I love Wanderlodge’s!! Here is a tour of this 6v92TA detroit diesel powered bus conversion. We are doing some routine Preventative Maintenance to keep this awesome bus on the road for another 30 years +
I drove a 1974 GMC day cab, 3 axle, the cab was about 3 feet wide, no sleeper, I had a window in my back wall, it had a awesome DETROIT 8V92 with a big GMC blower and a turbo feeding into the blower! A massive V8, it was a hot rodders dream! and power, wow it hauled 80k pounds up hills going 70 mph! It used a gallon of oil every day but man it was a screamer!
Good to see/hear you and the owner under the bus, nice business relationship 👌🏽. Suddenly... "What have you been doing with your dipstick?" "There's a STD in my engine!" 😨😂😂😂
When Quality was built to last. There are so many reasons that the Blue Bird was built for long term living. From tank size to radiant heat. And the Detroit A Fantastic Bus
When you first walked up the stairs I’m thinking o snap this place is going to look like a shit box ! But then everything looked fantastic and the exterior was amazing along with the crankshaft now I’m thinking this guy has his shit together ! I can see why you love the Bluebird conversions, man that’s a sweet looking RV !
Wanderlodge owners are usually fanatics and they weren't conversions from passenger buses. They were delivered from the factory as premium luxury motor coaches. They date back to late fifties or early 60s
1987 was the year that General Motors made its first foray into the 4 stroke diesel engine market with the introduction of the Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine. It featured an overhead camshaft and "drive by wire" electronic controls.
I recommend the Permatex Form a gasket 2. No leaks and cleans off easily. Even using as intake seal ( emergency )with no gasket. No vacuum leaks and been on year and a half.
Very nice ! Ive always liked the Wanderlodges too i never understood why there aren’t more on the roads other than the price comparison to a gas motorhome ? I also thought the netting was a good idea I’m glad you mentioned why the engine was so clean looking when you dropped the pan its not often someone thinks that far ahead as a courtesy to the mechanic
When you see a really sharp dressed elderly man out in public looking like the most dapper dude in the whole town.... that’s what’s it’s like to see a Wanderlodge on the road. They just look over dressed but sharp as hell.
I have an 82 PT40 same bus. Glad to see you working on one. Mine is all original inside and very nice but the outside and engine bay not so much. I’m going to change out the engine fan for four electric fans and clean up the engine bay. AC is gone we run a rooftop running off an inverter going down the road. Same engine I had the question about the smoke. Thanks for sharing
I was thinking about just how attractive that bus was overall.... until STD was mentioned, lol..... but seriously, the interior was amazing, and the engine also looked amazing (with no oil dripping from every angle). And he's right folks, you should look after your mobile mechanic and do the little things that make working conditions a little more pleasant for them.
I would have thought replacing main and big end bearings is a tad more than routine preventative maintenance. Just goes to show, once again, you learn something new every day!!!
If you want that engine to last you should inspect and or replace those bearings at 100k intervals. They are a weak point on the 92 series. I didn’t make this up. You saw what came out of it. Or he could have just drove it until it was too damaged to be repaired cheaply or easily. This guy scheduled an appointment for me to come and do some precautionary maintenance on his perfect running 92 series. And we did some easy maintenance to keep it happy on the highway for a long time to come. A few hours of well invested time.
Surprised to see you tear down a very healthy looking diesel engine so far just for preventative maintenance. These days. a well maintain car / light truck gasoline engine will run 250K with nothing more than proper oil changes, filters, and keeping up with recommended replacement intervals.
Love those Yanmar engines, I have an 86 3 cyl compact tractor, and one day we will be living out of a Wander"lust"bus even if it is parked in our driveway which should be called a parkway since we park there.
excellent , i have fallen in love with these buses ,,and really love seeing and hearing stories about people's buses ,even better i was surprised that my mother enjoyed riding in it so now i know i'll be able to get her to go camping with me again
And the best part is.....no dingblammin swirls!....shoot me the day I buy a bus with swirls on the side, sad day when the industry went that way. This must have been quite a penny in 1987.
I don't know why, but those popular swirls have always irked me. Probably the equivalent of mounting a chandelier on the hood of a Lincoln. I have a friend who bought a lovely Prevost, a 92, with classic paintwork and the classic stainless lower bays and sides. Art in motion.
I know this is an old video, but I was laughing when you said the rod bearings should be changed every 100k miles. Why was I laughing? Because BMW's V8 and V10 motors (S65 for the V8) eat their rod bearings all too frequently. I changed mine on my S65 at 30k miles and they were in terrible shape. I'd have been happy at a 100k mile interval! I'm enjoying learning about older buses and their mechanical components. Thanks!
The owner is definitely doing his maintenance. That engine is beautiful inside. I have always believed the key in keeping an Detroit running was frequent oil changes and using the correct oil. Good video! Keep me coming. Good stuff.
Hope you show is how u change the bearings, what a nice road cruiser, now I want one , looks first class and well thought out in many areas, what a load of gauges and switches, does it fly too?
Great video, nice coach, that engine looks brand new inside and clean. On the oil pan gasket have you ever considered using I like fel-pro gaskets but I not sure if they make any for Detroit’s and what I’ve used for years is loctite-gasket maker 515, they used to call it gasket eliminator 515, used it for years good stuff.
Ive been told one reason to change bearings/oil often on the 92s is because they have a tendency to let a very little bit of antifreeze in the oil and overtime that will wanna make bearings spin.
Your services must be in high demand. From what I understand there are not many diesel mechanics nowadays that know how to work on the older engines, especially the Detroit’s and 2 strokes. You are very thorough and a true craftsman! Much respect! Where did you get your diesel training and how long have you been doing it?
What makes it a conversion? Don't they come from the Blue Bird factory that way? Is it because it's the same chassis and general body shell design as their buses?
Great video and us Birders are all over it. Did new mains on my 84 6V92 at 105,000 miles and rods all looked great. I haven't read all the comments yet but I know all WOG members are subscribing. More excellent Birds can be seen and purchased at BuyByeBluebirds.com for all of you WannaBirders.
Cam bearings are an out-of-frame operation. Rods n mains usually around 300K to 500K, depending upon what the rest of the engine looks like, severity of service, and maintenance level in my book - whadya say, Scott? Yes, mains and rods are a routine procedure.
Luke told me to inspect them every 100k at the least if not replacing them. I don’t need to read it in a book, if Luke says it, i trust his 50 years of experience. We inspected these a couple years ago and are going after them now. They really needed it. They have seen bearing wear that is much more advanced on 92 series than 71 series of comparable miles. This will be a great benefit to this engine having them swapped. You can’t look at that main and say “put it back in there”. This either has 150 or 250k on it. The odometer resets at 100k no hubometer. Had he waited for 500k dear god i don’t think it would have made it.
@@BusGreaseMonkey When I rebuilt a couple of 9-71s for a 58' Cabin Cruiser, the mains were the most likely to fail. I tried a few tricks, which did not improve durability. The 12V71s were more forgiving *if* the engine was well maintained along with shorter oil change intervals. You couldn't really push them unless you detuned them. The main crank caps were not the best quality. I'm not sure if it was a harmonics / balance issue. But it could get nasty in a hurry. For some reason, the rear main bearing always went first. Maybe... thrust loads... not sure. This one sure does look sweet and very good condition!
I have watched your video with great interest The bus is gorgeous..and after watching you I can see you are a skilled and thoughtful technician. I did make some observations..it looks like the con rods were balanced....and if resized..not a great job as witnessed by the irregular wear pattern on the rod bearings.....the main bearing wear also not concentric demonstrates a needed align hone.....also the main caps are fretting..that is the shiny spots witnessed on the main cap registers in the block....you might want to try coated bearings as the really have merit. But overall I would certainly want you to work on my Detroit Diesel ..great job
You wouldn’t know where I could find the rubber that goes around the wheel wells would you? A previous owner put some butt ugly fender flares on my bus and I want to put it back original.
is the wear on the side of the lower main bearing from accessory belt tension pulling the crank to the side.. do you have any internal threaded nylon sleeves to thread onto the connecting rod bolts so you can push the rod up ever so slightly to get the rod bearings out without a chance of the rod bolt threads gashing the crank.. creative might create a D shape on the upper end.. so it holds the upper bearing in place unless you align the Flat on the D with the bearing shell to rotate it out.. only needing to turn the flat back of the D on one side to get the insert out and back in. its just a crazy stupid thought that could work great for putting in pistons and rods without dropping the insert or gashing the crank.. since the threads on the rod bolt are much harder than the crank surface . and thanks for the tip on the aerospace 303..
Yes the bottom of the main takes the abuse from the boom up top. I have clear tubes that i slide on the rod bolts so they can’t knick or damage the crank. You will see that tomorrow in the video. He picked up the parts from the local dealer today but it was raining so we took the rest of the day off.
On my 1985 6V92 any oil above the 1/2 mark on my dipstick will quickly rust proof my toad. Maintaining level at 1/2 it used in 9 qts in 10,000 miles (2018 trip). Why was the pan removed a couple of years ago?
We were almost done before lunch today but had to stop because two of the bearing shell sets we got have what i believe to be a manufacturing defect. Genuine detroit diesel parts aren’t always perfect. So he’s off to exchange them. Next video will show the details
Great video. One question. How do you change the bearings? Don't you need to remove the whole piston? And on the crank, wouldn't it need to come out to change the main bearings?
Do the mains just rotate out? The rods are easy, but do you just push the mains round the crank or do you in fact drop it? Look forward to seeing it in the next vid??
if it's anything like the small(er) engines im used too, when all the main caps are loose but the cranks still in situ, there is usually enough give to use a feller gauge or similar shim to push the bearing out around the crank. rotating the crank if necessary.
I like getting rid of the passenger seat but the drivers seat should be a love seat because sometimes you like having your lover next to you driving down the road. I'd also like to control it by wire someday.
I was going to ask you what the bearing change interval was for these engines my bus had a set of new bearings installed just before i got it ,,it's got maybe 5K miles on them but I have a truck tractor with a 12V92 TA ,and i don't know if the bearings have ever been done it's got over 300K miles on it does the 100K mile bearing change still apply to the bigger 92 series engines i'm pretty religious about oil changes I don't know exactly what oil i should use either ,, i've been using 20W-50 in summer and 15W-40 in winter and change my oil at 10K or less miles
@2Stroke Diesel Power the truck is a custom built peterbilt 359 built in 1977 as a heavy haul truck it's an ugly monster with ,3 drive axles and a powered steer axle ,i don't know the full history on it but i found it in north dakota about 15 years ago ,it was being used as an oil field transport I have used it as a heavy transport for hauling things like excavators and farm machinery I also do not know whether the engine is original or not ,,I do know it has a strange turbo/intercooler setup it's got an air-water intercooler , and it's on top of the engine which is odd as for the engine oil i have been using 20W-50 oil in everything for years if i'm not supposed to i'll have to find out what i need to use ,,only thing i use single weight oil in is air cooled engines ,
If by "cutting out" a windshield, you mean slicing down through the previous installers' application of glass cement that holds the piece in place, yeah. I once had a windshield on a Freightliner replaced, and the previous installer had used SO much black goop, that when it next had to be removed, the goop was still wet inside, only the outer edges had cured. I've had a lot of windshields replaced, and surprisingly, the ones who use just modest amounts of that stuff seem to have better results, no leaking. That said, I still prefer the type of install where it's a rubber seal between the glass and the opening over cementing a screen in place....
@@REVNUMANEWBERN I'm surprised that worked at all. Weatherstripping glue is basically glorified contact cement. On the other hand once contact cement makes contact you're done.
@@stanpatterson5033 Correct. Urethane is the adhesive used. Like everything the correct application is the best application. Too much makes for a much longer cure time which can lead to the windshield moving around or pushing out when a door is closed causing a leak. Makes removal more difficult. Nothing worse than cutting through 2" of the stuff on the bottom seam.
I have found the right stuff to be the best “no leak” gasket material. Detroit’s are vibration masters of loosening bolts and vibration wearing baskets once the two surfaces loose any tension. This thing could have been fine with all the damn pan bolts removed.
