Roll Another One

[cadillackid]

Minus 4f this morning here.. the DEV bus needs more heaters!!! after a 20 minute drive I couldnt see my breath anymore but I wasnt roasty!! the block heater made it start like it was 80 out .. I did remember to plug it in!

my wheel chair door seal is Shot.. damn does that sound familiar EC?

yeah leaving your vehicle with anyone strange is always a risk.. and a show of trust..

a GOOD truck shop will let you see whats wrong.. the guys I use will say "come on down and look at this".. when my King-pins were shot on redbyrd.. I went down and could see for myself the worn mess they were.. its kind of hard to fake that stuff..

hopefully if your guy found anything more as he works on it that he would encourage you to come out and give it a look..
-Christopher

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I have a theory. I think the front cover started to leak and they did that "stop leak" thing with the packets of sealant. They then changed it over from the red coolant to some fancy blue stuff from their local Fleetguard supplier.
They then dumped it realizing that it was just a bandaid repair and that it would take thousands to actually fix the issue.
Only a theory.

it is pretty easy to see if a coolant leak is old or new.. there wouldve been lots of residue around the engine.. white crappy stuff... and its tough to power-wash off.. so if it had been leaking bad and they added srtop leak that it wouldve had a lot of residue all over anythiung that gets hot and evaporates the coolant...
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Minus 4f this morning here.. the DEV bus needs more heaters!!! after a 20 minute drive I couldnt see my breath anymore but I wasnt roasty!! the block heater made it start like it was 80 out .. I did remember to plug it in!

my wheel chair door seal is Shot.. damn does that sound familiar EC?

yeah leaving your vehicle with anyone strange is always a risk.. and a show of trust..

a GOOD truck shop will let you see whats wrong.. the guys I use will say "come on down and look at this".. when my King-pins were shot on redbyrd.. I went down and could see for myself the worn mess they were.. its kind of hard to fake that stuff..

hopefully if your guy found anything more as he works on it that he would encourage you to come out and give it a look..
-Christopher

This may be one of the highest volume Navistar shops around. I have yet to get my repair estimate, its supposed to be emailed to me today some time.
I likely won't be going back until the bus is done.
I always ask for the old parts, though.
How much was the labor to replace kingpins?? This place does them for $700 parts and labor.

[cadillackid]

mine was higher.. as i did kingpins and bushings, wheel seals, wheel bearings, and drag links (tie rod ends were good).. I was at around 1800 i think for all that. id have to pull the bill again that had the front end work itemized.. the bus sure does drive nice after all that.

im told the small wheels cause for more wear on front suspension parts as the low profile tires transmit more shock to the suspension parts, whereas bigger tires absorb more of the shock in the tire itself..

700 sounds like a great deal on kingpins.. esp if that includes the parts. king pins arent too bad to do, I just couldnt find a place to rent me a kingpin press and without that they are a total B!
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

mine was higher.. as i did kingpins and bushings, wheel seals, wheel bearings, and drag links (tie rod ends were good).. I was at around 1800 i think for all that. id have to pull the bill again that had the front end work itemized.. the bus sure does drive nice after all that.

im told the small wheels cause for more wear on front suspension parts as the low profile tires transmit more shock to the suspension parts, whereas bigger tires absorb more of the shock in the tire itself..

700 sounds like a great deal on kingpins.. esp if that includes the parts. king pins arent too bad to do, I just couldnt find a place to rent me a kingpin press and without that they are a total B!
-Christopher

My steering and suspension feel GREAT on this bus. Everything looks well greased, and the kingpins *seem* like they've been replaced before. Maybe that's when they decided to ditch the 19.5's and pizza cutters?

[cadillackid]

very well could be.. or they wanted to use the bus on the road more and the bigger tires ride better.. I may look into bigger wheels for the red bus when the tires wear out.. my samson tires are actually wearing pretty well.. i was apprehensive about chinese tires but they dont seem to be giving me any issues.

my issue is trying to find bigger wheels for my 8 lug pattern. I essentially have ford F-550 wheels on my bus.. at least thats the most common wheel that the Accu-ride number crosses with...

the Good thing about that is if i decided ditch the hubcaps there are quite a few High-cool-factor rims offered for that size...

tire guys tell me I can go likely 2 sizes bigger tires without causing any issues with duals rubbing or front end issues.. so i can go to a 245/70 or a 265/70 which gives me quite a bit more tire to absorb shocks.. I'd definitely need to re-gear then though as im marginal now as to 6th gear being too much OD (not something often mentioned on this forum).. ive got time as Ill bet even with all the driving i do that I'll get another year at least out of the tires..

im KICKING myself right now for the fact my Webasto heater is sitting brand new in its Box rather than underneath my bus!!
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

I'd have given you the Webasto off that last shorty if I'd known you wanted one.

find out the distance from the center of your hubs to the top of the wheel arches front and back. Mine is around one inch lower than Sandi's and she's running 10r's now and going to 11R's.
If your chassis is like mine, I'll bet 10Rs would fit on it just fine.
As soon as we get our bus we need to get the money together for some rear tires. Two are completely bald, and two are well into the wear bars and they're all recaps on the rear.

[cadillackid]

I bought a webasto super cheap on Ebay brand new in the box when i first got the DEV bus.. giuy had 5 of them and had no idea what he had.. i think i paid like 250 for it or something.. the full kit with all the fuel lines, wires, and everything to make it work..

then last year i was in florida all winter and knew i would be so I never installed it.. then this summer got away from me with all the work stuff.. and office-shuffle going on.. so now here i am in minus 4 degree weather,. and who knows where i'll be next winter.. since we are setting up some true business roots in South FL, i may be looking to trade it for A/C parts lolol...

so you measure to the top of the wheel wells or to the top of the arches on the outer bus skin?

my main issue with ever going 10R or 11R on redbyrd are the 8 lug Hubs.. and my guess is i'll find that the spindles are probably different too on the 10's. I cant use DEV as a guide since it has Dayton's on it and air brakes, there are very few similar looks on the hubs.

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

I see.
I just measured from the hub center to the uppermost part of the wheel opening on the body.
When if warms up I want to crawl under her bus and measure some stuff.

[oricha1984]

Originally Posted by Twigg

It's not unusual for a school district to dump a bus that has become problematic.

It is very unusual for a school district to attempt to hide an issue like that, and dupe a buyer.

I'm my experience, half of the time in govdeals and publicsurplus, the 'contact person' writing up the listing, is someone from the office that has no idea about vehicles.
They could be listing a 'magic flying carpet' for all they care.
Definitely, you roll the dices on a purchase like that.

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[Robin97396]

When I message the contact person they usually don't get back to me until after the auction has ended. About half the time they're real chatty then.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'll know how much $$ on tuesday.

Originally Posted by debbiejay4444

No new photos. Hope to get started on the actual build in January.

So, it's both Tuesday and January now. Where are the updates?

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'd have given you the Webasto off that last shorty if I'd known you wanted one.

I always find out about this stuff late. I want one too. I've got a Govdeals search built. Haven't figured out how to do that on Public Surplus yet. I can build one for a vehicle but haven't seen any way to do it by key word. It lets you search by key word but not get emails by key.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I bought a webasto super cheap on Ebay brand new in the box when i first got the DEV bus.. giuy had 5 of them and had no idea what he had.. i think i paid like 250 for it or something.. the full kit with all the fuel lines, wires, and everything to make it work..

Get me one too!!

And if you play your cards right, I'll mess yours up installing it so I know how to do mine right later.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

So, it's both Tuesday and January now. Where are the updates?

Still no word.

[Kubla]

My shorty has the 245 19.5s, Jason is starting on my wiring harness, tranny swap when warmer

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Still no word.

"Hey just touching base on the estimate and availability of parts..."

It's late enough to check in if they said Tues. They are giving you just the estimate or did you say they were already waiting for a parts delivery?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

"Hey just touching base on the estimate and availability of parts..."

It's late enough to check in if they said Tues. They are giving you just the estimate or did you say they were already waiting for a parts delivery?

I called and had the parts set aside before I even took it in. Just waiting on the repair estimate/bill.

[debbiejay4444]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

So, it's both Tuesday and January now. Where are the updates?

Hahaha!

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[Brewerbob]

Did they take it apart and confirm the rear cover? I don't remember how far they got. I'd still call to find out just to get the sticker shock over with.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by debbiejay4444

Hahaha!

Don't you Haha us. If you need help with those hood hatches, let us know. No one is believing this 8.3L business without pics!!