| Author | Message | ||
| Rick Cribbins (Rc38) (66.190.246.81)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Gang, I just wanted to say thanks for all of your GREAT input! I am now registered and I look forward to many more nights, weeks, months and years of staying up late reading through all the wonderful advice! So far this group has been more informative and ENTERTAINING than any of the others I've been to! I have a little better idea of what I'm looking for, as well as what to aviod! I guess if worse came to worse, I could buy the FLX just for the 8V71 & VS2-8 setup, then find a converted bus with the bays & a bad engine/trany and make one from the two. In the meantime, I'll just keep saving my $$$$'s and enjoying the group! Thanks again to all of you, Rick | ||
| FAST FRED (63.234.20.226) Rating: N/A |
If your going to by a scrap transit for the gear to install on an 04 or 06 you might want to find one with a modern 4 stroke for better fuel milage. If your willing to put up with a slushpump the later 4 and 5 speeds will climb hills faster. The front and rear axles with big transit breaks should be transplanted too. FAST FRED | ||
| BrianMCI96A3 (65.160.215.64) Rating: N/A |
I think it's funny how you can always tell the guys that have a manual tranny in their coach. The guys with automatics love them, never feel they have to "put up with" an automatic, and never call them slushpumps... (grin) Brian | ||
| DonTX/KS (66.82.9.32)
Rating: N/A |
Like my age old question Brian, "Just what automatic tranny in which bus that you owned are you basing this on"? When the answer is dead air, the question is really answered. Sounds a lot like sour grapes or the NIH syndrome (Not Invented Here) to me sometimes. | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.40) Rating: N/A |
Rick said: I guess if worse came to worse, I could buy the FLX just for the 8V71 & VS2-8 setup, then find a converted bus with the bays & a bad engine/trany and make one from the two. Funny you mention that cause I got to thinking that if you didn't buy that bus, it would be interesting for me to consider buying it just as a parts bus to have on hand (and use as a storage container) As it has a Jake and mine doesn't, it makes it a bit more appealing. For example, my big ol' 50DN alternator is toast and to get it rebuilt could cost 1/5th the asking price of that whole bus. However, I would ONLY consider this becasue in my case the running gear, and all other misc. parts, would be a direct, bolt-for-bolt swap with no mods required. I have to agree with FF on this one. If you are going to buy a transit for the running gear to swap into a different highway coach, get a good modern powertrain. If you are going to have to re-engineer the entire driveline, motor mounts, cooling system etc. . . might as well get a good powerfull modern one. You could get something from a mid to late eighties transit, at auction, for probably the same or even less money, and drive it away. There are probably some butt-ass-ugly transits out there with modern drive trains to be had cheap. Just my two ducats. Scott | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin) (64.228.55.60)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Rick, You're welcome. Thank you for registering and welcome aboard. Regards, Ian Giffin www.busnut.com | ||
| DonTX/KS (66.82.9.66)
Rating: N/A |
The request was prefaced by a desire for economy in getting on the road. The few people I know that grafted a different powertrain, spent loads of time and money paying someone to do that. I would be sure I knew the exact cost of grafting in another engine/tranny into a bus it was not designed for, the cost of the donor bus is by far the smallest expenditure you will have. A direct swap as Scott envisions is not cheap even. Most people have found they can't even get an estimate, only an hourly wage figure. Anybody have any figures for engine swaps? | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.13) Rating: N/A |
Some people claim they can pull these Vee-Drive engine/tranny cradles out in a couple of hours. Maybe so. If I were going to venture on this task, it would be on my own time with my own labor. Maybe have the donor engine rebuilt well in advance by a pro, but then swap them out myself. Dunno, just thinking (hopefully) long term for the day I need to do major work to my engine. Would be nice to have a donor engine already lined up and ready to go. Didn't the transit agencies swap engine cradles and get these things back on the streets in no-time-flat? Scott | ||
| DonTX/KS (66.82.9.22)
Rating: N/A |
Yeah, so did the Greyhound types in the early GMs. I have helped do it a time or two, and believe me it is more time consuming than it appears. IF you had all the proper tools, manpower, and cradle supports (like greyhound), it is even easier. Might check labor estimates, don't think anybody will give you a four hour quote for the swap, how about it Luke, will you swap him out in an afternoon for four hours labor? | ||
| Sam Sperbeck (204.248.119.254) Rating: N/A |
Hi Scott, I bought a GM4106 parts bus for the engine. I removed the engine from it, working by myself, in about 8 hours. I placed blocks under the engine cradle, raised the bus body and blocked between the rear axle and the rubber bumper on the frame, and pulled the bus out of the way. I then loosened everything up on the engine in the bus we use and my neighbor brought his forklift over and removed the engine. I switched the transmission, muffler and a few other parts and a week later my neighbor came back with his forklift and installed the good engine. The whole job took about two weeks of part time work and was done in my back yard on a gravel driveway. Later, a friend, who is a retired Greyhound mechanic said that when Greyhound was running GM4106s they could change a complete engine, cradle, transmission assembly in 4 hours with two experienced mechanics. I imagine transit agencies had, and have, the same capability. Thanks, Sam Sperbeck La Crescent, MN | ||
| Rick Cribbins (Rc38) (66.190.246.81)
Rating: N/A |
Hello, I know the cost of switching engines (If you hired someone else to do it), is about the same as giving your wallet up and hoping that when they give it back, there's something left! I used to work for Mt Bachelor Ski Resort in Bend-over Oregon as the head motor vehicle fleet mechanic. We had everything you could you could think of. Subarus to Snowblowers. On our bus roster we had: 2 - Setras 1 - Neoplan 1 - Thomas 1 - Gillig And a few others I can't remember right now. I worked on everything there at one time or another and still have all my tools. About $30k including the tool box. I started off in the USMC as an equipment operator/Mechanic and worked as a tech for just about every car or light truck out there before going to work for the Mt. So swapping a like for like engine doesn't scare me at all. The hard part for me would be a place big enough to park two busses while the work progressed. What I was hoping to say, was that if I found me a monster that had the 8v71 already, but the engine was junk, then it would be a straight forward engine swap. In my experience, you end up replacing all "soft lines", hoses, clamps, lock-washers, a few wire ends, filters and fluids. On the Setras, if I am thinking of the right bus, we had the motor, trany and cradle out and away from the bus in about 4 hours. We had to remove it to gain access to the the third member. If you ever undertake this, you need to have a dolly to roll the assy on. And do not do this on dirt! I wouldn't even want to do it on asphalt. The wheels on the dolly sink into it if left in one spot very long! I would also recommend having one or more assistants, if you do not have one already, you can grow your own (I have four, 13 - Boy, 7 - Boy, 4 - Girl, 2 - Girl) but it takes too long to be practical, and they argue too much! The oldest is starting to show some promise though. After that, it's just a matter of persistance and WORKING SAFE! I can't advicate that enough. I have been blessed in that I've never been injured while working safely. I have also learned what happens when you don't! Yes, I still have all my fingers and toes...I know quite a few people who don't because of working on these monsters. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. I have more skill than $'s. I don't mind doing the mechanical stuff myself. I draw the line at spraying paint though. My father & grandfather did that for a living, now they both have tons of medical problems from the exposure to the chemicals. No thanks. I'll stick to Simple Green, Baking soda, Citrus & Viniger. These all work better than you'd think and they're cost effective to! Scott, where do you live? Rick | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.64) Rating: N/A |
Scott, where do you live? In my bus, of course!  Currently, it is parked in OK. This is my "home base" But I spend a fair bit of time on the West coast and the South West. I am heading west on I-40 again an a few days. . . Scott | ||
| DonTX/KS (66.82.9.44)
Rating: N/A |
Good grief Scott, don't advertise that, you do know that the famous Transit Hating Two dogs lives on I40 (Amarillo to be exact). Might go thru during the darkness, and not be noticed! | ||
| TWO DOGS (63.185.80.78) Rating: N/A |
yep...hate transits....but like I said before...it'd be a boreing world if everybody liked the same thing...If ya' need anything going thru Amarillo...let me know... | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.37) Rating: N/A |
Well, you know what they say the only two things that come from Texas are. Hint: ryhmes with "beers". Haha, just kidding you guys. One of these days I will hook up with Two Dogs as I pass thru. Maybe even drop south far 'nuff to see you, too Don! For some reason, I'm always racing from one place to the next. . . this time is no exception. . . Oh yeah, maybe it's cause I am not retired, yet. | ||
| FAST FRED (63.234.21.81) Rating: N/A |
Have a neighbor who used to work for Hound at the MIAMI facility. His claim is the power train removal was done by 2 guys , who could pull and replace the engine tranny (fresh unit was already built up on cradle with all accessories aligned,) in the first 4 hours of the evning shift. After midnight was EZ time of just hooling up wiring ect and the much harder tasl of coupling & aligning the air cond set up. But they had done it before , a few hundred times. Engines were swopped out on as close to an annual basis as the coach could be sked to Miami , idealy with about 200K from last rebuild. FAST FRED |