| Author | Message | ||
| Steve 80 Crown Atomic (152.163.252.163) Rating: N/A |
Well, today was a complete waste of time. I drove to every Albuquerque truck parts dealer, NAPA, etc. looking for a few simple gaskets for the Detroit. What I got was amused looks, laughter, and sarcastic remarks. No gaskets. The Freightliner guy even launched into a 10 minute tirade on the 8v71's obsolescence, saying they no longer even carried a parts book for it, much less stock any parts. Glad I don’t own the bus or motorhomes in their service bays. I have been avoiding Stewart & Stevenson. During my few visits they let me know my small purchases were an inconvenience to them. Plus, their prices were well into the stratosphere. Their 12 oz can of green spraypaint: $17.00. The SAME can of paint at Autozone: $3.99. Perhaps I’ve overlooked a source (I haven’t tried the sticks & staples RV centers, or the Cat or Cummins dealers). If anyone has found other sources for parts, hopefully with knowledgeable clerks, please enlighten me and spare me the S&S misery. I need thermostat gaskets, coolant pump seal and coverplate gasket for now. I’d prefer local to mail order/internet sales because time is critical. The latest threat from my neighborhood association nazis was to enter my property, forcibly remove my coach (with Sheriff's deputies present) and send me the bill for removal and disposal. Another potential problem two parts guys mentioned was my lack of an engine model number and serial number. I don’t have a data plate on my engine, although I’ve found a few numbers stamped on the block. I’m not sure which are of any help, and the parts clerks sure don’t know. Anyone worked through this problem? Thanks for your help, Steve | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong) (66.229.97.200)
Rating: N/A |
Steve - How have you been?? Haven't heard from you in awhile. . . IIRC, isn't your Crown a pusher w/ the 8V71 in the tail? If so, email me off the board, and I'll forward you a pic of where the serial number is stamped into the block on these engines. RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA | ||
| Phil Dumpster (12.230.214.167) Rating: N/A |
Generally speaking, your neighborhood nazis can't do anything like they threaten until they go to court and get a judicial order. No sheriff or other law enforcement officer would authorize such an action without a court order. Their job is to enforce the law, not some contractual covenant. Only when the law tells them to take certain action will they then do so. Anyway, places to try for parts - charter bus companies that still run Detroit powered busses, heavy equipment repair shops, the kind that repair scrapers and road graders, etc. If you were near a water port, I'd suggest places that work on boats. For gaskets, you can make an interim gasket out of heavy cardstock like what cereal boxes are made of, covered with Permatex #2 sealer. Or you can put it together without gaskets and use Ford's All Purpose "Miracle Goo." If you thought Stewart and Stevenson were bad, you haven't been to "Six Robbers." | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (65.74.64.127)
Rating: N/A |
Steve, Southern Oregon Diesel in the Roseburg, OR neighborhood will not give you that treatment and they are fair. I don't believe that they will give you static about mailing parts to you, either, because they have been very helpful to us when we wanted something. They have been involved in quite a few powertrain conversions and do routine maintenance for bus conversions. They also do truck work, but that doesn't seem to interfere with them taking care of buses. Their number is (800) 672-7400. We don't have any connection with them except that we are a satistied customer with several thousand dollars of work done. Luke at US Coach is another good one to call. Their number is (888) 262-2434. Good luck on finding your parts. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher | ||
| ED Hackenbruch (Shadowman) (162.42.168.98)
Rating: N/A |
OK i have heard good things before about U.S. Coach and Southern Oregon Diesel and plan to use them when i am in the area. My question is what about the rest of the U.S.? Is there a list of the best places in each state to have work done at? It would be nice to know where the closest place is to get parts,repair and service work done and done well at a fair and honest price especially if you are traveling in an area unfamiliar to you. Names,area, and phone #s would be great and a lot more reassuring than taking your chances on someone in the yellow pages that you know nothing about. | ||
| jim mci-9 (209.240.205.60) Rating: N/A |
don't take this post wrong... think about it before you get mad... ... YOU have a vehicle.. a bus... it cost a lot of $$$ when it was new...it's gonna cost some serious $$ to do the repairs....you got big boys' toys... so pay big boys' prices... there's nothing wrong with shopping.. but dont run down a dealership....i work for a caterpillar dealer....we have parts in stock (or 1 day away) for nearly any engine or machine cat sells... yes, they are expensive....but we have it!!!....i heard 1 time that a piece of cat equipment will return 5 times its purchase price in parts and service sales.... i pay the same as a major fleet, most of the time for parts for my mci9... sure i gripe, but i got a big boy toy....my $0.02 worth..jim | ||
| ED Hackenbruch (Shadowman) (162.42.168.98)
Rating: N/A |
Jim i have no problem with cat dealers, i have run a lot of cat equipment, thats what i do. Will a dealer work on an old bus? When i need it i am willing to pay the price to have it done, just want to know that whoever does it does it right. | ||
| jim mci-9 (209.240.205.60) Rating: N/A |
since 1982, i've worked for several truck dealerships.... and i admit that rv's were frowned on as potential customers... most were retirees....and the shops didnt understand that these people were not used to dealing with dealerships....the customers were used to being able to "work on their own stuff".... and now they had to pay someone else to do it.... like i said before, we, as bus owners are puting ourselves to the same exposure a huge company that runs 1000's of vehicles... and we only have 1 or 2....most of the truck/engine/transmission shops discourage rv business by charging higher prices.. thats not right, buts the way it is... leaves the door open for independents, who, like myself, take pride in what i do....ive been on both sides... as a mechanic working on an irate rv owners' vehicle and the service manager trying to sooth the customer....and the unsatified customer that feels the dealer is "getting to him"....makes you glad that there are people like LUKE that help and care....lol.....if it means doing mail-order business, so be it....remember that most of us are working on a vehicle thats 20 yrs old....mine is a 1981....and things change.... again, my $0.02 worth..jim | ||
| ED Hackenbruch (Shadowman) (162.42.168.98)
Rating: N/A |
Jim i want to avoid the shops that charge more because they don't want to work on rv/buses. I figure they won't do as good as work just because they don't care if you come back or not. That is why i want to find shops like Luke's and David & Dennis's where they want your business and will treat you right and i will gladly take my business to them. Only thing is is there is a lot of country between them and if anything major comes up in my travels i want to know where i can go to find that type of quality shop in say the middle of Montana or Neb. or Wyoming, etc. Unfortunatly i have a bad back that limits what i can do as far as working on my bus or car and if it is acting up i am sometimes bedridden for 5 or 6 days so sometime even minor stuff becomes a major problem. By the way mine is 35 years old... i have a 68 MC-5A. ed | ||
| madbrit (65.73.177.166) Rating: N/A |
The local independant, who happens to be the agent for most of the big truck companies, says his RV prices are $10 more per hour, mainly because of the care they have to take with covering the interior as access is often through the bedroom. Also, the attitude of RV owners who think they own the world has a lot to do with it. They expect to drive or be towed in and jump in front of the line of truckers. When they are still waiting for attention, they get abusive and complain to all that will listen. Peter. | ||
| BrianMCI96A3 (65.41.249.247) Rating: N/A |
Wait, wait, back up a minute, green spray paint, Steve, are you talking Detroit Diesel green? ...and you found that at autozone? No, that can't be... please say it WAS Detroit green at autozone for $3.99 Brian | ||
| Steve 80 Crown Atomic (198.81.26.38) Rating: N/A |
Hi Jim, When I went around to all the other truck dealers, most referred me back to S&S. I related my experiences there and they said they’d heard all that before. I’m not complaining about labor charges or that they don’t want one-vehicle owners without loads of cash. They need to pick and choose their customers to ensure profitability, just like the aircraft shops I’ve worked for do. Heck, if an owner was a proven SOB and the shop was busy, we’d politely turn him away, just to avoid his aggravation. But Parts? They get their payment/profit up front, immediately, with no hassles or chance of loss, even if the part is backordered. I don’t mind paying fair prices, or even higher, everyone deserves to make a decent living. But I do expect common courtesy and an explanation if the part’s cost seems exorbitantly high. If a shop doesn't want to stock/sell 8v71 parts, or do business with little guys like me, fine, just say so and I’ll never bother them again. Yeah, I paid $36 for two cans of spraypaint. After the parts clerk stopped laughing about the price, I asked what kind of paint it was. He said it was just plain old enamel, nothing special. I guess the words “8v71" are a big red flag for them. I can barely finish speaking before I get a “no we don’t have that”and they resume ignoring me. They don’t even check their computer for parts availability. Maybe I should wear a suit and fake rolex on my next visit. Yes Brian, as I write this, my keyboard is next to a 12 ounce can of spraypaint. It is made by Dupli-Color, it’s engine enamel with ceramic, good for 500 degrees. The cap is marked “DETROIT DIESEL ALPINE GREEN - DE1618" I paid $3.99 per can two years ago. While I’m 90% sure it was at Autozone, there is a Checker Auto Parts Store nearby, so it’s one or the other. They only stocked two cans at a time so I had them order more. I have used this paint and the DD paint on the same area of the engine. I couldn’t see any difference at all. The official DD paint did not list a temperature rating on it. Another busnut mention a while back that a very similar shade of green was available at farm supply stores, made for tractors. Merry Christmas. Steve | ||
| jim mci-9 (209.240.205.63) Rating: N/A |
i'm lucky enough to have friends that work for S&S... so at least they laugh with me....professional courtesy, i guess.... but when i tell people i'm converting a bus for a motorhome, you'd think i was a serial killer or something, then explain that i already full-time in an rv????... or that i have a boat to live on???... i just pretend i'm from some fleet somewhere and act like the delivery boy.... saves wear and tear, no doubt..lol...on the serious side, find a place, either local or mail order, and establish a good relationship with 1 counterman.....use this guy (or lady) exclusively....then it gets easier each time....remember... a famous line from somewhere..."its only kinky the first time".... | ||
| Johnny (63.159.193.65) Rating: N/A |
"Their 12 oz can of green spraypaint: $17.00. The SAME can of paint at Autozone: $3.99." *choke* Yikes. That paint was probably $2.49 at Wal-Mart.  OK, part-hunt advice: hit a truck-repair shop. Make nice with a mechanic (try an old guy for a Detroit ), & ask where he'd order a (INSERT PART YOU NEED HERE) for a (INSERT YOUR ENGINE TYPE HERE). Then, buy him lunch (or a beer) & go order it. I think I'd shoot myself if I had to deal with a HOA. And I must admit to being grateful that I can get parts for my long-nose schoolie almost anyplace. | ||
| Harry Richards (64.12.96.105)
Rating: N/A |
I have a book called "The Bus Pages" it list about every supplier, vendor, operator and repair shop in the USA and Canada. Bus Book Publishing, Inc PO Box 9 McMinnville, Or 97128 Tel 800-775-4577 Fax 800-775-9577 This book is well worth the cost of $ 19.95 US dollars. Happy Holidays | ||
| Eric Plourde (172.208.45.230)
Rating: N/A |
Back to the Obtaining Parts section. I have been ordering from MCI coach for my 4106. Called the other day at 4:40 in the evening and had the parts at 8:00am the next day. 15.00 Shipping charge. They hooked me up because I chatted with the bored parts ladies. They seem to be able to obtain anything if you have the numbers. Eric |