Detroit diesel 8v71 engine overheated, broken valve melted piston rings getting rebuilt Vintage bus

/ busgreasemonkey
This detroit diesel 8v71 was in very bad but running condition when it arrived here. An inframe rebuild after being over heated. An old head i had sitting around came in handy. Around $2,500 in parts and we all pitched in on our spare time to rebuild this engine for our daughter and son-in-law.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

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[@hydroy1]

@@grandmasmalibu And let's not forget ontop of all that, Tenn. gets 100 inch's of rainfall a year !

[@bustjanzupan1074]

Excellent bus, and excellent work 🙂 Thanks to Lord God, for the extra Help at this rebuild !!! ! !!! 🙂 So, what was the main reason for burned piston ? Thank you 🙂 Peace with you 🙂

[@jimsmith9819]

@@grandmasmalibu he used to travel and fix them in the field

[@isaactoevai1924]

​@@hydroy1 😅

[@keehnslaw24]

Question regarding my 1978 Silver Eagle Model 05 with an 8v71. What is the gear box thing that drives the alternator and fan? Sorta looks like the drive for a PTO or something. Mine is leaking from 3 sides.

[@thundaboi08]

I love the sound of that 2 stroke Detroit.

[@dapsapsrp]

Your granddaughter is adorable. I learn something new every time I watch one of these and I don't ever have a bus. Nonetheless it is education and very interesting to me.

[@atinshed]

Scott, please ask the young driver to take one recommendation from a professional driver with 45 years of experience. It is important to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times, unless attending to other driving related tasks, such as using your directionals. Perhaps, one day, he will hit black ice, or a large pothole, or will suffer a front tyre blowout; in which case having both hands on the wheel will give him a far greater chance of remedying the situation, and possibly saving his gorgeous daughter from injury. This is mandatory in Europe, for excellent reasons!

[@flir67man84]

Scott has to train him to bgm standards, the driver is just starting out.

[@oliviajones2674]

Guy drives fine to me... Nobody needs to constantly double death grip the steering wheel as that will make it difficult to react quickly. 45 years don't mean much to me it's how you drive and how safe you are... Also he's not in Europe

[@arthurlangford5861]

As a 35yr. professional operator, I definitely agree that their are some things that a newer operator must get in the habit of doing until they have a bit more experience. Bad habits developed early on can get drivers in trouble. Scott's promptings are on point as well as yours. The reason seasoned operators give the impression that, "It's easy and anybody can do it!", is the experience. We all want everyone to be safe as possible when operating.

[@grumpyg9350]

I use 1 hand and a knee. The other hands free to use my cell phone.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

@@grumpyg9350 can you drink coffee with the non cell phone hand too?

[@just_some_internet_guy]

That was a wonderful family moment you shared with us. Thank you for not just fixing busses, and videoing them, but also taking time to share your exciting family experiences too.

[@cheeseburger3072]

40 years ago I had my first driving job, it was operating a shuttle from the airport to downtown motels. The buses we had when I first started were MC-7. Months later we acquired a couple Eagle 10's (4 speed Spicer). I got good at shifting the 4speeds , they shift just like a semi truck. Then we got some GMC 4905 (Buffalo). These were 4 speed with no clutch brake. Before I left the company they acquired some MC-8 with the 4 speed manual. They constantly overheated a problem with the MC-8. Your video brought back memories of my bus driving days. For the last 35 years I've been driving semi trucks, the last 15 years driving local. The 8v71 Detroit (318) is a motor I'm very familiar with a long with 6v92 (silver 92) Detroit I've driven buses and trucks with these motors. I enjoy watching videos about the old Detroit Diesels.

[@Blazer02LS]

One of our older LaFrance rigs ran a 6V92 in it and we were at a working fire one night and she started banging pretty good, Had a very slight drop in power but she kept pumping until the end of the call. Pulled it apart and it had sucked in a broken valve and hammered it through the top of the piston like a nail. Told them that she was a typical Detroit, would eat her guts and keep running with problems that would destroy other engines. Dropped in a replacement piston, rebuilt the head and she was back to front line status in under a week.

[@asarand]

Now that's what I call improvement. Looks like that bus has a very strong engine now.

[@michaelsteinmann529]

What I learned from an old mechanic who was the technical director of the bus fleets in Israel (Egged): Always, when you reach such a level of engine disassembly, the conrods bearings must be replaced. It makes no sense to save on these small and cheap items, which, contrary to their appearance, are critical and very important. The pistons and sleeves are new now and tremendous pressure is put on these bearings, as opposed to the lesser pressure that was put on them before, when the engine was already worn.

[@bwalker4194]

Gotta love the Detroits! Had an empty logging rig chase my wife and I UP a mountain road in North Carolina one time. We didn’t know the road but we were in a Chrysler 300 with a V8 and I have a good bit of track experience. I would pull away just a little bit in the turns and here he’d come filling the mirrors on even the slightest straight away. We laughed and played the game for about fifteen minutes when I pulled over and let him by which earned me two toots on his horn. He was very difficult to stay up with. The road finally straightened and he pulled off for a load of logs. I stopped next door and congratulated him on his excellent driving. Turns out he’d been driving that road for thirty years and was sitting behind a “breathed on” 8V92. Great stuff!

[@claytoncomeaux414]

The remarkable sense of accomplishment, we could all feel. Kudos to the grand baby Emily!

[@deanbanks3392]

That was quite the rebuild. Enjoyable viewing.

[@anthonyrivera2128]

I love the way that you approach. To repair work, I have been working on transit buses for 29 years. I've been an inspector for the last 7 since I. Retired, inspecting the drive train and all components being put back on the bus. I would love just to see your operation in person. God bless

[@dennisbailey4296]

Been following you since you were a mobile bus mechanic. You have had such great vision in getting this whole thing together with family now grandchildren and having the facilities that you built!! What a great great blessing. Good to see you able to enjoy family and have the flexibility to have the privilege of working with your Son and Family! All the best of 2023 from Surrey BC Canada

[@lar4305]

I am a retired auto mechanic with 43 years working on cars. I can tell you i find it so much more interesting seeing you work on these busses then any cars . What a beautiful family you have.

[@jefferyepstein9210]

I'm amazed at the fact these busses will run with engines in the condition some are in. Seems like almost nothing can stop them.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

They run with lots of damage that is for sure

[@HolidayRambling]

Beautiful bus, sounds great too and so much quicker up that hill

[@jamesallen712]

Amazed that the engine ran with a bust valve. Nice job in the rebuild.

[@pettyfogger2305]

It was neat to watch this TEAM operate I think Tyler (already an able mechanic and engine whisperer) has really risen to be an all around Master. While it appears that you folks are pretty much maxxed out for time and shop space, I think opening a spot for an intern would be cool. I also hope you consider a week or long weekend of Boot Camp for bus owners (using buses already in your shop) and particularly for folks JUST thinking about buying a bus; basic knowledge, spotting faults, runaway engines are not our friends, bits of knowledge you suffer to get so they won't have to, treating the core issue not just the symptoms and safety, safety SAFETY. I believe you could fill up several classes a year with a 'clean' classroom day off site, a hands on, down and dirty day and day tying up loose ends, Q & A, etc.

[@MrLBPug]

It always comes in handy to have a small team member like your granddaughter around to do the work that requires crawling into tiny spaces 😉 (J/K of course. Nice work on getting the engine to run much better. That bus clearly deserves it.)

[@Tiger351]

Great to see the rebuild finished, your grand daughter seemed to enjoy going for a ride. I feel Tyler's pain, 2 things I don't miss from my former careers are the smell of burning electrical components and cold start clag (especially when you have a depot full guys starting at the same time).

[@brycejeannotte7699]

That looks like a great bus. Now it runs as good as it looks.

[@randyclyde4939]

Wow, Scott what a great video! Your granddaughter is a real cutie-pie! Super job on that engine, the sounds and visual performance tell the transformation that engine underwent. Thanks for sharing your personal family experiences, that's very special to us great g-pa's! I'm always happy to see a new video from you all. Blessings for the New Year and for the wonderful work you do! Stay well, stay safe!

[@mitchmills8967]

What a beautiful bus. And quite the beast. Great addition to the family and the fleet. That baby is adorable.

[@Jordan__Sloan]

Wow that was cool, I’ve got a lot of respect for someone who can pull that off. Thanks for sharing

[@garysoykin2783]

You guys are awesome. What a great job there’s not very many people left that do this kind of work quality work thanks guys.

[@wesleypulkka7447]

BGM- Those diesels can really take a hard hit and come back strong! WOW! Great job Scott + Company!

[@bill8582]

That is a beautiful bus, I love the way that they did the dash. Your granddaughter is too cute, but man do they grow up quick.

[@MarkK01]

I do not own a bus but someday I might get one. I subscribed to this channel a few years back because I love the way this family and the employees works together. They are so knowledgeable. Great job guys. And extremely cute grandchild. I remember when mine where that young. I really miss those days.

[@davidowen888]

Excellent ! Your daughter and son inlaw must be so psyched😍 she's a beautiful bus☮️

[@claytoncomeaux414]

Seeing Tyler in this video ,brings back so many memories. Those early years were so precious.

[@davidremy4470]

Great job, as usual. It's a beautiful bus , now with a rebuilt engine done by qualified mechanics, she's ready to put some miles behind her. Boy, that young man married into the right family, lol!!

[@williamreifsnyder5008]

great video, love the sound of them Detroits. Used to keep them serviced in yachts for many years :)

[@life_of_riley88]

My dad did an in frame rebuild of an 8v92 for a well drilling truck. The old diesel was the power for the drill. I'll never forget hearing that thing fire up for the first time at around age 12. Scared the living crap outta me, but now at age 34 I'd love to hear it again. These engines are so cool, and epitomize American engineering and expertise.

[@CoolBlue87GT]

Very nice, enjoyed the entire rebuild. Great looking bus. Looking forward to an on the road test drive. Great way to start the new year.

[@rickdunagan5779]

Awesome video! Really like the closeups and high resolution. Good detail. Always looking forward to new releases. Love Ellie's participation, stills & vids. Hard to beat being Pappy. Love to see one per day but I know that is a big job. Keep 'em coming.

[@UncaDave]

As always, great great job Scott and Tyler and all helpers, especially that beautiful granddaughter! Glad you had a nice family time too!

[@davidvivian596]

I love the way you are passing down your considerable expertise Scott, through Tyler and now also through his new apprentice (I'm sorry, I don't know his name). In the years ahead, these old buses are going to need expert and specialist mechanics to keep them running.

[@roygardiner4002]

Beautiful work Scott for a beautiful mobile home.Very well done team.

[@18robsmith]

Sounds nice and sweet - quite a change from the spluttering and staggering before the rebuild. That's going to be a great cruiser for your kids (and Elly)

[@frankchodacki6269]

That's a damn nice coach.. even nicer now that it runs right! Great video. I learned quite a bit. It's nice that these motors can be rebuilt in frame.

[@tomlarsen5451]

The first start of anticipation and intense sense of relief when it pops like the 4th of July , amazing sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Great video. Happy new year. 😊.

[@hotpuppy1]

Neat piston tools. Boy, whomever worked on that last did not know what they were doing for sure. Few out there old enough to have worked on these when they were common.

[@trucks_channel_razborgruz]

*the engine is very similar to Scania. We are filming a repair video right now.* 👍🏽🔥

[@jerrykinnin7941]

Good to see Leroy. And your granddaughter looks like she's having fun. To help not curb the rears have the spot mirrors set so you can see the rear end. Buu wide enough you can see both lanes and shoulders on 24/40/65 in Nashville in the center lane.

[@wernerdanler2742]

At least it made it up the hill in one go, before the rebuild, unlike that other one that took four or five trys. 😆 That motor was messed up! Beautiful grandbaby. I ran the heck out of my turbodiesel Peugeot in the mountains back in the early 90s. It blew the headgasket and put all kinds of little cracks in the head. It did no damage to the lower end. It only cost me around $400 for a new head, and labor was around $ 200 or $300. Just a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder.

[@cusomano76]

What a beautiful bus, inside and out. Great job all!!

[@michaelmcelwain2053]

Love to see people working on older stuff and know what they are doing. Truly professional. I have minimal experience with Detroits , I worked in a fleet truck shop that had a few old ones hanging around, also saw you helping Dangar Marine guy out on his channel.

[@markmercnut]

What a gorgeous bud and great job on the rebuild what an improvement

[@j6sj7]

Wow nice work... another resurrection up on the mountain! Back in the day when I was taught to drive a charter operator's fleet of vintage ex-Greyhound 4106's by vintage ex-Greyhound driver Mr. John Brandt, he passed along some wisdom about taking those old coaches around the corners in the city of Philadelphia. He'd say, "Kid, when you corner, you drive the g*dd**n BACK of the bus, not the g*dd**n front of it!" and "Kid, if the g*dd**n room's there, TAKE it!" He also taught me to hold the wheel with my thumbs outside the wheel, so if it whipped around when the bus hit a pothole, it didn't bust my thumbs. I never dinged one of those old Greyhounds worse than they were when I pulled out of the yard and I never broke a thumb. Thanks Mr. Brandt and thanks Scott, for dredging up all these old memories!

[@bnelson313braveheart8]

That’s a pretty bus and now has an engine to gettr done!!! Great work and your content is amazing!

[@siaripop7]

Nice looking bus and it runs well now!

[@lizardfog]

What I really like is the constant positive attitude to all the problems you encounter. Me I get all worked up for a stuck bolt! Learning from you! It's therapy!

[@dudebud72]

13:30 awwwwwwwwww that’s absolutely the best part of life. Thanks for sharing. Awesome stuff!

[@mikemullay5622]

That is a beautiful bus. Now it sounds as good as it looks.

[@LiquidAudio]

Wow, great work and what an improvement! Love the work you are doing on these beautiful old buses.

[@wiserman100]

It's amazing how much incompetence is "out there" in supposedly professional shops. As a Diesel Technologies student eons ago, we referred to a local shop with the initials, DSU, as Dumb Sh*#s Unlimited. Not much has changed. It's good to see you guys doing stellar work fixing other people's mistakes. You're a credit to the trade.

[@peteengard9966]

Classic old Detroit. Not too many around anymore. I was a truck guy and shied away from busses. Good job. Well done.

[@geertvandermeer4938]

Beautiful bus, now with a well running engine.

[@lakehunter48p55]

I like the tear downs and details you show us. thks.

[@jeffr0]

Scott, you should get one of those charts like Clarkson did on Top Gear and place all your buses times in order!

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

For insurance purposes we do not “race up the hill”. However we have a start line, and a finish line and video timing of every bus hill climb. This bus was the 2nd slowest to ever successfully climb the hill but successfully make it.

[@TXDeathInvestigator]

Fine work, Scott!

[@desertbob6835]

Exactly what a fresh 8V71N should sound like.

[@geocindea9143]

I work five years on a truck with 8v 71 detroit engine.i love that sound.hello from Romania

[@swmarb5236]

Beautiful grandbaby Scott. Congratulations. My days come'n! Can-t wait.......enjoy!

[@carlv8168]

Great job rebuilding that engine!

[@towncoupe]

Gorgeous Bus !!!! Beautiful Grand Daughter !!! Fine Family Moments Cheers from Calgary

[@woody95124]

Good job guys...I used to use reusable studs to line heads..keeps mistakes from happening or moving o rings or head gasket....

[@kimberlyallison3598]

OMG! That baby is adorable. You have a nice family.

[@MrDexcars]

Nice work what a great job you’re all doing and what cutie Emily is she reminds my daughter at that age she was lying under a car with me replacing the gearbox she would pass me the spanner’s fantastic video keep safe guys and many great travels from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@FlockingmMollifordsonite]

Made to be worked on. Installed to be worked on. Neat to see. Thanks for the quality content.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

I feel sorry for the people who you bought the bus from I bet they wish they had found you before they went to the dodgy mechanic Good for your family Scott I also have my daughter and son-in-law living on our property and see my granddaughter every day Ours is not quite walking yet but having them here is just the best 👍👍😍😍

[@JohnSmith-rp2ii]

Such a beautiful bus!! Nice job Scott and Bus Grease Monkey crew!! Congratulations Jonathan!

[@ralphballtrip2214]

I guess he’s a great kid a hard worker, and a new father sometime this young generation, and they had to learn by their mistakes. That’s what I did. Thank you for the video.

[@johngaither9263]

With a broken valve, punctured piston and at least 3 seized top compression rings it's a compliment to the manufactures of Detroit Diesels it climbed the hill at all. The after repairs run was in the bag. When they're good they're great and when they're bad they still beat walking but not by much.

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

Plugged my ISM block warmer in and got exactly that. Was a bare to pull out. Nice work all

[@abrahamghannam2137]

Nothing sounds like a Detroit do you just a monster ready to go a true diesel engine? You know when it’s a Detroit diesel. The sound of it is awesome.

[@peterhodgkins6985]

That's a really nice bus!! Now it's got a runner for an engine too!

[@joseserrano9275]

Beautiful job, at this cool Motor home.Congratulations.

[@classicbob44]

Saw Leroy, haven't seen him in quite awhile. Great job on the bus.

[@robertquast9684]

That Detroit is running nice. No smoke at all climbing the hill.

[@michaelmoore2202]

I can see Grand Pa beaming ear to ear! You got him Ellie!!

[@johnny22single99]

ABSOLUTELY----> OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!. 🙂

[@crownvicky]

Wow, what an improvement, perfect.

[@ErwinWernerTeichmann]

Beautiful job and bus! Congrats Grease Monkey!

[@trevortrevortsr2]

What a fascinating engine - quite different from most - no chance of getting that through modern emissions I guess - thanks for posting

[@mikebarton8140]

Have not worked on one of those in 40 years, NICE.

[@tater_relocater]

Sound good on the hill pull , nice job

[@gordoncorey8023]

Another great rebuild job nice job nice bus too.

[@charlesroer972]

Great improvement when engines are makin power !

[@fabiodriven]

This is a welcome break from speaker of the house proceedings.

[@gittnjiggy2]

I'm amazed how many so called "Diesel Mechanics" Don't understand the Detroit Diesel!! When I was taught "Diesel" by an old timer "Leroy Owens" he told me "if you can build and understand the Detroit, You can build any of the others", but If doesnt' work the other way now does it? I have never heard you mention the "restrictor fitting" in the return fuel line. Great video.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Yes the restriction fitting is on the head.

[@fw1421]

Nice bus. With that rebuilt engine should last a long time.

[@ronrambo7834]

nice looking bus/RV good score for the kid!

[@mattywho8485]

That bus must be a dream buy for you, a beautiful bus with a bad motor that you have the knowledge to fix with ease, yet get a good deal on the bus due to it's problem.

[@user-fl8om7yb3l]

Nice sound when loading and unloading momentarily .

[@ronaldbertin9455]

Motor looks beautiful, all cleaned up and ready to make 2 stroke music

[@megachangamanga]

Excellent work you guys (from Pakistan). The little baby and track were awesome!!!! God Bless your family and the bus

[@Sky92651]

Gotta love this bus, and the rebuild

[@andylowe2725]

Very nice Engine work!