| Author |
Message |
R. TERRY (64.12.102.156)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 8:30 pm: | |
The months went by as I reworked the interior. The leaking left rear airbag was conveniently put out of mind by attaching an outside air compressor. It inadvertently served a secondary purpose scaring away homeless riffraff looking for something to steal. I finally put a fence around the bus and bought a machine gun and two Komodo dragons.
Eventually the air leak became profound, hissing like the devil from the rear of the bus and cycling the compressor on and off every five minutes. This will drive you crazy. I discovered a mobile RV service that handled big rigs, was experienced in diesel engines and could fix it on Saturday. Perfect.
In short order, the RV man replaced the blown out leveler and a length of tubing with a worn flange. Then, I called him back to level the bus, the right side was high. Then I called him back to level the bus, the left side was high. Then I called him back to level the bus, the right side was high again. The next day the left side was high.
He promised to come back in February to fix the cooling system, probably a clogged radiator. In April I found out that my mechanic, who never showed up, had been let go. Not to worry, the owner of the business said he would come out and do the work himself. One morning an ex-U-Haul van arrives complete with a hoist, compressor, welding rig, heavy equipment jacks, genset, grinders, cables, electrical trouble shooting jigs, and you name it. Out jumped a kid in a mechanic's uniform. He looked 22 years old to me, sounded like he just fell off a tractor, and began babbling on and on about his experience with Detroit Diesels. Surprisingly, he sounded like he knew exactly what he was talking about. And apparently, he did.
We popped the hood, fired up the engine and within minutes he found numerous things needing attention: leaking hoses, bad gaskets, worn hydraulic lines, missing parts, a bad starter, and pointed out trouble with the Jake Brake, the governor, and other stuff that went right over my head. He gave me a dissertation on how to prime the engine if it ran out of fuel, how to shut it down in an emergency, where to get auxiliary air, how to bleed air from the cooling system, and how to jump start it if it had a dead battery. Then he got out his thermal gun and began reading temperatures all around the engine. He showed me everything he did and what the readings were. When the water temp got close to 200, he shut it down, certain that it needed a new radiator. He also told me the engine did not appear to have a burnt valve, but it did have a blown out muffler.
I was impressed. The following weekend he spent several hours removing the exhaust system, the radiator and thermostat, installing a new starter and replacing the worn hydraulic hoses. He used the crane to hoist the radiator into the truck and hauled it off to the radiator rebuilder. Before he left, he suggested I could save $300 by picking it up myself, which I did. What a guy!
That was the last time I saw him for three months.
The freshly rebuilt radiator, which had found a new home leaning against the right rear tire, was beautiful! The brand new core had not one dent anywhere to be seen, glistened from its shiny black paint, and really looked like a work of art. It's hard to appreciate that when it's installed. The used replacement muffler, shipped promptly from Dean's Coach, had been sand blasted and covered with a nice coat of matte black paint, something I had not expected. It, too, looked like a piece of sculpture.
But what the hell happened to my mechanic? I'll tell you that, and more, in part three.
Happy busin'!
R. Terry |
Mallie (208.165.105.94)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 - 8:10 am: | |
Thanks R Terry,,, you bring a little reality to the bus dream. I am always afraid too many folks get the idea you can buy a 25 to 50 year old bus and drive off into the sun with nary a care.
Mallie |
|