End of the Road

[e90bmw]

Hi all,

A friend and I started our Skoolie adventure in March of this year, but sadly it is now coming to an end.

We bought a 1998 Florida Spec International Thomas Vista with the T444e, about 185k miles on the clock, with all kinds of goodies you didn't usually see on FL buses at that time. It was a solid bus that at the time just needed some TLC.

Our maintenance progress thus far:
New belts
Oil Service
New fuel & oil filters
A variety of replaced light bulbs
New fuel pump
Water-proofed the entire roof
New power steering hoses
A new battery
New thermostat
Replaced and fixed several components to the air brake system

We ripped all the seats, wheelchair tie downs, rubber floor, and plywood out of the 72 passenger Vista, sanded all the nails down, cleaned the floor and treated the entire bus with Corroseal, then plugged all the old bolt holes from the seats.

We were about to get to the fun part of building the inside.

Recently, while idling the bus for a few minutes to mess with the AC system, we noticed a milky white fluid coming out from the engine. After shutting the bus off, we've found out that the T444e has a blown head gasket or has cracked altogether. The coolant is mixing within the oil, so the bus is pretty much ruined. I've been quoted around $3,500 for a rebuild or replacement, which just isn't worth it. We could get a newer bus for that much or less. While we are glad this happened before the inside is finished, we are sad that this will be the end of the road for us. This community has been very helpful, and I've learned a lot more mechanic wise than I though I could. This will not be our last Skoolie, but this will be the end of the road for now. Enjoy the road while you can and treat your buses well.

Now comes the depressing part of trying to sell a bus with a bad engine

 

[o1marc]

I'd try and get a definitive answer on what the issue is before throwing in the towel. If it's as simple as a head gasket., it might be worth saving. I don't envy you trying to sell it with a bad motor. I'm looking at a couple of buses that have been on CL for months now, because they don't run. Offered at $1300 and $1500 and no one wants them, nice buses, non running motor.

 

[alpine44]

Hi all,

A friend and I started our Skoolie adventure in March of this year, but sadly it is now coming to an end.

We bought a 1998 Florida Spec International Thomas Vista with the T444e, about 185k miles on the clock, with all kinds of goodies you didn't usually see on FL buses at that time. It was a solid bus that at the time just needed some TLC.

Our maintenance progress thus far:
New belts
Oil Service
New fuel & oil filters
A variety of replaced light bulbs
New fuel pump
Water-proofed the entire roof
New power steering hoses
A new battery
New thermostat
Replaced and fixed several components to the air brake system

We ripped all the seats, wheelchair tie downs, rubber floor, and plywood out of the 72 passenger Vista, sanded all the nails down, cleaned the floor and treated the entire bus with Corroseal, then plugged all the old bolt holes from the seats.

We were about to get to the fun part of building the inside.

Recently, while idling the bus for a few minutes to mess with the AC system, we noticed a milky white fluid coming out from the engine. After shutting the bus off, we've found out that the T444e has a blown head gasket or has cracked altogether. The coolant is mixing within the oil, so the bus is pretty much ruined. I've been quoted around $3,500 for a rebuild or replacement, which just isn't worth it. We could get a newer bus for that much or less. While we are glad this happened before the inside is finished, we are sad that this will be the end of the road for us. This community has been very helpful, and I've learned a lot more mechanic wise than I though I could. This will not be our last Skoolie, but this will be the end of the road for now. Enjoy the road while you can and treat your buses well.

Now comes the depressing part of trying to sell a bus with a bad engine

What transmission model is in the bus?

 

[magnakansas]

hey! hold up there a moment!

Do you think you could keep building and save to buy another bus that has a good engine? or do you think you could build and take apart that engine and make repairs? options......

how many would come down and help do an engine swap. or do cylinder heads?

william

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

I sure would not stop just because of engine trouble. Head gasket is not a big deal. Even if the engine is ruined( i do not think so) another junkyard engine should be easy enough to find.

Where in Florida? I do come down to central Florida once or twice a year.

 

[joeblack5]

Why not a leaking oil cooler? Was the oil contaminated the first time you changed it?. Head gasket should give you white smoke. What kind of coolant was in when you bought it? The 444te is electronic so it would have a codes for overheating.
Same as 7.3 power strokes. Or at least similar enough. Those are now not expensive and easy available. They are also more easy to turn the power up.

Good luck
J

 

[joeblack5]

Sorry. I did not see your other thread about the same subject. Forget about my suggestion.

Good luck.
J

 

[cadillackid]

the oil cooler is a somewhat common issue on these to leak.. and its an external part, easy to take off and have checked out on the 444E.. witr ha blown headgasket you normally have some type of driveability issue.. a mixx in a cylinder, white smoke, hydro locking (engine starts to crank.. then makes a thunk.. and wont turn over till you feather the key), constant over-heating, boiling coolant out of the coolant overflow..



all common signs of head or head gasket failure..
-Christopher

 

[tailgate-SKO]

Do a little more research before you give up on the bus. The oil pan should come off relatively easy. Refill radiator and pressurize system. You could easily see if water was coming around pistons or liners or running down oil passages from top of engine. Even if you put a couple grand in the repairs, you would have a little piece of mind over the condition of the engine...…..You have the seats out and floor done. That's the hard part in my book....

 

[Moq145]

I may be able to help

Where are you located in Florida? PM me...u had a similar problem with my bus and its repaired now. Don't throw in the towel!!

 

[tailgate-SKO]

Where are you located in Florida? PM me...u had a similar problem with my bus and its repaired now. Don't throw in the towel!!

What did you find as the problem? How expensive were the repairs? Or did you do them yourself? Thanks Tailgate

 

[Moq145]

Mine ended up being the oil cooler leaking. It was leaking water into the oil and I was able to fix it myself......a lot of work but I'd say only ended up costing me about $450.00 including new oil, oil filter, water filter, antifreeze and a whole lotta time!e Please let me know if I can help you, I'm located in a small town outside of central Florida called Howey in the Hills and my build sounds very similar to yours.

 

[e90bmw]

What transmission model is in the bus?

It has an AT545

Do you think you could keep building and save to buy another bus that has a good engine? or do you think you could build and take apart that engine and make repairs? options......

how many would come down and help do an engine swap. or do cylinder heads?

We ended up selling the bus, buyer also believed the head was cracked.

william

I sure would not stop just because of engine trouble. Head gasket is not a big deal. Even if the engine is ruined( i do not think so) another junkyard engine should be easy enough to find.

Where in Florida? I do come down to central Florida once or twice a year.

Bus was in Keystone. We ended up selling it.

Do a little more research before you give up on the bus. The oil pan should come off relatively easy. Refill radiator and pressurize system. You could easily see if water was coming around pistons or liners or running down oil passages from top of engine. Even if you put a couple grand in the repairs, you would have a little piece of mind over the condition of the engine...…..You have the seats out and floor done. That's the hard part in my book....

We decided to sell it. The day we sold it and drove it to the tow truck, coolant started pouring in to the cabin from under the driver's seat bubbling up from somewhere in the floor.

Where are you located in Florida? PM me...u had a similar problem with my bus and its repaired now. Don't throw in the towel!!

Bus was in Keystone and has been sold.

 

[e90bmw]

Mine ended up being the oil cooler leaking. It was leaking water into the oil and I was able to fix it myself......a lot of work but I'd say only ended up costing me about $450.00 including new oil, oil filter, water filter, antifreeze and a whole lotta time!e Please let me know if I can help you, I'm located in a small town outside of central Florida called Howey in the Hills and my build sounds very similar to yours.

We ended up selling the bus. The day we sold it and drove it to the tow truck, along with the milky white fluid running down the back of the valley, coolant started pouring in to the inside of the bus from the floor somewhere under the driver's seat. Thanks for the offer though.

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

Sorry to hear that. Hope you find something else.

We just had two pistons give up on ours. So pulling the engine and trans. Picking up a dumptruck for the engine tomorrow.

 

[cadillackid]

def sounds like that 444 had a bad head gasket... it fired into the water jacket and probably blew open a heater hose or heater core inside the bus from the pressure.. too much pressure and volume for the radiator cap to release so it busted a hose most likely.. .. ive seen that scenerio more than once on a diesel...



unusual for the 444 to blow head gaskets, massive overheat conditions will do that to them though... the computer wouldve indicated if it had ever been over-temped majorly
-Christopher

 

[e90bmw]

Sorry to hear that. Hope you find something else.

We just had two pistons give up on ours. So pulling the engine and trans. Picking up a dumptruck for the engine tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that, good luck with the repair/replacement! We are considering going with a different motor if/when we get back in to the game. I like Florida spec buses, but most districts here have historically had International motors (at least the ones old enough to come up for auction). Freightliner Caterpillar motors are starting to come up more often, and I've heard better things about Caterpillar.

def sounds like that 444 had a bad head gasket... it fired into the water jacket and probably blew open a heater hose or heater core inside the bus from the pressure.. too much pressure and volume for the radiator cap to release so it busted a hose most likely.. .. ive seen that scenerio more than once on a diesel...



unusual for the 444 to blow head gaskets, massive overheat conditions will do that to them though... the computer wouldve indicated if it had ever been over-temped majorly
-Christopher

Thanks for the info, pretty likely that this is what happened with ours. We never had the bus overheat on us or give us any type of warning lights while we had it. It really didn't go anywhere. Aside from a two and a half hour drive home the night we got it, all it's other trips consisted of a half hour drive around town a couple times a month to keep everything in good order after we would work on it every other weekend. Was pretty bummed when I went outside and saw the milky fluid leak for the first time. Even with the head issue, it started right up each time I showed it to a potential buyer and would even move under it's own power and idle. It didn't want to quit. It was a good bus the short time we had it, just sad we never got to take it on a trip. We were about to start the inside which was really the home stretch after everything else we did to it. Learned a lot in the process so I treat it as a learning process, I've made peace with my Vista

 

[cadillackid]

that 444e was a pretty easy engine to fix issues on... if it were mine id have torn it down and fixed it.. esp if I already had a good bit of the conversion done.. is its new owner going to fix it or is it headed off to the scrap heap?
-Christopher

 

[e90bmw]

that 444e was a pretty easy engine to fix issues on... if it were mine id have torn it down and fixed it.. esp if I already had a good bit of the conversion done.. is its new owner going to fix it or is it headed off to the scrap heap?
-Christopher

We are pretty handy, but I’m afraid we aren’t that handy. The bus lived about 45 mins away from me and I could only work on it every other weekend because of work, so the idea of an engine rebuild just didn’t seem possible. The buyer had it towed home. He said he was going to try to get it back on the road to pick up hauls from things won at public auctions, and if he couldn’t get it road worthy, use it as a storage container for the things he did win at those auctions.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

Sad to see a dead Vista. We're looking to sell ours soon (as soon as the weather cooperates enough to give it a good cleaning!) but it's been a really great bus for us! We just don't need 2 buses so a fond farewell is in order.