Grrrrrrrrrrrr, when will these people learn? 3 years ago I supplied a rebuilt gearbox to a customer abroad. There was a negative earth to the body which he assured me would be rectified as I explained there was a good chance he would get 2-gear selection which will cause problems.

Guess what? a call today from abroad," my bus won't build up air, the flag won't go up, the prop shaft won't go round, we can't get 3rd gear". What can we do?

Fit another gearbox is the rather expensive answer and find the cause of the negative earth, then check the 7 core from the gearbox! Sorry to say. Gearboxes and fluid flywheels no longer grow on trees, and this bus dropped its flywheel oil all over a village square a while ago because it overheated because of the same reasons!! Grrrrrrr. Another trip to the Alps beckons. :)

There's a very good way to deal with idiots like that. Tell the man that there are no replacement parts any longer and it's going to cost. Bring the gearbox back to the UK and have new shafts, drums, gears etc made and give him the bill for about £35,000 plus fitting. Maybe he'll listen next time.

That's what I feel like doing!!

As it is, my last trip to Austria to fix his box and replace the flywheel was in excess of £5k!!

and of course the bus HAS to go out this weekend, that is, if the flywheel doesn't overheat and set fire to the bus. I'm now down to my last flywheel!

We have a surplus and thus available for sale complete flywheel from an AEC engine ex Routemaster, the gland appears to be in good condition.
Located Manchester

Mark

My bus number (if any): RM1414 sort of

Thanks, I'll be in touch if my customer does that much damage!! I've already changed obe flywheel on this bus where he managed to melt the inside. Please people, if you suspect you have 2 gears at the same time, DON'T DRIVE!! It's cheaper to get a tow truck than a recon gearbox and replacement flywheel.

Having now delivered another gearbox to this customer, his old one (rebuilt 2 years ago) has seized solid in 4th gear, no neutral. The gubbins that work 3rd gear have fallen of and wedged themselves inside the box, probably due to external meddling.

The customer also reckons the flywheel was overheating and it was very slow building up air!! Not surprising as the gearbox was locked in 4th, the propshaft wouldn't turn to build up air, which would then cause the flywheel to overheat.

Negative earth problems yet again. please people, learn. DO NOT connect negative to the body on your RMs. DO NOT connect positive to the body on your RMs. This is the root of most recent gearbox failures.

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others

I hate to appear stupid but is it possible for the box to select 2 gears at the same time and still be drive able?
If so what are the symptoms we need to watch for.
I personally use the gearbox manually will this help prevent this problem?

As always many thanks for any info,I like many others read what you experienced guys write and hope to pick up useful bits of info that may just save me money in the future.

My bus number (if any): RML 2478

The box cannot select 2 gears, the electric side does that for you. If you have a short circuit with one wire touching the chassis this is how you get 2 gears selected at the same time. see above for common causes!!

It is possible for buses to go considerable distances with 2 gears engaged. Performance will be somewhat sluggish and the flywheel will overheat, possibly to such a degree where either the fusible plug will melt or it will catch fire. you will cause a lot of internal damage to the gearbox.

Someone I was talking to yesterday is looking at a replacement box as the one he'd been given to rebuild by a commercial operator has ruined 2nd 3rd and 4th gears!! It is beyond repair.

Selecting gears manually won't stop the problem, only checking the wiring will do that.

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others

If your ep valve is leaking air past a gear in addition to the gear you have selected then you will have 2 gears at once, that problem with previous owners fooked my mates semi box in his Daimler CVG. Relatively straight forward to check by taking pipes off and checking for air passing on each ep to box line.

Mark

My bus number (if any): rm1414 sort of

It is unlikely that air will leak past the EP valve to engage a gear. I've noticed problems with air leaking past in EP blocks and assumed wrongly that it was going into a gear. What it was was the air leaking past the needle valve inside the EP valve and leaking back to atmosphere via the exhaust on the end of the EP block. do check though by taking the pipe off.

It is thought that it is impossible for the gearbox itself to engage more than one gear as it depends on an air supply from somewhere to engage any gear. So to engage 2 gears, apart from internal failure such as the brake bands and drums welding themselves together,would need an air supply. The air supply can only come from the EP block. The main reason for brake bands welding together is back to cause 1...air being supplied to more than one gear, or lack of lubricant in the gearbox!

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others

Pardon this question i'm about to ask, but... If owners keep breaking their buses after work has been carried out despite being warned to check or maintain why continuing offering to work on them, do they not have their our engineers that know basic things.. (i've borrowed a tin hat for the incoming fire)

My bus number (if any): rm158

Probably because they pay me to do so, and no, there's very few RM specialists with diagnostic skills abroad! they only know how to run them into the ground. It's the way I earn my living at the moment.

TBH I'd rather not keep fixing the same problems, but it's pointless trying to tell people who won't listen. they think there's still 100s of RMs roaming the streets of London and that you can pick up every spare part with ease.

Latest request was for Lodekka clutch parts. the same customer had to have a complete clutch made this year because there's no parts available any more.

Basically, until a few RMs are broken for spares, we will soon run out of certain parts.

Thanks for your honest answer Roy.. Money does make the world go round along with the wheels on a bus. Whilst parts are hoarded by some owners for that rainy day regardless of what vehicle it is. The time will and is coming when vehicles will be broken up to keep others going, (mine included in that.) Barnsley's scrapyards is an easy answer doesn't have shelves full of every part ever made for coaches or buses.. Sad but true.

My bus number (if any): rm158

Very true indeed. One of the RMs I repair in Germany was resurrected after an engine bay fire about 7 year ago. that's the one that currently needs yet another engine. The same customer ha a couple of Bristol Lodekkas. One needed some clutch parts recently and hey, there's no Bristol clutch parts around any more. Luckily I found a firm called Truckfix who had bought various patterns so were able to make a new clutch from scratch! It cost over £2k, but at least the bus till works.

As you rightly say, there's no vast supply or indeed any supply from the Barnsley scrap yards any more. It's only us hoarders who have anything left!

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others