I decided to take the bus out for another run today because it was overcast and some chance of rain off and on.  Since the bus does not have an air conditioning I try to pick cooler days to drive.  Today ended up being about 82 for a high and about as much humidity.  I drove back down I-75 south from Lexington to Williamsburg Ky and back.  Total it was about 202 miles.  Once again the bus ran flawlessly.

The only real snag was with the new dash fan I installed a couple of months ago.  This is the first time I've actually got to drive and use it and it really helps just in moving air around.  I have a small leak somewhere around the windshields when it rains heavy.  Every time it does, I have a small puddle on the dash dead center.  That is about the place I ended up putting the fan.  I've never been able to pin point where the leak comes from.  When I turned on the fan today it would not run.  The first thing I checked was power, which was ok.  Then I turned it on and spun the blades.  They were really stiff to turn but after a few attempts it took off.  I could use the fan for about 20 minutes or so and then it would start to slow down a bit and start making extra noises so I would turn it off, let it cool and try again later.

At this point I don't know if water got inside the fan motor or if it just has bad bearings.  Either way, it is pretty much useless and I need a new fan.

Today at the turn around point and again when I got parked back in Lexington, I took my infrared thermometer and checked several temps on the bus.  I noticed the left front brake drum was 25 degrees hotter than the right. The other issue is the left (street side) exhaust manifold on the engine is about 65 degrees hotter than the right (curb side) manifold.  I am not sure why, but I suspect that one bank of cylinders is doing more work than the other and probably the fuel rack needs adjusting.

Otherwise another flawless bus run.

Today I decided to install the 24V fan I purchased a couple of years ago.  At this point I don't have any way to power the electric roof top a/c so I get pretty hot and uncomfortable driving when the sun is shining unless it is a cloudy day.  Even though the fan will just blow hot air around, it is better than nothing at this point.


When I started looking for a fan I realized how few 24V products are readily available these days as most of the trucks on the road use 12V equipment and my bus is of the vintage that everything was 24V.  However I did find a place on the internet that had the fan.  This turned out to be a very decent fan and even has two speeds.  I"m pleased.

I had the bus out for a short run around town Sunday the 19th but I forgot to make a post here.  That was the first time I had started and had it out since January.  SO, today I wanted to go out again for  much longer run.  Barry and I took her down to Livingston Ky, ate lunch at 909 truck stop, and returned.  Round trip was 138 miles.  Once again the bus ran flawlessly.  This engine seems to run on the cool side and it take quite a while to actually get it up to 180 degrees.  I noticed that after about 30 minutes on the interstate and after pulling a few good hills she seemed to run even better and the engine seemed to pull better.

By the time we got back the temp in Lexington was 82 and sunny... which made for a very warm ride without any air conditioning.  I really need some money or a very good deal on a generator so I can run the front roof air while driving.

I am so pleased with how this bus consistently performs.  I have quite a few pesky air leaks that I need to work on but nothing that prevents running her down the road.

It has been unseasonably warm the past two days, with today a high of 63.  You can tell from the picture, which I took when we returned, that it has rained.  Actually it has been raining off and on all day, and is supposed to pretty much rain all weekend with temps turning colder tomorrow and maybe flurries by Monday.  Due to parked cars, Saturday and Sunday are the best days to maneuver the bus in and out of the lot, so our little jaunts are on the weekends.  The last time we had the bus out was September, so she was over due a run down the road.  I have been wanting to fill the diesel tank before it got too much further into winter to keep down condensation and this weekend turned out to be the best time we've had available in a while.   Today was my first time to drive her in the rain so I figured the experience would be good too.  This is my second time to drive a bus in the rain, but my first time with this one.  Back toward the beginning of my blog when I bought my first bus my initial drive and trip home from Ohio to Ky was a downpour rain all the way.  Talk about a trial by fire, so to speak.

At any rate, when I started her up today, I noticed a pretty good air leak at one of the air/electric valves in the engine room on the rear bulkhead.  I figured it wasn't so bad that I could not drive her so we went out anyway.  By the time we made our fuel stop at Love's in Richmond, it had stopped leaking, so just another indication that the bus needed to be run.  Sitting is very hard on them.

Today diesel was $3.94/Gal at Love's Truck stop and it took $399 and change to fill the tank.  The bus ran great, as usual.  Driving in the rain gave me a chance to actually run both air wipers.  The right side is a little finicky but they both work and do the job.  The left side wiper has a soothing rhythm to it.  So another successful little jaunt down I-75 and back.