Tiny Beluga - 1971 Gillig Home

[tinybelugabus]

Hello! We're almost finished with our @TinyBelugaBus build and we drove it from the Bay Area up to Washington. It made all the passes and we babied the bus over 600 miles. Made several fixes on the road, kept the fuels topped off and watched the temp gauge making sure she didnt over heat. But on the flats of southern washington the oil filter seal blew. Pulled off and replaced the oil filter it looked cross-threaded, filled it back up with oil and got back on the road. When I got back on the I-5 I heard a knock in the cummins 220 and knew it wasnt good. The oil seal blew again. Bypassed the oil filter, and topped it back up with oil and the knock remained. Towed her to a shop and pulled the oil pan. Looks like she needs a new crank. Some damage to the rod and bearing as well, #5. The easiest solution looks like it would be to find another cummins NH 220 in good working order. If you happen to know anyone ours is out of a 1971 Gillig 743, mid engine. Any leads to yards or cummins enthusiasts would be appreciated. Any other replacement thoughts welcome. Thank you!

[flattracker]

How bad is the crankshaft damaged? If you go to a Fleetpride store you may be able find someone to get it reground. I suspect that you have other problems beyond the crank and rod. Something caused the oil pressure to get high enough to blow out the oil filter. I don't think you could have got the filter threaded enough to even seal if it was cross-threaded. I have in my collection a Cummins small cam engine rated for 230 hp? I don't know if it could be adapted to fit your bus. I know that the big cam engines share the same block with normal and laid down engines. Either way it would be a complicated fix. I am in south central Oregon. If you like send me a PM about it.