Greetings from East TN!

[TypicalTN]

Hey all!
Newer skoolie owner here! I bought a 29 foot '99 International t444e 3800 in April of '21 and have been slowly working on it since bringing it home.



I work full time as well, so I've been occasionally lurking the forums since then, specifically when ever I wanted a little bit of guidance or inspiration. For the most part the work has been going smoothly, I've gotten the original flooring, insulation, ceiling panels, and some of the unnecessary wiring (I.E. Flashers and etc) removed.


Plus, the floor has been treated and painted to combat rust. Basically I've gotten my bus to the point of my next step, which ideally would be a roof raise. Catherine(my bus) was an old handicap bus, which I found exciting for the lack of wheel wells to build around, and an extra door option for the design. But it means insulating the floor and ceiling is going to eat up all of my standing head room. (I'm 5'11") and I plan living in it full time for a bit once she's all built out.

Yet, I've reached a point in my build where I could use some interactive guidance and advice. The bus needs to move before I can raise the roof (tools needed and a more level parking place are at a friends), and it's not wanting to start. She'll turn over just fine, just refuses to start.

The last time I drove it was in July/August. When I moved to my current house. Due to life, I ending up letting the bus sit too long, killing my batteries. I think I got one last jumped start(and long idle) from them, roughly 2.5 weeks after my last drive.


Long story long, I have since replaced all three batteries, ordered a ScanD, and also checked my flash codes, as I have a warn engine light when key is on.

I'm getting: 152 LOW BARO, 124 LOW ICP, 122 LOW MAP, 211 LOW EPOP.

I for the life of me cannot find the Barometer sensor to test its connections..(have yet to test the MAP or ICP as I was focusing on finding the BARO)

But, on the EPOP front my oil level is fine, is the lack of pressure due to sitting to long? Or is it a possible issue tied to the ICP?

Anyways, glad to be taking another step towards joining the skoolie community and thankful for any help or guidance that comes my way.


Cheers Y'all
Typical

[sigreddasparks]

Hi Typical,

Nice to meet you! I'm in Northern South Carolina and just won a bid on a bus in Northern GA. I'm solidifying the details with the school district and hopefully will have my bus home within the next 2 weeks. What did you find was helpful for you in selecting your bus and making sure when you got it everything was solid before bringing it home?

[Diverdude0075]

Hey, I’m in East TN too. You’re further ahead than me. I just haven’t had time. I have two ‘99 International buses with the 7.3. Sorry I can’t answer your question.

[TypicalTN]

@sigreddasparks Congrats on the bid win! That's awesome. I'll be honest, i just went with my gut. I actualy bought mine off FB Market Place. (knowing typically govdeals, or some other means of buying directly from the school system is you safest and best bet.) I had my eyes on a few auctions near me....

But, decided to look on marketplace one evening, spotted my bus, and something told me "Thats my bus". And everything just worked out. I had a friend, that could show me the back way to get home, drive me down. Bought the bus and then followed her home. All I had was a paper tag (that I'm pretty sure just read "Temporary".) taped to one of the back windows.

So I'm afraid if there is red tape to tackle with buying from the school system/ insuring the bus before driving it home, I don't have any perspective on that. I definetly lean type B lol.

@Diverdude0075 Oh nice! Mind me asking why you have two? Seems hard to travel/live in two at once. I was a bit more motivated and hyperfocused after first getting mine. But, I currently feel you on the lack of time, hence why mines sat long enough to decide to not start. That's alright you can't help! I still appreciate the reply though! It's looking like my next dry off day is just going to be spent chasing wires.

[Diverdude0075]

Originally Posted by TypicalTN

@Diverdude0075 Oh nice! Mind me asking why you have two? Seems hard to travel/live in two at once. I was a bit more motivated and hyperfocused after first getting mine. But, I currently feel you on the lack of time, hence why mines sat long enough to decide to not start. That's alright you can't help! I still appreciate the reply though! It's looking like my next dry off day is just going to be spent chasing wires.

My first bus was starting to have some engine issues and a really close bus popped up with the same engine and I picked it up super cheap. It was missing a door and two windows but I got super lucky! It has a newer rebuilt 7.3 diesel in it! They go for about $10k and I picked the bus up for just over $1600. I've done some stuff to it now, blocked off the missing windows, and made a door (solid wood). The 2nd bus is now the one I'm going to build, it has air brakes and air suspension and runs perfectly!

Keeping the old bus for now for spare parts and it makes a nice shed!

[TypicalTN]

Ah, that sounds like a solid plan for sure! Also nice find for 1.6K!

Neither of your busses would not have happened to come with any manuals or diagrams at all would they? I've been chasing wires...and I'm seeing a lot of connectors that are simply dead ends (not connected to anything.)

The perfectionist in me is tempted to re-wire the whole damn thing....but that more money and time I'd prefer to not spend at this moment to get her starting and running again.

I've called navistar and a couple of other resources to no avail.

[Diverdude0075]

Hi,

See if any of this helps.

-Diverdude

[TypicalTN]

These look fairly promising! Going to be chasing wires and etc today!

Thanks a ton!