'93 E350 Goshen - Adventure bus build...

[leadsled01]

mr4bt.. I had 3 different powermaster alternators in 2 different vehicles. All 3 burned up. Powermaster will not honor the warrantee. I will never buy from them again. I replaced powermaster with cheap autozone and never had another problem. I hope you have better luck than I did. I told the powermaster reps that I will bad mouth them every chance I get, so here you go.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by leadsled01

mr4bt.. I had 3 different powermaster alternators in 2 different vehicles. All 3 burned up. Powermaster will not honor the warrantee. I will never buy from them again. I replaced powermaster with cheap autozone and never had another problem. I hope you have better luck than I did. I told the powermaster reps that I will bad mouth them every chance I get, so here you go.

Ah, they must be the Subaru of the alternator world.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Lol... I wont be using their alternators but I havent heard anything bad about their starters. They only have a 1 year warranty but I haven't had good luck lately getting a decent starter from a parts store around here. Every one I've bought in the last 3 years has died within 6 months and had to be warrantied... several multiple times.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Little bit of fab work this afternoon. Ran out of angle but for the most part, the battery mount is done.

IMG_20171203_135852286_HDR by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171203_135902994 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171203_142320511 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171203_142330979 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171203_143436166 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171203_143445888 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Still needs a piece of angle across the bottom center and a piece of flat stock across the top. Holds 2 group 31s nicely and will mount to the frame just behind the door on the passenger side. New 2/0 cables and new starter will follow.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Done and in primer... just needs paint.

IMG_20171204_120029403 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe

Done and in primer... just needs paint.

I'll take two, please. Very nice.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Thanks! Hopefully it works out nicely and I'll build a couple more for the house battery bank.

The interesting part is finding a way to put an access panel on the fiberglass skirt so I can install the batteries from the side instead of heaving them into place from under the bus.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe

The interesting part is finding a way to put an access panel on the fiberglass skirt so I can install the batteries from the side instead of heaving them into place from under the bus.

Hatches and Access Doors : Southaven RV Parts Store, Southaven RV Online Parts Store

To attach, I would use rivets and aluminum, with an aluminum backer strip so it makes a 3-layer sandwich. Proper seam sealer helps hold.

[Tango]

I am about to begin on my battery box. Should be interesting as it has to go under (inside) one of the entry steps. Once again, cramming a lot of stuff into a shorty can test your patience as well as skills.

[Mr4btTahoe]

That's no joke. My "plans" have changed quite a bit over this project just because I couldn't fit what I wanted to... where I wanted to.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Hatches and Access Doors : Southaven RV Parts Store, Southaven RV Online Parts Store

To attach, I would use rivets and aluminum, with an aluminum backer strip so it makes a 3-layer sandwich. Proper seam sealer helps hold.

No idea why I didn't think about a prebuilt unit. Found a bunch of take-offs on ebay for cheap in basically any size/layout you could want. Thanks!

[Mr4btTahoe]

Ready to mount

IMG_20171206_101033495 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171206_101003776 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

It does have drain holes in the stainless bottom tray now. I'll be ordering the access panel/door this weekend.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Finally more progress other then just buying parts...

IMG_20171217_142451567 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171217_142500411 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171217_143826105 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Battery tray bolted up...
IMG_20171217_160525951 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

No lower then the body...
IMG_20171217_160604190 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

And... subfloor is finally done.
IMG_20171217_143917365_HDR by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

My buddy is starting on the cabinets soon and I'll be dealing with the mechanical bits. I just ordered 3 of the 5 gauges I want (Autometer mechanical coolant temp, oil pressure, and pyrometer)... still need voltage and trans temp. Then all thats left parts wise is brakes, wheel bearings/seals, and u-joints for the d-shaft.

A few months and spring will be here!

[Robin97396]

Good progress. I thought it would be to cold up there to be working on a bus.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Good progress. I thought it would be to cold up there to be working on a bus.

Its been in the 50s this weekend... down in the 30s at night. I dont mind 30s-40s... the teens kill my motivation... especially when the wood stove is keeping the house in the mid to upper 70s.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Fresh Motorcraft ZD9 glowplugs in along with 6.0 powerstroke glowplug harnesses. They fit the ol' IDI nicely.

IMG_20171218_124058522 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171218_124107721 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

IMG_20171218_125042893 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Need to trim them off and add ring terminals to hook up to the IDI gp controller.
IMG_20171218_125058458_HDR by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

And the old plugs. They were a mix of original ZD9s, Autolites, and Bosch plugs. Thankfully, none of them were swollen or missing bits (which the autolites love to do). The old harness was shot so I'm glad I changed it out as well.

I also got the factory batteries out (not really a big accomplishment... but it's something. Lol)

[Robin97396]

Progress is good. I think the weather is about to shut your progress down.

I know I'm going to put on my big boy, insulated, pants.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Progress is good. I think the weather is about to shut your progress down.

I know I'm going to put on my big boy, insulated, pants.

Supposed to be decent here all week and dip down into the 30s by the weekend. I've got the coveralls ready... insulation on the inside of the bus is done so I can always move to the inside work with a buddy heater if need be.

[Mr4btTahoe]

I hate cold weather... ...

Anyways.. Pulled the alternator/bracket so I could swap the thermostat out and get the passenger side valve cover off a bit easier. After getting the alternator out of the way, I grabbed the fan and noticed the water pump bearing has a bit of play (~1/16" or so). Although it isn't leaking or anything, not worth the extra effort to change it in 5k miles since everything is already apart. Found a Ford OEM replacement (new old stock) on ebay for $75. Now I have to play the waiting game with all the holidays. It'll probably be after New Years before I get it in.

Oh well...

IMG_20171223_135107603_HDR by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

And yes.. I'll be deleting all those nasty rusty lines and such. I'll also be replacing the lift pump while everything is apart. Already have it sitting in the shop.. it's just a matter of getting motivated to change it now that its cold again.

[Mr4btTahoe]

Argh I hate that I cant get this bus under roof right now. A month has gone by and hardly any progress. We've been getting hammered with ice and snow over the last 2 weeks but now we are in the 50s-60s.. Supposed to be decent for the next week anyways..

Now that the ice/snow have cleared off the drive.. I decided to make a bit of progress. Not much... but some anyways.

New FoMoCo water pump...
IMG_20180122_213349807 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

New Motorcraft tensioner and Gates idler...
IMG_20180122_213358282 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

And new Motorcraft fan clutch...
IMG_20180122_213330900 by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Only a few little things left before I drop in the radiator and button up the front of the engine. Slowly but surely installing the large pile of parts that has accumulated over the last 4 weeks.