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Old 05-22-2020, 01:52 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
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Year: 2003
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Chassis: Ford e450
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackE View Post
As far as charging goes, the batteries don't need to be out of the vehicle to charge. If you can get cables onto one battery, it will charge the other battery. If you can get a charger on the main battery with it in place for a few hours, that's as good as the batteries will get. Since you already have it out, if the main battery takes a charge well, put it back in and see if you can disconnect the second battery where it sits. Trying to start with one decent battery is better than trying to start with one decent battery and one dead battery. Also, just disconnect the negative terminal on the secondary battery, that'll eliminate possible sparking on the electrical system but still take it out of the crcuit. If it's only been sitting for 6 months, the fuel shouldn't be a problem, if it's been a year or two, it could be a problem, but not likely. Diesel is already a dirty fuel, in the proper environment it can sit for 15 years and be just fine.
I'm not sure I can get the second battery dropped where it's parked now, and I'm not sure how to disconnect the secondary the way the wiring is set up together. What I think I'll try to do tonight is put the primary back in and then try to jump it if necessary. If I can get it started I'll drive it across the lot so I can get under to access the second battery (and move it in range of a power outlet to use the charger.)

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Old 05-22-2020, 04:52 PM   #22
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You might look at this thread that was just posted... Pricey but already converted, looks nicely done.

https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/2...tml#post388291https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/2...tml#post388291
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Old 05-22-2020, 07:02 PM   #23
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
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Year: 2003
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Engine: 7.3 powerstroke
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON View Post
You might look at this thread that was just posted... Pricey but already converted, looks nicely done.

https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/2...tml#post388291https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/2...tml#post388291
that's niiiiiiiiice
and way out of my price range. Looks really nice and clean though, hope he can find a buyer for it that will love and treat it right!

Church is appreciative of the work I'm doing to get this thing running and if all goes well I may be driving it out of their parking lot for a cheap price by the end of the long weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me please! If it needs a lot of maintenance and TLC (and I know it does) I can handle chipping away at that and learning a lot in the process. It's the big engine stuff I'm afraid of, if it would need to be pulled out and overhauled it's not going to be the one for me.
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Old 05-22-2020, 07:29 PM   #24
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: pa
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Coachwork: 1. Corbeil & 2. Thomas
Chassis: 1 ford 1998 e350 4x4 7.3 2 mercedes 2004
Engine: 7.3 powerstroke & MBE906
Can you not take your Rav and jump start with a couple of good battery cables. Keep your engine running and with one precharged battery you should be good. Batteries are likely shot so if it runs dont stop it. I have three 7.3 powerstrokes. They start up even after sitting 2 years without a glitch.

Good luck.
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Old 05-23-2020, 03:49 AM   #25
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Yes they will start but they need a LOT of juice to warm up the glow plugs and then turn the starter.
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Old 05-24-2020, 12:36 AM   #26
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Behold what happened when I decided to wedge myself underneath to get that the case and disconnect the second battery since I was sure it must be the problem. I had the fully charged primary hooked to my car with jumper cables for over an hour and it still wouldn’t start the bus.

The POS literally started crumbling and falling apart! The wet spot you see if the wd40 I sprayed on the bolts.

I feel safe to say that this battery is a goner. It looks like it’s been rotting this case from inside it. I stopped since I didn’t have gloves on and didn’t know if it was actively leaking.

I’m sleeping on it. I may offer them a very small amount since I’d have to replace both batteries and move the secondary to a new safe place, in addition to whatever else it needs once it’ll actually start.
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Old 05-24-2020, 03:50 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jocelyn View Post
Behold what happened when I decided to wedge myself underneath to get that the case and disconnect the second battery since I was sure it must be the problem. I had the fully charged primary hooked to my car with jumper cables for over an hour and it still wouldn’t start the bus.

The POS literally started crumbling and falling apart! The wet spot you see if the wd40 I sprayed on the bolts.

I feel safe to say that this battery is a goner. It looks like it’s been rotting this case from inside it. I stopped since I didn’t have gloves on and didn’t know if it was actively leaking.

I’m sleeping on it. I may offer them a very small amount since I’d have to replace both batteries and move the secondary to a new safe place, in addition to whatever else it needs once it’ll actually start.

How does the rest look? Is it all falling apart?
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Old 05-24-2020, 07:37 AM   #28
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Chassis: 1 ford 1998 e350 4x4 7.3 2 mercedes 2004
Engine: 7.3 powerstroke & MBE906
On my first ford van 7.3 the second battery cooked itself and we could smell the sulphur inside the van. Maybe something similar happened here. Doubt if church buses like to smell like sulphur inside haha.

I would look around for other rust really well if you want to buy a bus not running. The cost of new batteries will be minimal relative to potential other problems .. Especially if you need to get a mechanic involved.

Rust under the driver seat...
Rust and cracks in the driver side wheel well in the body frame above the body mounts. Rockerpanel driver side and check if it already was replaced..

I would go over with a good friend and take the battery out of your rav and put into the bus and have you friends car jumper on the bus at the same time.

Good luck.
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Old 05-24-2020, 01:07 PM   #29
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Join Date: Apr 2020
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It doesn't look too bad overall, but it's Alaska so rust is definitely a factor. From what I can see there is one thing (aside from the battery box) that concerns me; the rear leaf springs looks pretty bad. Not sure if both need to be replaced but I'm sure one of them will need it soon. I was texting with the mechanic last night and he said that he'd be worried about the brakes rusting too due to it sitting there.

I've been mulling it over and I think I'm going to make a (very small) offer. If they accept I will pull out the batteries, go to NAPA and buy replacements, and relocate the secondary's wiring to the driver's side box (which has an access door but I'll need to drill or cut a hole in the back of it to feed the battery cables through. And a new tray to secure it in there. I may eventually buy a new mount for the rail and move it again, and use that box for house batteries.

I'm a stubborn person and sometimes make impulsive decisions based on that stubbornness, but I rarely regret them. I think this heap is meant for me.

edited to add: I actually know a guy who has a frankenstein-ed together heavy duty work truck made of 3 different trucks and various junkyard components. He actually delivers loads of wood in it now. Maybe that truck can be the bus's spirit animal/vehicle.
Just sent my proposal to the church people, with the guarantee that if I can't get it out of their lot on it's own in 2 weeks (in case some small parts need to be ordered) I'd just pay to have it towed out and to me. Fingers crossed!
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Old 05-24-2020, 03:42 PM   #30
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If you have to go the tow route, remember that many tow trucks have large alternators and are happy providing a jump.


Also, since the secondary battery is suspect, the cables connected to it may also be damaged internally ... depending on the type of damage of the battery. You may be best served by replacing the cables between the batteries all together. Hmmm ... a pair of bold/cable cutters would disconnect the secondary battery. You could disconnect the primary, cut off the cables to the secondary (or unbolt them ...) and run off the primary. Just tossing out ideas here.
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Old 05-25-2020, 01:15 PM   #31
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Engine: 7.3 powerstroke
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Yesterday I spent almost 3 hours trying to safely get the awful stinky old battery (early on one of the terminals which I couldn’t get to sparked and scared the **** out of me) out without a disaster. Napa was closed by the time I got it out and disconnected. Now I’m wondering what to do with the second one. The drivers side box I was thinking about has a leak and after nighttime rain has water in it. The mounting hardware on the rail seems tough as hell, so I’m thinking maybe just order a new box.

In the meantime I think I’ll see if I can start it with just one. And I’ve still got to finish cleaning up some of the old destroyed box. My shoulder was aching so bad by the time I finally got the battery out without shocking myself that I called it a day.
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Old 05-25-2020, 02:08 PM   #32
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They don't pull out on a tray?
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Old 05-25-2020, 02:28 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
They don't pull out on a tray?
No not this one. It has 2 batteries, one under the hood like in a normal vehicle and the second (they’re the exact same model) parallel wired and mounted in a box under the rail on passenger side. Another bus I looked at here had the slide out tray (and also the 6.0 engine) with 2 batteries but I didn’t look that closely at those. The box this one was mounted in is supposed to be able to drop or tilt to access but everything was so damaged nothing would move, the only way I could access the battery was to finish destroying its box.
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Old 05-25-2020, 02:38 PM   #34
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oh that's brutal!
Congrats on getting it out.
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Old 05-25-2020, 04:36 PM   #35
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Another one that was just posted you might want to look at... It's pricey too, but starting to look like the one you're looking at might be more trouble than it's worth...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5185633196085/
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Old 05-25-2020, 08:16 PM   #36
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Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jocelyn View Post
No not this one. It has 2 batteries, one under the hood like in a normal vehicle and the second (they’re the exact same model) parallel wired and mounted in a box under the rail on passenger side. Another bus I looked at here had the slide out tray (and also the 6.0 engine) with 2 batteries but I didn’t look that closely at those. The box this one was mounted in is supposed to be able to drop or tilt to access but everything was so damaged nothing would move, the only way I could access the battery was to finish destroying its box.
Sometimes, destruction is the only way! I am glad you got it out. I hope you were able to disconnect the cables between the primary and the secondary so that there is no chance of shorting out the primary when you reinstall it.
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Old 05-25-2020, 08:30 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON View Post
Another one that was just posted you might want to look at... It's pricey too, but starting to look like the one you're looking at might be more trouble than it's worth...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5185633196085/
https://vimeo.com/107284084
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Old 05-28-2020, 11:45 AM   #38
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Alaska
Posts: 64
Year: 2003
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Chassis: Ford e450
Engine: 7.3 powerstroke
Rated Cap: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON View Post
Another one that was just posted you might want to look at... It's pricey too, but starting to look like the one you're looking at might be more trouble than it's worth...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5185633196085/
It's just a challenge! At this point I am emotionally attached to the bus. I've named it. They're looking for the title and will be signing it over to me this week or weekend. Once everything is totally official I'll start a thread for it.

I bought new batteries and after work yesterday tried starting it with the primary installed under the hood. Cranked and turned right over!!! It ran for several minutes with intermittent rough idling (likely the injector issue they told me about, or maybe just filthy oil). I let it run while looking at the tires and trying to use my little compressor to top them off, then it shut off after several minutes. It restarted right up multiple times, but then powered back down. Not sure if this is due to the MIA second battery, injector issues, oil issues, or what, but this wasn't a surprise since I have been researching and have quite a list of maintenance it needs. Shoutout to the care and feeding of 7.3 thread, that's been an amazing resource. I've got to email the bus company our schools contract with in hopes they will forward maintenance records; I really hope for confirmation that the recalled parts were taken care of before it went out of service in 2017.

Saturday I'm going to visit the local junkyard and see if I can find a replacement battery box to mount the new battery in it's original spot under the rail. Also going to change the oil and fuel filters and do a few other things on the list. After all the fighting I did underneath with that hideous old battery and it's box (the remnants of which I still need to cut the bolts to get it completely off) it felt so good to have the engine start up.
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Old 05-28-2020, 02:19 PM   #39
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As someone who has looked at many "Alaska buses", I have a few points of advice.
1. Get a pre-emissions bus. (pre-2004), the repair bill in alaska for EGR or other components can run 12 to 15 grand.
2. Don't buy in Alaska, a 2005 bus has been driven as many as 15 years on Salty, wet roads. That rust you found is just the tip of the iceberg and you'll spend alot of valuable time and money remediating the rust.
3. Don't get "emotionally" invested before you even buy a bus, you'll make a poor decision and regret it.
4. If you buy an "Alaska" bus that will cost you thousands to get into the shape you want, consider spending a few thousand getting a "perfect" bus for you in Oregon, Cali or AZ. It'll be less hard work, you'll be happier in the long run and probably save more money than if you try to make an AK bus into something that a OR, CA, AZ bus already is by virtue of where it was operated.
Anyhow, good luck oh and what coastal town? Do you have a road into town or are you isolated? If so, your costs just went up 25% also!
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Old 05-28-2020, 03:03 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maligator. View Post
As someone who has looked at many "Alaska buses", I have a few points of advice.
1. Get a pre-emissions bus. (pre-2004), the repair bill in alaska for EGR or other components can run 12 to 15 grand.
2. Don't buy in Alaska, a 2005 bus has been driven as many as 15 years on Salty, wet roads. That rust you found is just the tip of the iceberg and you'll spend alot of valuable time and money remediating the rust.
3. Don't get "emotionally" invested before you even buy a bus, you'll make a poor decision and regret it.
4. If you buy an "Alaska" bus that will cost you thousands to get into the shape you want, consider spending a few thousand getting a "perfect" bus for you in Oregon, Cali or AZ. It'll be less hard work, you'll be happier in the long run and probably save more money than if you try to make an AK bus into something that a OR, CA, AZ bus already is by virtue of where it was operated.
Anyhow, good luck oh and what coastal town? Do you have a road into town or are you isolated? If so, your costs just went up 25% also!
All very sound advice there, pal!
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