Test drove so. Cal bus - advice please

[802trees]

Hey,

I may buy this bus and just needed some opinions.
I drive an Element so it was much different.
There was play in the steering, the brakes were quiet and worked but the pedal seemed a lot more firm than my car.
stopped straight. no clunking on turns. Shifted fine. quiet.

When we first started it it fired up right away but idle was off and it stopped
after the test drive it idled fine.

Checked oil. it was good. no burnt smell. Trans fluid was red
radiator looked new but reservoir was low.

It had rained a lot and there was one small puddle behind the drivers seat.
on window was cracked but intact.

squeaking from the belt but it looked fine. hoses looked good.

The good.
new tires, new exhaust, no rust, 1994 vandura 3500, clean title as BU (bus)
reg good until June 2019
was a church bus.

The bad,
310k on the od
no records of the engine/trans work. said rebuilt 100k ago.
Man bought it from church and owned it for 6 months title still in church name. Son told dad to sell it as too many projects no space.

is that the front seal leaking? There was no oil on the ground before or after test drive.

here are a few pix
[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

I will upload a vid so you can hear the squeking

[802trees]

video
https://youtu.be/gJ2Ht9JW8zY





what's the deal with the tire space? is it correct?

[802trees]

Is that right, the wheel gap?

[ol trunt]

With the single wheels on the rear axle that rig isn't going to carry a whole lot of weight. Check the GVW (CGVW) --I'll bet it is about 10,000#. You will easily exceed that even with a light weight conversion ie no water thans.
Jack

[Ronnie]

More then likely the gap is for dual wheels, as a dual wheel setup would have a much deeper dish on the wheel and would cover the brake drum. Often the same axle was used for either a single rear wheel or duals depending on application. So no worries.

[802trees]

Thanks for the input. Was going to do lite weight conversion. But this bus has no mechanical service records and I am not sure what enging work was done. Looks like the front seal is leaking.

[Ronnie]

Front seal, maybe but could also be oil pan. See if the oil pan bolts need to be snugged up just a bit. Not much of a leak if not dripping.

[Johnny Mullet]

That is a nice rust free bus. Looks like a crank seal leak. If the belt is oily then that is why it squeaks or the tensioner could be worn, or even a bad idler pulley. Loose steering is easy to diagnose. Have someone slowly shake the steering back in forth while you watch the steering components for any looseness.

[ol trunt]

Ronnie, with all due respect, with only one rear wheel that bus is definitely a light duty use rig. "No worries" IF the GVW is known and understood--otherwise plenty of worries.
Jack

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Ronnie, with all due respect, with only one rear wheel that bus is definitely a light duty use rig. "No worries" IF the GVW is known and understood--otherwise plenty of worries.
Jack

I meant no worries about the "wheel gap". Sorry if I did not make that clear.

As for single rear wheel, not to fond of that, however you are correct in that they really do need to keep weight within the max GVW.

[802trees]

Thanks everyone. There was a lot of play in steering when turning. No clunking. No leak by oil psn. Clean for it's age, but I am going to pass. I will keep looking.

will see another tomorrow, duelly diesel. More expensive but newer so I'll keep you posted.

Really appreciate the help.