1998 Blue Bird (No Name Yet)

[Tryonis]

And so it begins....

 

[Johnny Mullet]

Keep us posted!

 

[Tryonis]

No real work done since Saturday but i did find out some more info on the bus from a local dealer. I reached out to Blue Bird via email and they wasn't very helpful regarding build info. I have a Allison AT643 instead of a 3060 which i guess is better than a 545. I thought since it had the push button controls it was a 3060. I found a re manufactured tag on the engine so i am not sure if and when the engine was replaced. Speedo is 3-5 mph off but it will run 70 plus(GPS tested) easy with a 4.78 rear gear. Dealer also told me he had pretty much any parts i need minus dash parts and they carry parts back to 1994.

 

[Tryonis]

Also no plywood under the puke mat, one less thing to deal with and very little surface rust so i am happy. Couple of screws on the center aisle rails are being stubborn but hasn't been too bad so far.

 

[PNW_Steve]

Tryonis,

When you are running down the highway does the display on the shifter show 4, 5 or 6?

I have never seen a push-button shifter on an MT series transmission. That doesn't mean that they don't exist but I suspect that you may indeed have an MD3060.

If your shifter goes to 5 or 6 then you definitely have the MD3060.

If it stops at 4 then you may have the first push-button MT643 that I have ever heard of.

 

[Tryonis]

She goes to 5.

 

[jjhwick119]

She goes to 5.

well my MT643 shifter only has a 4, so you do indeed have a 3060 i would say. Possibly swapped when they did motor work? who knows.

 

[Tryonis]

Hmm i wonder now because the Blue Bird email said i had a 5.38 rear gear but dealer told me i had a 4.78. So now i am even more confused. Maybe they swapped the tranny when they put in the reman engine or maybe it came with a reman engine new, not sure.

 

[jjhwick119]

Hmm i wonder now because the Blue Bird email said i had a 5.38 rear gear but dealer told me i had a 4.78. So now i am even more confused. Maybe they swapped the tranny when they put in the reman engine or maybe it came with a reman engine new, not sure.

You might need to do some crawling and digging under that bus and do some checking of your own...somethings off somewhere. I also have never heard a push button mt643, although I'm no expert. I couldn't actually read the plate on my trans, but i matched it up to pictures. I cleaned dirt off the rear end and got the gearing on that

edit - in the back, mine was near the top of the rear dif, facing the front of the bus. Different makes, but it might help

 

[Tryonis]

Whatever i have i know it shifts smooth, i never feel it shift and only know it did by the numbers changing on the dash display. If it is indeed the 3060 i want that 6th gear!

 

[jjhwick119]

Certainly doesn't sound like a MT643 to me my friend! Nice trans

 

[Tryonis]

It does have a weird quirk in that if my idle is too high it just beeps when i try put it in D or R. I read it does that to protect itself. So now i need to find out how to lower my idle, tach doesn't work so not sure what it is running at. High idle switch also doesn't work either.

 

[PNW_Steve]

You definitely have the MD3060.

Good luck with getting 6th gear. So far none of us with Bluebirds have managed to get the necessary letter from Bluebird that Allison requires in order to unlock 6th.

 

[Tryonis]

You definitely have the MD3060.

Good luck with getting 6th gear. So far none of us with Bluebirds have managed to get the necessary letter from Bluebird that Allison requires in order to unlock 6th.

So I've heard, surely there has to be a way to do it without dealing with bluebird directly. Grease the right palm maybe. Anyway thanks for the clarification. 6th gear is the least of my worries at this point. I just started demo.

 

[Seriousracer]

Run your transmission serial number through the Allison web site.
My Transmission

 

[Tryonis]

Verified its a MD3060. Thanks for the link.

 

[Tryonis]

Have not had much time to work on the bus last couple of weeks. Still working on mat, got over head racks removed and hope to start on surface rust and prepping floor soon.

 

[Tryonis]

Puke mat and heater out, slowly but surely. I may just loop the hoses for now so i can move the bus but i plan on rerouting them under inside the frame rails. The other option is to cut a entry and exit into the belly bay and mount them on top.

 

[Tryonis]

With help from my daughter we got the hoses removed from inside the bus and I looped the outflow hose back into the return. The return line appeared to run back into some kind of cooler, trans maybe. Also drained all of the air tanks while i was under the bus.

 

[fadderall]

Also no plywood under the puke mat, one less thing to deal with and very little surface rust so i am happy. Couple of screws on the center aisle rails are being stubborn but hasn't been too bad so far.

You sir have a great looking bus! :biggrin:
Thanks for the kind words on my thread. I was looking at your pics and what is under the puke mat? Was the rubber in yours glued right to the metal? Its hard to tell from the picture looks just like mine with the plywood.

Are you going to insulate? Whats your interior height? Are you putting in plywood or going direct to the metal?

I have that same heater hose line. Are you going to reconnect it, run under the bus like you mentioned? I was thinking of just leaving it and covering with cabinetry, but I like your idea of rerouting. Have you given more thought to that?

Keep up the good work!