DPF & cracked rear axle housing: dealbreakers?

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

It's quite simple. DPFs were not federally mandated until 2007. No diesel engine manufactured prior to 2007 is required by law to have one. Retrofits of older engines with such technology are solely at the discretion of the owner, meaning that a pre-2007 with a retrofit is not required to have it by law. The (rare) exception to that rule is if a pre-2007 vehicle is repowered with an engine manufactured 2007 or later.

To be fair, it will help avoid poisoning others around if your engine is idling (recommended periodically to keep batteries, fuel system and component seals in good condition), but ultimately not required on a pre-2007 engine. Which means you can legally remove it if you wish. Tampering rules only apply to factory-installed equipment per federal law.

Not to mention that once seats are out and the bus has been retitled as an RV, it is from that point exempt, even in CA, though CA is trying to change that.

I haven’t seen anything to indicate that the California legislature is trying to modify the RV loophole. The old dudes that drive pushers are tax paying voters backed by the RVIA.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Danjo

I haven’t seen anything to indicate that the California legislature is trying to modify the RV loophole. The old dudes that drive pushers are tax paying voters backed by the RVIA.

Maybe so, but they're requiring emissions equipment on even small diesels powering refrigeration units on semi trailers. Only a matter of time and a small logical step before they start screwing with the RV'ers...

[Booyah45828]

CA has their own emissions laws and regulations that are tougher then federal laws. In CA after 2014, every on-road commercial diesel engine over 26k lbs gvw is required to have a DPF, whether oem or aftermarket. That's why districts installed aftermarket add on dpf systems, why many fleets/trucks quit operating in CA, and why glider kits aren't as popular in CA as they once were.

As far as axle housing cracks, the proper repair is replacement. A good welder can patch it up, but the weld will only move the stress to a new location, causing more cracks.

[WIbluebird]

I saw those auction buses. Even if the listings aren't accurate to specific units it seems like they are all beat pretty bad and were sitting for a long period of time. The best buyers for those kinds of buses are people located nearby that are willing to pay the wrecker service and have space to store them.

Not sure I'd want to try and drive one of those across country. Even if the axle leak was fixed there's still all the other issues you can run into with old buses that have been sitting for 2+ years.

[Bus ted1]

Those cracks appear to be from a rotational force, not from being overloaded. I would suspect these would reappear at some other place if these were welded and repaired. Seems the design or tubing compound were not up to the task of the applied torque. I would not replace it with an identical axle housing, but possibly from a more heavy duty unit.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

I would expect a rear axle to go for $2000 plus labor to swap. Might as well choose a reasonable ratio while you're at it.

How much labor would that take? My rear axle is 6.17 and I'm going to want to change that eventually. I do about 48 mph at 1800 rpms.

[peteg59]

Definitely not a great way to start a new build project with that type of repair needed right off.

Otherwise scuff the paint~n~rust, apply a little JB Weld, done. Don't forget to top off the gear oil before flight...

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

Maybe so, but they're requiring emissions equipment on even small diesels powering refrigeration units on semi trailers. Only a matter of time and a small logical step before they start screwing with the RV'ers...

a lot of work is being done to make refers electric going forward.. I didnt know they were requiring smog equipment on their off road stuff till recently but apparently even lawn mowers, farm tractors, diggers, etc are expected to have it there..

[sportyrick]

I agree with Bus ted1 that that tear is rotational and it's a design flaw or weak over rated rear end housing. Welding will fix the cracks but won't fix the design problem, the proof may be that it's more than one bus with the same problem, it'll be back. Paint is a wonderful tell all if it is cracked or pealing, steel is malleable and paint isn't. If you see pealing and cracked paint it's tell tail that there is stretched or cracked metal underneath (most the time)

[The Bussalo]

That crack doesn't look all that bad. I work at a concrete company wrenching on redi-mix trucks and I've welding a many number of cracked axles and we've had no problems. Keep in mind, these trucks fully loaded are 75,000+ lbs.

$1000 seems real steep for a 45min job. At that rate I'd just throw a new axle in.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

How much labor would that take? My rear axle is 6.17 and I'm going to want to change that eventually. I do about 48 mph at 1800 rpms.

Typical rear-end re-gear (Assuming you're not swapping the whole axle):
1. Disconnect driveshaft.
2. Drain fluid. Be warned, nearly 5 gallons will be in the axle.
3. Remove bolts/nuts on axle ends. Remove axles. (Does not involve jacking up axle or removing tires. Wheel bearings stay put as well.)
4. Remove nuts holding carrier housing.
5. Remove carrier housing. Fair warning, this thing is *HEAVY*, 300+ pounds.
Reassembly is reverse of removal. You'll need to reprogram engine computer or recalibrate speedometer for the new gear ratio. A good shop can do this in a day (I was billed like 4 or 5 hours.) The shop I used replaces the bolts holding the U-joint in, and it's very highly recommended to do so when doing this job.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

Typical rear-end re-gear (Assuming you're not swapping the whole axle):
1. Disconnect driveshaft.
2. Drain fluid. Be warned, nearly 5 gallons will be in the axle.
3. Remove bolts/nuts on axle ends. Remove axles. (Does not involve jacking up axle or removing tires. Wheel bearings stay put as well.)
4. Remove nuts holding carrier housing.
5. Remove carrier housing. Fair warning, this thing is *HEAVY*, 300+ pounds.
Reassembly is reverse of removal. You'll need to reprogram engine computer or recalibrate speedometer for the new gear ratio. A good shop can do this in a day (I was billed like 4 or 5 hours.) The shop I used replaces the bolts holding the U-joint in, and it's very highly recommended to do so when doing this job.

Thanks for this. I'm going to keep an eye out for one of these.

[Brewmaster]

Give me the vin number and I'll look it up at Blue-bird and tell you if it came with a dpf or not. I agree with cheese wagon tho. 2000 bluebird did not normally come out with dpf unless ordered that way. If it isn't factory, It isn't required!

[trimotion]

As far as the 20k hours, I have been watching buses at auctions for the last year and a half. I usually check out 150k to 180k miles. Most of them have about 6k to 8k hours on the meter. I can't even imagine how many miles are 20k hours. Maybe the rear end cracked just from old age and/or heat (stress). I am not a bus mechanic, so I don't know if that's possible. But that is a LOT of hours.