4 Curious Georges' 2001 Saf-T-Liner

[david.dgeorge07]

Got the bus back from the shop this am. It passed the injector cut out test and the valves are all adjusted.

Tech said everything looked good to go for a trip!

[adic27]

Congratulations on a well done job! Enjoy and be safe. Gonna reread this whole thread when i start my build. Hope you can put up a video tour

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by adic27

Congratulations on a well done job! Enjoy and be safe. Gonna reread this whole thread when i start my build. Hope you can put up a video tour

Will do once I get a chance!

[david.dgeorge07]

Solved the condensate problem!

Where my oem line connected with my vinyl tubing the oem line collapsed inside the hose clamp allowing a leak when the tilt of the bus caused condensate to flow out the right side drain.

Put a hose barb in and was back in business, but extremely difficult to work on with the refrigerant lines still connected.

Got it done though and working great!



Didn’t have my phone with me when doing the work so no pics but in lower drawing above the problem was where the left hose enters the ‘T’.

[jjhwick119]

Awesome job on everything man, and congrats on finally getting it done!

You did a great job and documented so much of the progress that it's been a big help to me and others I am sure. It's one of a couple build threads that I have gone back to for ideas and I am thankful that you shared all your progress!

[2martins]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

Well friends it’s been a good ride. 14 months ago one of my daughters suggested the idea of doing a Skoolie conversion and I was immediately won over. Before too long the whole family gave in.

51 weeks ago we purchased the Thomas, and I’ve spent most of my free moments working on it since then.

I’ve worked in heat, rain, snow and dark. I have done jobs and had to do them over again because I didn’t know what I was doing.

I’ve spent more than a few minutes just staring trying to figure out what needed to happen next and how it would get done. I’ve ached. I’ve bled. I’ve lain in the mud looking up with metal shavings falling in my eyes.

Not only did I dedicate time, talent, and treasure to the project, I gave more than I thought I possibly could.

I second guessed the skoolie decision so many times that I eventually just had to put it out of my mind.

Tonight I spent the evening cleaning up the byproducts of the project. Burning scraps of lumber, loading my trailer, moving things, cutting grass where it had grown tall around various pieces of building project debris.

Tomorrow I will try to turn my garage back into a garage. Details remain to be completed but in 3.5 days my family and I will leave on a two month journey heading west. Someone else will live in our house and I will no longer be building every night.

The bus is at the shop tonight waiting to have its valves timed tomorrow, and there is an empty place next to the house.

I feel a little like Inigo Montoya at the end of The Princess Bride. The last year of my life has had a singular focus and now it is coming to completion.

I feel a little lost.

By far this has been the most difficult thing I have ever done, and I’ve longed for this day more times than I can count, but now that it is here it seems strangely over too soon.

I hope you have learned something from my build thread, even if only what not to do! And I wish you all the best as you all forge ahead. I’ll continue to post here when I have new things, most notably I’ll try to give a final tour, but for the most part I’m done.

Best wishes and take care!

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Congrats! I know what you mean about feeling a little lost when you complete a goal that you worked on a long time! I hope I get there someday with our bus! Please check back in and let us know what is working great and what you would do differently after being on the road!!!

[magnakansas]

credit card are cellular telephone, computer. 1st ask for help from those of us that are nearest you, 2nd buy just what you need to make repairs, call for road side service. I spent 20 years hauling tools.... figured out most of the time dont need to. nothing. last 10 years tool less on the road. Okay well the original leathermans, The pre trip preparations and good building practices are all that have been needed.

cheers, A place to borrow tools in Topeka ks

william 785 207 7600

[Rovobay]

safe travels. I learned a lot from your posts. please hit me up if you are in the Portland (Oregon) area.

[budbud7]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

Took advantage of the rainy weather to work on a solution for locking. I still need to put in bolts 5 and 6 but for the first time in probably forever I can lock the thing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

David where did you get that Master lock? I would love to know how that setup would work on my doors.

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by budbud7

David where did you get that Master lock? I would love to know how that setup would work on my doors.

Lowe’s IIRC. Works decent. Added the other two bolts later.

[david.dgeorge07]

As temps have topped 100 my oil pressure has been dropping. To the point that when I come to a stop I have been getting warning lights. If I bump the idle it will come up and lights go out.

Water temp has at times gotten to 210.

When driving, oil pressure is about 30psi. Oil is a little low but nothing remarkable.

I need to get Carlsbad, NM to San Diego without blowing the bus up.

Advice?

Thinking of trying to run at night when cooler. I had a headwind and high ambient temps today.

Is water briefly going to 210 an engine killer? I read that oil starts to break down at 240, but not sure how oil temp relates to water temp.

Also started hard this morning. Stalled a few times which it never does. New filter? I have one, but a little nervous about changing on my own. Priming situation is that there is a manual hand pump built into the filter. I assume I use that to get fresh fuel into the new filter so it doesn’t run dry?

[EastCoastCB]

Is the fuel filter a canister with a removable element or a spin on?
210 doesn't sound detrimental, but you do sound like you've got a situation developing with your engine.

[cadillackid]

I forget what your RPMs are running on the highway.. but when into a headwind its not uncommon to run the oil temps well above the coolant temps.. how high? (and theres the answer to why I have all those computer readouts).. idling down and getting an oil alarm is something some people may call foul at... ive never worried about it.. theres isnt much load and theres still oil flowing.. the oil's probably at 220+ after that and thins out.. with the HEUI engine the only worry is that the HPOP starves for oil and shuts down the injectors.. (low HPOP level whgen shutting off a very hot engine can result in harder starts in the AM until the cranking of the oil pump by the starter fills the HPOP uop enough to rin the injectors..)... also could be hot enough fuel in the rail has expanded a lot and piushes back through possible a slowly leaking check valve which allows a little fuel to drain back out and causes a slow start..



neither of these conditiuons wouldve manifested themselves from cold weather driving or short trip driving.. now you are running it all day in the hot..



210 coolant wont kill it but I wouldnt want to see it a huge amount higher.. when Ive travelled through arizona and death valley california in summer I typically ran it at night when I was in my Jeep Wrangler just because the heat was oppressive with the soft top even with the A/C maxxed..



for reference a few years back i rented a brand new corvette when in phoenix for a business trip.. I took it out on the open road where i could fly a bit. and it ran the temp gauge off the scale, computer disabled the A/C and defuled the engine.. in a brand new $70,000 Vette...... its just plain HOT out there..
-Christopher

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I forget what your RPMs are running on the highway.. but when into a headwind its not uncommon to run the oil temps well above the coolant temps.. how high? (and theres the answer to why I have all those computer readouts).. idling down and getting an oil alarm is something some people may call foul at... ive never worried about it.. theres isnt much load and theres still oil flowing.. the oil's probably at 220+ after that and thins out.. with the HEUI engine the only worry is that the HPOP starves for oil and shuts down the injectors.. (low HPOP level whgen shutting off a very hot engine can result in harder starts in the AM until the cranking of the oil pump by the starter fills the HPOP uop enough to rin the injectors..)... also could be hot enough fuel in the rail has expanded a lot and piushes back through possible a slowly leaking check valve which allows a little fuel to drain back out and causes a slow start..



neither of these conditiuons wouldve manifested themselves from cold weather driving or short trip driving.. now you are running it all day in the hot..



210 coolant wont kill it but I wouldnt want to see it a huge amount higher.. when Ive travelled through arizona and death valley california in summer I typically ran it at night when I was in my Jeep Wrangler just because the heat was oppressive with the soft top even with the A/C maxxed..



for reference a few years back i rented a brand new corvette when in phoenix for a business trip.. I took it out on the open road where i could fly a bit. and it ran the temp gauge off the scale, computer disabled the A/C and defuled the engine.. in a brand new $70,000 Vette...... its just plain HOT out there..
-Christopher

This is extremely helpful Thank you! Highway RPM usually between 1800 and 2200.

[cadillackid]

close to that 2200 RPM mark you will defimitely be making heat in a that engine.. drop the speed down a bit to keep the temps lower...



remember my post on facebook... no need to get there so fast... enjoy the ride, not stress over it.. even if it takes you a little longer to roll on to California...



-Christopher

[BlackJohn]

Wishing you and the family safe and trouble-free travels David.


I think night travel is best especially where you are for now. Just keep a check on all fluid levels, use your guages and listen for inconsistencies if any when running.
You might check your fuel/water separator before too long passes. Then you know the state of your fuel as you buy it.
You can change that filter yourself, but I would add fuel to the filter then install it. I have heard you add fuel to the outer row of holes not directly down the centre. Takes more time sure but the fuel you add is getting filtered then.
Don't get real low on fuel, hard to trust those guages so be mindful.
At night you could run your heating a bit and take some temps down too.

Run that engine a good 5 minutes before shutdown too which helps cool it down better.

I always watch for puddles developing where I am parked. Sometimes I think they are from other vehicles but they all can start to leak at any time.

A good test for your electrical system going at night too, you'll soon see how good of a bus you have. With all the great work you have done, take care of it now.



John

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Is the fuel filter a canister with a removable element or a spin on?
210 doesn't sound detrimental, but you do sound like you've got a situation developing with your engine.

It is a spin on. You don’t think temp is enough to explain low oil pressure? Like the pump is going or something?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

It is a spin on. You don’t think temp is enough to explain low oil pressure? Like the pump is going or something?

High temps can cause a lower oil pressure.
From what you'd wrote it sounds to me like something isn't right. IIRC you'd even taken the bus in for service and had a pre-trip checkup done.
I'd be a bit concerned about the stalling and low oil pressure warnings.

You said your oil was low but not remarkable. How low is that?

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

High temps can cause a lower oil pressure.

From what you'd wrote it sounds to me like something isn't right. IIRC you'd even taken the bus in for service and had a pre-trip checkup done.

I'd be a bit concerned about the stalling and low oil pressure warnings.



You said your oil was low but not remarkable. How low is that?

Yes, when it would catch, then stall this morning that got my attention for sure. Once started ran all day with multiple starts.

I am concerned about all of it! But did feel a bit better after it didn’t have starting issues for the rest of the day. Christopher’s comment might explain that-which would be great-we’ll see.

As far as warnings I am pretty confident they are all because of oil pressure, which has been solid until this heat.

I am running Rotella T1 40 weight. Seems like a straight grade oil would be especially prone to changing characteristics with temp.

When I researched oil, it seemed like the T1 was the spec that cat called for. Any thoughts on mixing in some T3 or T4 multi viscosity?

Hard to know how low by volume. Up on the stick. Just below fill. IIRC I read that if you fill these to the full line they just blow it out the blow by tube, but in light of current situation I was going to top it off in the AM for sure. Not sure what specific oils I’ll find out here in the wild and hoping there aren’t any compatibility issues.

Thanks your your help!!!

[EastCoastCB]

IDk about the straight 40 weight. But idk anything about cats either.
I figured it was running 15w40 like most engines of the type.