Updates on Comfort Bus

[OrionsComfortBus]

If you click the channel name, I have 3 other videos. One slightly longer of a Tour in the bus. One showing the trip going to my Dads Dr appointment. The last is a video showing about half the return trip from Pflugerville, Tx.
Dad and I talk a bit in the longer ones so youll hear that and all the other noises of the road.

IF anybody is interested in the independent contractor I hired, I will provide his name and a contact email.
I hope you enjoy the videos and this short journey of replacing the floor in a 30 Passenger bus which now has seating for 3 plus driver, As youll see in the video.

 

[o1marc]

Is that flooring mat or plate? Where did you get it? Looking for something like that for the garage floor.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

I got it from Ebay. Polyvinyl garage mat. It was between $110 to $140 for a 14 ft by 7.5 ft roll.
search for this . . .

Black Universal High Quality Flooring Raised Diamond Mat Garage 7.5 ft. x 14 ft

 

[o1marc]

I got it from Ebay. Polyvinyl garage mat. It was between $110 to $140 for a 14 ft by 7.5 ft roll.
search for this . . .

Black Universal High Quality Flooring Raised Diamond Mat Garage 7.5 ft. x 14 ft

That sounds perfect for the garage. Glad to see I can fit it in one piece.:Thanx:
Sucks that it only comes in 14' lengths, I only need 8'. I suppose I can use the left over in the bed of the Dakota.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Just ordered a rear diff with a 3.91 ratio from Vanderhaags. Cost just under a grand including shipping to a business.
I also ordered a couple passenger seat belts and a much longer drivers seat belt.
Bit by bit, I'm getting it fixed for Dad and a few passengers (if there are any).
I'll update more later when it happens.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Just ordered a rear diff with a 3.91 ratio from Vanderhaags. Cost just under a grand including shipping to a business.
I also ordered a couple passenger seat belts and a much longer drivers seat belt.
Bit by bit, I'm getting it fixed for Dad and a few passengers (if there are any).
I'll update more later when it happens.

Highway gears are the BEST upgrade for the $$, IMO.

 

[Tango-SKO]

A wise and rewarding investment!

 

[PNW_Steve]

Highway gears are the BEST upgrade for the $$, IMO.

If you start with a bust with 6.17 gears, I would agree.

I do cringe a bit when I see a blind rush for taller gears without considering the whole equation.

It doesn't only affect highway speed. It also affects your performance from a standing start in 1st and your reverse speed.

I have a truck with a 6 speed overdrive, 255/70R22.5 tires and 3.73 gears.

I get my best fuel economy in 5th gear and backing up trailers is a b1%ch.

It simply goes too fast in reverse. I have to slip the clutch to back slowly.

I would gladly go back up to 4.11 or higher.

I have 5.29 rear gears in my A3RE along with an MD3060. I find that ideal except I would love to have a bit lower revs at highway speeds and can address that by unlocking 6th gear. I would much rather spend the $$ on that versus rear gears.

I do understand the merit to regearing taller in appropriate circumstances has merit but there is more to it than simply highway speed/RPM.

Not picking on anyone. Just offering a little different perspective....

 

[Tango-SKO]

You are absolutely dead on. Any re-gearing HAS to be done right which means running all the numbers and hopefully settling into your engines "sweet spot" at reasonable turnpike speed without giving up too much on the low end. But...given that very few Skoolies come with anything remotely like hiway gearing...it is an area in which big improvements can be made.


Properly geared, the entire drive train will be happier going the road.


But...if your plan is to gain lots of mph rather than getting the rpm's right...then you really do need to be upgrading the brakes as well.

 

[EastCoastCB]

If you start with a bust with 6.17 gears, I would agree.

I do cringe a bit when I see a blind rush for taller gears without considering the whole equation.

It doesn't only affect highway speed. It also affects your performance from a standing start in 1st and your reverse speed.

I have a truck with a 6 speed overdrive, 255/70R22.5 tires and 3.73 gears.

I get my best fuel economy in 5th gear and backing up trailers is a b1%ch.

It simply goes too fast in reverse. I have to slip the clutch to back slowly.

I would gladly go back up to 4.11 or higher.

I have 5.29 rear gears in my A3RE along with an MD3060. I find that ideal except I would love to have a bit lower revs at highway speeds and can address that by unlocking 6th gear. I would much rather spend the $$ on that versus rear gears.

I do understand the merit to regearing taller in appropriate circumstances has merit but there is more to it than simply highway speed/RPM.

Not picking on anyone. Just offering a little different perspective....

I've had extremely high geared buses with low hp ratings and never felt like I was missing out on anything taking off from a start.
There's more to it than highway speed/rpm for sure. But if you're going to be spending time on the highway it sure sucks redlining to go 55.
Sure- OD is great to have. But if you're like 90% of us stuck without it then regearing from standard route bus gears is a huge upgrade.

My current bus is geared somewhere in the low 3's. Its crazy. At 1750 rpm I'm doing 65 down the interstate with a 545. No real need for OD but gears are like so many things- more is always better!

 

[Tango-SKO]

And I'm guessing your highway mpg's are pretty OK as well.

 

[EastCoastCB]

And I'm guessing your highway mpg's are pretty OK as well.

Haven't figured out exactly what it gets yet but it does very well.

 

[cowlitzcoach]

The HP requirement to go faster in a bus goes up exponentially the faster you go. It isn't anywhere close to a straight line.


One of the problems people with buses will run into when trying to go faster is you reach a point where the engine just doesn't have any more oomph to push the brick shape of the bus through the air.


So to take advantage of the lower rear gears people will increase the HP of the engine in order to go faster. Which can be done.


With greater amounts of HP you generate a whole lot more waste heat. If you don't increase the cooling capacity you will find yourself overheating on any kind of hill when the ambient temp goes above 70* F.


If you want to travel fast in a bus purchase a bus with a monster HP engine with the transmission and cooling system sized appropriately with highway speed rear gears. Repowering, regearing, and adding additional cooling capacity will get very spendy very quick. The added cost would have been better spent on a bus already set up to do what you hope to do with what you have.

 

[cadillackid]

EC you live in a oretty flat state so you are likely to be fine with tall gears low HP, and for cooling as well..

Some things though here need to be real world vs paper.. the OP has a dta360 that he is re hearing, if he was running it flat out at 2700 rpm to highway cruise then he was already making a bunch of noise and heat for no gain. These engines make max power at 2300 and run comfortably up to 2500.

Sure the lower gears give you a little more resolution and jump off the line , but it’s a school bus, the turbo lag is real, 60 and 330 foot times aren’t what we are shooting for.

Fortunately there’s room for expansion with this engine. The cooling system, while not navistar a best, is more than adequate to keep this engine happy.. they used it on the dt466 up to the mechanical 205 hp limit I think.. the higher output models got a different system..

You can spin the fuel screws and bump the timing on the dt360 without worries.. they are pretty under fueled from the factory...
it will require your cooling system to be clear of flaws and if you run an auto install an external trans cooler..
Christopher

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Thanks Christopher, Couldnt of said it better myself.
I'm already running 2800-2900 ripums to do 55-60. It will bump up to 65 on a downgrade, with a tailwind and the oars out. stroke stroke stroke
Mainly I want to do 60-65 without the fear of the engine going KaBooM! because of redline. I get about 7 to 8 MPG currently. I hope to see that get in the low teens. If not at least the engine and turbo are not screaming down the highway. Which is a lovely sound BTW. Check out my youtube channel on a previous post and youll hear it.
The diff upgrade will hopefully happen this weekend IF the weather cooperates. I will try to take as many photos as possible.
Relax. Dont sweat the small stuff. Its all small stuff. Life was doing just fine before we got here and it will continue without barely a ripple when were gone. Enjoy the ride.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

I have returned home after dropping off the bus at the contractors place. He had the used differential I purchased in his truck. I should get the bus back late Sunday or Monday. I understand these diffs look alike but here's a couple of pictures of mine. Looking forward to the 1762 engine ripums while running at 55 mph. Of course it's going to be a little higher due to a 200 rpm loss within the torque converter BUT it's far better than what it is now.

Also getting the wheel hub bearings inspected, the brake shoes checked and the wheel hub seal replaced. Basically a rear axle service I think.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Just got home from picking up the bus. Contractor advised me of a few things he had found. Brakes will need attention soon. Front nose seal on new/used diff may be leaking. Wheel hub seals were weeping but are now replaced. Test drive completed without any issues. On the way home, I kept having to back off the accelerator to keep MPH within the posted limits. (I'm sure that hasn't happened in this buses life, ever.) Finally on a 70 MPH stretch and opened it up. She pulled all the way to 72MPH before I backed off. Need to adjust the headlights. (too low on low beam) Otherwise it's great. I could nit-pick it to death but this is far better than I expected.

Thank You to all you who offered advise and words of encouragement.

I now need to get the speedometer in line. It reads 45 while I'm doing 60. HELP?

 

[Dirtdoctor]

Allison computer run transmission? Take it to the dealer and they can reprogram the computer to the correct gearing. Let them know what gear set you installed. They can also adjust max speed. They can even adjust shift points to optimize rpm and hp. I had a truck with a 5 speed Allison- onlyTo find out the transmission had 6 speeds and a key stroke added a 6th speed to my transmission!
For now use your gps on your phone to keep it under the speed limit. Then look at how many RPMS your engine is turning At 55, 65, 70 mph.
Cheers
Jack

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Hi Jack,
I have a Allison AT545 mated to a International DTA360 Rated at 190Hp. Both are "mechanical" versions so no computer.


The adjustment for speedometer is in the Dash cluster. A series of DiP switches near the top edge. I simply need to set it BUT am unsure of the procedure. Perhaps someone has that.


I did use the GPS speedometer app on my phone. I passed by 3 red&blue cruisers on my way home. Possibly saved me from a ticket.

Never thought I would own a bus never mind get a speeding ticket in one.

Next fix or upgrade is yet to be determined. I'll post as soon as I know.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Took Dad for a ride in the bus. He loves it. Decided to have a late lunch and as we drove through a construction zone, I didn't give enough room to a big arse arrow sign and WHAM drivers side mirror glass is history.

It's funny because I had always thought the passenger side mirror would get assaulted first. I had both sides as far out as they would go. Like elephant ears. Now they are both folded forward with remaining mirrors readjusted. A few photos of the mirrors.