What's the best engine trans combo?

[Dailybee23]

I'm afraid it has rust! With the people who had it I actually did a video chat with them and I could see rust on the steps. They said the bus came from a fleet on the coast of Oregon. It spooked me, although other than that it has a lot of what I'm looking for. They mentioned though that the areas that really needed fixing from the rust was the ribbing and that the ribbing could be replaced...

 

[CHEESE_WAGON]

My $0.02 on this ---

It all depends on what you plan to do with it.

If you're not doing a lot of highway cruising, you don't have a need for speed, and you're not climbing mountains, even a 5.9 Cummins or Navistar DT360 with an AT545 will do fine if not beat on and the transmission does not have pre-existing issues.

Highway cruising, you'd naturally want to step up to an MT643 at least. If mountains are involved, you'll want a bigger engine like the Cummins 8.3, DT466, Caterpillar 3208 (preferably a turbo).

For those swapping transmission only, or engine only, there are also differences in bellhousing pattern to take into consideration in some situations.

And don't forget, the newer the bus, the more involved a swap will be. Most newer buses have electronic controls and controllers that have to talk to each other. Good luck trying to replace a MaxxForce with a DT466...

DailyBee's post makes an interesting point... The only reason to ever buy a rusty bus is for an engine and/or transmission you want to put in another bus. But you really have to consider whether it is worth the cost, effort, and time. And you don't want to pay any more than about $1000 for it.

 

[EastCoastCB]

3208? Idk man. they're ok. Don't get me wrong I'm working on a deal for a rig with a 3208. But I don't expect it to be a champion hill climber.

 

[CHEESE_WAGON]

3208? Idk man. they're ok. Don't get me wrong I'm working on a deal for a rig with a 3208. But I don't expect it to be a champion hill climber.

A standard one, no. But a turbocharged model should be quite well-suited to the task, a detail I went back and added for clarity. Thanks for pointing that out. I haven't seen many diesels that weren't turbocharged. Not that they aren't out there, but most I've seen are.

But I stand by my statement that the best combo really hinges on your planned usage. An 8.3 or DT466 is just wasted fuel if you use it twice a year and never climb mountains.

 

[musigenesis]

They mentioned though that the areas that really needed fixing from the rust was the ribbing and that the ribbing could be replaced...

This is like a realtor telling you the only part of the house that's rotted is the 2x4s.