Scotoshite MEGABARGE Refurb / Restoration Diary

[davidfowler2000]

More happenings today.

 

Yesterday even more happenings happenened when I finally managed to do the gearbox oil. 17 litres of brown, utterly rancid burnt Dex-II disposed of and replaced with lovely cherry red, somewhat rancid Dex-II.

[Junkman]

This. English chassis, Scottish body, American engine, German gearbox.

 

An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are all standing watching an American street performer do some juggling.

The juggler notices the four gentlemen have a very poor view, so he stands up on a wooden crate and calls out, "Can you all see me now?"

"Yes"

"Oui"

"Sí"

"Ja"

 

 

#coat...

[davidfowler2000]

Today was the day of reckoning for megashite's engine.

 

On that note I turned up at Cummins UK in Cumbernauld with an itchy bank card...

Anyone Home? by David Fowler, on Flickr

 

The engine fault was traced to a damaged fuel injector. Typical commercial engine set up on these injectors where the fuel pump supplies fuel at constant intermediate pressure to all injectors and the firing is actuated by a rocker arm pushing a plunger down in the injector like a syringe. Someone once likened it to a mechanical common rail system but when you look at the detail it's more like a mechnical version of the Volkswagen PD system.

 

I'm not sure about other manfacturers that use similar designs (Caterpillar spring to mind) but the Cummins PT system is pretty impressive when you consider the engine design is almost 30 years old (if not more) and that the injection pressures are approx 20,000psi. That's not a kick in the arse off the most modern common rail pressures.

 

Anyways the fault in the injector was that the plunger was seized in the down position and not springing back up. Naturally it wasn't doing any work. Thankfully someone had noticed this at some point and had completely backed off the rocker arm for the afflicted injector. This essentially disabled that cylinder mechanically and potentially saved the engine from much more significant damage to the pushrods and cam shaft. Good man whoever you are.

 

While they were in there they replaced the rocker cover gasket and also discovered that all of the tolerances needed to be reset.

 

So in conclusion...

My bank card is now £1200 lighter but the engine is now approximately 20% more powerful now that it's firing on all 6 rather than 5. Most of the cost was labour charge trying to get access to the top of the engine. Turned out the easiest way to get in to it was to de-rivet and remove the rear interior panelling and go in from the inside of the bus to the back of the engine.

Sadly, Stagecoach have at some point fitted a recon engine rated at 180bhp rather than the 245bhp engine that it should have so it's still not exactly what you call fast up to speed but it will still pull up a reasonably level motorway gradient at 65mph. The biggest improvement of course is the power delivery which is now balanced rather than being pushed along the road by a pneumatic drill.

 

Next job is to try and exorcise the demons from the ZF autobox. It has a tendency to slip between gears (sometimes letting go completely) and the torque converter lockup is a bit hit and miss. I've already done one oil change (SEVENTEEN LITRES) which has made it a bit less demented but even now it has had a chance to get through the valves and passageways in the box I can still smell some burnt stuff on the dipstick so I'll be doing another one. The gear selector is a bit mushy from broken springs and button latches getting a bit wooly so that'll need to go for refurb. Short of that it'll be a phonecall to John "ZF Whisperer" Crisp at Mackie Transmissions to diagnose the problem. Suspicions pointing to the load sensor being fuckerated so here's hoping that's the worst and I don't need a gearbox overhaul. Then there's the hydraulic radiator fan running all the time needing a new thermostatic valve. That's just going to piss coolant and ATF absolutely EVERYCUNTINGWHERE when I take it off. Oh and the throttle is very on / off.........

......I'll just plod away at it.

 

Anyways, one last one for tonight.

New Fuel Injector Fitted by David Fowler, on Flickr

 

---ENDS---

[dome]

The potential for borkage is strong in this one.

 

Swap for a Freelander?

[davidfowler2000]

I have no use for a Freelander.

I don't exactly have much use for a fucking 82 seat decker either but there you go.

[320touring]

at least the 82 seater has some practical applications..

 

Also, I'd rather pay the £1200 for the engine work than pay 12p for a freelander:)

[Felly Magic]

I've always found Cummins L10/ZF Leyland have a very on/off type throttle response, mind you most of them were ex London Workington integrals, which were built with all the care of a pissed up wazzock, and several years of Worst's care and attention wouldn't have helped either

[rml2345]

Lothian L10/ZFs were always well known for their on/off throttles so it might just be one of those things they do. Apparently the first batch were the worst for it, which must have made them excellent* tour buses.

112%/10 for getting it sorted.

[Matt]

I don't exactly have much use for a fucking 82 seat decker either but there you go.

 

I was looking at this thread the other day and I thought about this. It's all well and good liking buses, being a bus spotter, driver etc and all that but what exactly does one do with a their own privately owned bus? Go to the shops? Give 82 mates a lift at the same time?

[320touring]

I was looking at this thread the other day and I thought about this. It's all well and good liking buses, being a bus spotter, driver etc and all that but what exactly does one do with a their own privately owned bus? Go to the shops? Give 82 mates a lift at the same time?

whatever the fuck one likes:)

[chaseracer]

Give 82 mates a lift at the same time?

 

I think that's exactly what should happen!

 

[rml2345]

Turn up for dinner in it occasionally.

[quicksilver]

Turn up at Shitefest in it?

[Matt]

TRACK DAY BRO.

[dome]

I have no use for a Freelander.

 

 

Aye you and me both...

[davidfowler2000]

I've always found Cummins L10/ZF Leyland have a very on/off type throttle response, mind you most of them were ex London Workington integrals, which were built with all the care of a pissed up wazzock, and several years of Worst's care and attention wouldn't have helped either

 

 

Lothian L10/ZFs were always well known for their on/off throttles so it might just be one of those things they do. Apparently the first batch were the worst for it, which must have made them excellent* tour buses.

112%/10 for getting it sorted.

 

Ken Leyland air throttle aren't exactly exact but mines is really pants. Not helped by the fact the slave cylinder has a leak. Mr FPB7 has suggested a modification he done with an Olympian for one of the various companies he worked in the flavour of fitting the master and slave setup from a Dart or Trident.

[Inspector Morose]

I did it on cable throttled atlanreans too. The dart set up is pretty simple to build up and parts are more readily available than 20 odd year old leyland stuff.

 

Anyway. I've seen the best throttle set up yet. Air throttle set up controlling a drive by wire IVECO engine in an Olympian tonight.

[Felly Magic]

And Slavecoach fitted a 180bhp L10? Feck! I drove a Gardner 180 powered tri axle ex HK Metrolump once, and jeesus wept, a 2CV pulling a caravan would have had better acceleration

[dollywobbler]

TRACK DAY BRO.

 

This surely needs to happen. With a full load of passengers. Wearing helmets obviously. Let's not do anything silly.

[davidfowler2000]

And Slavecoach fitted a 180bhp L10? Feck! I drove a Gardner 180 powered tri axle ex HK Metrolump once, and jeesus wept, a 2CV pulling a caravan would have had better acceleration

 

Gardners didn't do acceleration no matter how much "power" they put out. Especially with a Metrobucket and their Voith gearboxes. The 180bhp L10 I have is pretty nippy up to about 30mph before it starts to wheeze a bit. That said, being specced as a commuter coach it is incredibly long geared - it drops in to top gear (4th) at 40mph and you can hear that the revs are just a tad too low to spin the turbo properly. Once it winds up past 50mph is starts to pull again and will eventually run right off the clock.

[vulgalour]

Still majestic and yellow.  Carry on!

[skattrd]

Top work on getting the engine sorted Dave.

Is there any possibility of finding an original engine and refitting it? Although after spending £1200 getting the current one sorted it would be a bit of a waste.

[tooSavvy]

[offtopic] Air throttle...

 

My 63 Imp had a pneumatic throttle (working, as I drove it onto the trailer).

Binned immediately for a cable setup [tandem bike brake cable]

 

[/offtopic]

 

 

TS

[oldcars]

Crail 

[Inspector Morose]

Definition - to "Lynx it".

 

A bus drivers term used in the West Midlands to describe rapidly accelerating from a standstill in a Leyland Lynx single deck bus fitted with the Cummins L10/ZF driveline giving 245hp. This method was used to generally antagonise many car drivers who had placed themselves in the wrong lane to overtake, illegally, the "slow" bus, cutting infront of the bus dangerously after overtaking then generally going slower than the bus was going.

 

The process involves selecting drive with handbrake applied and then engaging full throttle. When required, usually from traffic lights, the handbrake is swiftly released using the method of deftly flicking the locking collar up with the fingers of ones right hand.

 

The resultant stored energy propels the bus at a greater speed thought by most car drivers, leaving them behind or, more importantly, in the wrong lane much to the bus drivers amusement.

[davidfowler2000]

Top work on getting the engine sorted Dave.

Is there any possibility of finding an original engine and refitting it? Although after spending £1200 getting the current one sorted it would be a bit of a waste.

 

I reckon in years to come it may regain the proper 245 engine or perhaps the 280 from the extra long variant.

[beko1987]

Definition - to "Lynx it".

 

A bus drivers term used in the West Midlands to describe rapidly accelerating from a standstill in a Leyland Lynx single deck bus fitted with the Cummins L10/ZF driveline giving 245hp. This method was used to generally antagonise many car drivers who had placed themselves in the wrong lane to overtake, illegally, the "slow" bus, cutting infront of the bus dangerously after overtaking then generally going slower than the bus was going.

 

The process involves selecting drive with handbrake applied and then engaging full throttle. When required, usually from traffic lights, the handbrake is swiftly released using the method of deftly flicking the locking collar up with the fingers of ones right hand.

 

The resultant stored energy propels the bus at a greater speed thought by most car drivers, leaving them behind or, more importantly, in the wrong lane much to the bus drivers amusement.

I do this in the zx sometimes, works better when ive not washed it for 5 months though.

 

Those figures for the work though, is that cheap in bus circles?

[chaseracer]

NOTHING is cheap in bus circles...

[davidfowler2000]

Ahh. More new bits.

 

Let's have a game of Guess the Part. What does it do?

 

More importantly let's do a guess the price as well...

 

Mr FPB7 and Mr cms206 need not apply.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Ahh. More new bits.

 

Let's have a game of Guess the Part. What does it do?

 

More importantly let's do a guess the price as well...

 

Mr FPB7 and Mr cms206 need not apply.

 

I'm guessing something to do with the brake system & it cost £250.