Waiting For The Wrecker

[tdelorme]

If you have a weak stomach hit the back button, this is bad, bad.

Jan and I were headed out to West Texas to bird hunt for a few days and then down to Kerrville to mess with Loc's head for the weekend.

Those of you who run Interstate 20 from time to time know Ranger Hill. It's about a two mile incline heading west and I got a good head of steam starting up. Keep her right at 2000 RPM and was bragging about not dropping below 50 MPH when we hit the top. About four miles further down the road I started loosing power and thought I had a busted turbo tube. No such luck. Within 30 seconds I was dumping white smoke out the tail pipe and needed to get her shut down fast. Quarter of a mile to an exit and I shut her off and coasted into a Love's Truck Stop Parking lot. That was exciting. Coolant leaking from both sides of the back (our front) of the engine. A local guy called the local expert and after a long consult and a bit of testing it was determined that it's more than likely a cracked head.
Not wanting to go to an unknown shop and not wanting to bend over for Stewart & Stevenson, I've got a wrecker coming from Dallas who is going to tow the bus to the guy I know up near McKinney.
I love this old coach, but, well maybe it's time. I hate having just done the new paint and the new Firestones (which ride like a dream) and now I'm thinking to hell with it, I'm getting me a newer toy. I think I need to sleep on this one, but it's sure going to be a long night following the wrecker back to Dallas. Darn, you guys have fun down in Kerrville. I wish I drank, might help.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

So sorry Ted, maybe it will be less of a problem than you expect. I hope so. Don't through in the towel on the old girl. She deserves more TLC and another chance.

If you buy something else, you will still have problems crop up and you will be starting over again with many unknowns.

JIM

[MangoMike]

Mel,

As easy as it is to pick on you, I really feel bad for you on this round.

Stuff like this should only happen to Newell owners.

Bummer.

Mike

[phorner]

I do feel for ya...

That's gotta be sickening. Hopefully, there will be a less painful remedy than you are considering. As hard as it will be, try to sleep on it and start with a fresh outlook in the morning.

That is a real shame....

[truk4u]

Ted,

I feel bad for ya.... Just go ahead and in-frame it, the cost is not all that great for the ole 8V. Heat is the enemy, so if you do re-build it, make sure the cooling system is up to the task.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[TG Transport]

I feel for you on this one and agree with the rest of the crowd. Sleep on it and re-assess what you are up against. I owned a 8V92 and thought my life would be trouble free with a newer bus. Its not-just different issues. These are complicated pieces of machinery we choose to drive down the road.

[Orren Zook]

Ted,

After you got stopped was the oil level high? Did you get the low expansion tank warning and light flashing code for low coolant? I think the code for that is 1 4 on the 8v92. If not maybe it's just a turbo issue. I had a liner o-ring let go a couple of years ago and will email a pdf file with the cost to do a complete in frame on your engine.

[Coloradobus]

Ted this is terrible.

Oh, so terrible!! And the tow!!! Now, we are vey hesitant, Orren help us out! We have put a deposit on that coach you know we have been looking at and Jon and Di stopped yesterday to be our "1st"eyes. they gave it rave reviews. Upon our final personal acceptance, we have offered to buy a 8V-92 equipped coach: 1992 XL Beaver 40ft with 62,000 miles. Should we place the skids on this one and search for an early Series 60?
Ted's sudden engine failure seems to hint the 8V's just aren't as robust as the Series 60, and we too can expect to be sitting on the roadside waiting for AAA at some point in the future if we buy this coach.. The 3 sieries 60's we have had including the current one, have been flawless.
We are heading to Kentucky Sept. 7th to test this coach out and only driving the car to get there leaving the "H" at home..

[garyde]

Hi Ted. Sorry to hear that. Not fun at all having to tow. Hopefully you can get back on the road soon. Once its fixed, you should have no problems with the engine for a very long time.
It might be a good opportunity to purchase a newer Prevost once its fixed, there's a lot of nice ones out there.

[tdelorme]

Thanks for all the encouragement.
We made it back to Dallas about 11PM and the coach is a couple of hours behind us. Wrecker guy is a pro. Could not be in better hands and felt ok leaving before he did.
Jim & Chris, please do not let this dampen your enthusiasm about the Beaver. My 8V has close to 200,000 miles on it. I would think the one you are looking at has a lot of miles left in her.
We will do a complete in frame overhaul and have the radiator worked over.
As a lot of you know, I bought this coach from Paul Davis. When I called him and told him what had happened, he told me to sit tight and he would get a wrecker coming from Dallas as fast as he could. He said, take Jan and go home and I will go over in the morning and get the repair started. We're not going home yet, I need to get a few things out of the bus tomorrow but it was nice of Paul to jump in and help.
We'll get through this fine, but just being without the bus is a bummer. I'm going to bed.