@@johndowe7003 Well I don't know if this guy is an idiot or not--Stephen Cox--he claims that it is CZcams that can't figure out his comments being disabled--saw one where he made that claim BUT I find it hard to believe and ANNOYING as hell!!
@@KStewart-th4sk he's a nazi and disabled comments so others dont call him out on his BS they preach about freedom of speech yet him and his buddy lance disabled comments on their channels. total hypocrites, its a shame because they werent always like that. an "not knowing how to enable comments" is total bullshit too.
When I trained, we learned on MC-12's. They instructed us to ALWAYS have our necktie over our shoulder as not to be tangled in that belt. I always wore a clip on.
I don't miss the older AW3. Our buses had an air actuator for the shutdown. Used to have to carefully stick our arm in between the fan belt to shut them down when they failed. You should see how big the fan belts became! Series 60, Cumins ISX. About 5' tall. Heavy. Does damage if they go bad. As far as Alternators go, the gear drive on the 6V92 was awesome. Low fail rate. Oil cooled. Became easier on the DL4500 and 102D's. When they switched to the dual Bosch setup. No more 10 year units. Dumped that right down to 18 to 30 months.
You have shown a amazing amount of knowledge and confidence performing work on a basket case project like this one was. Just good workmanship, very rare these days......
This is why I watch your videos. You swing the camera around for a close up of whatever you're talking about, and then you slip in a "By- the-way": here's some more info that is important to remember. You're the Guide, Senpai, Teacher.
The large fan belt is the prime reason why Greyhound drivers could only use clip on ties. These were still found on the newer 102s with the even higher mounted rads.
The belt of death,,,,😱😱😱, I will be sure to keep clear of the belt of death when checking out my possibly new MCI bus next week... thanks for the tip Scott.....
Thanks for the explanation Scott. I too was wondering what the belt was driving, saw that it was probably something in the two big drum type covers but had no idea what. Now we know. Great job on this one, as always. Perseverance and hard work paid off again.
Another great, and informative video! Truly takes me back to the early eighties, when I went to work for a Trailways company as an A/C and Electrical repairman, in order to learn more about buses in general. This is at the time when I purchased my first bus to convert for ourselves, a Flxible VL-100. Neat looking bus, but a story in itself!
My Brother in law owns one of these buses converted by Custom Coach out of Columbus Ohio. His family take care of their bus like a New born child. If ever a family loved anything it would be a MCI 8v71T.
Great video. Enjoy the short info video. So curious about these old busses. Enjoy wrenching on cars but watching you work on these buses I think my head would explode. Thank you
I thought it was for the cooling fans but I wasn't sure I'm glad you explained all of that and I really do appreciate your channel you're a very hardworking person that could really do appreciate what you're doing getting these old buses back on the road and helping these people out your bus your personal bus is very cool and I love it
On multi belt systems when replacing belts there is a "measured" length. So when you order belts it's not just matching part numbers you also need to get a "matched set"
As usual, a great video and answers to the inquiring minds!!.I myself was thinking idler pulley for that belt. Kind of bass ack- wards engineering for such a long belt. Waiting for the air pressure to build up and the coolant filler door! Gee whiz Scott...and I thought the radiator cap on the old Freightliner c.o.e. that I owned w/ my friend was high,that was really a piece of cake com pared to this set up!
I guessed what that big belt was. I like the air driven tensioners. Guess an MCI owner has to carry a large box of belts, never seen a vehicle with so many belt driven parts. A great looking bus.
I could see the sheetmetal & recognized them as squirrel cages. Whay I couldn’t fathom was why they’d srick ac evap blowers & evaporators right above the engine lol. Never even crossed my mind that they’d be the radiator fans (likely controling airflow over the ac condensors too). Those fans must eat a lot of horsepower. Think I’d be looking into nice new brushless 24v squirrel cages if the MCI were mine.
If it is 12 volt, you could just install a resistor with around the same resistance as the solenoid in series with it. It's only a momentary device anyway.
I had never seen one, and before buy my RV I wanted to buy a bus and convert it into an RV and I had a heck of a time replacing the water pump belt and hoses and after seeing that big engine compartment, not any more, Good Day Sr.
Where were you 7 years ago when I was taking care of my church's MCI bus?? Now, we have a Van Hool which is a whole new world of pains! I wish we still had an MCI. The problems of the MCI at least made more sense to me.
You mentioned early that the radiators were up high so to anyone who has worked heavy equipment it was intuitive what that belt was for. Thank you for explaining to the uninitiated.
I had wondered also. I always thought it drove an air compressor. Strange design to have the radiators and cooling fans that high up with such a long belt. But it gets the radiators up off of the road where the air is likely a few degrees cooler than right down on the pavement.
That's an old girl we had one mci bus and 3 eagle buses remember watching my granddad work on those and for time to time I'd get to help him and mom would throw a fit lol still good memories and good skills learned
Appreciate the explanations on these Bus components. Impressive. That "Miter Box" is essentially a small differential correct ? Is it a 1:1 ratio or something different. ?
If it's 24VDC you could also use a voltage regulator to drop it to 12VDC. There are also other ways to drop the voltage... voltage divider circuit, etc.
Another alternative for feeding 12VDC to the shut down solenoid, pull 12 volts off the first battery in the 24 volt crank series bank. That way you don't have to mess around with the house bank.
You're right, but he would have had to run a wire from the battery to the switch. Another alternative is he could have used a resistor in series to step down the voltage just before the solenoid. Either that, or another 12 volt load in series before the solenoid. I have a case bulldozer that's 24 volts, however, the headlights are (2) 12 volt bulbs wired in series.
@@bigjohn6475 The power feed to the old jake brake system, plus the wire from the switch all the way back to the solenoid is probably acting like a resister dropping the voltage to a manageable level at the solenoid.
Correction from my earlier post, re: 12 volt vs 24 volt gauges. After additional research, I found out, the senders stay the same, just the gauges are different for 12 volt vs. 24 volt, or even 32 volt, if you can even find those any longer.
@@newjerseybill3521 That could very well be, depending if there's a relay towards the rear of the bus. I added a relay at the rear of my bus to step up the voltage at the tail lights. They are 12 volt lights, but I had a 4 volt drop due to the long distance between the light switch and the tail lights. I did the same to the headlights. Not only did it make the bulbs much brighter, but it reduced the current going through the switch. You're right about the current being "manageable." The solenoid is only energized for a few seconds during shut down.
I’ve messed with a few of those in days past. Major PITA getting those threaded around sometimes. Especially on a hot unit. Usually the way I got them.......
I did not want to expose myself as the idiot in in class that asked what that was. I was studying the belt that went up top and figured they were fans of some sort but did not think of the radiator(s). Also I had noticed at one point how very loose it looked then later, not so loose. Air tensioning explains that. I don't have a desire to ever own one of these buses but for some reason this channel fascinates me.
Dude i had a fan set up like that i found in a bush by a highway. Some old guy offered me 400 bucks an a colt .45 with 5 rounds loaded into the 6. This was out in texas. Now i see why he wanted it so badly.
Don't the newer buses have 2 belts to the fans? It's been awhile. With the direct mount alternator it eliminates an oil leak problem. The 2 7s I worked on were belt drive had drain leak issues. The 8s,9s and 10 were direct gear. The charter company I worked for had 2 7s, one 8, 6 9s, and 1 10. If I remember correctly. That was 1990
I assumed from the beginning it went above to the cooling fans. They had to be somewhere and even in large vehicle engine bays, space is still limited by component size and operational parameters. That's the design of the technology available at the time. The fans have to be driven by available power and that meant a belt from the closest drive pulley. Suppose they could have put a large enough electric motor up there but that would demand current from that large alternator which already has demands on it running the rest of the bus electrics. And another motor and wiring add complications and maintenance requirements and possibilities of failures. No simple alternatives to what they utilized. My "wordy" take on the situation!
On the shut down solenoid it wouldn't hurt anything being 12volt. Its just a momentary activation, and you don't have to hold anything. They might be doing it in case you have a low voltage problem. Just a thought. And if you've got a turbo it doesn't have the shut down at all.
ginormous belt of death , boy you ain't kidding ,, i saw you reach between that belt in a previous video and i cringed inwardly i nearly lost my right hand in a PTO drive on a farm machine in 1996 ,,due to loose clothing getting near a large belt ,,,double compound fracture and 103 stitches and staples is a really strong painful reminder for me that carelessness KILLS around machinery
Yikes---when I was a kid, farmer got his thumb ripped off in the PTO of his tractor while wearing his winter mitts---said he never felt a thing. Whether because of the winter cold or what he said it never even bled that much. PLUS nearest hospital was close to an hour away.
For the big belt - I'm imagining a small pulley on the outside of both sides of the belt with a spring in the middle providing light tension towards the middle to keep the belt captured. Maybe it could be attacked to the exhaust manifold behind it.
You don't want anything like that. It would be more a headache. The problem with guides and or pulleys on this belt is, as Air pressure reaches 128psi (governor cutout) the belt tightens. To get around a low air start up, simply fill the air tanks in the bus with an external compressor. You would be surprised how tight that belt gets.
First time I saw this arrangement was on an MCI-8 and it just seemed crazy. It works though. Few ways around it. Unless you ran electric fans, and then you'd have to have a generator. I don't see 24v 230 amp keeping up with that.
It operates the fan boxes. I’ve bee driving coaches for 18 years. Our new DD buses require two alternators because of the load to the system and all electronics onboard. And even then I think it’s strained.
Very good explanation. I was never a fan of this design in older MCI’s and was surprised this design stuck around so long. As this “squirrel cage system” aged, they were common to develop cooling issues especially when the turbo versions of these engines were installed. They are just a maintenance nightmare as they age with the dual radiators, dual fans and what not. I prefer the side mount single traditional fan, single radiator design common on the GM’s and Prevosts that seem to hold up much much better over time, and less parts and less required maintenance. I always felt more “at home” driving an MCI but this design wasn’t great at all. I think the idea behind it all was to try to save as much space as possible.
I am toying with the idea of replacing the belt drive on my MCI mc9 radiator cooling fans with something variable-speed Electric. What are your thoughts on this idea? BTW I enjoy your shows!
I didn't see anything set up for a fast idle, any plans for it? I couldn't stand those style tensioners because they always leak, until I saw Prevost tensioners which are just mini airbags. At least the ones on the MCI have a spring that'll keep enough tension even without air to hold the belt on.
On my bus I used a 24V to 12V buck converter from ebay to get 12 volts for my LED tail lights. This would be an easy way to get 12V for you shut down solenoid.
If that fan belt is already dangerous, I don't want to imagine what will be the axially driven Sultana fan of which I put the link a little higher, the belt suffers much more in that position and I guess Cummins engineers never thought that something like This system could be used in one of its engines.
I've seen on other buses that they use belts to drive the radiator fans. Why not convert to electric. On this bus it would make even more sense because of the belt. Can you even get replacement belts and what is the cost?
Sweet alternator. Belts on both ends. Shame Radio Shack is gone. If that is a 12VDC solenoid you could get a 24 volt DC relay and run the 12 VDC though it to the solenoid.
That's why both the belt of death and the air conditioner compressor drive belts use air cylinders to adjust the tension. Both when the coach has no air pressure are loose as a goose but once past 80 pounds of air pressure they are then in proper tension.
I wanted to purchase a bus.. But I might purchase the emblems and a couple pictures and just watch your channel. :) do you have a preference eagle or mci etc.. As far as parts availability.. Love your work.. What does one of those big belts cost ??
In general i like MCI better than eagle but I’ll take a rust free eagle with good suspension over any MCI. (But those are rare) But GM’s are my favorites hands down.
wow a decent CZcams guy whom reads comments and answers questions.. thanks so much for that info..
I try to.... thanks
better than those idiots who disable comments
@@johndowe7003 Well I don't know if this guy is an idiot or not--Stephen Cox--he claims that it is CZcams that can't figure out his comments being disabled--saw one where he made that claim BUT I find it hard to believe and ANNOYING as hell!!
@@KStewart-th4sk he's a nazi and disabled comments so others dont call him out on his BS they preach about freedom of speech yet him and his buddy lance disabled comments on their channels. total hypocrites, its a shame because they werent always like that. an "not knowing how to enable comments" is total bullshit too.
When I trained, we learned on MC-12's. They instructed us to ALWAYS have our necktie over our shoulder as not to be tangled in that belt. I always wore a clip on.
Skinner Hound at greyhound Canada, they wouldn’t let you order the normal ties for this very reason. Clip on was the only way to go.
I don't miss the older AW3. Our buses had an air actuator for the shutdown. Used to have to carefully stick our arm in between the fan belt to shut them down when they failed.
You should see how big the fan belts became! Series 60, Cumins ISX. About 5' tall. Heavy. Does damage if they go bad.
As far as Alternators go, the gear drive on the 6V92 was awesome. Low fail rate. Oil cooled. Became easier on the DL4500 and 102D's. When they switched to the dual Bosch setup. No more 10 year units. Dumped that right down to 18 to 30 months.
That bus has all the belts and whistles. Thanks for explaining.
That was good. Even if the crowd throws tomatoes.....it was good.
@@travelingkaspersworld4096 Look out for "thatsallredhead" to come correct you. Both of those comments were funny. Thanks for contributing.
You have shown a amazing amount of knowledge and confidence performing work on a basket case project like this one was. Just good workmanship, very rare these days......
This is why I watch your videos.
You swing the camera around for a close up of whatever you're talking about, and then you slip in a "By- the-way": here's some more info that is important to remember. You're the Guide, Senpai, Teacher.
The large fan belt is the prime reason why Greyhound drivers could only use clip on ties. These were still found on the newer 102s with the even higher mounted rads.
The belt of death,,,,😱😱😱,
I will be sure to keep clear of the belt of death when checking out my possibly new MCI bus next week... thanks for the tip Scott.....
Thank you for answering that so quick. Love the channel.
Thanks for the explanation Scott. I too was wondering what the belt was driving, saw that it was probably something in the two big drum type covers but had no idea what. Now we know. Great job on this one, as always. Perseverance and hard work paid off again.
Another great, and informative video! Truly takes me back to the early eighties, when I went to work for a Trailways company as an A/C and Electrical repairman, in order to learn more about buses in general. This is at the time when I purchased my first bus to convert for ourselves, a Flxible VL-100. Neat looking bus, but a story in itself!
My Brother in law owns one of these buses converted by Custom Coach out of Columbus Ohio. His family take care of their bus like a New born child. If ever a family loved anything it would be a MCI 8v71T.
I came across this channel a couple weeks ago and have learned so much. Very interesting.
I was wondering about the tensioning devices. Thanks for the explanation!
Great video. Enjoy the short info video. So curious about these old busses. Enjoy wrenching on cars but watching you work on these buses I think my head would explode. Thank you
Thanks for the follow up to explain this, I though it had a lot of slack when you first started it up.
I thought it was for the cooling fans but I wasn't sure I'm glad you explained all of that and I really do appreciate your channel you're a very hardworking person that could really do appreciate what you're doing getting these old buses back on the road and helping these people out your bus your personal bus is very cool and I love it
Always interesting and what a beautiful bus thanks for sharing 👍🇦🇺
Wow 4 belts and holy wow that's a big belt. Really enjoying the videos
Enjoyed your explanation of all the belts bro.
On multi belt systems when replacing belts there is a "measured" length. So when you order belts it's not just matching part numbers you also need to get a "matched set"
Hi Scott Great explanation on the belts 👍🏻
As usual, a great video and answers to the inquiring minds!!.I myself was thinking idler pulley for that belt. Kind of bass ack- wards engineering for such a long belt. Waiting for the air pressure to build up and the coolant filler door! Gee whiz Scott...and I thought the radiator cap on the old Freightliner c.o.e. that I owned w/ my friend was high,that was really a piece of cake com pared to this set up!
Very informative, your explanations are great. Thanks for making this. Been enjoying your vids.
I was eyeing that thing in the last video trying to guess what it was, I got pretty damn close!
Wonderful save on this unique treasure!! I want one!!!
Thank you for explaining what that belt of death was. I was going to ask in your previous video. Stay safe.
I guessed what that big belt was. I like the air driven tensioners. Guess an MCI owner has to carry a large box of belts, never seen a vehicle with so many belt driven parts. A great looking bus.
Funny, I was just going to ask if a tensioner would help👍. Love your videos , thank you.🙏👌
It’s like your reading my mind. Thanks for explanation!
Great work Scott
I could see the sheetmetal & recognized them as squirrel cages. Whay I couldn’t fathom was why they’d srick ac evap blowers & evaporators right above the engine lol. Never even crossed my mind that they’d be the radiator fans (likely controling airflow over the ac condensors too). Those fans must eat a lot of horsepower. Think I’d be looking into nice new brushless 24v squirrel cages if the MCI were mine.
If it is 12 volt, you could just install a resistor with around the same resistance as the solenoid in series with it. It's only a momentary device anyway.
I had never seen one, and before buy my RV I wanted to buy a bus and convert it into an RV and I had a heck of a time replacing the water pump belt and hoses and after seeing that big engine compartment, not any more, Good Day Sr.
Where were you 7 years ago when I was taking care of my church's MCI bus??
Now, we have a Van Hool which is a whole new world of pains! I wish we still had an MCI.
The problems of the MCI at least made more sense to me.
Great channel, great info here.
very good ... amazing engineering
Wow, i had figured the big belt was for the air-con unit, did not realise it was for the rads, wow, those are some big radiators!
Buses not really my thing , but this guy is great & those belts!! Subscribed!!!
You mentioned early that the radiators were up high so to anyone who has worked heavy equipment it was intuitive what that belt was for. Thank you for explaining to the uninitiated.
Although I must say I enjoy your videos you are very thorough
Now I know thanks for the video explaining!!
I had wondered also. I always thought it drove an air compressor. Strange design to have the radiators and cooling fans that high up with such a long belt. But it gets the radiators up off of the road where the air is likely a few degrees cooler than right down on the pavement.
Excellent videos btw Christopher Ottawa Ontario
That's an old girl we had one mci bus and 3 eagle buses remember watching my granddad work on those and for time to time I'd get to help him and mom would throw a fit lol still good memories and good skills learned
Appreciate the explanations on these Bus components. Impressive.
That "Miter Box" is essentially a small differential correct ? Is it a 1:1 ratio or something different. ?
Cool I didn’t know that and I could see the tension change I just thought the belt had to warm up great video keep um coming 🇺🇸
Thanks, it had me wondering
Ive reached through many of those to mash throttle working on ac back in the day. The air ride suspension is more dangerous
Thanks for the video.
If it's 24VDC you could also use a voltage regulator to drop it to 12VDC. There are also other ways to drop the voltage... voltage divider circuit, etc.
Another alternative for feeding 12VDC to the shut down solenoid, pull 12 volts off the first battery in the 24 volt crank series bank. That way you don't have to mess around with the house bank.
You're right, but he would have had to run a wire from the battery to the switch. Another alternative is he could have used a resistor in series to step down the voltage just before the solenoid. Either that, or another 12 volt load in series before the solenoid. I have a case bulldozer that's 24 volts, however, the headlights are (2) 12 volt bulbs wired in series.
@@bigjohn6475 The power feed to the old jake brake system, plus the wire from the switch all the way back to the solenoid is probably acting like a resister dropping the voltage to a manageable level at the solenoid.
Correction from my earlier post, re: 12 volt vs 24 volt gauges. After additional research, I found out, the senders stay the same, just the gauges are different for 12 volt vs. 24 volt, or even 32 volt, if you can even find those any longer.
@@newjerseybill3521 That could very well be, depending if there's a relay towards the rear of the bus.
I added a relay at the rear of my bus to step up the voltage at the tail lights. They are 12 volt lights, but I had a 4 volt drop due to the long distance between the light switch and the tail lights. I did the same to the headlights. Not only did it make the bulbs much brighter, but it reduced the current going through the switch.
You're right about the current being "manageable." The solenoid is only energized for a few seconds during shut down.
OMG thanks for the WARNING....I can see DISASTER striking for someone who didn't know...
Just add a power resistor inline with the electric shutoff to drop the voltage down. A coil ballast resistor would probably work great.
It reminds me of a Thermo King fan belt.
I’ve messed with a few of those in days past. Major PITA getting those threaded around sometimes. Especially on a hot unit. Usually the way I got them.......
I did not want to expose myself as the idiot in in class that asked what that was. I was studying the belt that went up top and figured they were fans of some sort but did not think of the radiator(s). Also I had noticed at one point how very loose it looked then later, not so loose. Air tensioning explains that.
I don't have a desire to ever own one of these buses but for some reason this channel fascinates me.
i have driven many MCI-8 and MCI-7. i used to repair the old Homeland Security buses
Dude i had a fan set up like that i found in a bush by a highway. Some old guy offered me 400 bucks an a colt .45 with 5 rounds loaded into the 6. This was out in texas. Now i see why he wanted it so badly.
Cool! An option would be to utilize a 24v lock actuator solenoid to save some trouble. The ac semi hermetic is awesome!
Doubtful that a lock actuator would have enough strength to pull the governor shutoff.
5,5 kW alternator? Nice!
Now them is some angry pixies!!
Don't the newer buses have 2 belts to the fans? It's been awhile. With the direct mount alternator it eliminates an oil leak problem. The 2 7s I worked on were belt drive had drain leak issues. The 8s,9s and 10 were direct gear. The charter company I worked for had 2 7s, one 8, 6 9s, and 1 10. If I remember correctly. That was 1990
Thanks for that guess i was not the only one LOL!
I assumed from the beginning it went above to the cooling fans. They had to be somewhere and even in large vehicle engine bays, space is still limited by component size and operational parameters. That's the design of the technology available at the time. The fans have to be driven by available power and that meant a belt from the closest drive pulley. Suppose they could have put a large enough electric motor up there but that would demand current from that large alternator which already has demands on it running the rest of the bus electrics. And another motor and wiring add complications and maintenance requirements and possibilities of failures. No simple alternatives to what they utilized. My "wordy" take on the situation!
The one on that 40s 471 with the fan blade hanging low seems more deadly lol
Blower belt... But does look loose.. well that is my opinion...and love that solenoid .. from my old 671 days....
On the shut down solenoid it wouldn't hurt anything being 12volt. Its just a momentary activation, and you don't have to hold anything. They might be doing it in case you have a low voltage problem. Just a thought. And if you've got a turbo it doesn't have the shut down at all.
ginormous belt of death , boy you ain't kidding ,, i saw you reach between that belt in a previous video and i cringed inwardly
i nearly lost my right hand in a PTO drive on a farm machine in 1996 ,,due to loose clothing getting near a large belt ,,,double compound fracture and 103 stitches and staples is a really strong painful reminder for me that carelessness KILLS around machinery
Yikes---when I was a kid, farmer got his thumb ripped off in the PTO of his tractor while wearing his winter mitts---said he never felt a thing. Whether because of the winter cold or what he said it never even bled that much. PLUS nearest hospital was close to an hour away.
Interesting! Still trying to wrap my automotive-scale mind around the sheer size of these beasts - sheesh!
For the big belt - I'm imagining a small pulley on the outside of both sides of the belt with a spring in the middle providing light tension towards the middle to keep the belt captured. Maybe it could be attacked to the exhaust manifold behind it.
You don't want anything like that. It would be more a headache. The problem with guides and or pulleys on this belt is, as Air pressure reaches 128psi (governor cutout) the belt tightens. To get around a low air start up, simply fill the air tanks in the bus with an external compressor. You would be surprised how tight that belt gets.
First time I saw this arrangement was on an MCI-8 and it just seemed crazy. It works though. Few ways around it. Unless you ran electric fans, and then you'd have to have a generator. I don't see 24v 230 amp keeping up with that.
GIANT belt of death !!! Awesome
Hello just wondering what kind of work on engine? New cams ?? Sleeves??
It operates the fan boxes. I’ve bee driving coaches for 18 years. Our new DD buses require two alternators because of the load to the system and all electronics onboard. And even then I think it’s strained.
Very good explanation. I was never a fan of this design in older MCI’s and was surprised this design stuck around so long. As this “squirrel cage system” aged, they were common to develop cooling issues especially when the turbo versions of these engines were installed. They are just a maintenance nightmare as they age with the dual radiators, dual fans and what not. I prefer the side mount single traditional fan, single radiator design common on the GM’s and Prevosts that seem to hold up much much better over time, and less parts and less required maintenance. I always felt more “at home” driving an MCI but this design wasn’t great at all. I think the idea behind it all was to try to save as much space as possible.
And the air actuated shutter valves were a pain in the fricken butt!
@@trashyaudiophile7301 The whole cooling system was a pain!
Reminds me of the other General Motors air-cooled engine with the silly belt that flipped over the motor.
You can purchase shutdown solenoids in any voltage you may need. Chances are the one you have would be the same voltage as the motor is set up for.
I am toying with the idea of replacing the belt drive on my MCI mc9 radiator cooling fans with something variable-speed Electric. What are your thoughts on this idea?
BTW I enjoy your shows!
That solenoid would probably be fine with either voltage ..its only energized briefly and doesnt need much strain
I learned when I was young not to get rid of anything on a swap until you were finished
It’s been moved 3x to its 3rd Mechanic so i got nothing.... I’m lucky it was mostly all there
Lucky man to have that bus...
I wondered, glad to know!
I didn't see anything set up for a fast idle, any plans for it? I couldn't stand those style tensioners because they always leak, until I saw Prevost tensioners which are just mini airbags. At least the ones on the MCI have a spring that'll keep enough tension even without air to hold the belt on.
Imagine the carnage that belt would cause if it broke and got all tangled up in everything.
Not much. More likely the gear box would fail🤣🤣🤣
Maybe you can find some kind of robust potentiometer to drop the voltage to 12volts for that solinoid.
I was wondering what that belt was for. All the buses I've ever driven had a hydraulic driven radiator fan.
On my bus I used a 24V to 12V buck converter from ebay to get 12 volts for my LED tail lights. This would be an easy way to get 12V for you shut down solenoid.
Giant belt of death on the death bus hat has already killed off 2 mechanics. Whatever you do don’t become the third.
It's not the bus' fault people die of old age, but, yeah, let's not have an industrial accident. ;)
If that fan belt is already dangerous, I don't want to imagine what will be the axially driven Sultana fan of which I put the link a little higher, the belt suffers much more in that position and I guess Cummins engineers never thought that something like This system could be used in one of its engines.
If you check a local electronics store you should be able to find a step down converter to bring that 24V down to 12V for a few bucks
I've seen on other buses that they use belts to drive the radiator fans. Why not convert to electric. On this bus it would make even more sense because of the belt. Can you even get replacement belts and what is the cost?
Mmmmm straight pipe Detroit Diesel :-P
So it was the driving for the radiator fan. Is this setup really a good idea?
That is why old MCI drivers wore clip on ties--if the company required them to wear ties.
I have a question why did they put a shroud over it?
All of that would make you want a big “belt” (nightcap) afterword ...
Sweet alternator. Belts on both ends. Shame Radio Shack is gone. If that is a 12VDC solenoid you could get a 24 volt DC relay and run the 12 VDC though it to the solenoid.
I think Adafruit, or something like that, might have a comparable solenoid, they have all kinds of electrical components!
At least the alternator belts have a solid tension adjuster! The fans and A/C comp. belts have to float due to engine movement
That's why both the belt of death and the air conditioner compressor drive belts use air cylinders to adjust the tension. Both when the coach has no air pressure are loose as a goose but once past 80 pounds of air pressure they are then in proper tension.
Man that's scary. They would have chewed up a few blokes over the years.
Cooling fan belt. Keeping that gear box full of oil is critical
Must be a pain to fix one of those belt for the alternator
I wanted to purchase a bus.. But I might purchase the emblems and a couple pictures and just watch your channel. :) do you have a preference eagle or mci etc.. As far as parts availability.. Love your work.. What does one of those big belts cost ??
In general i like MCI better than eagle but I’ll take a rust free eagle with good suspension over any MCI. (But those are rare) But GM’s are my favorites hands down.