Cost of replacing School bus Engine & Transmission

KhanReaz2000 · 05-31-2022, 08:02 PM

Greetings from Portland, OR. I am new to this forum. I am considering buying either a 2004 Ford E450 6.0L diesel or a Chevy 3500 6.0 gas. In either case I think i would need to have the engine and transmission replaced. Any ideas on ballpark costs?

Also I have seen a on the web negative comments on both E450 6.0L diesel and also about FFV engines. Would it cost a lot more to go up to the 7.3L on the E450, or to change from FFV straight gasoline engine in the Chevy 3500?

I am not engine savvy, so i have no idea. Any advice or tips would be helpful. - Thanks

fo4imtippin · 05-31-2022, 08:42 PM

It's cheapest to buy a bus with an engine that will work for you. Even a bus that's not a deal (10k) is cheaper than a free bus plus paying someone to swap an engine.

I was trying to get a local bus for parts for my build because it needed a new engine and Cummins quoted the owner 30k to do the swap.

Ronnie · 05-31-2022, 09:21 PM

Why do you feel you would need to replace the engine in either of the buses you are choosing?

In this case I would favor the chevy gas engine. It also has quite a following in the hot rod world so plenty of support in the after market. Great engine to build.

The 6.0 diesel is well... not very well liked. Read up on it.

ol trunt · 05-31-2022, 09:21 PM

I don't mind saying that if you have to ask how much you have no business buying a broken bus. Now, if you tell me you are a certified master mechanic I might have a different answer but until you do, don't waste your (our) time second guessing the costs.
Good luck on your hunt.
Jack

HamSkoolie · 05-31-2022, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KhanReaz2000

Greetings from Portland, OR. I am new to this forum. I am considering buying either a 2004 Ford E450 6.0L diesel or a Chevy 3500 6.0 gas. In either case I think i would need to have the engine and transmission replaced. Any ideas on ballpark costs?

Also I have seen a on the web negative comments on both E450 6.0L diesel and also about FFV engines. Would it cost a lot more to go up to the 7.3L on the E450, or to change from FFV straight gasoline engine in the Chevy 3500?

I am not engine savvy, so i have no idea. Any advice or tips would be helpful. - Thanks

The 7.3L was only available through mid 2003. Changing a 6.0 to a 7.3L is technically possible but financially insane and you will never be able to pass a smog test should it ever find itself in such a jurisdiction.
The early 6.0's (mid 2003 and several years after) so your 2004 6.0 is in the AVOID category. Now, if you know someone familiar with the 6.0 it is possible, though not likely if your vehicle source is a fleet, that the 6.0 was "bullet proofed". A process that addresses all the shortcomings of the early 6.0 and renders the engine serviceable.

The gasser Chevy.....I have a 1992 GMC (Generic Made Chevy) 3500 with a 7.4 gasser and I was very pleased with the motor but not the transmission. Hopefully by 2004 they had that stuff sorted. That truck, with 2500 pounds of camper in the bed and pulling a car, went across the country in cruise control except in the mountains and could PASS ANYTHING while doing so...... EXCEPT A GAS STATION

I wouldn't want a gasser and I wouldn't want a 6.0 of that vintage. I certainly wouldn't attempt putting a 7.3 into the 6.0. Just too many headaches trying to get all the computers and circuitry to work.
Just my opinion having worked on automotive, aviation, and bus fleets and owning two 7.3's myself (a 2002 7.3L mated to a 6sp manual and a DT444E in our RE 300 AmTran)

sportyrick · 05-31-2022, 10:01 PM

I wanted to replace the 427 in my BB so I found a IH dump truck with only 25,000 miles, with lots of frame rust, and bought it for my donor. Now it wasn't cheap for a 1995 but with the low mileage I had to pay $8500 for it. That dt466 and Allison 3060 are in my bus and purring wonderfully. Now I am a professional machinist and welder and have been turning wrenches on vehicles for 55 years so I know my way around them. This was not an easy swap, everything had to be changed from gas to diesel, driveshafts, rear end, wiring, exhaust, mounts, cooling etc. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except a very very experienced mechanic that can cover all the bases. Now if you just changed an engine out that would be different but a complete change.......and you have no idea about costs..... I think I spent $15,000 and I supplied all the labor for free.

cadillackid · 06-01-2022, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronnie

Why do you feel you would need to replace the engine in either of the buses you are choosing?

In this case I would favor the chevy gas engine. It also has quite a following in the hot rod world so plenty of support in the after market. Great engine to build.

The 6.0 diesel is well... not very well liked. Read up on it.

taking a currently-good 6.0 diesel and making it GREAT is a few grand and can be done in the bus...

a 6.0 gas like ronnie says is a great engine to begin with.. drinks the gasoline like crazy but they are good runners and parts EVERYWHERE for them..

TheHubbardBus · 06-01-2022, 10:56 AM

nevermind... misunderstood a statement.

Jolly Roger bus 223 · 06-01-2022, 04:51 PM

the ford 6.0 diesel isnt worth it unless you spend the money to upgrade.
my wifes 04 chevy 3500 has the gas 6.0 which is a good engine and is actually the LS engine that is still being made as far as i know.
my 2004 is the LS3.
if i did it right there should be some diesel 6.0 pictures attached from a 45,000 mile motor.
this was more the owners fault than the motors.

Jolly Roger bus 223 · 06-01-2022, 04:54 PM

i guess i can only send one pic at a time?
thought i finally had it figured out?

sorry my picture thingy aint working

Jolly Roger bus 223 · 06-01-2022, 05:12 PM

sorry i tried one more time but it aint working.
gotta wait for one of my kids to come home and educate me again?

Mekanic · 06-08-2022, 09:20 PM

I would NOT get a bus this size if they were free. Uses build on theses chassis seem to overloaded when the first passenger steps on board.
They also get about the same mpg as a full size diesel bus.
Big buses get used
Van chassis buses get used up. .

turf · 06-08-2022, 11:10 PM

!!thread hijack!!

hey, i just found a cool rig with an international diesel 6.0 from 2008. is that a bad year? the vin decoder called the engine a vt365.

i think its the same engine y'all are talking about, just different year.

cadillackid · 06-08-2022, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turf

!!thread hijack!!

hey, i just found a cool rig with an international diesel 6.0 from 2008. is that a bad year? the vin decoder called the engine a vt365.

i think its the same engine y'all are talking about, just different year.

correct the VT365 is the IH version of the ford 6.0, with some differences..

IH ran them at much less horsepower and low RPM range than ford did.. the IH VT was srtill prone to oil cooler and EGR cooler issues like it was in the fords.. however they didnt suffer near the head gasket / head bolt failures.. it did have some of thge same Turbo Actuator issues that were somewhat common on all the IH VGT turbo engines..

spending a few grand a some good work hours you could make the VT a nice engine by bulletproofing it.. then you could tune it and make it go nicely..

the deal was unlike the previous 7.3 you had to soend some real buck to fix it before it broke..

I'd buy a rather cheap VT bus in a heartbeat.. it was not nearly the problem that the 6.4 (maxxforce 7) became a few years later

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