Got A Work Van On GovDeals Today!

[EastCoastCB]

Next on the list of things to repair or upgrade-
the brakes, shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends, and sway bar end links.
After all this bodywork I've been doing on buses, I'm thinking I'll get to work on the rusty rocker panels on this van sometime this "winter".

I'll also keep my eyes open for a parts van for this thing. A clean 2003 3/4 ton would be awesome for parts.

[cadillackid]

good deal that it wasnt hard parts like gears bad!.. plus with them having replaced the bearings, they will have re-set up the lash, pinion preload, and gear alignments.. so it will be ready to go!!


good to have your work van back ready to work!!
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

good deal that it wasnt hard parts like gears bad!.. plus with them having replaced the bearings, they will have re-set up the lash, pinion preload, and gear alignments.. so it will be ready to go!!


good to have your work van back ready to work!!
-Christopher

Yeah, I'm glad I got it in as soon as I knew there was something amiss.
I can't mess around with this van and maintenance. Its my bread and butter and also my weekend cruiser. The dog LOVES it.

REALLY glad to have found a competent, honest local mechanic. They're a dying breed. I can fix most of my own stuff but rebuilding this rear end wasn't something I wanted to get into. He got it done quick!

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Yeah, I'm glad I got it in as soon as I knew there was something amiss.
I can't mess around with this van and maintenance. Its my bread and butter and also my weekend cruiser. The dog LOVES it.

REALLY glad to have found a competent, honest local mechanic. They're a dying breed. I can fix most of my own stuff but rebuilding this rear end wasn't something I wanted to get into. He got it done quick!

I get it.. a rear can be daunting and can require creative use of tools to get right..

its like me and my red bus.. a wheel bearing is starting to make noise.. its going to the mechanic.. I dont have the tools necessary nor the body strength to muscle around the big parts and high torques...

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Just drove it around. So far so good.
Wallet drained, but the van is alive and seems to be well.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

You just helped me make up my mind on fixing my old truck.
I have been debating on attempting to rebuild my c6 transmission but I don't have a shop,garage,barn or anything like that and my bus interior is to close to finished to chance it.
Have found some junkyard,eBay stuff for decent prices but a lot of them can't give me mileage,motor,vehicle or how long it's been sitting?
Found a basic warrantied rebuilt for 650 and a local mom and pop shop that's been around for 40-yrs that will rebuild it for 950 with all the upgrades to the pieces that the c6 had a problem with in it life,a shift kit and a new torque converter.
Gonna go with having mine rebuilt instead of a junkyard or eBay find cause then I know exactly what I have.
Thanks

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

You just helped me make up my mind on fixing my old truck.
I have been debating on attempting to rebuild my c6 transmission but I don't have a shop,garage,barn or anything like that and my bus interior is to close to finished to chance it.
Have found some junkyard,eBay stuff for decent prices but a lot of them can't give me mileage,motor,vehicle or how long it's been sitting?
Found a basic warrantied rebuilt for 650 and a local mom and pop shop that's been around for 40-yrs that will rebuild it for 950 with all the upgrades to the pieces that the c6 had a problem with in it life,a shift kit and a new torque converter.
Gonna go with having mine rebuilt instead of a junkyard or eBay find cause then I know exactly what I have.
Thanks

Sounds like a good plan to me.

[EastCoastCB]

geez- now my water pump is dying. I heard a slight noise at idle and low rpm's.
I got under there today and looked around. Saw rusty coolant dribble from the telltale places for this model/engine. Grabbed the fan clutch shaft and felt a good amount of play in the water pump.

hasn't ran hot or anything yet, so like the rear end- at least I've caught this early on so it didn't do more damage.
Damn, this van is getting frustrating though.

[cadillackid]

I dont think a water pump on thats a bad job... you can probably change that yourself.

seems to me water pumps dont last as long on serp belt stuff as they did on old V belt stuff.. my water pump on redbyrd had a fair amount of jiggle in it.. (why I replaced it in the early spring)..
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Oh, no doubt I'll be doing the water pump. I've done dozens.
The rear end was a RARE moment of paying someone else.

Parts for this thing are pretty cheap. I can do the pump, fan clutch, t-stat, and hoses for less than a hundred bucks.
But man, I'm supposed to be working on a bus right now, not this darn van!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

nor the body strength to muscle around the big parts and high torques...

-Christopher

You didn't look terribly puny to me.

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

But man, I'm supposed to be working on a bus right now, not this darn van!

Damn right you are. Now get to work already.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

You didn't look terribly puny to me.




Damn right you are. Now get to work already.

Look are deceiving.. being hit head on 25 years ago by a drunk at 70 MPH didnt do much for my body strength.. because of my back, I cant work out without a great deal of pain.. so i dont build much muscle..

Working Smart = sometimes realizing a Job is better done by others with stronger bodies.. the consequences of totally lynching my back would be that I end up on 4 wheels permanently.. I like walking on my own 2 feet more than I do that extra cash in my wallet..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

You didn't look terribly puny to me.




Damn right you are. Now get to work already.

Got the last of the bare metal treated. Spent the morning up on the bus roof.
Got the wiring put back together, now just gotta get the brake lights working. i think the bulbs are shot, but I'm returning with my multimeter in the AM.

Maybe I'll get around to fixing my van next week?!

[oricha1984]

Thank you for sharing your troubleshooting with the van.
I'm getting a taste for working on my own vehicles. Definitely, more pros than cons.
But it sure swings the bar towards buying newer, in my situation.

Sent from my Life One X using Tapatalk

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

Thank you for sharing your troubleshooting with the van.
I'm getting a taste for working on my own vehicles. Definitely, more pros than cons.
But it sure swings the bar towards buying newer, in my situation.

Sent from my Life One X using Tapatalk

Too new is bad, imo.
Shauns brand new truck is dying randomly. Been to the shop many times already.

[oricha1984]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Too new is bad, imo.
Shauns brand new truck is dying randomly. Been to the shop many times already.

Copy. Not toooooo new. Hehehe

Sent from my Life One X using Tapatalk

[cadillackid]

theres a **BIG** difference between 'newer' and brand new.. newer as in a 2009 or 2012 school bus ./ van vs a 1995 bus / van .. isnt going to ensure there arent major repairs.. sure you may not have worn out king-pins, you'll likely have less rust,. but the myriad of electrical system is still there.. school busses are Notorious for having the driver windows left open overnight.. in the rain or snow.. which soaks that switch panel.. (who thought to locate said panel right next to the driver window anyway?).. you have more complex electronics.. , emission controls, ABS, etc..there are strill things to fix.. you just dont know.. did said previous owner neglect it? were the roads so crappy that the bus spent its life driving over a washboard? is it in the desert where sand gets into every grease fitting? was it in the rust belt?

so many unknowns when it comes to buying used vehicles.. in the case of EC's Van.. things wear out.. water pumps are a pretty reasonable thing to have to replace.. pinion bearings? not so much unless its a dodge. . I replaced an A/C compressor that GRENADED on a 2010 truck this summer.. one would think an A/C last longer than 60,000 miles but it didnt.. that was a complete tear the whole system apart, flush out, etc.. big $$$ at a shop.. we did it in a day for a few hundred bux..

buying BRAND NEW surely can reduce the amopunt of stuff you have to fix.. except that you spend more money to buy a brand new van or bus than you would to pay a shop to fix the stuff on a good solid used one.. only advantage being a brand new one you get a bunch of warranty time and often times the interest rate os 0% instead of ?? for a credit card to pay a shop..

in the case of shaun's truck its brand new.. it breaks enough and you lemon law it and get your $$ back or a new truck.. (I did it with a wrangler in 08.. it works..)..

I lease my cars brand new so i dont have to deal with the hassle.. i drive it a couple years and get a new one.. my tech is always up to date and I dont have to fix anything.. but then I do have a car payment every month (forever).. .

so a little math gane to play.. last year when I was looking to use a bus in the business for a DEV bus (the carpenter is what became this).. I looked at a brand new shorty at rush truck.. (the one that ironically died on the test drive).. it was a nice air conditioned shorty already painted white.. air ride, air seat, overdrive, and a cummins.. I was going to Lease it..

instead I ended up over-paying for the DEV bus at BGA busses... added A/C, painted, put tires on it and a few other things.. at this point in timne even with all ive done to it, im still WAY AHEAD money wise on what I wouldve had in that little shorty ive had the DEV bus like 19 months now.. and I own it.. which means i could probably sell it for a few grand if I needed to.. so even though i coulda had a brand new bus.. it still wouldve cost me much more than my older bus that I have paid to have a few things done to.. granted i added my own A/C but good A/C's skoolies are getting more and more common to buy now..

so do you really save buying newer?

to me the only reasons for buying newer are if you want features only available in newer.. case and point - EC's latest shorty.. he paid far less and has a better drivetrain than whats in my redbyrd even after uopgrade.. going to the newer bus.. overdrive trannies werent in older mechanical skoolies.. so he bouight newer to get newer features - makes sens to do for that reason...

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

theres a **BIG** difference between 'newer' and brand new.. newer as in a 2009 or 2012 school bus ./ van vs a 1995 bus / van .. isnt going to ensure there arent major repairs.. sure you may not have worn out king-pins, you'll likely have less rust,. but the myriad of electrical system is still there.. school busses are Notorious for having the driver windows left open overnight.. in the rain or snow.. which soaks that switch panel.. (who thought to locate said panel right next to the driver window anyway?).. you have more complex electronics.. , emission controls, ABS, etc..there are strill things to fix.. you just dont know.. did said previous owner neglect it? were the roads so crappy that the bus spent its life driving over a washboard? is it in the desert where sand gets into every grease fitting? was it in the rust belt?

so many unknowns when it comes to buying used vehicles.. in the case of EC's Van.. things wear out.. water pumps are a pretty reasonable thing to have to replace.. pinion bearings? not so much unless its a dodge. . I replaced an A/C compressor that GRENADED on a 2010 truck this summer.. one would think an A/C last longer than 60,000 miles but it didnt.. that was a complete tear the whole system apart, flush out, etc.. big $$$ at a shop.. we did it in a day for a few hundred bux..

buying BRAND NEW surely can reduce the amopunt of stuff you have to fix.. except that you spend more money to buy a brand new van or bus than you would to pay a shop to fix the stuff on a good solid used one.. only advantage being a brand new one you get a bunch of warranty time and often times the interest rate os 0% instead of ?? for a credit card to pay a shop..

in the case of shaun's truck its brand new.. it breaks enough and you lemon law it and get your $$ back or a new truck.. (I did it with a wrangler in 08.. it works..)..

I lease my cars brand new so i dont have to deal with the hassle.. i drive it a couple years and get a new one.. my tech is always up to date and I dont have to fix anything.. but then I do have a car payment every month (forever).. .

so a little math gane to play.. last year when I was looking to use a bus in the business for a DEV bus (the carpenter is what became this).. I looked at a brand new shorty at rush truck.. (the one that ironically died on the test drive).. it was a nice air conditioned shorty already painted white.. air ride, air seat, overdrive, and a cummins.. I was going to Lease it..

instead I ended up over-paying for the DEV bus at BGA busses... added A/C, painted, put tires on it and a few other things.. at this point in timne even with all ive done to it, im still WAY AHEAD money wise on what I wouldve had in that little shorty ive had the DEV bus like 19 months now.. and I own it.. which means i could probably sell it for a few grand if I needed to.. so even though i coulda had a brand new bus.. it still wouldve cost me much more than my older bus that I have paid to have a few things done to.. granted i added my own A/C but good A/C's skoolies are getting more and more common to buy now..

so do you really save buying newer?

to me the only reasons for buying newer are if you want features only available in newer.. case and point - EC's latest shorty.. he paid far less and has a better drivetrain than whats in my redbyrd even after uopgrade.. going to the newer bus.. overdrive trannies werent in older mechanical skoolies.. so he bouight newer to get newer features - makes sens to do for that reason...

-Christopher

It was strategic, for sure. I wanted as new and nice a bus as I could find, but before any HORRIBLE emissions stuff was implemented. 04 non-EGR 466 fits that bill nicely! I wanted OD, AC, and NO RUST!
Chris' Texas bus is so nice I had to get one from there this time.

[Tango]

Given all the utterly unnecessary electronic crap, sensors that go bad and computers that can trick even the factory analyzers on new cars...I will never own another. In a way, I am thankful that I am old enough to very likely die before all the old iron is completely gone. And, it won't be much longer before the only skoolies available will be garbage that can't be worked on or maintained by ordinary humans. And that my friends is the plan.

If this is what they call progress...screw it.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Tango

Given all the utterly unnecessary electronic crap, sensors that go bad and computers that can trick even the factory analyzers on new cars...I will never own another. In a way, I am thankful that I am old enough to very likely die before all the old iron is completely gone. And, it won't be much longer before the only skoolies available will be garbage that can't be worked on or maintained by ordinary humans. And that my friends is the plan.

If this is what they call progress...screw it.

Very well put!