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Old 12-04-2016, 09:21 AM   #221
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Originally Posted by superdave View Post
if the motors still good, why not pull it and replace every gasket and seal on it. makes sense to me, you?
I think this is the primary reason for my thinking. The way I have come to see is the motor is NOT GOOD as it barely starts above 8000 feet and takes minutes to get started so it appears the motor is on its last leg and there are certainly other leaks because they are all well forward of this leak.

One of the biggest factors Weighing on my decision now is the fact that I was expecting it to do exactly what it is done which is fail while I'm riding down the road. The nightmare has been that it fails in the middle of a busy highway in a terrible position like switchbacks or an elevated section making it impossible for me to repair or even unload the bus. But right now I am in a pretty good spot I can repair or unload the bus pretty easily I have resources fairly close by and while not a big city Bullhead City Arizona has at least two Auto Parts places. It also has around 10 moving truck rental places. I'm trying to be rational, at least as rational as I can be in this situation, and trying simply not to react but I keep winding up in the same place in my head.

I am gonna try to relax a bit today, take another peek at the engine, pull the bike out, and breathe.

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Old 12-04-2016, 10:41 AM   #222
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I havent really followed your conversion other than the cool adventure part of it.. to know what you actually did to the bus.. if it has plumbing, fance electrical, etc.. other than the cool colors you painted it!...

I suppose its always possiible that you look for online auctions in the area, get another bus and continue on? rather than rent a truck at $100 / day + miles to finish your trip?

again, im not sure what you are doing or how much of it you have left.. or what your plans are after the 3 year adventure.. or is the bus your Home to live in as well for ?? amount of time..

I also dont know alot about cummins and how much work you can do to them while in the vehicle.. like can you in-frame a cummins?

ultimately if the engine is worn out.. starts hard up high, leaks oil all over, has excessive blow-by etc.. pulling the head, the pan. cylinder sleeves, as many gaskets as you can do and then you have a pretty fresh engine that should run over 8000 feet?

maybe you cant even do that to a cummins like you can a DT..

or maybe the parts cost to rebuild is way-overboard and bot worth it..

I definitely think you have the mechanical abilities to make a pretty good go at a repair...

if said town is blessed with a post office or a UPS store then you have the internet at your disposal to obtain parts that a regular NAPA or O'reilly cant get..

-Christopher
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Old 12-04-2016, 12:01 PM   #223
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I havent really followed your conversion other than the cool adventure part of it.. to know what you actually did to the bus.. if it has plumbing, fance electrical, etc.. other than the cool colors you painted it!...

-Christopher
I would like to recap journey the last year, so you folks can have a better perspective of how I see things. As a result, perhaps you might agree with me, or maybe even see the flaws in my thinking, and sway me down a different path?

-Purchased the bus spring last year for $3,000
-Minimal "conversion efforts due to 800 bolts holding floor down from underneath, so original rubber floors still installed
-Solar/genny setup around $2500 (coming with me)
-New drive tires last year ~$1200
-$200 paint job
-interior, plumbing, electrical <$500
-exterior, paint, additions ~$500
-Turbo and intercooler replaced ~$2800
-Leaking oil for the last year
-Oil leak was anywhere from 1 quart/100 miles to 1 gallon before the latest gusher

So the plan WAS, to rock the desert at Skoolie Palooza, then limp home to Florida, and use the bus as a storage building/parts donor till I found a replacement. I NEVER considered a replacement engine as a solution - at $10K for a rebuilt engine(before any labor) it made WAY more sense to replace the vehicle. So this was to be the final journey before retirement anyway.

I assume that many of you don't understand my position, since many have put MUCH blood sweat, and love into your vehicles, and many have been transformed into works of art. So why would you abandon your art, your love, simply because of mechanical issues?

I have a "love" for my bus from the freedom it has allowed me, and the adventures and memories I have created while bustin'-ass across America. I have a certain attachment to it from this "love" that motivates me to "save" it. It would also be nice to have to the convenience of traveling back east in my home, rather than spending 3 days driving a moving van. But as I calculated the previous leak-rate to cost me $500 in oil alone to get me back, a $700 rental truck does not seem irrational as an option. That is assuming I can fix the current gusher. Don't get me wrong, if it was a simple hose or bolt, I will fix it. Two or 3 days of pulling parts, and days waiting on parts or tools does not seem like a really good option.

Do I still seem irrational or emotional now?

I would like to hear everyone's opinion, maybe I really am missing something, or just being a pussy?
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Old 12-04-2016, 12:16 PM   #224
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that was kind of my point about finding another bus if you wanted to continue travelling down the road.. or if you are just kind of "over this bus"..

rebuilding an engine at a shop is something I wouldnt consider.. and maybe rebuildng an engine along the road is but a pipe dream.. or at least doing a major repair..

I dont build my busses into works of art either... though I probably spend more on paint thatn I should only because its a skill i dont have...

if mine failed catastrophically where i wasnt at the luxury of being in a place where I could work on it, Id also think about cut and run.. minimal conversions have that "luxury"...

I think many here are probably assuming many things.. including myself.. assuming the time , mechanical ability, energy, tools, etc are there to make a repair that involves tearing apart a good portion of the engine compartment.. (if its even this valve cover leaking).. it could be the injector pump itself is cracked.. or the block.. or any number of things...

and ultimately it has to be you that comes to the conclusion its either worth a shot or not... maybe it comes down to the fact that *THIS* bus will never give you the peace of mind regardlessof how much you wrench on it to continue having a good time on your adventure... only you can make that decision...

I had that very issue with a jeep wrangler.. it was pretty much New.. but was broken all the time... yep covered by warranty every time. so I wasnt out any $$.. but I NEVER could go 4 wheeling in the sticks with it as I always was afraid it was gonna Bust and strand me... I tried to wheel it.. but every time I climbed a hill or got near the mud I kept saying "please make it".. and it was no longer fun.... psychologically it never wouldve been so I ditched it... in a fashion...

perhaps this bus is that for you.. I didnt even know you had a homestead anywhere.. I thought perhaps your full-living is in that bus.. so perhaps your 3 year adventure is split in half.. and this Bus is only there for part of it.. you go home, regroup, and either get another bus, or a van, or take a different type of adventure for the latter year and a half...

but ultimately none of us can or should make that decision.. its REALLY easy to armchair quarterback when we arent shut-down due to a failure...

-Christopher
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Old 12-04-2016, 12:32 PM   #225
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and ultimately it has to be you that comes to the conclusion its either worth a shot or not... maybe it comes down to the fact that *THIS* bus will never give you the peace of mind regardlessof how much you wrench on it to continue having a good time on your adventure... only you can make that decision...

but ultimately none of us can or should make that decision.. its REALLY easy to armchair quarterback when we arent shut-down due to a failure...

-Christopher
I think you nailed it with these - that sums up most of my feelings - this damn thing is really starting to crush my groove, and it is taking so much of the FUN out of what I am doing. That and the fact that I am running out of money.

On top of ALL that, inspection looks like it might be a head gasket rather than tappet cover? Prolly will never know, as I am losing all interest in fixing her.

Anybody want a slightly used school bus - partially converted, partially running?
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Old 12-04-2016, 01:41 PM   #226
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I think you nailed it with these - that sums up most of my feelings - this damn thing is really starting to crush my groove, and it is taking so much of the FUN out of what I am doing. That and the fact that I am running out of money.

On top of ALL that, inspection looks like it might be a head gasket rather than tappet cover? Prolly will never know, as I am losing all interest in fixing her.

Anybody want a slightly used school bus - partially converted, partially running?
Stick it on CL and we will have a new thread in a day or two asking "should I buy this bus?"
Or- maybe try to pawn it off on some exporter?

Too bad those Cummins can't be rebuilt in-frame. Their bigger brothers can.
Whatever happens we wish nothing but the best for you dred. We've all been rooting for ya for quite a while, man!
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Old 12-04-2016, 02:03 PM   #227
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Do what you seem to do best man...follow your heart. All my best no matter what.
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Old 12-04-2016, 03:23 PM   #228
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thanks you guys
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Old 12-04-2016, 03:46 PM   #229
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so when the posts come flooding in....

Free School Bus / RV / Tiny Home
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Old 12-04-2016, 05:20 PM   #230
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Worse comes to worst, salvage what you can and scrap the rest, the scrap metal value is probably more than the $500 asking price for the title.
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Old 12-04-2016, 05:57 PM   #231
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so when the posts come flooding in....

Free School Bus / RV / Tiny Home
You're an honest man, Dred.
Nice to see you trying your best to rehome it and move on, bro.
I'm sure your next one will be even more badass!
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Old 12-04-2016, 06:07 PM   #232
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Best to you DR... I was truly hoping to meet you in Quartzite!!
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Old 12-04-2016, 06:13 PM   #233
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Best to you DR... I was truly hoping to meet you in Quartzite!!
Maybe he can make it sans-bus or with another one?
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Old 12-05-2016, 08:33 AM   #234
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Best to you DR... I was truly hoping to meet you in Quartzite!!

Sadly, we will miss each other once again
Soon, we will meet, I shall return
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Old 12-05-2016, 08:34 AM   #235
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You're an honest man, Dred.
Nice to see you trying your best to rehome it and move on, bro.
I'm sure your next one will be even more badass!
I hope to find someone that can get some use out of it, had quite a few responses already.
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Old 12-05-2016, 08:50 AM   #236
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WHOA! THIS RINGS A BELL! MILLICENT HAD A LEAK IN THAT AREA.

I HAVE NOT READ EVERY word here yet, or even watched the video, but there is an oil hose in that area, and on Millicent, a couple years ago, that hose had rubbed thru on a sharp edge.

It wasn't gushing oil like yours, but it was spraying toward the wheel hub, and it looked exactly like a blown wheel hub seal.

That hose was very hard to reach, or even see.
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:22 AM   #237
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As for removing the radiator for access....

I did that a couple years ago.

Much earlier, I had read here on the forum... one of us had found it so difficult to do this, that he had cut the radiator shroud in two, and welded it back together afterwards.

Well, I can understand it.
On Millicent, there are two bolts -- the two primary mounting points of the whole radiator-and-shroud assembly -- which were essentially impossible to reach. I wound up cutting clearance in the "frame horns" to reach them, and it still took some weird combination of socket extensions.

But the radiator and shroud come out as a unit. The shroud is also the mounting "bracket" for the radiator.

Before reassembling, I cut more clearance in the frame horns. Now it will be a much easier job next time.
This is not the frame of the bus. These "horns" are bolted to the frame. So it does not endanger the structural soundness of the frame.

The whole job is in the Millicent Chronicles -- link in my sig.

It might be a good idea for all owners of these Blue Birds to remove their radiator to learn how, and grind the needed clearance, in the calm and un-rushed environment of their own home, rather than have to do it on the side of the road one day.

And while the radiator is out, replace the joints in the accelerator and transmission linkages and anything else that might need replacing in the foreseeable future -- radiator hoses and so on.

Even the fan belt. I had tried to replace the fan belt with the radiator in place... and given up. Fairly easy with the radiator out.
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:41 AM   #238
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Hey Dred, have you looked at the turbo oil pressure pipe? Not sure if I mentioned this on the thread, but our fuel line was rubbing on our oil pressure pipe and had worn a pinhole in it, and we were losing a gallon of oil every thousand miles or less. I know that doesn't have anything to do with the starting problem, but maybe it's a place you can check for a leak.

I can't believe you won't be at SkooliePalooza! We'll be there, and we were really looking forward to meeting you.
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:53 AM   #239
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Originally Posted by dredman View Post
Sadly, we will miss each other once again
Soon, we will meet, I shall return
Safe travels to you...
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Old 12-05-2016, 10:01 AM   #240
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elliot Naess View Post
As for removing the radiator for access....

I did that a couple years ago.

Much earlier, I had read here on the forum... one of us had found it so difficult to do this, that he had cut the radiator shroud in two, and welded it back together afterwards.

Well, I can understand it.
On Millicent, there are two bolts -- the two primary mounting points of the whole radiator-and-shroud assembly -- which were essentially impossible to reach. I wound up cutting clearance in the "frame horns" to reach them, and it still took some weird combination of socket extensions.

But the radiator and shroud come out as a unit. The shroud is also the mounting "bracket" for the radiator.

Before reassembling, I cut more clearance in the frame horns. Now it will be a much easier job next time.
This is not the frame of the bus. These "horns" are bolted to the frame. So it does not endanger the structural soundness of the frame.

The whole job is in the Millicent Chronicles -- link in my sig.

It might be a good idea for all owners of these Blue Birds to remove their radiator to learn how, and grind the needed clearance, in the calm and un-rushed environment of their own home, rather than have to do it on the side of the road one day.

And while the radiator is out, replace the joints in the accelerator and transmission linkages and anything else that might need replacing in the foreseeable future -- radiator hoses and so on.

Even the fan belt. I had tried to replace the fan belt with the radiator in place... and given up. Fairly easy with the radiator out.
Our 2000 BB rad. is a job that required 6 different size wrenches, 2 hours and no mods.
The toughest was removing the grillwork due to tight wrench space but I found a better way.
Did the serp. belt recently from the eng. side and once I learned the secret it was no biggie.
I guess the olders were different?
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