Quote:
Originally Posted by wild acres
SO THANKFUL FOR THIS INPUT AND HELP!!
"Still in service transporting students, this 2001 IC is an 84 passenger bus and has 20k miles of service life left to run as a school bus in Tennessee.
They're asking $6000
It's got an MD 3060 Allison transmission. No major rust.
|
DT466 is a great engine. The DT466E apparently not so much. The DT466 is mechanical and is very easily rebuilt.
When did they rebuild it?
How many miles are on the rebuild?
Here's my question, if it has 20k miles left (=s two years) why are they selling it?? It could be that its age. Many school districts have an age or mileage limit before they sell their vehicles. Since it's a 2001, that's 20 years, so it may just be that.
Despite it being a great engine and rebuilt, I'd still have it inspected.
The 3060 is a great tranny! I'm not positive if all of them have a 6th gear, but for those that do, sometimes it's "locked" out of use. To "unlock" it, you need the correct software and cable connections, or pay a dealer to unlock it.
Again, despite it being a great transmission, I'd have it inspected. If it's not shifting properly, it would be expensive to fix.
Inspections = Investment + Insurance that you "likely" won't have any surprises down the road....literally, down the road. Think of it as part of the purchase price.
As a school bus driver, I've driven many IC 40' buses of around that era. The buses bodies are fine. Nothing special. I found them to have plenty of head room. Depending on how tall you all are, headroom might be an issue in some makes/models.
The only thing I'll tell you about IC is that their dealerships are tied to the corporation. They can't do anything major to the powertrain without "permission". At least that's what I've experienced and others have echoed. Yet, there are plenty of others that can work on a DT466 and Allison transmissions are independent of IC, so you're good there.
My only concern is the HP rating of the engine. I "think" they are a bit under powered, so check and see. Generally, the engine and transmissions are paired, so a more powerful engine gets a bigger transmission, and the 3060 is a big tranny.
Since it's a 40' bus, the engine has to be able to push it down the road. Many school buses were NOT made to cruise the freeway or climb hills and summits. Having an engine with enough HP (speed for cruising) and Torque (grunt to get you going and up and over big bumps in the road, hills) is important to keeping the engine EGTs, oil, coolant and transmission temps down. The cooler running the drive train, the longer it will last and the less problems you will have.
Hope this helps.