My tag.....

[JohnEd]

Jerry,

Thanks!  Correcting wasn't the main thrust of the com but you are correct.  I hope it was plain to see that I agreed with you in almost everything.  I'm not a chemist either.  The thing that jumped into my mind is that AMONIA is an excellent oven cleaner and I am certain that I am not the only one that knows about that.  You take a dish of ammonia and put it in the oven and set the thermo on very low.  In the morning you wipe the crud out of the oven with a damp rag cause the ammonia has converted it to a "soap-like substance".  LYE does convert grease to SOAP and that is why it rinses so nicely and it takes minutes.  I didn't break my back as a diesel mech to learn this...more or less it came from "helpfull hints from Heloise" and the such.  The things you can learn when you have absolutely NOTHING else to read and how very odd it is how usefull almost everything you learn becomes.

Thanks Jerry.

John

[Tenor]

Sorry for posting this in the your other posting.  This reply makes much more sence here.

These are great posts of how to handle wheel/hub removal.  I had to do the drivers side rear on ICE!  Let me tell you that you really need a good dry non-slippery place to stand - especially if you look like this!



You don't get much leverage at  5 ft tall!

[chazwood]

Ok.....I'm putting the cleaned inspected bearings back in the tag . How tight do I make that first threaded washer (with the nipple) that contacts the bearings? Hand tight? loose? what.

thanks

[tekebird]

Chaz, have you bought/ordered your most important bus item..........the manuals?

having them will save you alot of time running between the bus and the computer

[buswarrior]

ummm, Did you take it all apart and do two bearing races? There is an inner and a outer.

If just the outer, I fear for the old inner seal, if the wheel end sagged during the exercise.

Anyhoo, tighten the bearings up snug to start, to ensure everything is seated. Wheel won't turn.

Ease off the fastener until the wheel will spin "freely", without it being so loose that there would be play if you were strong enough to heave the wheel in and out.

Best advice I got from an old guy, that puts it perspective: if you are going to be wrong, loose is better than tight!!!

Assemble the rest of the locking devices, cap it and re-fill with your lube. Check it again after a short drive to be sure you didn't get fooled.

And burn clothes, that gear oil rarely washes out...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[chazwood]

Yes, I took off the drum first, by taking out the mangled flat head screws. (Way to go MCI ) I then loosened the bearing nuts and washers and nuts and washers and supported the whole assembly as the outer bearing came out.  Without letting the 500 pound housing sag. I am now on my way to the chiropractor. Dang! that thing was heavy!  I have a large parts washer in the shop and I know that thing was the heavyest chunk of steel it has ever seen.

I inspected all the surfaces around and under and over the inner seal and break areas and all was dry. Probable leak like a sieve now that I messed with it.

I snugged up the tightening nut to where I just feel a little resistance. I think the bearings were OK but after some recent hard rain a little water might have been forced into that area turning the oil brown. Like it does when it gets mixed with water. My guess at least. I will watch it and take it's temp for a while with my howdy-doody-infer-red-heat-pointy-temp-thingy I just bought.

[JohnEd]

Chaz,

I have never seen a MCI tag ax bearing affair.....but.  I think you said that you were putting the "Keyed" washer with "the bumps" next to the bearing.  In my floating axles a nut goes up against the bearing, then the keyed washer fits against that nut and the washer's stud engages the nut next to the  bearing so that the bearing tension doesn't get changed.  Then a nut goes on against the keyed washer to keep it on.  The torque on the outside nut isn't critical to bearing preload.  I don't mean to talk down to you and i apologize if I am.  If you got that sequence out of order you could be screwing up big time so I am concerned.

HTH,

John

[chazwood]

Be afraid......... be very afraid.......I could be visiting your neighborhood at the exact moment my wheel comes off....... (i guess it wouldn't be too bad seeing how this bus can only go 40 mph.)

I put it back the way it came off, so if it's wrong...... blame the po.

All I got to say is Home Depot is for sissies and girlie men. They didn't have a impact wrench or socket that was even close to the size I needed. I was lookin' at all those little bitty 3/8 drive sockets and thinkin' "My, how things change". Last week I was looking at a 12in. crescent and thinking, "who would need anything that big"?......Now?...... Big?.......It ain't big enough to clean my fingernails with.
When I bought this bus I thought I'd be fine....I have every tool known to man...imagine my surprise when I realized all my bitty jacks and tiny sockets and thin ramps and Heck, even lug wrenches would be useless. I keep looking around for a tool place that thinks like McDonald's....Uh, sir , would you like to up size your tool order?

Who sells Biggie tools?

[Dreamscape]

If you have a NAPA near by, they usually have it or can get it. I have bought lots of big stuff from them over the years that no one else had.

Good Luck,

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

NAPA is as mentioned a great source of QUALITY tools. Harbor Freight & Northern Tool are a good cheap source of tools. Fastenal, HCI Supply, and other like Industrial Suppliers are also excellent sources of QUALITY tools! Then of course there is EBAY, you can get brand new cheap tools right of the ship (from china, hong kong, taiwan, etc.), or with careful watching and waiting you can hit some damn good deals on stuff like SNAP ON, MAC, MATCO, CORNWELL, etc. There are also the tool trucks of the ebay brands I just mentioned, but you'll have to mortgage the house, kids, dog, bus, & wife to afford those! LOL! And I saved one of my ex-favorites for last I used to love shopping at SEARS and buying quality and reasonable priced tools, but over the yrs they have gone the typical cooperate way! (tool quality & service both SUCK!) JMHO FWIW!   BK 

[luvrbus]

Chaz, WW Grainger is a good place to buy heavy duty tools of good quatily

[Sojourner]

Use this to search for heavy parts & tools.
In this case is better than Goggle.

http://www.yahoo.com/
Type in Heavy truck parts
Then click on Local tab
Type in your area city or zip or next bigger city.
There you have it...look for web site and click on it to see if it big truck parts place.
Or call them to see if they have what you need.

Most all heavy truck parts place the tools you needs.
All intercity buses use most of class 8 truck parts to match.

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Jerry

[Busted Knuckle]

Chaz, WW Grainger is a good place to buy heavy duty tools of good quatily

I'd forgoten about Grainger, but then haven't had one within 100 miles or so of me for 10 or more years either!
  BK 

[Len Silva]

In my limited experience, there is nothing more expensive than a cheap tool. And, when you start talking about large, heavy tools, there is nothing more dangerous.
For occasional use, check the rental places.

Len

[Sammy]

Here's 2 manufacturers of great quality industrial tools - Armstrong, Williams.
Look up industrial tools in your local yellow pages.
Try these folks, I bought a few Armstrong sockets from them I needed to rebuild the Series 60 - http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm