Tie Rod / Ball Joint Replcement?

[zamfir]

Smitty,

I took it out for drive again. I've worked on cars since I could drive, and the symptoms of of this 50mph wobble are those of 1, unbalanced or two different (ply and tubeless) tires... 2, a tie rod... 3, a ball joint. I'm new to buses, but the same principles should apply. A family friend who is actually a mechanic also agrees that these symptoms are indicative to a tie rod or ball joint.

You don't say what chassis your 87 Bluebird is built on, but if it's a full-size skoolie, you have kingpins instead of ball joints, so that's one thing you can cross off the list. Replacing tie rod ends on a bus is just like replacing them on a car - they're bigger, but they're attached in the same way. The parts are fairly cheap, and replacing them isn't too hard (usually).

 

[Russell-SKO]

Do you have bud or dayton type wheels? It could be as simple as the wheel is out of true,are a clump of mud stuck on the inside of the wheel it could also be a broken belt in the tire or improply mounted tire.Jack the axle up until the tire clears the ground , spin the wheel by hand and observe the wheel while rotating . Then while you have it off the ground grab the front and rear of the wheel and try and shake it . If you get movement here you have a bad tie rod end. Then while you still have it up, put a lever of some sort ( tire iron or wooden 2x4 ) and try and get the top and bottom of the wheel to move in and out. If it does this would indacate you need king pins and bushings . Find out were it's broke at before you change any parts. Russell

 

[the_experience03]

Good to know. It is a full size bus (65 passenger) 87 Blue Bird. It has a 366 Chevy gasoline motor. Not sure how else to determine the part I need. Any chance you might know where to find one?

I hope you realize at this point that you need to jack it up and shakedown the front end. Is the bus a conventional or a flat nose? Scratch that...to have a 366 it would have to be a conventional in which case it will be on a Chevrolet or GMC C60 or C70 chassis most likely. I doubt any parts store, save for maybe a NAPA, is going to have those parts on the shelf, but they should all be able to get them overnight. I would tend to believe tire issue over steering linkage myself, but check it out. It is also quite possible that you have some play in the gearbox, but that can usually be adjusted out easily enough.