im going to buy a 1994 e350 short bus to live in.

[djfllmn]

No thats the P/S fluid cooler

 

[2011Supercab]

thats the trans-cooler center-left of the image, correct?

Power steering cooler

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

additional questions:
this simple IDI should be a good intro to diesel for a novice diyer mechanic, yeah?
any additional tools i should bring aside from my usual ranger tools? do i need to also bring a bunch of SAE sockets as well? ill have a buddy riding along side in my prius so i should be good to run to a store to grab anything i need.
.... though if i bring the ranger i could tow the bus in case of emergency, lol

 

[Curious Hound]

It will be a mix of metric and SAE on that truck. I can't think of anything special for you to have. Just normal stuff for jumping the battery or inflating tires, checking fluids, air filter, etc.

When you're starting it cold, remember to turn the key to run and wait for the glow plug light on the dash to time out before you start the engine. If it hasn't run in a long time, it may take a while to prime the fuel system. I don't remember for sure if there was a manual priming pump on that engine or not. If you have trouble getting it primed, make sure you give the starter motor time to cool off so you don't burn it up. Don't run it continuously.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

When I was thinking of converting my bus I used "skoolie.net" to do research. That was about a decade ago, so I don't know if it has changed. They have some good tutorials and members that help, similar to TRS.

 

[Curious Hound]

Yeah. Skoolies are cool. I taught campfire cooking at a skoolie event in NC a few years ago. Some of their rigs were awesome.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

"A few tears ago"...
Can be so true!

Lol

 

[Curious Hound]

"A few tears ago"...
Can be so true!

Lol

Sorry. I fixed the typo.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Yeah. Skoolies are cool. I taught campfire cooking at a skoolie event in NC a few years ago. Some of their rigs were awesome.

Sometimes I feel like I know a lot. Then, I meet guys like you.

"Aw, you know, I just spent the weekend teaching pumas to play frisbee in 104° heat, then I worked on rebuilding the International Space Station, and now I'm translating the noises squirrels make."

Edit just to say, this is with absolute respect.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

i arrived in prescott this morninf, 80year old neighbor pulls into driveway and starts talking to me and i ask him a few questions which seem to verify bus history from seller. seller is on vacation and administration rep from schools answers also seem to collaborate. i take it to mechanic and he says its in good shape for its age. i drive it to a shaded lot next door and poke around the engine bay and doghouse while face timing my deisel mechanic buddy. looks like a good bus. try to start it up for a hwy test drive and i get crank but no start. ****

theres def some funky stuff below at the fuse box. silver fuel fuse 2 (Wait-to-Start light and the Glow Plug Controller/Relay) is too big and doesnt fit in there. theres a mystery loose blue wire that was hanging in a slot next to throttle cable. maybe it was wrapped around throttle cable to be grounded? fuse 17 (Instrument Cluster (gauges), warning lamps, and the anti-lock brake (ABS) module). by the time i thought to wrap it back around throttle cable , i ran battery low to 12.2v and now starter sound sluggish. mechanic who inspected says he can come by in an hour.

previous theory was that fuel moduel had loose tolerances and was letting air in but engine had cooled by now. also no shrader valve on fuel module thingy so i cant check if air is in the system

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

i waved down a guy unloading batteries across the street and hes a battery tech, we tried to jump it but 1 of 2 batteries is dead and a very weak start. possibly a short somewhere or a bad starter. pick pull only has a 1999 6.8 and im wondering if the starter would hook up to it.

 

[Curious Hound]

i waved down a guy unloading batteries across the street and hes a battery tech, we tried to jump it but 1 of 2 batteries is dead and a very weak start. possibly a short somewhere or a bad starter. pick pull only has a 1999 6.8 and im wondering if the starter would hook up to it.

Get new, good batteries. It takes both. In a 2-battery system, both batteries need to be the same. Same Model. Same size. Same age. Same state of charge.

If one battery is bad, it becomes a huge load on the other battery and drags the voltage down. The other battery probably isn't much better, either.

Don't even think about a short or a bad starter until you have tried it with 2 really good batteries. Also make sure cable connections are clean and tight.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

BUMP

so i passed on the bus becuase my diesel mechanic buddy kept saying 'its too old! its too old!' and then on the way home my copilot mentioned "its like grandmas sunday church car, yeah its 30 years old but it gets driven a few miles once a week keeping all the parts fresh and lubed getting a years worth of wear every ten years"
The daycare place was starting it up and driving it to the library once per week + a few field trips here and there (They said they would warm up the bus before every trip)
and every 6months they took it to a mechanic and paid for suggested maintenance ...grandma's sunday library bus.
Im really considering going back there and buying the bus.

also I would like to learn to work on diesels and AFAIK this is a very simple motor to learn on, and it really did not look that cramped inside the enginebay/doghouse , can anyone chime in on this???
my buddy was suggesting getting a ~10-20y/o chevy vortex 3500 bus. how cramped is the enginebay and dog house with that setup? even though that bus has used the same engine for yeaaaarrrrssss, i imagine the newer the chevy, the more cramped it gets with additional emissions hoses and sensors. once again, can anyone chime in on this?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

As a daycare place they would be obligated to be up on all safety issues. Except for the last one as they are now selling it.... Same too for drivability and drivetrain. Most likely they are selling it because there is something wrong that is too expensive for them to fix. Now it depends on what that problem is and if you want to take it on. And their asking price too.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

major red flag:
when i first went to buy it, the seller said "hurry up, were bout to do a 5k trade in with the sprinter dealer"
-diesel mechanic buddy says "theyre full of shit, no dealer is giving them 5k for a 30y.o bus"
well i asked them today for contact info of dealer they sold it too and they said they still havent passed it onto the dealer.
so maybe the guy they have in charge of selling it is a sheisty hustler? hes the schools accountant.

attached pic: lol