| Author | Message | ||
| Casper4104
Rating: N/A |
Hey hey, what a weekend. Now I know why they call you (us?) busNUTS. I flew down to Tampa last Wednesday night and grabbed a Hertz Rental, drove to Arcadia and crashed in the backseat for a couple of hours waiting for the Horizon Coach guys to come to work. Got rousted by the cops at 5am, checked ID, they told me to move along. Guys came in Thursday morning, I checked out the coach, took her for a ride and did the paper. Look here: http://www.horizoncoach.com/Coach.asp?StockNumber=537 I had the shop guys take care of a few things and was out of there around 3pm in my new toy. I did look at the fuel filter bowl and it wasn＊t bad, a little cloudy. I had asked the Horizon people to have a couple of fresh filters ready for me to take with, but that didn＊t get done somehow (this would came back to bite me the next day). Headed out that afternoon and all was peaches 每 bus didn＊t run too bad. Grabbed a little fresh fuel and boogety boogety. Took 17 north to Lakeland FL to give her an easy warmup after a couple of years off. I-4 east and got a little north of Orlando. Bus was starting to get really weak. Decent through the low gears, but wouldn＊t make power or go over about 50 mph. (I didn＊t catch this on Route 17 每 speed limit is 45 most of the way). I figured fuel filter. Found a Wal-Mart and stopped for the night. Called a guy I met on one of the boards and he gave me some phone numbers. Got up the next morning, took care of a few things and got on the phone. Found that my best option was to go back into Orlando and take her to the MCI shop. I didn＊t have the filter and didn＊t know where to get one. I looked at the bowl, and it was full of big chunky stuff that would need to come out. I could have bought a basin to dump it into, but then what? I＊m not going to dump 2 gallons of dirty diesel into a Wal-Mart parking lot 每 not cool. Off to MCI I go. Got to MCI about 10:30 每 Friday morning now. They had 4 guys out for training and a lot full of buses. It turns out my Racor filter ain＊t the most common one around 每 and they had a hard time finding the part. $17 each, so I asked them to get 3 and put 1 in for me. Busy day, they finally got me out of there around 5:00. The old filter looked like a septic tank had been run through it. I paid 1.4 hours labor with MCI 每 which was .4 hours for the guy to do the filter (with my assistance) and 1.0 hour for the parts man to go get the part in Orlando traffic. My bus ran, albeit badly, and I could have went myself. Live and learn. I paid $85 labor for a guy to go get $51 worth of fuel filters. Rolled out at 5:30pm 每 runs better but still weak. Finally occurs to me to check the throttle cable adjustment. Snugged it up some, but hard to do without a helper to mash the pedal. Headed onward, finally out of ↓&$%ing Florida, across the corner of Georgia and into South Carolina. Bus is not as strong as I＊d like it, but hey, they told me a 4104 was a dog. Found the first rest area in SoCar and crashed for 6 hours. 400 miles dowh, 600 miles to go. Got propositioned by a lot lizard 每 but no time and the wife wouldn＊t approve. Rolling again at 5:45 am Saturday morning. Not bad, still weak. Getting passed by a Yugo, I had just a little bit of a ※What have I gotten myself into§ moment. Getting agitated, I went to the back and swapped the fuel filter again (no need, didn＊t look bad), went to the throttle and pulled that cable tight . Ok, now we＊re talking. Now she＊ll go. Drove the bus 580 miles in 15 hours, including the stop for the fuel filter change and cable adjustment. Rolled into Marietta OH at about 8:00pm. My butt is sore. Issues: Temp gage never got above 150 degrees. At my pals suggestion, I＊m going to borrow a Infra-red thermometer gun and take her for a ride next week. Get her good and warm and then go shoot the sender and see what the temp actually is. I＊ve either got an inaccurate water temp gage or a thermostat stuck open. I suspect it＊s the thermostat. At the end of my long run, I went to the back to check oil again and found that I could place my hand on the side of the block, blower, radiator housing 每 just about anywhere. I think she＊s running cold, and I wonder if that＊s part of the lack of power. I think my dipstick＊s too short,,, I checked the oil, and it showed about 1/3 of the way between low and full. I dumped in a gallon, which brought it almost all the way up to full. Next time I stop to check it, that gallon of oil＊s all over the back of my bus, and the oil level＊s back where it was. Uh-oh. I dumped in another gallon, and she did it again. Ok, I＊ll drive 100 miles or so and check it to see what happens. Drove another 100, and it＊s right where is was, 1/3 of the way between L and F. Checked it periodically as the day went by yesterday, and it stayed right there. Weird. Ok, I＊m digging it so far. Wife looked it over last night and she＊s pleased. Time for the work to start. Wish me luck, I＊ll be pestering you guys to death with questions. Thanks for all the great help so far 每 Especially my pal in Arcadia. Casper4104 | ||
| David Evans (Dmd)
Rating: N/A |
Hey Casper, congratulatons on the 04. Nice coaches, and looks like you have a runner. Pull the fitting on the fuel tank it should have a screen on the end of the tube if it hasent been removed and clean all the sludge off. That should help the slow loss of power. As you have learned, dont add oil after running and a short stop. It takes a while before checking the dipstick. Also double check for any fuel dilution from leaks onthe fuel fittings under the vale cover. You are on your way man! Wife likes it, you made a trip, learned from it and overcame, got proposistioned , home run! See you on the road and in Arcadia next new years. | ||
| Bob Wies (Ncbob)
Rating: N/A |
Congratulations Casper! All's well that ends well. You might take a look at the inserted aluminum tags on the side of the valve cover (if they're still there) because they tell you all about the options on the engine and might just list the proper dipstick as well. Check that number against the number on the dipstick and it'll tell you if the proper one is in the engine. Whoever did the interior was serious about his work....it shows well. Best of luck. Bob | ||
| Donald Lee Schwanke (Dontx)
Rating: N/A |
Get a thermostat soon. I drove mine home cool like that, no thermostats in it at all, when I put thermostats in it made a major improvement in performance. Diesels just don't like to run cold. | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
Man, for $8000 you got a deal!! If you have even the slightest doubt, just start totalling up the prices, even used, of all the stuff that is on the coach and you probably won't even get five feet behind the driver's seat before passing $8k, labor not included! What a nice bus!!! Congrats, you're on the way to a load of fun, and for what you spent on it, I figure you could put maybe $30,000 into the engine and then you might be up with the rest of us by then on what it cost us....just to get started!!! Wheeeeeeeee!! | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Rating: N/A |
Does the coach have working shutters on the radiator? If they aren't there or are staying open all the time in cool or cold weather, the engine will run cold. If it has shutters and they are staying open all the time, there is a little valve to turn them back open, if everything else is there and working. If not already... GET THE PARTS AND SERVICE MANUALS for your coach. Like American Express....DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM!!! Get them even if you need to have others do your work.Nobody should have a bus conversion without DA BOOKS!!!! | ||
| Casper4104 Rating: N/A |
Thanks,,, Dmd, Thanks for the kind words. I had waited a good interval before I went back and pulled the stick to give her a chance to drain a little. I got a tip on the MAK board that the full-cold level is 1 inch below the top of the pan (which I'll verify when my engine manual comes in), so I'll eyeball & measure the dipstick first chance I get. Ncbob, thanks - and thanks for the tip about the tab. I'll check. About the interior - it looks better in the pictures than in person, but still excellent. I agree, this guy was a stud. From the looks of things, I'm thinking the conversion was done somewhere in the 1975-1985 timeframe. There's an 8-track player, and a phonograph, and a VCR where the top pops up to accept the tape (with video camera - just plug it in to the VCR and go! (RCA - Mfg. Date Mar. 1981)). Nice work that's held up well. We've got a lot of cleaning to do, and a little re-gluing, but very serviceable even after all these years. One nice thing that the guy did was leave all his leftover carpet, tile and naugahyde in the bus. I've got enough leftovers to do a conversion van to match the bus! This means that I can rework the entertainment center with modern toys, build new shelves-doors-drawers, and I already have the right cover materials. There'll be a little mismatch due to sun-fading, but still much closer than going to Jo-Ann fabrics with a torn off swatch. Dontx, I'd sure like her to be a little stronger. I'm going to shoot it with the infra-red gun before I get a Tstat, just to make sure the gage is accurate. Thanks. Boogiethecat, Actually I negotiated a nice discount off of the $7900. I did put out a little more for the inspection and some repairs/freshen-up stuff. I've got a very reasonable sum in it total and I agree with you that we've bought well. The motor was freshly out-of-frame OH'ed, and it shows. Chessie4905, I don't know about the shutters. I'll check. I have the service manual in hand, and the old GM 6-71 manual is in the mail now. Both of these will of course live in the bus. Thanks for all the responses fellers - this is fun. Part of the fun is seeing the looks on people's faces. "You got a what?" "How many miles are on it?" "What do you mean you don't know?" "What do you mean there's no odometer?" and my personal favorite,,, "Are you nuts?". Yeah, we are, probably, a little, I guess. Casper PD4104-3103 | ||
| jlvickers Rating: N/A |
PD4104-3103 From GMC to Eastern Greyhound Lines. jlv | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Rating: N/A |
Casper, Be sure to remove the inside access cover above the front side of the engine and check the mufflers for holes plus check the shifter and clutch rod bellcrank arms for wear. I found my clutch arm worn almost all the way through. Have fun, Gus Causbie GMC PD4104-1274 | ||
| Doug Wotring
Rating: N/A |
Casper, I think you will find the 6-71 manual of little use except for internal mechanicals. Most stuff bolted on the outtside is Bus specific and not covered in the DD book...but in the Coach Maint and Parts book. Also the DD manual will not inform you of the Oil level as that is application specific as well. | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Casper- Youse done well, man! Congrats! | ||
| ned sanders (Uncle_ned)
Rating: N/A |
welcome to the wonderful world of 04 owners. Just be careful because they multiply. Now have two and love them both. "Huggy bear" Ned sanders Lenoir NC 1 with 6v92 & 730 and 1 with 6 71 and 4 speed. | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Rating: N/A |
Doug, I have a DD Manual for Highway Vehicles which also includes Coaches, very useful. I also just got a DD Service Data Handbook from ebay which includes Coaches. | ||
| Jarlaxle Rating: N/A |
"There's an 8-track player, and a phonograph, and a VCR where the top pops up to accept the tape." Where are you located, do you want to sell this, and for how much if you do? | ||
| Casper4104 Rating: N/A |
Hi Jarlaxle, The 8-track is just your basic player, nothing special I think. The really cool thing is the phonograph/cassette unit. The front of the phonograph swings open like an oven door to about 30 degrees from vertical, and then the record goes in vertically, hang it on the pin and close the door. To the right is the cassette deck and a cassette storage drawer - all in the same unit. The coolest part is the VCR with the camera. It's one of the oldies where there was no tape in the camera - you had to hook the camera up to the VCR. The camera is a huge shoulder unit that looks like the one the channel-6 guys use when they do a remote shoot. It has an optical zoom and a telescoping microphone. Do I want to sell/how much? Well, I've got no use for the old stuff. I was kind of thinking about putting the whole works on eBay once I've got it out of the bus and had a chance to see if any of it works or not. I'm in Marietta Ohio if you want to swing by and take a look / make an offer. Shoot me an Email at Cndmoore-at-charter-dot-net. C'ya Casper4104 | ||
| Jarlaxle Rating: N/A |
Ugh...I'm in New England. Ohio is kinda far to go for a stereo.  |