Rust help! To keep or not to keep :(

[maverick20]

To start.. we live in Pennsylvania and bought our bus from Maryland. We got it at a great price at an auction and had no knowledge of the rust being so bad... but here we are. The rust has made several large holes and looks to be possibly interfering with the structure of the bus and the axel. It’s not something you can really weld over, you would probably have to fit a new sheet of metal into the structure. This is what makes us nervous! Especially if we are going to be building on top of it and then traveling at 65 mph! We don’t currently know how to weld. We do have some friends that weld but one of them advised against it as they didn’t feel comfortable working so close to the structure of the bus. We’re going to check out more mechanical welders.

Here’s my other scenario... a bus popped up on my Facebook marketplace today. It’s a 2000 freightliner with 5,600 original miles on it (it was a church bus). It has a 24 valve Cummins and appears to be rust free. It had some recent work done to it but it doesn’t have a current inspection. The bus we have now is a ‘04 freightliner with a 6.4l Mercedes powered engine. It maxed out at 53 mph on the hwy- ugh!

We don’t want to get rid of our bus but this other Cummins bus presented itself and now we’re in a pickle! Especially due to the rust holes with our current bus... I guess once we get an estimate on the price, we will know where to go from there.

Any and all advice is soo greatly appreciated. Couldn’t be more thankful for this site.

Thanks!

 

[Rberriz]

Switch,
If the rust is so bad, it’ll end up causing more issues down the road.

 

[Mark_In_MA]

This is what makes us nervous! Especially if we are going to be building on top of it and then traveling at 65 mph! ... The bus we have now is a ‘04 freightliner with a 6.4l Mercedes powered engine. It maxed out at 53 mph on the hwy- ugh!

Thanks!

You're 0 for 2 here. Neither will be cheap or easy to fix.

I'd consider looking for a different bus. I'm not sure I'd exactly believe that church bus only has 5,000 miles - I'd believe 5,000 miles since the dashboard was replaced. (Not saying it's a huge red flag, just be an informed buyer.)

 

[o1marc]

Do you know for sure the church bought the bus new in 2000? Any time I see a 20yo bus with 6 months of mileage it seems suspect, especially know how many buses had issues with dash panels due to poor solder welds on the circuit boards and are regularly replaced and the odometers not corrected. What work was needed on a bus with that low mileage?

 

[maverick20]

I went and checked out the 2000 Cummins bus this morning. On the title it says it has 119,000 miles on it so the odometer isn’t updated. The work that the bus had done was a new fuel pump and fixed a small oil leak in the front cover. Ran great and looked good. This bus had the wheel wells that come up into the bus - which seem to act like a protective cover to prevent rust from all salt that is put on the roads over here on the north east coast.

Our bus doesn’t have the wheels interfering with the layout of the inside of our bus but I really think that this has led to the rust holes.


So now... what to do? We need to call a few places to see how much the repair would be on our current bus. Probably at least $1,000. They’re going to have to weld a whole new sheet and form form fit to fit our bus. It’s gonna be hella hard to try sell our bus as is.

I really like this 2000 bus because it has the Cummins and started up great! Also concerned that our bus now maxed out at 53 mph... with nothing in it!

I attached some pictures of the rust in our bus, if anyone could advise, it’d be very helpful! Thanks!

 

[maverick20]

Rust damage on our bus:
https://ibb.co/wd507vk
https://ibb.co/J7zfLDY
https://ibb.co/rQ1Y3pv

 

[maverick20]

You're 0 for 2 here. Neither will be cheap or easy to fix.

I'd consider looking for a different bus. I'm not sure I'd exactly believe that church bus only has 5,000 miles - I'd believe 5,000 miles since the dashboard was replaced. (Not saying it's a huge red flag, just be an informed buyer.)

Yeah definitely agree. The seller did check the title and it has 119k miles on it so odometer wasn’t updated. Noticed that you are in Boston, did you deal with rust on your bus? It’s really difficult to find one without it in our area.

 

[maverick20]

You're 0 for 2 here. Neither will be cheap or easy to fix.

I'd consider looking for a different bus. I'm not sure I'd exactly believe that church bus only has 5,000 miles - I'd believe 5,000 miles since the dashboard was replaced. (Not saying it's a huge red flag, just be an informed buyer.)

Yeah I’m worried that with the combined rust, engine, and slow speed of our bus now, we will face more issues in the long run.

I did go take a look at he 2000 Cummins bus this morning and it has 119k original miles on the title so odometer wasn’t updated.

 

[peteg59]

Rusted out flooring, = strike #1
Mercedes engine, = strike #2
53MPH top speed, = strike #3
If it were me, I'd cut my losses and bail on that bus.

There are better busses out there, you'll need to look outside the country's "Rust Belt" to find the right one though...

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

My question RE: the 53 MPH top speed - is this a computer governed setting? If so, a quick reprogram might give you a higher top speed. Or is it max engine RPM in high gear? In that case, a re-gear would be in order.

 

[maverick20]

My question RE: the 53 MPH top speed - is this a computer governed setting? If so, a quick reprogram might give you a higher top speed. Or is it max engine RPM in high gear? In that case, a re-gear would be in order.

I still need to get that checked. I’m going to see if my neighbor (who is a diesel mechanic) can check that out for me. Governing at 53 mph seems pretty low though...

 

[joeblack5]

What rpm is your tachometer showing at 53 mph? What transmission do you have?
I have a 2004 6.4 Mercedes and really like it. Mine has 420000 miles and has zero smoke zero leaks.
If yours is pre egr and you really want to get rid of it then let me know.
Johan

 

[maverick20]

What rpm is your tachometer showing at 53 mph? What transmission do you have?
I have a 2004 6.4 Mercedes and really like it. Mine has 420000 miles and has zero smoke zero leaks.
If yours is pre egr and you really want to get rid of it then let me know.
Johan

Wow that’s awesome! It’s nice to hear some good feedback. I’ll try to take it out tonight and check the rpms at max speed. I’ll get back to you on that. I’m also not sure about the transmission but it is automatic. Where are you located at in PA? We are in chambersburg

 

[EastCoastCB]

I still need to get that checked. I’m going to see if my neighbor (who is a diesel mechanic) can check that out for me. Governing at 53 mph seems pretty low though...

My last bus was electronically limited to 50.

 

[maverick20]

My last bus was electronically limited to 50.

I was wondering when you were going to join the party haha! But wow that’s really slow! Did yours have a wheelchair lift? Maybe it has something to do with safety of younger kids or special needs

 

[EastCoastCB]

I was wondering when you were going to join the party haha! But wow that’s really slow! Did yours have a wheelchair lift? Maybe it has something to do with safety of younger kids or special needs

Had a wheelchair lift. IDK why they limited it.

 

[WARGEAR]

Wow that’s awesome! It’s nice to hear some good feedback. I’ll try to take it out tonight and check the rpms at max speed. I’ll get back to you on that. I’m also not sure about the transmission but it is automatic. Where are you located at in PA? We are in chambersburg

I saw Chambersburg and HAD to comment! We bought our bus in Mifflinburg but it was from the Chambersburg schools district! Bus #404.

 

[joeblack5]

We are in State College,PA