My new Hummer 3

Wolfman-
You bought a school bus? I can't wait to hear the mileage that it gets.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"95933)</div>

Here here, I second that! I am also a member of one of the prius groups on yahoo (I am not naming names as there are several) in which I had an individual post just to chastise me for my ending a sentence with a proposition! Sadly, this was only one of many posts along those lines (it is sickening).

I am always refreshed to see people getting along much better here!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny\";p=\"96055)</div>

Danny:

If my 2000 GMC Sierra SLT was the typical example, then I would have to say No, they don't bother with QC.

With the optional 4.10 gears and Towing Package, it *was* a good tow vehicle though. Plenty of torque, too bad the brakes were so anemic.

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ray Moore\";p=\"96105)</div>

Ray:

Don't laugh.

I know a couple of locals who picked up 5 year old Ford E-450 school bus chassis. The one had a bad tranny but they got it for $1,500, so it was worth a new tranny. The other was in pretty good shape, both had the 7.3 cornbinder turbodiesel.

They use them as a poor man's hunting shack when they go deer and moose hunting up north and in North West Ontario. They also put in Detroit Locker's in the Dana rear, and it's remarkable what kind of roads they can go on.

Since they only paid $2,800 for the "better" bus, they were also able to replace the leaf spring shackle with MOR/Ryde rubber torsion springs. That also helps on rough logging roads.

They usually average around 14 MPG, not bad for something its size.

Jay

 

Yeah, I bought a school bus. However and thankfully, it isn't yellow, and doesn't have the red and amber lights on top to contend with. It's a 37 foot diesel pusher, and the plans are to convert it to an RV. Mileage Ray? I forgot to put the "starting" mileage down, and haven't filled the tank yet, but I've heard 9 mpg on the highway on a good day, and that's running all out at the busses top speed of 60 mph. I've removed all but two of the passenger seats as of this morning. One frame is still there as it has the rear heater mounted to it, and I need to fashion a bypass, so coolant can be pumped to the heaters up front. The other will stay in place, untill I acquire a captain's chair to replace it. I'm also looking for another one to replace the rather, shall we call it, inadequate drivers seat. I snagged the old beast for only $1400. As one of my neighbours stated, it's worth that even for being used only as a storage building. Yes, I have awesome neighbors, and I don't think I'll be going anywhere after all. Oh yeah, it drove home under it's own power for that price as well. 8)

There are pictures in my gallery for those who are curious enough to want to look at it. I'm guessitmating 5 years to completion.

As for GM and QC Danny, it's what Lutz was brought on board to address, and it looks like he's actually making a difference.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wolfman\";p=\"96176)</div>

Wolfy:

A brand new diesel pusher motorhome in that size will usually set you back a cool $200 G's or much more.

Looks like a Detroit motor? In your climate, don't get cheap with the oil. Those older Detroit motors should be run on straight SAE 40, SAE 50 in temps over 80 F. A 15W-40 will cause heavy oil consumption and wear.

Is it an Allison tranny? Change the Control Main filter and check the magnet for chunkies.

Sounds like you've got a nice 5 year project ahead, but most of them turn out good. The older diesel pusher buses (Transit and school bus) are popular for RV conversions.

Jay

 

Actually, it's a Cummins 555T V8 engine spec'd for 225 hp. The tranny is an Allison automatic, which model number I do not recall at the moment. It does have the lockup torque convertor. I take it in tomorrow to deal with a bad rear main seal, which I'm hoping and praying will also fix an oil pressure problem at idle when hot.

 

Ah, the "Triple Nickle." Solid motor too. With regular maintenance they seem to last forever. A motor that old you may have a bad relief spring instead of just the rear seal.

Don't use a straight SAE 40 or 50 in it though, a 15W-40 should be fine. A straight SAE 40 or 50 is only for 2-cycle Detroit Diesel. A straight SAE 50 is also used in HD truck transmissions like RoadRanger.

The Allison should also last forever assuming regular maintenance. If it specs C2 or C4 then you should be ok with regular DexIII. Their "TranSynd" fluid is proprietary and very expensive.

A set of shop manuals for the Cummins and the Allison will be a wise investment and will save you a lot of money.

 

I have the bus in the shop now to deal with the oil issues. Hopefully, I'll know more soon. I have a floorplan drawn up now as well. I'm itching to get this thing built.

 

Wolfy don't be itching to finish it. Take your time and do it right. You can buy them every where from people who didn't do it right and now don't want it. Time will wait for you to do it right. So where you parking it when your done? at work to save on your 50 mile commute?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wolfman\";p=\"97683)</div>

Well, unless that seal is so blown that oil is spraying out while the motor is running, more than likely the relief spring is stuck. They're fairly easy to change.

Otherwise low idle oil pressure is the result of excessive wear in the connecting rod bearing/surfaces.

At least it has an Allison. If it had a Renk transmission you would have a stroke everytime you serviced it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon\";p=\"97689)</div>

Frank:

OOOOoooo kick a man when he's down ....

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon\";p=\"97689)</div>

Oh, no I won't be rushing. One thing I do NOT want, is a redneck RV. Playing with graph paper and a pencil has shown that I'll be requiring a 12" rise to be done to the roof. 9" of this will be to give me a flat floor over the wheel wells front to back, and the other 3" will go to adding a bit of headroom along the sides of the bus. This will be done professionally of course. I will also be building a "basement" from scratch. All side glass, and the left side emergency door will be professionally removed, and new metal riveted into place. I'll be looking for proper RV glass to have installed. I'll also be stripping the entire inside skin off, so that I can have spray foam insulation done.

I'm fully expecting to take several years to finish this thing, and want to be able to park it next to one of those million dollar Marathon coaches, without hearing the collective groans from the entire place.

Oh yeah, I'll be parking it at home as well. :mrgreen:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"97739)</div>

Well, unless that seal is so blown that oil is spraying out while the motor is running, more than likely the relief spring is stuck. They're fairly easy to change.

Otherwise low idle oil pressure is the result of excessive wear in the connecting rod bearing/surfaces.

At least it has an Allison. If it had a Renk transmission you would have a stroke everytime you serviced it.[/b][/quote]

Where is this relief spring? If I can have the mechanic look at this first, this will save me a BIG chunk of change.

 

Wolfy:

Before you get too excited about the oil pressure, remove the sender and put on a "real" mechanical oil pressure gage. See if you still have low oil pressure.

If you suddenly and magically "cure" the low oil pressure at idle, the sender is bad. Or possibly the wiring between the sender and front of the bus, or the gage itself. But the sender is usually the culprit. Don't forget to check the connections to as any corrosion will give a false low oil pressure.

If the mechanical gage confirms low oil pressure, the oil pressure relief is usually in the oil filter mounting pad. You have to take the oil filter off. Do you have a shop manual?

If there is a bypass filter too, check to make sure the oriface / restrictor is in there or you will lose a lot of oil pressure in the bypass filter.

If the relief spring is in the oil pump and the pan has to come off, then that is a dirty and long job.

If the new relief spring doesn't cure the oil pressure, you have a worn engine. Is the powertrain otherwise in good shape??

Jay

 

I agree with Jay on the mechanical gauge. T it in at the OP tap on the block. That way if the guage on the dash suddenly stops working walk to back open cover and look at the gauge. I might have a manual on the triple nickle at work and will check tomorrow. I'll PM you on it, either way.

 

The bus has three seperate means of alarming low oil pressure - the gauge, a BIG red idiot light, and an audible alarm, which comes on with the idiot light. Once all is at full operating temperature, all three means of warning will come on at once. I guess it is possible to have all three on one sender, but I simply haven't been in possession of the beast long enough to have a clue. As for a shop manual, I do not have one yet, and like an idiot, totally forgot to bid on one that went across ebay dirt cheap a few days ago. :x

Thanx Frank, I'll be looking forward to latching onto any info you may have.

Jay, the engine makes for an impressive mosquito fogger when I first start it up, and it reeks of raw fuel. When I stop, the smoking will briefly return. However, I'm not sure if the latter incident is related to all of the oil that's getting slung around on the exhaust system. My neighbour stated that when I stop, it's a mixure of white and black when I hit the throttle, with the white coming out of the back opposite of the exhaust pipe - presumably being blown out by the cooling fan. All of this clears up totally once warmed up and moving. Beyond this, the engine runs strong for an overworked 225 hp engine that is forced to wind up to 3800 RPM just to see 60 mph on the highway. It makes no abnormal noises at idle, and doesn't lope. The crankcase breather tube doesn't have what I would want to call an abnormal amount of blowby coming out of it. It actually has less than the Mercedes.

 

My wife just told me this morning that she's trading her 2000 VW Beetle in for a 2005 Land Cruiser. I just sat there and looked at her with that "why?" look on my face. They are great trucks, but damn that mileage sucks (reported 13city/17hwy), and those are the good estimates. What I do like about it besides the comfort factor, is that it has a lot of the same toys as the Prius I'm getting (NAV, Bluetooth, and it's got a back up camera standard)...well, if anything, at least the toys are cool inside. I'll put up a good side by side picture of the two in our driveway when she picks it up. Well, at least she's sticking with the Toyota idea

Dave.

 

Dave, she really ought to consider the Sienna AWD XLE Limited. It's roomier inside, has the NAV and the Camera, and Laser Cruise Control. Also, Toyota doesn't save anything for the Lexus version of the Sienna (there isn't one) so it's one of the most luxurious Toyotas you can buy.

Toyota saves some of the "luxury" of the Land Cruiser for the LX470, so there is much more road noise and whatnot in the Land Cruiser in comparison.

The Land Cruiser is nice, but nothing is luxury like power sliding doors and hatch FROM THE REMOTE.

Ask her to at least take one around the block and see what she thinks.

Nate