G Bus Progress

[rjz5400]

well i am fully committed to the wvo conversion, all the fuel lines have been removed and hacked up to make way for the three way valves and the tees and the extra fuel system. should be pretty awesome once i get it all hooked back up

I am a little worried about the purging, there will be like 20 or 30 feet of combined lines to clear of every bubble plus the veg filter and the heat exchanger. luckily it has a pretty strong primer pump but also i have a good strong battery and i know just where to put the slightest whiff of starting fluid in order to get this bad boy to pop over.

plenty of road grime, oil, diesel fuel and sand in my hair and under my nails but it will be worth it when i make the sweet voyage for tranny upgrades.

[rjz5400]

as requested some pictures of the conversion. the main fuel supply line, now cut and attached
the "adapters" to fit 1/4" OD steel hard line to 3/8" ID fuel hose. i would have done this differently but i was completely set up when i discovered the size difference. and
all of the fuel line fittings which have all been cut in preparation of the rubber and valves.

more to come later on.

[rjz5400]

no pic update, the diesel system is now completely hooked up. meaning that the diesel lines now all run through the 3 way valves and the "T" that it will soon share with the WVO. I ran out of 3/8" fuel line and only got some of the vegg lines hooked up but the hard part is done, the cooling lines, and tapping into the bus stock fuel system. now i am just hooking up new parts like the run of H-O-H to supply the vegg and i need to buy a couple things like a fitting to replace the return line with a connection to a third valve and loop the WVO return, before the pump this should help heat up the WVO supply quickly once i make the switch (by mixing the incoming vegg with the warm diesel return from the engine and then with the heated WVO from the FPHE once it returns from the engine)

not all that exciting to look at but ill try to take some pics anyway. oh i did here is a couple

[Stuff]

nothing like cheap fuel!

[rjz5400]

well i got all the diesel lines hooked back up and plumbed in with the three way valves and have been trying to prime it by every combination. removing various lines to allow the air out and pumping the lever on the Lift pump and running it of spray ether for a short while at a time to try and help it pump the air out.

Well it seems like maybe the Lift pump is bad, i am gonna swap it out and hopefully get the fuel flowing again. i have a spare one on the bus but with a steady 115 heat index i think i might go out there tonight with some floodlights and try again now that it has cooled down.

[rjz5400]

went out at midnight last night and got to old one pulled, the new lift pump installed and she primed in a minute or so.

fired right up and ran great!! until it started spraying fuel from a disconnected WVO line that was unused. Got it shut down and now no need to prime the second fuel filter anyway no pics super rainey and tired. working on the floor of house so updates later.

[rjz5400]

i am on it, where you at Richmond short bus convertor????

anyway still in testing and instal phase, probably run it on vegg sometime in the near future.

[rjz5400]

no pics but we threw the switches yesterday!!!! no hickup or problems at all, ran fine. drove around storage place for a while and purged and parked it.

cant wait for trip to canada. only a little organizing and tightening of the tank and insulating the lines and whatnot left to do. Should be a great trip.

we are not leaving for a while but I will try to post some travel pics and whatnot from the road!!!!!!!

[rjz5400]

huge nest of ants have halted my progress, that and the 110 Heat index the last few days.

I am allergic to the ants but i think i am going to pull the bus out of its space and into the covered area to work a little and then wash my basement area so i can go on a "shakedown run" and start getting set up for the long haul to CANADA

[rjz5400]

well we broke down. BAD just basically lost power and could not get any speed going, ever. like it was going 55 leaving town then 45 the 30 then it would just stop running and stay in first going 5-10mph.

long story. but it is not something simple. likely candidate is the Injection Pump. probably exacerbated by the running of super cleaning hot WVO removing deposits and double lubricating some worn out pump seals and parts.


anyway i will update the status but it will be on hold as i am going to pull the injectors and test them, then pull the IP and test it to see where the fuel delivery problem is. oh geeze........

did make it to canada but had to come home and get my mercedes first and then drive that up there, it was not a smooth trip to say the least. anyway Carry on.

[Stuff]

hope it is an easy fix guys!

[sdwarf36]

Change your veggie filter. All new conversions plug filters early + easily. Throw a section of clear hose in the system to look for air leaks (bubbles) Veg isnt THAT super hot-or cleansing that it took out your pump--i'd bet money on it. And theres no way all your injectors died at the same time-you'd feel a cylinder dropping here + there-not just a steady loss of power.

[rjz5400]

Well thanks for all the suggestions and the junkyard tip on bus parts!! i may call up there if i need some parts or whatever, i did call and get a fuel line shipped from where I bought it in VA.

I did use a brand new filter to leave town with and even though i doubted it was plugged i changed it with another brand new filter filled with diesel. I also ran it from a bottle filled with seafoam (two bottles) and did a H2O injection, to clean the pistons and the valves in case they were sticking. I also have no exhaust and removed the air-filter and added an electric boost pump before the injection pump and later tested the incoming fuel pressure and found it adequate. all these tests came back fine which led me with only the pump or injectors as a possible suspect. (I have re plumbed the fuel system to place everything under pressure instead of vacuum and the problem was not an intermittent thing so much, i have had air bubbles before... I also had no trouble during test runs and the first 80 or so miles of the trip at 55MPH)

I dont think the WVO created a problem, i think it tipped the scales on a stop-and-go marginally maintained 21 year old motor and pump. Believe me i would rather have an engine that had run 50 miles a day than one that only drove 10 and had long periods of idling and many stops and starts. I got the latter. A Richmond city bus. that has 67,000 miles and 160,000 hours on it. I think that means an average speed of 23 miles and hour. i suspect no lubricity or cleaning additives were used during its long service life and i bet the WVO has lowered internal pump pressure or clogged either the injector orifices or the tiny filters that may be in them.

I am going to remove the injectors myself and have them tested at a fuel shop for pressure and pattern, and then remove all the fuel lines and clean them and possibly remove the IP for testing and a rebuild if needed. I hope it is the injectors and i sure hoped then and do now hope the Injection Pump itself is ok but in reality the engine was always a little weak at hills, becoming slower off the line, and did have a bit of an off note in the exhaust like a quiet Dud Dud Dud Dudd. at idle and on acceleration. it could be delivery valves, an internal O-ring or seal or a blocked passage inside the pump.


seeing now that some people are interested I will continue to update as i can, but now i am looking for a new car, still working on the jet ski for the end of summer, finishing grad school, planning a wedding, and riding mopeds so this may take a little while.

My tow vehicle and the bus parked at Triple T

[rjz5400]

i got the injectors pulled the other day and now they are all cleaned up and sitting in a jar of carb cleaner. they were absolutely disgusting and many of the holes were totally blocked with carbon build up.

i am still going to pay to have them checked and i will clean out the bores with a brass brush and carb cleaner. if they all pop-off pretty close to each other hopefully when I put them in it will be problem solved.

[rjz5400]

well I ended up cleaning them all myself. it was fairly easy to build the injector puller and pop them out myself, then cleaned all the tips as they looked like tiny volcanoes had erupted, they had carbon caked over the tips and only two or three holes were visible (out of six per injector) knowing that the "tips" are VERY particular and angles along with size are very important I think this buildup could have very likely been the cause of my slowdown, haze, and poor performance in general. So I put them back in, fixed one compression leak, brought the battery home and charged it, found the ignition short that was keeping the key from turning the power on, bought a new can of starting fluid, and got down to buisness.
After about a half hour of pumping the primer/turning it over/checking lines for fuel and "bleeding " them out it finally fired up!!!!!!! ran on its own, idles normally (a little high) and revs quick and dirty!!!
While I was stopped on my way home the last time, I turned up every fuel adjustment in an attempt to pick up the pace. So it was "hangin up" or holding at high RPMs when revved when I got it started after the cleaning. this means it was very close to running away or just continuing to accelerate until something breaks. when this happens there is only a couple of things that can be done to save the engine and i wasnt prepared to do any of them.
So i went to the back to turn down the smoke screw and the full fuel screw and what did i find? a HUGE coolant leak!!!!

Luckily the testing and idle process had warmed up the bus enough that the thermostat opened and collant started to flow, this finished off the short heater hose with a leak in it that pumped maybe 1 or 1/2 gallon of the green stuff into the belt and the ground and sprayed all over also. We shut it down and now I have to get a new short hose and adjust all the fuel settings to get it into a safer range.

I do believe that my injector R+R did something because I certainly didnt rev that high or roll that much coal before when I had the settings the same, what i changed was cleaning the injectors so hopefully that has solved the mystery of the breakdown and i can be back burning vegg. post hast.

Here is the "proof" that she is back running again after the long park.

[Accordion]

RJZ, you certainly are mechanically adept. It is always nice to diagnose a problem and fix it yourself.

My engine (Cat 1160) is almost 39 years old. Fortunately, all I have had to do to it is replace the fluids, filters, and lower radiator hose, lifter pump, and put a bolt in the donut gasket of the exhaust.

I have a friend who was doing the WVO fuel in his diesel motor. Perhaps he was not well schooled in what is entailed in successful usage of that stuff as fuel. Using WVO pretty much ruined his motor.

I have no intention of going that route. First, it sounds like a lot of hassle finding the stuff. Second, it seems like a lot of work to process it.

I'll just stick to diesel fuel.

Anyhow, I admire your tenacity when it comes to working on your motor. I would be afraid to take apart all those lines and injectors. It was a major scare for me to remove and replace the lifter pump on my engine. I did do a detailed explanation of that job on my thread.

I am glad to hear that your bus is now working well.

[rjz5400]

Thanks for the Props, and I too need to replace a gasket, my turbo drain tube is leaking a little oil into my exhaust. But it hasn't run since august as I have been busy with other stuff, so I will definitely have a "tidy up day" and get to all the little thing like making a support cable for my exhaust and tightening up the tank for the WVO and whatnot.

Accordion I really enjoyed reading your very detailed write up on your bus build and adventures, including the fuel supply shenanigans, and as far as getting in to deep on the motor I have built up an arsenal of experience starting with my first oil change on my first car and most recently I pulled the harmonic balancer and radiator from my fiances car to fix damage from broken bolts and a front end collision, so it is just taking small steps and making progress as far as what i am willing to take on. Plus I am Cheap as hell, so when i understand what needs to happen i wont want to pay anyone to do it anymore.

My time has up till now been very inexpensive as i have been a student with a bit of free time to wrench.


I did fix the leak of fluids and turn everything down fuel settings wise today and take it for a spin at the storage place. Seemed to be much more behaved and smoother than before, I still have to make some more adjustments and take longer test runs before ill call it fixed. But progress......

[rjz5400]

So after that test run i did find coolant running down the block, again!!!!! this time it was the water pump, got that switched out but still seems pretty dang slow.

SO my brother in law is sending me some gauges, pyrometer, Boost, fuel Pressure and Fuel temp (for WVO) so hopefully ill get those plumbed in and hooked up and i can find out what the heck is the problem with the big slowdown, once I know I can fix whatever the problem is and then start making some performance boosts and still keep an eye on safety.

[rjz5400]

Well small update here. I drove the bus to its new home across the county. 20 min drive. I let it warm up for about 20 minutes before setting out.

It drove OK. last time i was out there I added the last bit of the Startron I had in the bottle probably enough to treat like 40 gallons, so a little strong.

I hit 50mph on the flat ground and it held the speed pretty well on the overpass so maybe it is a dirty fuel related problem.


Next step i think it to pull the injectors (again) and have them pop tested at the local diesel shop. maybe replace or clean them as needed. who knows at this point. I am definitely going to check all my fuel line connections and probably run through that startron that is in the tank before putting in a bunch more diesel.


Hey at least it didn't slow down to 10mph or cut off on me like last time. ....

We may end up full timing it it fairly soon as we are about to put the house on the market. Will update.

[bansil]

I had to read thru it all, glad to hear she's a running

Good luck with full timing post more pics

Oooohhh and nice to meet you