News Today: Bus Crushes Man

[DavidInWilmNC]

For those who have air bags and a manual leveling system there is a simple answer. Carry enough blocking to block up the corner of the chassis (at the jacking point). Then dump the air from the air bags and jack up the axle. A small jack is sufficient to lift one end of the axle since you are not lifting the bus. If you make sure your blocking under the chassis is secure, there is no risk with the jack. With a front axle flat, you almost always need to drive it up on a block to get room for a bottle jack that has enough lift height. The stubby jacks will only lift it high enough to get a regular height jack under the axle.

AFAIK, the only jacking points on my MC-8 are part of the suspension that's not effected by airbag height.  I'm not sure of where else it's OK to jack it, but the manual shows these (suspension) locations.

David

[Stan]

David: You have to have some way to jack the bus body separate from the axles. To change airbags, which are connected between the body and the axle requires raising the body while the wheel sits on the ground. Your manual should show you where to position the jack.

[DavidInWilmNC]

Stan,

I'm not sure.  When I changed air bags, I blocked between the two suspension 'parts'; the upper section is the air beam.  There's an air bag at each end of this 'part' so I put a 4x4 with a 2x4 together between the two and let the air out of the bag.  Maybe some MCI experts can give some input.

David

[Stan]

David: The usual  body jacking points on MCI buses is under the bulkhead immediately behind the front wheel, and under the bulkhead immediately in front of the drive axle. I have never had occasion to jack up a MC-8 but I think you would be quite save using those places.