Roll Another One

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

True that just like I changed my oil pump this past spring since I had the whole bus in pieces anyway. , it can’t hurt and diesels need to oil well.

This is an issue I never knew affected these engines so late in the game. Thought it was mainly a late 90s issue, very engine has its Achilles .. and we find a lot of those Achilles here since our busses are all used

... and not just "used".

School bus use is considered "severe-duty" by all the engine manufacturers.

[Robin97396]

Replacing the oil pump is an easy decision if you've ever had a pump go bad while on the road.

[Rusty]

Mechanics are frequently like Doctors- they don't like to be questioned and have that air of superiority about them.

They don't like to be rushed and they don't what to hear "What you read on the Internet".

They make you wait like your time isn't valuable and think nothing of taking your every last dime.

When they make a suggestion, they expect you to follow it or attitude to follow.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Replacing the oil pump is an easy decision if you've ever had a pump go bad while on the road.

true that if its apart change it..

I just didnt knowe if they gave a reason why.. whenever a shop wants ot change a part i always ask how they determine its bad... or their reasoning for changing it.. and sometimes the answer I have gotten is "its easy to do now lets do it)


-Christopher

[Robin97396]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

true that if its apart change it..

I just didnt knowe if they gave a reason why.. whenever a shop wants ot change a part i always ask how they determine its bad... or their reasoning for changing it.. and sometimes the answer I have gotten is "its easy to do now lets do it)


-Christopher

I agree with the shops on that. It's not that often things are opened up on some of these buses. I'm a good example of that. I can hear an idler wheel spawling on the spindle when I'm at idle.

I need to replace my idler wheel and or belt tensioner. It's such a pain to open up the front that I might as well also visibly inspect for the killer dowel pin and be prepared to do the water pump if it needs it. That would also be the time to upgrade my alternator if I knew what I was doing. While I'm sure I'd be faster at opening up the front of the engine the second time, I'd like to simply cover all my bases if there's any question at all. My oil pump is on the list but I'm not going there yet.

I read about these allison transmissions and keep changing my mind about which would perform best, and I'm only studying up on the second transmission so far. I haven't bothered to read up on the 545 either. The 2000 made a good first impression but there are so many troubles listed for it. The jury is still out until I finish my reading.

[brokedown]

Nobody has a 545 because they wanted it on purpose.

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[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I read about these allison transmissions and keep changing my mind about which would perform best, and I'm only studying up on the second transmission so far. I haven't bothered to read up on the 545 either. The 2000 made a good first impression but there are so many troubles listed for it. The jury is still out until I finish my reading.

Just get a MD3060 for $1500 and be done with it.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...lison&_sacat=0

[Robin97396]

Just slide that 3060 right in behind the 8.3. It would be good to have the OD, and apparently I do need a trans heavier than the 545.

Honestly I'm looking for a plug and play transmission. I don't have the skills to make adjustments to transmissions.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

MD 3060 has an issue with front pump bearings?

[cadillackid]

MD3060s are very heavy like 643's plus to use a 3060 youll need a TCM AND an electronic shifter..

at 550 lbs you'll need a cross member too whereas in most cases the 545 just hangs from the bell housing..

545s are great transmissions for what they were designed for.. stop n go bus route service.. lockup transmissions actually have more wear issues when locking and unlocking the clutch in bus route service.. so yes people purposely bought and wanted at545s.. there were a solid unit for what they were. however mist of us are taking short stop n go route busses and turning them into long trip cruisers.. that means the at545 is no longer the ideal transmission.

drivetrains are built for a target application in a commercial vehicle.. unlike a consumer car which is used for a mixture.. everyone knows 95% of school busses are 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-3-2-1-1-1-2. as far as a shift pattern from stop to stop..

you wont find a lot of navistar 4700 trucks with 545s because they were regional delivery trucks... so they spent alot of highway time or local stops with longer run periods between... many were stick shift or 643's...

allison has tried to make a one-trans-series fits all with the 2000 series.. the 2000s and 1000s are mostly the same except a 2000 has some specific build parameters for an OEM and application.. and then different copmputer programming... if you are going to swap one in you need to get the right one for your application not just what mightve been in a bus like that originally...

-Christopher

[oricha1984]

I hope that the bill is not too high. Good luck

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[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Mechanics are frequently like Doctors- they don't like to be questioned and have that air of superiority about them.

They don't like to be rushed and they don't what to hear "What you read on the Internet".

They make you wait like your time isn't valuable and think nothing of taking your every last dime.

When they make a suggestion, they expect you to follow it or attitude to follow.

Attachment 18117

They'll send me an itemized repair bill/estimate and I can choose what I want done or not done. I'll know how much $$ on tuesday.
Roughly $2500 in parts and its a 20 hour job, I've heard. So I'm guesstimating that it should be around 5 grand.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

I hope that the bill is not too high. Good luck

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THANKS, Raul!!
Even with having to pour money into this bus, its a better buy than any brand new junk vehicle out there, IMO.

How's your lovely wife doing?

[oricha1984]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

THANKS, Raul!!
Even with having to pour money into this bus, its a better buy than any brand new junk vehicle out there, IMO.

How's your lovely wife doing?

We had the baby on Wednesday
So we are both enjoying maternity and paternity leave [emoji2]

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[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

We had the baby on Wednesday
So we are both enjoying maternity and paternity leave [emoji2]

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Awww, man- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

[brokedown]

Originally Posted by WanderWoman

I'm missing that bus while I'm in Cali, but I know it's in the best hands
The roof will definitely be white.

It will look great Sandy, looking forward to seeing you again when you get back. -Hillary

[WanderWoman]

Originally Posted by brokedown

It will look great Sandy, looking forward to seeing you again when you get back. -Hillary

I'm sure it will. Looking forward to seeing you, as well.


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[debbiejay4444]

Originally Posted by Defjr333

Was it not ECCB that was talking bout mini wood stoves a little back? If so CubicMini is having a Christmas sale 30% off. Got the Grizzly cheaper than the Cub runs normally.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f51/cu...tml#post240456

Doug

I was looking into the mini stove also.

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[debbiejay4444]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Any pics of this unicorn?

Okay, am I back in the thread now? No new photos. Hope to get started on the actual build in January. Laying out the plan now. PLEASE let me know I'm back in the thread with EC, Robin, Cadillackid, rusty, etc.

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[Robin97396]

You're in a thread again. Actually ECs build thread. Now you're going to need a build thread of your own to start putting your pics and plans out here so we can second guess everything.