My story and some questions

[staggerlee917]

Well.... as some of you may know, i just purchased my first skoolie about a week ago. It's a 1980 Ford Bluebird 33' with 429ci and 5-spd manual transmission. Our plan was to buy the bus in Colorado where we lived and use it as a moving truck to move to NM.
Everything was running smooth on the ride home from the point of sale. I was very excited about getting a bus with very little rust and that ran so good.
Well, about an hour after we get it into my driveway, i try to start her up...... nothing. I open up the battery compartment and discovered that the guy i bought it off of switched the three 1000 CA batteries with two 600 CA car batteries. OK, so i bought new batteries.... nothing. Then i discovered i could get it to crank over by hotwiring it. I figured that because it would start that way, it must be the solenoid. So.... i went and bought her a new solenoid..... still nothing. So we finally decide to hotwire it and drive to NM.
About 4 hours into our trip, the transmission starts to overheat. We had to pull off the interstate twice to let it cool.
So, finally we roll into Santa Fe and pull off our exit. The new place is about 4 miles off the highway. Still runnin smooth....
then about 1/2 mile from our destination I try to downshift to turn onto our road. Next thing i know i hear a pop and it will no longer go into gear. We find some nice people with a pickup to push us the last 1/2 mile.
The next day i take the service cover off the flywheel assembly to find the clutch disc shredded.
Well, at least we made it.

So........ 2 questions.....

Is there a way to mount an aftermarket oil cooler to the tranny?

and

Does anyone out there live in northern NM that can help me change the clutch disc?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Keith

[lapeer20m]

When it comes to buses, I don't know too much about transmissions and such, but most manual transmissions in smaller vehicles do not have full pressure lubrication. This means that to utilize an oiler cooler one would have to install a pump to circulate the gear oil.

Have you checked to make sure the trans is not low on fluid??

IF you found a good electric pump for moving the gear oil, it would be relatively easy to connect fittings to the fill and drain holes in the trans and run lines to a cooler and back. A heater core from any passenger vehicle would make a lovely trans cooler i would think. Check with west marine (http://www.westmarine.com ??) and see if they sell a pump that will move oil. The trans cooler should be mounted where it will get plenty of wind when the vehicle is moving. If you utilize copper tubing instead of rubber, that would also help with the cooling. .

[Les Lampman]

Originally Posted by staggerlee917

So........ 2 questions.....

Is there a way to mount an aftermarket oil cooler to the tranny?

and

Does anyone out there live in northern NM that can help me change the clutch disc?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Keith

Keith,

Are you sure you're treating the problem and not the symptom? Why would a 24-year-old bus suddenly need things it was never equipped with when new (in other words - how did it make it the first 24 years without requiring these mods?). Personally, I'd get the mechanical issues taken care of first and then figure out what else it needs; sounds like the clutch could have been slipping enough to generate an awfully lot of heat. Has the transmission lube been changed? Perhaps a new clutch and fresh tranny lube will do the job.