left easily accessible under the bed, I say easily accessible, but I know the wife will fill the planed storage under the bed with all manner of junk that will require half a day to remove to access the access panels......   





Peter