Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 11-09-2014, 11:07 AM   #681
Bus Crazy
 
sdwarf36's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Moodus, Ct.
Posts: 1,062
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Champion
Chassis: Ford e-450
Engine: 7.3 Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 14
Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailg

Now.... As I plan for becoming self-sufficient in this respect.... If a front tire goes flat, the axle will be very close to the ground, and I will not get the bottle jack under it. So I need to develop some tool or method for this. Anybody?

Jack it up from somwheres else (shackle?) and put a block of wood under that axle. Lower it and repositon the jack.
As far as a 1" air gun-I dont think you can buy much for only $200. And you need LOTS of air to run one--and big hoses. When I was younger, I used to work for Truck Tire Service-doing road calls changing truck tires. In the back of the service van, there was a 4 cylinder Wisconsin engine-2 cylinders running-2 cylinders pumping air and a 1" air line. And there were times that I thought it wouldn't break a lug free. Next service make sure you glob a bunch of never-sieze on the lug thread-and the underside of the nut.

__________________
Don't make a fuss-just get on the bus!

my bus build https://www.skoolie.net/gallery/Skoolies/Sped
sdwarf36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2014, 11:23 AM   #682
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailg

Quote:
Originally Posted by sdwarf36
...

Jack it up from somwheres else (shackle?) and put a block of wood under that axle. Lower it and repositon the jack.

As far as a 1" air gun-I dont think you can buy much for only $200. And you need LOTS of air to run one--and big hoses. When I was younger, I used to work for Truck Tire Service-doing road calls changing truck tires. In the back of the service van, there was a 4 cylinder Wisconsin engine-2 cylinders running-2 cylinders pumping air and a 1" air line. And there were times that I thought it wouldn't break a lug free. Next service make sure you glob a bunch of never-sieze on the lug thread-and the underside of the nut.
Yes, that would be the method for raising a front flat. What I will do is assemble a kit with suitable blocks in a milk crate or such. Of course, being me... my original idea was to fabricate a roughly S-shaped adapter out of 3/8" steel plate that would hook under the axle and over the bottle-jack.

And yes, I'm leaning toward the manual 1:78 reduction tool now.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2014, 11:29 AM   #683
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Snowflake, Arizona
Posts: 343
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All American Rear Engine
Engine: C-8.3-300 Cummins MD3060
Rated Cap: 40 Prisoners
Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailg

On the front tire change, since the tire is probably a throw away when flat just drive up on a wooden block and then use
your bottle jack. As to seized lug nuts I found on the Winnabago site a fellow that did a test on penetrating oils and the
very best one that he tested was one that he made himself which consisted of 50% automatic transmission fluid and 50%
Acetone. I now keep the mix handy any time I work on anything that is rusted or corroded. Took me 50 years of mechanics
to find this one but it is great stuff. I use it in one of those metal spray cans that you pressurize with air, you need to
shake it when you use it but it's wonderful stuff.
Dragonpop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2014, 03:09 PM   #684
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailg

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragonpop
On the front tire change, since the tire is probably a throw away when flat just drive up on a wooden block and then use
your bottle jack. ...
Likely true that.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2014, 09:10 PM   #685
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailg

You are dead on regarding the best "Rust Buster" ...even according to the D.O.D.

They tested every commercial product available for military use as well as several "home brews". The 50/50 acetone/tranny fluid concoction beat everything on the market by a huge factor! I too keep a bottle of it handy around my shop and can testify it does indeed work better than anything I have ever bought. And dirt cheap too!
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2015, 08:58 PM   #686
Skoolie
 
MuddaEarth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Kansas
Posts: 214
Year: 1993
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 66 Passenger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
You are dead on regarding the best "Rust Buster" ...even according to the D.O.D.

They tested every commercial product available for military use as well as several "home brews". The 50/50 acetone/tranny fluid concoction beat everything on the market by a huge factor! I too keep a bottle of it handy around my shop and can testify it does indeed work better than anything I have ever bought. And dirt cheap too!
It looks like I've stumbled upon something magical!! Thanks guys!!
__________________
“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”
― Buckminster Fuller
MuddaEarth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2015, 10:42 PM   #687
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
A word of caution --- anti-seize on lug nuts turns out to be a really bad idea. In fact, it is illegal in most states on over the road equipment. They need to bind very securely lest they vibrate loose which leads to very bad things happening. I only learned this recently from a big rig tech who was helping me with my rear axle. I decided to put a little anti-seize on the center hub to prevent them from rusting in place (my wheels are hub-centric) and he said to make sure I didn't get any on the lugs for the above reason.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2015, 08:56 PM   #688
Bus Nut
 
sojourner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 702
Year: 1995
Engine: DT408
This penetrating oil formula sounds related to a bore cleaner we use around here:
http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9
__________________
I am an sojourner in the earth; hide not Your Commandments from me. Psalm 119:19

Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commandments of YAHWEH, and the faith of Yahshua. Rev. 14:12
sojourner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2015, 10:35 PM   #689
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Springtime!

Being me, I have procrastinated all winter, and now I have all of one week to do the hoses and belt and accelerator linkage before the first outing of the season. Hoses and belt before they fail, and the linkage has already come apart once and has been running the last couple years with a tiny hose clamp holding it together.

Last year I hurriedly fabricated a wood stick to serve as accelerator if need be. I am very glad I did not have to drive a thousand miles with the doghouse open, pushing on the injection pump lever with that stick.

Rumours... (note spelling, I'm a Fleetwood Mac fan)... rumours of horrible difficulty in removing the radiator on this type bus are so far proving non-applicable. Perhaps I will be of a different opinion after I tangle with the four big bolts that hold the radiator-and-fan-shroud to the rest of the bus, but it looks like that assembly will lift right out once the bolts are gone.

Interesting design. The fan shroud is actually the radiator support -- a big wrap-around bracket that the radiator bolts into. Its function as a fan shroud is sort'a a bonus feature.

The photo shows how far I got today. The two white rags are stuffed in the intercooler hoses to keep bird and leaves out.

__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 06:48 AM   #690
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
looking forward to this, I need to do some stuff this fall
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 10:44 AM   #691
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
It's great to see your still busing around.

I'm also looking forward to this.

The four bolts that hold that support were imposable to get loose on mine. Rust and no room to get at them, I cut the whole mess up.

Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
nat_ster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 11:49 AM   #692
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
The upper bolts run fore-and-aft and are perfectly accessible so can be cut with an angle grinder, if need be. But it does not look like that will be necessary.
The bottom bolts run up-and-down and are tucked into a tight spot, so they could only be cut with a long blade on a sawsall, and they are grade 8, so lets hope they break loose with wrenches. It will take a U-joint on the socket, which is always an iffy affair. We will know in a couple hours.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 01:03 PM   #693
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Sorry Elliot, I used the wrong smily. I didn't mean to stick out my tongue.

Looking back at my pics now, I think a few ratchet wrenches would have been a massive help. At the time I did mine, I didn't have any yet.

Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
nat_ster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 05:23 PM   #694
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84


And... it is out.





This is how the socket had to sneak onto the bolt. The difficult part is keeping the socket from tilting and slipping. The extra long extension provides more leverage to hold the socket straight on the bolt with my right hand.





Close up. The socket is black, and there is a piece of black tape on the extension, but it should be possible to make it out. Note the box end wrench holding the nut at the bottom. There is a scrap of wood under it to keep it from falling off the nut.





Use only 6-point tools for this! 12-point tools are sometimes necessary in tight places, but this ain’t it.





Before it goes back together, I will cut clearance so the nut can be reached straight-on from below. I find it difficult to forgive Blue Bird for not doing this. There is no problem with structural integrity, since this is forward of all engine and suspension components. The lower section extending forward does nothing but hold the bumper and tow hooks.

The fan belt was quite ripe for picking, yes. As are the radiator hoses. Just dumb luck we got away with running these as long as we did.

Nat-ster, no worries about the smiley! All smileys are good smileys. That's why we call them smileys.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2015, 09:32 PM   #695
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Glad to see it went well.

Yours was a world cleaner than mine. Mine had min 1/2 inch of oil and dirt completely covering the front.

My radiator and intercooler were almost completely blocked off.

Your bus is still in fine shape.

Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
nat_ster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-10-2015, 07:12 PM   #696
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Cleaned battery terminals today -- all six of them. Serious corrosion on a couple cable-ends. This ought to be done every year. But the batteries are now now eight years old and going strong. Added water to them for the first time, I think. Buying quality pays off.

In between all the engine-related work, there is also the interior to prep for the season. And I was reminded of a mistake I made way back when I installed the shower. You want to learn from this if you plan to install a fiberglass shower basin or stall:

To keep the floor from flexing and cracking, it is customary to place some plaster or foam or some such under the floor -- something that molds to the shape of the floor and then hardens. Well, I used expanding foam. Trouble is, this tends to keep expanding as it hardens, and it pushed the floor up. The walls were screwed fast, but the foam pushed the middle of the floor, with the drain, up a bit. So now I always have to mop out the shower, since the drain is not the lowest spot like it should be.
Just something to keep in mind.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-11-2015, 09:35 PM   #697
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84



Fuel linkages.
On the left is the fuel shutoff solenoid link. Note that one rod-end separated when I took it off the engine.
On the right is the accelerator pedal link. Note that one rod-end has been jury-rigged with a hose clamp. This rod-end separated on I-5 a couple years ago, and the hose clamp worked so well I left it on there another 8,000 miles or so. (I was not on the trip.) But no more!

That Peter and Mike were able to effect the hose clamp repair was partly talent and skill, but also partly dumb luck – in the part being accessible, and in having a suitable “patch” on hand. (Bailing wire could be used.) And you sure wouldn’t want such a failure in city traffic.

So the lesson here is… replace linkage rod-ends before they become this worn. There are others, not in the photo, and they are pretty much not accessible without removing the radiator.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 01:57 PM   #698
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84


The angle grinder with cutting disc took a bite from the upper flange of the bumper bracket, and also a small notch from the lower flange with a grinding disc. Now I have a straight shot at the radiator mounts. With this task so much easier, I will make it a hobby to remove the radiator every Wednesday.

Never do anything like this to the actual frame rails of a bus!
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 11:46 AM   #699
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Millicent is back on the road -- even if a week late, because Blue Bird shipped me parts destined for a different customer, and my parts to them. Lesson learned: Start work early, and order parts early, to have plenty leeway before the next scheduled trip.

Next lesson: Anytime significant work is needed around the engine of a forward-control bus, remove two things: The doghouse and the driver's seat. The doghouse is obvious and easy, but you will be glad you removed the driver's seat also. (Depending on what exactly you need to reach, of course.) (Forward Control = front engine, flat nose)

I found it easier to reach the upper radiator hose clamps and the intercooler hose clamps from inside. This may not be possible in the initial disassembly, depending on how the factory placed the clamps, but for reassembly it allows more room to swing the ratchet.

Rather than refurbish the linkage that operates the fuel shutoff with an electric solenoid, I replaced that entire system with a simple push-pull cable. This eliminates failure of the solenoid, and failure of the relay that controls it -- that relay being somewhat notorious. Now I just pull the cable out to run, and push it in to stop the engine. Photo to come.

In other news.... My brother has a nifty toy-hauler camping trailer (which we used last weekend while Millicent was awaiting correct parts), and that tailgate has a clever type of latch which I want to duplicate for Millicent. Or perhaps I can buy the latches and save a lot of fabricating-time. Anybody have a wrecked toy hauler sitting around?

Finally, among other parts that should probably be replaced soon are the turbo-charger/intercooler hoses. They got bent around a bit while the radiator was out, but are very flexible and seem to have suffered no harm. And I had the turbo pressure up to the normal max of 17 or 18 PSI on yesterday's test drive. Still, they are 23 years old with 240,000 miles on them.

Oh... finally, finally.... On the test drive, one end of the accelerator link came off. (Ironically, it was the one that had been jury-rigged previously.) I could have sworn I tightened the nut on the new one, but the evidence suggests I didn't. Lesson: Go over EVERYTHING one last time before putting the lid back on.

Also, a mandatory trick when going on a test drive: Bring ALL the tools and supplies that were used in the repairs. Plus bailing wire.

We leave on Millicent's first outing of the season in 24 hours.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 11:59 AM   #700
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Sorry 'bout the issues but glad to hear you are "on the road again".

Damn...now I'll have that song stuck in my head all day!
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Roof Raise - Building My Own Flat Roof iverSUN Conversion General Discussions 26 02-18-2019 10:41 AM
Roof Raise ~ Cutting Roof ABOVE Windows ?? chev49 Conversion General Discussions 3 12-04-2012 02:07 AM
Roof raise: TMI !! thommassey Everything Else | General Skoolie Discussions 15 12-09-2011 01:58 AM
Roof raise Rod Conversion General Discussions 1 03-08-2008 05:51 PM
Roof Raise ~ Cutting Roof ABOVE Windows ?? pixemoss Skoolie Conversion Projects 6 12-31-1969 07:00 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.