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Old 08-24-2016, 07:27 PM   #341
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Man Home Depot has this purple concentrated industrial cleaner over in the cleaning supplies..... let me tell you......... if you spray it straight without diluting it, it will strip paint. It's like $10 for a gallon and works so good I can't believe it legal. Haha

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Old 09-12-2016, 12:50 PM   #342
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With the DMV inspection complete I now have my title and applied for my tags. With the temporaries taped front and back and being street legal I took it immediately to the local Freightliner shop to have the brakes looked at. The light has been on and there was a loose component at the rear left wheel set that was hanging loose. Being a major safety system I thought it best to let the pros work on it. I will get her back this week and I'll start on the roof raise.

While all that was going on I finished up the ash galley countertop. I dragged the log out of the woods myself, milled it, assembled it, finished it and attached all of the components. Now I'll put it in storage for when I need to install it (gonna be a while). Here are some progress pics:

Milled, assembled and gorilla glued:



The underside showing the 3/4" plywood strips gorilla glued in plus the 3" angled screws pulling the pieces together:



The topside after gluing showing the intentional unevenness and cracks. I distressed the surface and antiqued it with the 'ol vinegar/steelwool mix. I left the chainsawed edge on the side that will be exposed, an affect I repeated on the sink cutout:



A detail of the live edge with bark still attached, and you can see some of the distressing I did with fake wormholes and scratches:



Finished with a dozen or so coats of polycrylic...love the low VOC and the finish is sooper hard:



Undercounter sink cutout:



Sink attached with faucet and soap dispensing accessories attached:



All in all a decent turnout with the countertop. That ash is damn hard stuff to work with. The sink cutout matching the sink footprint was a challenge for sure. Hopefully you can see how the opening is distressed like the edge.
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Old 09-12-2016, 01:42 PM   #343
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That counter top looks incredible! Extremely rustic, and very hardy!

Great work man!!

-Doc

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Old 09-12-2016, 06:26 PM   #344
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Gorgeous counter!
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Old 09-12-2016, 10:08 PM   #345
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Damn fine work! Love the live edge!
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Old 09-13-2016, 08:19 AM   #346
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One thing I have to resolve is the radiator hose set up I put on the driver-side heater lines that ran to the rear heater that I removed. I installed the hoses with hose clamps and never did like the look of it going in. It does work "pretty" good but there is still a very slow leak so obviously it isn't working good enough.
It seems you may have the same heater set up as I do. At the bottom of the driver's side heater core, are there two copper tees? I did the same to my driver's side heater initially. I cut the rubber hose short and jammed a copper pipe cap in there (1/2" or 3/4", can't remember), then used a hose clamp on it. No leaks, but it stuck out more than I liked.

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Originally Posted by Jman6631 View Post
Does anyone see any issue with using compression caps to seal off those supply and return lines? They connect inside the driver-side heater anyway so I see no reason that I can't just cap them off. There is the raised ring at the ends of the copper pipe that gave the hose clamps something to hold onto, but those can be removed easily with the dremel to allow the compression fittings to slide on (can't sweat any of this due to the proximity of the heater coils above). Would doing this create any unwanted pressure or cause any other issues that aren't obvious to me?
I ended up crushing the end of the tees flat with a vice grip after cleaning the inside walls with sand paper and applying flux. Soldered them up without a hitch (or a fire!). Everything has been operating just fine, since this heater set up doesn't require another loop back. The driver's side heater core and the rear heater core were installed in parallel in my case, instead of in series.
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Old 09-13-2016, 08:26 AM   #347
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you can sdefimitely cap any unwanted heaster lines without issue... what you DONT want to do is loop the supply and returns together or you will create low flow in the heaters you do want active..

-Christopher
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Old 09-13-2016, 08:37 AM   #348
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
you can sdefimitely cap any unwanted heaster lines without issue... what you DONT want to do is loop the supply and returns together or you will create low flow in the heaters you do want active..

-Christopher


I would think you would want to look the supply and return lines with a restriction on flow, like a valve or small diameter section of pipe.


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Old 09-13-2016, 08:42 AM   #349
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Here's a discussion of this exact issue:
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/ti...tml#post127553

Post #20.
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Old 09-13-2016, 08:58 AM   #350
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiskeyjr View Post
I would think you would want to look the supply and return lines with a restriction on flow, like a valve or small diameter section of pipe.


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if you cap them that creates the needed restriction and the pressure differential from supply to return will create flow in your heater cores.. if you loop them with justr a piece of hose thats where the issues come into play as far as flow..

the original OEM design is that theres enough resrtriction in the bends of the heater cores to still keep a pressure differential.. even considering the rear heater being looped..

I have electronic heater control valves on all of my heaters and on the main loops and have no flow issues in any of them.. OEM or my custom heaters..

I also run a heater boost pump.. (it was factory installed though was hooked up backwards when i got the bus)...

most of you guys wont need a boost pump or can take it out since you are removing all the heaters in the back of the bus... 90% of these busses have a single core for the driver side even though theres '3 heaters' in the box.. and a single core on the passenger side even though theres 2 or 3 in that box... RE busses excluded as you need the boost pump to keep the coolant flow moving up to the front of the bus


-Christopher
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Old 09-15-2016, 05:44 PM   #351
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Hey thanks to EVERYBODY, I appreciate the input on the heater core piping especially. I'm going to proceed with the compression cap fittings as I originally discussed and I'll tell you how that goes.

On another note, I dropped her off for the brake work and due to sticker shock ($1,100 for front and $1,100 for rear rotors and pads) have to delay the work until the Spring so that I can use the current budget for the roof raise. However, in doing so I got a little gift. While at the shop there was an "incident" whereby my rear door was banged up. Apparently a firetruck lost its parking brake and rolled enough into my bus to shatter the upper window, dent the door panel near the handle, and crack the lower window.

They were sooper apologetic and tried hard to make it right. After thinking about it I told them not to worry about it (knowing I would be removing the rear door and replacing the entire rear section with sheet metal anyway) and to instead waive the ~$300 diagnostic fee I was into them for and I'll be fine. They took about two seconds to agree so I'm making friends at the local shop now which is always a good thing. So, in the Spring I'll have them pull out the diagnostic paperwork and do all the brake work since it's just going to pretty much sit while I do the roof raise and build out anyway except for periodic runs up and down my street.

Speaking of the roof raise, I'm building my army to take that on once I get her back. Ala "Millicent Chronicles" (thanks again brother!) I have my four farm jacks and am fabricating the brackets, here are two of four:



Not pretty, I know, but they'll do the trick. The one thing I can't make out from his pics is the connection at the top of the riser piece where it connects to the bus framing. I've starred and starred at his pics and I can't tell if he made that out of angle or what, and if he welded it to the frames or what. Do any of your hosers know, or can you recommend something?

I'm leaning towards bolting an angle to the top of the riser so that it can adjust into place and then bolting that through the bus frame. I'd weld it (and maybe still as well) but don't trust my welding skills enough quite yet.

Thoughts?
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Old 09-15-2016, 09:57 PM   #352
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...and I've got some light reading to do...

Where did you get your manuals? We are on a mission to find them for our 2004 International T444
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Old 09-15-2016, 09:59 PM   #353
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Found them on eBay
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:19 AM   #354
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazty View Post
Here's a discussion of this exact issue:
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/ti...tml#post127553

Post #20.
THANKS Jazty, this was helpful. I think I ran across this once and that stuck the idea in my head that looping isn't best, but I wasn't exactly sure about how best to to cap them off. I have a set of compression fittings ready to go but flattening the ends and soldering them shut sounds even better because I don't like the idea of the fittings coming loose. But, I suppose the solder could break free too, so...
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:24 AM   #355
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I'm sure either way would work, but my assumption is that a soldered joint (if done correctly) will be a permanent, leak free solution. The big problem is that you'll need to drain the coolant to be able to sufficiently clean, buff and flux the copper before soldering. This wasn't a problem for me since I already had it drained, but it would be a pain otherwise. A fitting could be slipped over and tightened with a bit (or a lot ) of coolant spill. That's how I did mine the first time. Grab a towel!
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:47 AM   #356
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Right, and timing is "sometimes" a blessing. I intend to drain and flush the system anyway and am ready to do so once I get her back from the shop (today?), so here's my chance.
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:53 AM   #357
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when I drained mine down i used the boost pump to pump the heater loops down as much as possible but still had a lot of coolant inside the bus when I started to loosen the lines so I took a shop vac on reverse that blows out and blew air into one of the heater lines under the hood and pushed alot of the coolant out so i had minimal spill inside the bus when I disconnected everything.. still had some but nothing a towel couldnt sop up.

then I turned the boost pump on and had the valves open while I poured in the coolant so the heater loops wouldnt air-lock. (I installed electronic heater valves when i had it all apart so i could control the loop flow from inside the bus.

-Christopher
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:45 PM   #358
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
when I drained mine down i used the boost pump to pump the heater loops down as much as possible but still had a lot of coolant inside the bus when I started to loosen the lines so I took a shop vac on reverse that blows out and blew air into one of the heater lines under the hood and pushed alot of the coolant out so i had minimal spill inside the bus when I disconnected everything.. still had some but nothing a towel couldnt sop up.

then I turned the boost pump on and had the valves open while I poured in the coolant so the heater loops wouldnt air-lock. (I installed electronic heater valves when i had it all apart so i could control the loop flow from inside the bus.

-Christopher
Very interesting cadillackid, I don't think I have a boost pump but I am concerned about getting all of the coolant out when I do the flush this weekend. Would there be an advantage to shop "blowing" it out at the driver heater connections after the initial drain to make sure I get as much out as possible before I do the flush? Would that be a waste of time?
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:51 PM   #359
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Plates came in! Not terribly interesting or impactful to the project but I got 'em...HBOHTL = Hobo Hotel (you will see this later, this will be on the test)...



I don't need an emission inspection in Virginia with the diesel but I do need the safety inspection of course. What kind of shop normally provides that kind of service? Forgive the rookie question but this too is new to me.
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Old 09-17-2016, 11:57 AM   #360
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Ok guys, I have a couple of non-related questions:

1. While picking her up last night I asked the shop foreman about the lack of highway speed and what he would recommend. I "assumed" (there's that word again) that I'd need to replace the pumpkin for $$$ but he said I should look into removing/bypassing the Cummins governor.

I hadn't considered that yet, what think you think? How much of an impact would that have and what are the negative ramifications, if any, in doing so? I also don't know if the governor is on the engine or the tranny. Would its location affect the decision to bypass it?


2. I've read multiple threads on roof raises and am not 100% decided on how I'm going to structurally repair the vertical portion of the ribs. Some add overlapping hat channel, others tube steel, some maybe both. Is there a superior method?

I don't think I need the dual flanging on the outside face in order to attach the NEW exterior sheet metal. If I insert tube steel inside the channel 1' above and below the cuts and plug weld the crap out of it I thought that would be enough. But, I'm prone to overdoing it so maybe add a U channel (vs hat channel) and plug weld that to the added tube steel the full length on all three sides including the overlap with the existing ribs?

Thoughts?
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