Bus at mechanic for 2 months!

[Jaybz]

My bus has been at a shop for 3 months. It’s also 1200 miles away in a state I’ve never been to, I’ve never met the mechanic, don’t know his name or shop address, and I haven’t even put eyes on my bus.

Hope that makes you feel a little better!

[awilder]

Originally Posted by Jaybz

My bus has been at a shop for 3 months. It’s also 1200 miles away in a state I’ve never been to, I’ve never met the mechanic, don’t know his name or shop address, and I haven’t even put eyes on my bus.

Hope that makes you feel a little better!

Thanks Jaybz, no that does not make me feel better, but I feel for you!

No word from the mechanic. I am back in the state it's in (RI) and have driven by and it's there out front. Going to go pick it up on Monday, hope for no hard feelings, and have an appointment to bring it to a reputable diesel mechanic on March 9th. They will do a 'full diagnostic' of the vehicle for $300 bucks. I'll take it. They seemed unfazed by the potential issues (said they could just replace one injector if indeed just one has failed, instead of all 8 as sometimes is done, to save on cost) and think it should be fixable and then a good vehicle.

Funny, all the mechanics I've brought it to who mostly work on gassers have said, 'I wish you hadn't bought this, should have gotten a little gasser'. The diesel mechanic says, 'The 7.3 is a great engine, could last you a long time...'

BTW, if you look at the picture closely, not my paint job and yes that passenger door is an eye sore!

[peteg59]

Originally Posted by Jaybz

My bus has been at a shop for 3 months. It’s also 1200 miles away in a state I’ve never been to, I’ve never met the mechanic, don’t know his name or shop address, and I haven’t even put eyes on my bus.

Hope that makes you feel a little better!

If you still have an interest in it, I'd strongly suggest you make your best effort to make contact with the shop it is at.

Reason being, in most states if a vehicle is "abandoned" in their care, after 90 days they can apply for a mechanics lien. You might not think you're abandoning it but in the eyes of the business they might feel that you have, not having had any contact with them in 3 months.

If they get a lien established on your bus, it is not legally yours any longer.
You might not get it back without paying whatever the mechanic/shop wants for it at that point.

Hope the above scenario is not what you might face. Simply be prepared for the worst, and maybe it'll work itself out without the lien process.

Good luck...

[Jaybz]

OP- Glad to hear you came up with a solid plan B! Hope it works out this time.


Not to hijack the thread- I have actually talked with the guy every week. Even ordered some parts and sent them down to him. Not worried, just anxious to get going and progress is slow. Then again, I’m on New Jersey time and he’s on Mississippi time, so that accounts for some of it.

[mcduffieja]

Amateurs! my Scout 2 has been at the body shop for just over a decade. Sure hope it’s done soon.

[Jaybz]

Wow. You win. Sounds like there’s a good story behind that.

[mcduffieja]

Originally Posted by Jaybz

Wow. You win. Sounds like there’s a good story behind that.

More rust than expected resulting in more extensive fabrication than expected. Friend offered to do the work at his dad’s shop, then got deeper than he wanted to. Kids and families came along, Scout went on the back burner. His dad did a little on it, but wasn’t motivated to get it done. Most body shops around here just want easy insurance work and wouldn’t touch it. There’s a fab shop that we found who says they can work it in, just waiting on that now. Once it’s done, I’m ready to part with it. I’m over the whole thing. Lesson learned - buy a vehicle in the shape you want if you don’t have the time or skills to fix it up! Heck, I could have taught myself to fix it, I just didn’t. When I buy a bus you can bet I’m going to look for a rust free one!

[roach711]

After dealing with a local truck repair shop which also took it's good old time doing my bus repairs I took it to the local Ford dealership which has done good, timely (but not cheap) work on our E450.

I've had it in for rear end work, had the injectors re sealed, had some sensors replaced and lately, had some squirrel chewed wiring and a fried injector regulator replaced. It was in and out within a day or two each time. Dealerships certainly aren't the low priced spread but mine got the job done with a warranty.

[awilder]

Today I went to the mechanic who has had my bus for over three months.
He was surprised to see me but fine with having me drive it away. Except, it wouldn't start. He sprayed a whole lot of ether in it while I turned the key to try to get it to start. There was a loud bang. And oil started dripping from somewhere.
I have since read about ether.
I'm going to call tomorrow and ask him not to touch it again and that I'll have it towed.
Did he kill my bus?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by awilder

Today I went to the mechanic who has had my bus for over three months.
He was surprised to see me but fine with having me drive it away. Except, it wouldn't start. He sprayed a whole lot of ether in it while I turned the key to try to get it to start. There was a loud bang. And oil started dripping from somewhere.
I have since read about ether.
I'm going to call tomorrow and ask him not to touch it again and that I'll have it towed.
Did he kill my bus?

Very likely. Either is not to be taken lightly, as they say, a dab'll do ya, or in this situation, a quick puff. But I wouldn't use it on diesels, only gassers. WD-40 is far safer, sprayed in through the filter housing. But they need warmth to start in cold weather... Even a hair dryer pointed in the snorkel helps. As to the 'mechanic', I wouldn't let that idiot patch a bicycle tube.

Here's the science of ether. It is a very volatile and flammable material well-suited to making an engine start when it doesn't want to, but it is far better suited for gas engines than diesels. It is dangerous for diesels due to its tendency to pre-ignite in high-compression engines (which a diesel is).

Preignition is bad because combustion essentially occurs before the piston is ready to go back down, and this can wreak havoc on bearings, break pistons, break piston rods, even cause a fireball to blow back out of the intake, as well as create problems with the glow plugs or heater grid if equipped.

That is why ether is not recommended for a diesel. WD-40 is far safer. Ether is okay for gas engines, not so much for diesels.

[awilder]

Thanks. But, do you think he literally killed it? Now I am very worried.

My appointment with a different mechanic, a reputable diesel mechanic, is on Tuesday.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by awilder

Thanks. But, do you think he literally killed it? Now I am very worried.

My appointment with a different mechanic, a reputable diesel mechanic, is on Tuesday.

If it preignited badly enough and broke a piston, rod, or did some other mechanical damage, yes. And the oil pouring out afterwards sounds very bad, possibly a rod shoved through the block or oil pan. Sorry to be the messenger of bad tidings. Hopefully it's not that bad, but it is a very real possibility with a diesel that gets flooded with ether. Oil is something that is supposed to stay in the engine, not drip out after trying to start it. OP, if you like, you can give me a call so I can explain this in a little more detail. Sent a PM with my phone number.

[djdalfaro]

Damn, I just read this post from the beginning and I was waiting for the happy resolution. But no... I feel for you man. Sounds cooked.

[awilder]

The story continues. So after learning more about ether last night I went early in the morning to the mechanic to tell him to please not try to get it to start again with ether.
I got there and the bus was not there. They had gotten it to start yesterday and driven it to where I had mentioned I was working on it, my grandma's, a mile away. Funny they didn't call to tell me so.
My dad took a couple pictures while we were there yesterday and sent them to me. What the mechanic used was Pyroil Starting Fluid.
He said the oil drip after the ether was from the oil pressure nozzle. Seemed unconcerned.
Believes why the bus has a rough start or sometimes won't start is either the crank sensor or the valve cover gasket. Thinks if it were the injectors, it wouldn't run well one minute and not another.
His opinion is I should find a GMC gasser as he feels this 7.3 will be too expensive to maintain. But I feel he lives mostly in the world of gas and may not fully appreciate the benefits of diesel.
He didn't charge me anything, but then all he did over three and a half months was change the fuel filter and try to get it to start. He said he'd 'like to stay friends.' I concured.
Anyway, it goes to the diesel mechanic on Tuesday. Hopefully they can tell me if that ether did any damage and what's up in general.

[Mountain Gnome]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.


Your story basically defines why I became a mechanic. No one touches my vehicle with a wrench besides me!


Best of luck to you. Glad to hear it still runs. Glad to hear you left that junkyard.

[musigenesis]

I wouldn't want to stay friends.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I wouldn't want to stay friends.

I concur. I wouldn't let this idiot change a bicycle tube.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

I concur. I wouldn't let this idiot change a bicycle tube.

In the movie Apollo 13 one of the astronauts tapes a note that says "NO!!!" over the button that disconnects the lunar landing module so that he wouldn't press it from sleep deprivation and kill them all. I've been meaning to do the same thing with the ether start button that came with my bus. Just see no reason for me to ever use it - if it's cold enough to need ether it's too cold to be driving a bus.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

never tried wd40?
i know gasoline in a squirt bottle works and the engine does not get addicted to it like either.
but anything puking oil after a hard start means something broke?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

never tried wd40?
i know gasoline in a squirt bottle works and the engine does not get addicted to it like either.
but anything puking oil after a hard start means something broke?

Honestly, I don't like the idea of spraying anything in a diesel to coax it to start. A hair dryer on high blowing into the intake is safer. Reason being that preignition can cause serious damage to pistons and rods, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. However, I can see where WD-40 would not be as likely to preignite, whereas the gas in a spray bottle might, due to the vapors.

I've heard of people using a rag dampened with gasoline over an intake to start a diesel as well, again, the vapors could preignite. I think another danger with ether-starting a diesel is that it can harm the rings, which contributes to the ether addiction. The gas spray bottle likely can do that too if in sufficient quantity.