Is it worth it?

[Chachi1984]

I found this bus for sale in my backyard and I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've messaged the owner for more information than what is listed in the Craigslist ad to get some follow up. My question is in regards to the broken flex plate. Does the cost to replace the flex plate balance out what it would cost me in say fuel and travel costs to get a bus from farther? Plus because it's already converted there is less work to do in pulling out seats and what not and saves some time and money there. Is it worth the cost in repairs or should I keep looking?

[Dana]

Its a can of worms. A broken flex plate could be an easy fix, or it could mean transmission problems and even engine problems. Without photos on the inside there is no way of telling the level of conversion or the quality of work.

Buses are just trucks. Everything is bigger including the repair bills. There are so many used buses out there buying a broken one might not be a good idea.

The flex plate is too much of an unknown. You could be looking at replacing the transmission. Which would be WAY more than going and getting a different one farther away and converting it yourself.

[cowlitzcoach]

At a minimum, in order to replace the flex plate you will need to drop the transmission.

If you have gone to all the trouble of dropping the transmission it would be a very good idea to replace the torque convertor at the same time. Many times when a flex plate breaks the unbalanced nature of what is left can cause the TC to fail.

Between parts and labor it is going to cost the better part of $1K to replace the flex plate. It will cost the same amount to take the transmission down again to replace the toasted TC. And it will cost you the same amount again when you end up replacing the transmission because the failed TC sent chunks through the transmission.

I think $2K is a bit on the high side unless the interior is completely converted to something that you like.

Worst case is you will need to pony up around $6K to replace the transmission, torque convertor, flex plate, and flush the transmission cooling system.