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Old 03-26-2017, 02:32 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by SashaRosen View Post
If i remove the inner "skin" of metal how much does it affect the structural integrity of the bus? We have leaks and want to repair them from under the roof but the ceiling is in the way. If we pull all the metal off inside we may not be able to put something in its place before we jave to drive across the country (nowhere good to park here). Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!
See my thread.
Skins don't make any difference. I heartily recommend taking them out. Im SO glad I did!
I've been driving mine around completely gutted for like two years now with NO ill effect whatsoever.

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Old 03-27-2017, 11:36 AM   #42
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You'll likely not run into any problems driving it like that.

But I disagree with eastcoast. What I've experienced is that the skin and rivets add rigidity and structure to the framing. Removing the inside might not be that big of a deal, but I wouldn't remove all the skin and then expect the framing to be rigid enough for a rollover crash. It definitely does provide support. At least all the full sized ones that I've been around seemed that way.
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Old 03-27-2017, 12:24 PM   #43
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The op, and no one on this forum, are hauling peoples kids in their buses any more. The interior skins are about as structural as the seats.
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Old 05-02-2017, 08:12 PM   #44
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I have an 86 international I had no problems with overheating until the water pump went out so I had it replaced. Then driving it home it over heated I killed the engine and got out there was oil leaking onto the exhaust from a pipe next to the oil filter the pipe runs all the way up to the top of the block. I let it cool way down and then tried to drive again and only made it a mile before it overheated again. Whats going on? hope you can help .thank you!
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Old 05-02-2017, 08:35 PM   #45
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I have an 86 international I had no problems with overheating until the water pump went out so I had it replaced. Then driving it home it over heated I killed the engine and got out there was oil leaking onto the exhaust from a pipe next to the oil filter the pipe runs all the way up to the top of the block. I let it cool way down and then tried to drive again and only made it a mile before it overheated again. Whats going on? hope you can help .thank you!
It would be helpful to know which engine you have. Assuming a diesel, and it being an original engine, it could be either the 6.9 or 9.0 (both discontinued at the end of '87, the 7.3 taking their place for '88 ), or one of the DT series straight-6's. Pretty much *NONE* of them like being run hot (this is true of most diesels).

Is the coolant still full?

Check the oil to see if coolant has mixed with it, you may have a failed gasket or, in the case of the DT engines, failed cylinder liners (IH used what is known as "wet sleeves" and use rubber seals to keep the coolant in place around them). Overheating can essentially "burn up" these rubber seals.

Some of these engines use oil coolers which water flows through (the warm water cools the hotter oil), it's possible either one of these gaskets, or the cooler itself has sprung a leak (not uncommon, especially if it's never been replaced). Former employer had this happen on a F350 and replaced the oil cooler. It so happened to pretty much disintegrate when it failed, filling the oil with metal shavings and necessitating an engine rebuild. The rebuilt engine had a rattle that 4 certified mechanics could not correctly diagnose; it turned out that the little tubes that spray oil on the underside of the pistons were obstructed by the metal shavings and once these were cleaned, the engine ran as it should.

Good luck with it.
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Old 05-02-2017, 08:53 PM   #46
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I checked the oil and everything appeared fine didn't lose any coolant I'm not sure which engine it is but it is a diesel it says s 1800 I think it is a straight 6 I think the pipe is the crank house exhaust
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Old 05-02-2017, 09:03 PM   #47
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You wouldn't happen to have a camera so you could take a few pics of the engine and where the oil was coming out, would you? That would solve a lot of question asking.
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Old 05-02-2017, 09:25 PM   #48
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I can do it tomorrow. My phone was dead. Thank you.
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Old 05-02-2017, 09:38 PM   #49
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So is your bus currently cooling off on the side of the road somewhere? That's always such a tough situation when something goes wrong. You'll get lots of opinions here, and there are some very good mechanics here. Sad that it's all long distance like this.
You seem to be handling it well. You don't sound like a mechanic, but you're going to be one. You got a bus.
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Old 05-02-2017, 09:45 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by jerry1 View Post
I checked the oil and everything appeared fine didn't lose any coolant I'm not sure which engine it is but it is a diesel it says s 1800 I think it is a straight 6 I think the pipe is the crank house exhaust
Having done a quick check, a straight-6 diesel from '84 - '96 will likely be either the DT360 or DT466.
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Old 05-04-2017, 09:04 PM   #51
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It's a dt466 or dti466. The heater isn't working which tells me it might be the thermostat somebody told me I should just remove the thermostat and run it to get it off the road I am just wondering how difficult that will prove to be I know it's old and a lot of the bolts might be hard to remove the heaters Blowing Air it's just not hot I believe I got all of or most of the air out of the cooling system if there was any. Once again I was unable to get pictures I will try again tomorrow. Any suggestions or tips?
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Old 05-04-2017, 09:39 PM   #52
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Your heating system is probably turned off. There's usually a valve in the engine compartment that allows you to shut off the heating loop during the summer. It was probably left closed if the bus was retired during the warm part of the year.
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Old 05-05-2017, 01:02 AM   #53
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Overheating with no heat could also be a symptom of an air bubble in the cooling system.

If the water pump was replaced then coolant was lost and air allowed into the water jacket. Sometimes with buses it is very difficult to get all of the air out. If the bubble is ornery enough it could prevent the coolant from circulating and cooling the engine and then cooling off in the radiator. It can basically block the flow of coolant out of the engine into the radiator.

An infrared thermometer is going to be your friend in figuring out where the problem might be located.

You should have a 20* minimum drop in temperature between the hot inlet and cold outlet of the radiator.

Hot spots on the block should not vary by more than 10*-15*.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

Discovering what was the cause of your overheating may help someone else down the road who experiences the same problem.

Good luck and happy trails to you!
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Old 05-06-2017, 12:33 PM   #54
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So I was able two get the air bubble out of the cooling system I believe I disconnected the hose from the top of the radiator and the cap off the Overflow it began bubbling out I kept feeling it the temperature dropped way down to 110 when it had been running at about 2:10 and ran like that for an hour the problems seem to have gone away I warmed it up this morning drove it and made it about 2 miles before it overheated again about the same as it was before the problem had been fixed or so I thought any suggestions?
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Old 05-06-2017, 01:09 PM   #55
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To make it easy on me, I park my bus where the front is a couple feet higher than the back end. Pop the cap, fill it up and no more problems.

It's like burping a big baby.

If you keep finding air in your cooling system you obviously need to find where it's leaking. I'm guessing you're leaking coolant while you're driving and it's sucking air into the system through the leak when the engine cools overnight. Check if your radiator cap is looking nasty too. They leak at times.
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Old 05-07-2017, 05:26 PM   #56
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Air Leak

I am trying to resolve an air leak issue...

But loses about 20lbs per hour while sitting (shut off) - charges up fine while and solid when running.

Mechanics said it was the stop arm - so I had them block that line - which did nothing.

The Air leveling in the back seems off - I took about 1000 pounds of material (lift, flooring, seats) so now the bus sits at a pretty decent tilt. It was leaking air out of the leveler so I adjusted it a little and it does not seem to lose air there as much - but I am still losing overall air... about 20lbs per hour when parked.
Before gutting...
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Any ideas? I have tried checking all the lines - I have not found a leak.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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Old 05-07-2017, 05:54 PM   #57
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the air levelling system often uses air... im not sure what you adjusted.. you mayu have lowered it.. it is simply a lever arm.. when that lever arm goes up it opens a valve to allow air into the springs... when the lever arm goes down (bus rises).. then it will release air... often old suspensions are such that the true equilibrium of that valve is rarely found.. its very sensitive so it may always go into a state of slight release and then pressurize.. release etc.. .

one way to help find leaks is that the air suspension should be on a protection valve.. you'll see a valve screwed onto the tank, with a line coming off of it going back to the rear with the lever arm valve.. that first valve is a protection valve.. it shuts off air supply when the pressure drops down to 55-60 PSI.. each air accessory (stop sign, air suspension. air door, air set, etc) will be fed from one of these.. (multiple items may share a protection valve).. so if you notice that your air pressure drops in a few hours to 55-60 and then sits all night or more not going lower.. then your issue is something of an accessory... suspension, door, etc..)..

if the air pressure continues down lower. (it may go slower as pressure lowers).. then you may have an air leak in the system leading up to the tank, or in the brake system lines which remain always pressurized..

take a 50 / 50 mix of dawn dish liquid and water in a spray bottle.. run the pressure up till the governor cuts, then start spraying every air connection you can find... got bubbles? got a leak..
-Christopher
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Old 05-08-2017, 08:41 AM   #58
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If you can't find the leak, max allowable specs are 2 psi per minute, so at 20 psi per hour you're really not that bad.

Air bags can leak as well, and all of the push to connect fittings for the nylon hose will begin to leak a little overtime also.

Unless you hear a gross leak, I wouldn't worry about what you have.
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Old 05-08-2017, 01:10 PM   #59
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Hi I have an International 1998 3800 DT466e. My question is I can only get 62 mph out of it what would I have to do to get more speed/power out of it and would it be worth it. At 62 the rpm's are 2300 to 2400
Thanks in advance
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Old 05-08-2017, 01:14 PM   #60
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sounds like your computer is limited the speed to 62 since RPMs are only at 2300-2400.. your MAX rpm is like 2500-2600 so you can probably get a few more MPH if you have the computer reprogrammed to remove the limits.
-Christopher
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