Driving 17 hours to pick up bus...what to bring?

[vince4242]

I am driving from Colorado to Indiana to pick up a 78 passenger FE AmTran. it has a DT 466 engine (130K) and AT 545 tranny with Hydraulic brakes.

My first time driving it will be heading home with it, I will be bringing tools, duck tape, and bailing wire. What other oil treatments or trans treatments should I bring?

It runs well, no leaks, good tires and well maintained...any additives or special fluids or tools I should bring, please help with some advise on picking up a bus and driving it 20 hours.

I am very excited about the conversion and living full time in it!

Thanks
Vince

[bansil]

You can cover "school" with tape, so that's covered, may want to cover stop sign with a bag and tape it shut

Make sure you have a credit card and plan on 8 miles to the gallon (any thing better is a bonus )

Good luck and be safe

oh and welcome aboard...and take pictures

[crazycal]

1. Don't drink distiller water.
2. Pick up some Pedialite. Thank you Lorna.
3. Stop every 1-2 hours to check over the bus, tires, etc. Walk around to get the blood circulating, especially in your legs.
4. I used Walmart 2 stroke outboard engine oil as an additive. One gallon is about $12 +/-. Do research before you take my word on it.
5. Make sure you check all the fluid levels before you leave.
6. Have fun.

[Motobus]

I'd probably get some towing insurance if I was going to be that far away with a bus. I haven't heard of the 2 stroke oil as a diesel additive, but I have used it for about 7 years in my motocross bikes with good luck, putting a lot more hours on than I should between top ends. The high end stuff is $40 a gallon. I will have to do some searching on that.

[opus]

Oil treatments? Why? Never use oil treatments in engine or tranny.

[vince4242]

I would say to keep the engine and tranny running with less friction...I am not the expert, I just want to get the bus home and am trying to take precautions.

Why not treatments...I thought they would help an engine?

Vince

[Motobus]

I'm pretty sure he's talking about using it as a fuel additive. Some people are using a fuel additive year round for longevity because diesel isn't as oily as it used to be. As for me the bikes are 2 stroke.

[opus]

Power Service or something is fine. Ooooo...2 strokes. Opti-2!!!

[somewhereinusa]

IF I were going to use any treatments at all it would be something made for the purpose, not something somebody's cousin's brother in law recommended. Many years ago when oil wasn't as good as it is now I used STP. All of the years of driving semi I only used fuel treatment, and that was only in the last few years,and only in the winter time when temps were below freezing. I used Howes fuel treatment

[opus]

Howes is good stuff. The ONLY reason I would ever use an oil treatment would be in a clunker that burned oil or had major problems. Todays oil is all you need to lubricate and clean.

[elkoskoolie]

Check the air filter!!
I caught a bus on fire driving a new purchase over the cascades in OR. Its muffler was against the firewall in back, right where a bunk had been built. I didn't check, and the filter was horribly plugged. The air restriction caused the exhaust temp to go thru the roof while climbing a very long steep grade and caught the bunk on fire. Thankfully it was spring and there was lots of snow on the ground!

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

IF I were going to use any treatments at all it would be something made for the purpose, not something somebody's cousin's brother in law recommended. Many years ago when oil wasn't as good as it is now I used STP. All of the years of driving semi I only used fuel treatment, and that was only in the last few years,and only in the winter time when temps were below freezing. I used Howes fuel treatment

It wasn't my cousin's brother, it was my grandmother, thank you very much. There is a study that included all the fancy additives including the 2 stroke oil and it outperformed many of them.

When I bought my e350 in NY, I tried 3 different additives and they all worked like crap. After I put in the 2 stroke oil, all it took was about 5 minutes on the freeway for the engine to go from scream to purr. What do you think 2 stroke oil is? It provides lubricant to an engine with no crank case oil. If you don't want to use it, that's fine.

[vince4242]

I like your logic...how much 2 stroke oil for my 6.7L engine would be good?

Thanks for all the advice guys, I fly out Friday!

Vince

[Motobus]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

IF I were going to use any treatments at all it would be something marketed for the purpose, not something somebody's cousin's brother in law recommended. Many years ago when oil wasn't as good as it is now I used STP. All of the years of driving semi I only used fuel treatment, and that was only in the last few years,and only in the winter time when temps were below freezing. I used Howes fuel treatment

Fixed it.

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by vince4242

I like your logic...how much 2 stroke oil for my 6.7L engine would be good?

Thanks for all the advice guys, I fly out Friday!

Vince

6.7 as in the new Cummins engine? NONE! After 2007 model year, you can only use ultra low sulphur diesel or the EPA fascist swat team will fly in with black helicopters and arrest you. All the new engines are designed for ULSD. I think the oil will screw up your diesel particulate filter or whatever the hell they call it.

For those that don't know or remember, when they went from regular diesel to low sulphur diesel, sulphur content went down to 500 ppm. When they mandated ULSD, the sulphur content went to 15ppm. Sulphur is what lubed your injection pump and injectors. I don't know if anyone remembers all the problems after the first change. That probably killed most engines that were borderline. My theory is that's why we didn't hear the same thing the second time around because so many of the old diesels were already dead.

Maybe some of the truck drivers remember a device that would automatically inject some of your crankcase oil into your diesel tank for lubrication. That was before they screwed with the diesel formula.

Boy, I sure used the word remember a bunch of times, huh? Oh we'll.

[crazycal]

Just to show you that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about or maybe just talking out of my ass, I present you with the study I mentioned before. Walmart 2 stroke oil came in at a respectable 7th place not too far behind 3rd-6th place. That was out of 19 places. Power Service came in at 10th place.

If you think that today's diesel is good enough, it's not. Additives are not just for vehicles that are on their last leg. Go ask a fuel injection shop what it costs to rebuild an injection pump on your bus. I'll bet they don't give you a figure less than $1000 if they give you any figure at all. If could go as high as $3000. Do what you want with your bus, I know what I'm doing with mine.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=177728

[crazycal]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Howes came in 11th place.

[Motobus]

I noticed the ratio was only 200/1. I wonder what the effects of a higher ratio would be.

An engine builder on a motocross site I used to go to recommended the cheap walmart 2 stroke oil, but in that sport, $120 will buy everything you need for a top end if the cylinder is good. What I saved in 4 gallons of oil paid for it. I used chain saw bar oil for my air filters, because it appears to be the same stuff as filter oil, sticky, stringy. The exterior of the filter could get caked without visible dirt on the inside with either product. The price difference? $8 a quart vs $8 a gallon. For those that didn't know, dirt bikes take foam filters you must clean and re-oil.

I have always questioned how much science really goes into additives/oils in general, secondly how much effort goes into creating a special product, not just a blend of what would be available to the consumer.

[crazycal]

I started with 32 oz in a 40 gallon tank. Every fillup, I added 16 oz. That was for the 7.3. All of this was before I read that study. I just couldn't stand the engine screaming at 55 mph and everything my friend told me I should use wasn't helping. After I put in the Walmart oil and I told him about my results, he said it was in the study also. WTF? Why didn't he tell me before? I can't prove it but my mileage numbers went up over 1 mpg according to my calcs. It wasn't a scientific test but I was pretty consistent with refueling methods.

So to answer you question about how much, I don't think more will hurt but will it actually help? I think the by the gallon price works out to about $0.10 per oz. so adding the 16oz every fillup was costing an extra dollar sixty. The concentrations were increasing because I was taking on 10-15 gallons.

Now with my DT466, I couldn't tell the difference because the Walmart was about 1-2 miles from the school yard. I bought and used the oil from the very start of my trip. My engine is the very last year of the P-pump mechanical injection DT466. I bought that bus for that reason. It's a 1997 and they had started switching over to the DT466e in 94-95 I think but some mechanicals were still available until 1997. An injector for my bus can be had for about $50-70 per injector. The electronics are about $250-300 plus per injector. The sled pulling guys are getting over 1000hp out of these engines.

Thanks for the tip about the chain oil. Can it be used for a K & N filter also?

[opus]

You guys should visit http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php and ask questions.