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Thread: Can you trust your mechanic?

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    Chicago
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    20170708_155734.jpg

    Look how some nipplenut plumbed this.

    Comes out the tank 3/4 with a adaptor that's 3/4 to 3/8. Then another adaptor that goes from 3/8 to 1/2.

    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Excuse me for that.

    Good grief. I had to make that happy.

    20170708_174256.jpg

    Mobetta. I'm working on a 59 Mack B Model it's still got half its original copper air line on it. The guy complained the air assist for the steering wasn't doing much.

    Well.....9 air leaks later and it's down to loosing 1 pound a min. Still terrible but a universe away from where it was this morn.

    20170602_103321.jpg

    This is an enchanted place for a grease monkey to come repair stuff. Like therapy and a spiritual retreat for an old wrench. Upstate NY is a great place to spend the summers.

    Where is everybody at this summer???
    Last edited by Joe Camper; 07-08-2017 at 06:09 PM.
    1990 Peterbuilt 377
    3406 B Caterpillar
    13 Speed Roadranger
    No Norgrens


    1 day on paper no machines

  2. #22
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Beverly Hills
    Posts
    4,652

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    Joe, I knew you didn't mind getting dirty but this is a bit much. Have fun.

    I'm replacing a watchdog and inverters right now. Always an interesting task. In this coach the entire engine control system was replaced by the watchdog. I generally don't spend too much time trying to trace the rat's nest of wires. I find it easier to simply remove everything a trace where the wires actually go. The owner said he was having a problem where the generator would only run for 30 seconds or so. I bet that explains why someone wired around the failed oil pressure safety switch.

    Anyway, have fun.


    Gil and Durlene
    2003 H-3 Hoffman Conversion

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
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    Las Vegas
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    1

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    This thread brings up a question for me. I'm a new member, planning a Prevost purchase and trying to learn as much as I can to make an informed decision. Lubricating the bus ... am I right to assume that (1) you have to be underneath the bus, and (2) that is safe only if you have the bus over a pit?

    Bob Prins
    2000 Mountain Aire (1st coach, successful proof of full-timing concept)

  4. #24
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    Beverly Hills
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    Bob, as convenient as a pit can be for some undercarriage, it certainly isn't necessary to lube the chassis. Many do it by raising the air suspension system. Others use a pair of homemade ramps.

    The one thing never to attempt is crawling under a coach that isn't supported by jackstands. My adjustable stands are rated for 22 tons each.

    If you have any questions on your search, let me know.


    Gil and Durlene
    2003 H-3 Hoffman Conversion

  5. #25
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    Mar 2013
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    Chicago
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    Hey Bob glad your here with all us other fenatics.

    Almost never having the opportunity of a lift, when I do work with one it kills me. It requires a whole bunch different mussels primarily in the neck and after a couple days it spreads to my back..

    So I wonder if given enough exposure to a lift if I would adapt and it would be benificial. Maybe, if it had a tool box up on it a deck large enough to safely walk around and a net to catch everything I drop.

    But u were wondering about the ground verses pit.

    Pits really r better than lifts the floor is the tool tray if u drop something it's ok and u can't fall off.

    Compared to the ground for greasing and chassis service it is a huge convenience. For repair, depending on what that is, it might be better.

    If u do a pit it doesn't have to be the entire length of the bus 20 or 25ft is sufficiant. Most things r either front and rear and what little and unoften u need to go work mid ship just reposition the bus. The smaller pit also doesn't impede the garage as much or cost as much either. Put a drain. Flush mount outlets. Form a ledge at the top to accept steel grate. Embed an air line, down lighting for the pit floor would be nice but everything flush as not to be snagging. Have a finisher do it like a basement floor smooth.

    What else what did I omit. If I had a bus and a place and the recourses I would defiantly benifit from a pit.

    Oh and its got to be somewhat safer That is not to say that not having a pit is unsafe done correctly it can be very very safely done, not as convenient as a pit by a long shot. The older I get the more I am liking them. I currently do all repairs under the bus supported on the ground and have done it that way from the beginning. All my peterbilts too.
    Last edited by Joe Camper; 07-22-2017 at 10:40 PM.
    1990 Peterbuilt 377
    3406 B Caterpillar
    13 Speed Roadranger
    No Norgrens


    1 day on paper no machines

  6. #26
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    Mar 2013
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    Chicago
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    I did a XL at Lake Cumberland a couple weeks back. The coustomer had ordered some norgrens in advance and got them from the manufacturer. I always get them from prevo. When compared to the valve prevo sends it prompted me to do some investigation.

    20171220_084310.jpg

    OK disregard the fact that one is old and 1 is new.

    See how the body of the valve on the top is plowed out and the bottom one a solid block of aluminum.

    They do the exact same thing.

    However.

    They do carry different part numbers and this is what I learned and is another topic I've never seen discussed anywhere.

    The bottom one is a "special" as defined by norgren tech support and is the exact valve prevo specs. It came from prevo. The top is a stock item. It came from norgren.

    So when u r getting service done at shops other than prevo be sure u r not getting a valve that's marked up from prevo price and then a non spec valve is installed that was aquired from the manufacture at a significant savings in cost to the installer.

    My suggestion, although the tech couldn't expound beyond special and without having prints to look at specifics for me, we both agreed it was defiantly a more robust valve body just by looking at it.

    I'd stick with getting them at Prevo and being sure u got the right stuff. How is one to know how the other valve preforms in conditions like extreme cold, ect.

    In this case the added cost of prevost parts is justified.
    Last edited by Joe Camper; 12-20-2017 at 11:57 AM.
    1990 Peterbuilt 377
    3406 B Caterpillar
    13 Speed Roadranger
    No Norgrens


    1 day on paper no machines

  7. #27
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Beverly Hills
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    4,652

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    Joe,

    You are bringing up something many others overlook when they are looking for less expensive replacement parts. Not all replacement parts are created equal, even if they come from the same manufacturer. If Norgren is building special valves for Prevost, there's a reason. Often it's because the buyer, Prevost in this case, sent a requirements specification to their supplier. Norgren in this case. It's probable that Norgren's standard valves did not meet Prevost's requirements, which resulted a custom build for Prevost. Sure, the Norgren standard valve may give you years of service or could fail prematurely. Without Prevost's specifications and those of the commercially available Norgren valve we can only guess what the differences might be.

    Except for known identical products, like tires, the Prevost replacement part might be justifiably a bit more expensive than the "almost" equivalent commercially available substitute part. Something to think about when you are trying to save a few dollars on non-Prevost parts.


    Gil and Durlene
    2003 H-3 Hoffman Conversion

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
    Posts
    497

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    Having spent years in NAPA Auto Parts I can post 100%...all replacement parts are not equal. I have a few stories on parts represented as the same as OEM ( original equipment manufacture) that are not true.
    Prevost Specifications are there for a reason. We have the finest passenger bus built in the world....It'll last 1 million miles. No other even comes close. There is a reason we paid a whole lot of extra money for a Prevost and not a Winnebago unless you just want a "park bus".
    My point is...... do your homework when replacing parts trying to save a couple of dollars

    Staying with the Prevost replacement parts is your best choice.
    Last edited by BoaterAl; 12-21-2017 at 04:09 PM.

  9. #29
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    Mar 2013
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    Chicago
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    20180309_153721.jpg

    20180309_153731.jpg

    20180309_154725.jpg

    Are u kidding me??? 7 fitting pieces. The T is a galvanized pipe fitting with a nipple in it. Major points deduction here.

    20180309_154730.jpg

    Yippee I A nipplenut service center did that. Didn't want to take the time to stop and go get the right fitting that's what happened there. Lamebrain.

    2 pieces when installed correctly bus drivers and with Parker, not from your local hardware. This is the norgren that's between the back two axles and it'll give you a lean.

    Not on my watch. Who's in your corner. Being able to correct it has just made my whole afternoon I'm ready for another 8 hours and it's 4 p.m.

    That is absolutely terrible.
    Last edited by Joe Camper; 03-09-2018 at 05:45 PM.
    1990 Peterbuilt 377
    3406 B Caterpillar
    13 Speed Roadranger
    No Norgrens


    1 day on paper no machines

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Celebration
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    47

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Camper View Post
    20180309_153721.jpg

    20180309_153731.jpg

    20180309_154725.jpg

    Are u kidding me??? 7 fitting pieces. The T is a galvanized pipe fitting with a nipple in it. Major points deduction here.

    20180309_154730.jpg

    Yippee I A nipplenut service center did that. Didn't want to take the time to stop and go get the right fitting that's what happened there. Lamebrain.

    2 pieces when installed correctly bus drivers and with Parker, not from your local hardware. This is the norgren that's between the back two axles and it'll give you a lean.

    Not on my watch. Who's in your corner. Being able to correct it has just made my whole afternoon I'm ready for another 8 hours and it's 4 p.m.

    That is absolutely terrible.
    Joe we are at 3 valves and I still have that stupid lean. It must be this one!!!
    Dane & Dana
    Central Florida
    95 Marathon

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