Not so routine maintenance on a GM Bus PD-4106

This bus needed some serious love by someone that speaks “bus”. The truck mechanic that worked on it prior to me is lucky that no one got killed by the mistake he made on the brakes. No new content in this video, if you are a regular subscriber you have seen this all but instead of piece by piece it’s all edited together. Enjoy

[@jw4620]

I believe you must surely be a godsend for these folks.

[@crazgirl80]

The owner was blessed to have you check out this bus. Great job!

[@PaulLawry]

Good catch on the S cams, no wonder he had problems braking! Although I've never met the owner we do chat on FB. He has nothing but praises for your work!

[@larrygall5831]

Fascinating. I've never worked on buses, but I've always been interested in them for some reason. I worked on a lot of cars, pickup trucks and off-road vehicles.. but watching someone work on these buses is very cathartic.

[@jontisdall6248]

Really enjoy your longer videos. The short ones are great but the longer ones give me a chance to crack a beer and kick back for a spell. One of my favourite channels.Thanks.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

This will probably be more of the format of the future. One job all edited into one video. It’s a bit more work but i hear what you and others are saying.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Don’t worry, not taken as criticism, just some helpful feedback.

[@TestTubeBabySpy]

I just Cracked Open a giant beer. 24 oz Icehouse EDGE, the shittiest of the shit. still cool vid tho

[@rickjohnson1632]

That water is nasty . Not good . The owner was lucky to have you come along to go through the mechanicals 👍

[@Adam_Poirier]

As someone who works on heavy trucks and equipment for a living I watched the entire part about the brakes with my mouth hanging open in awe lol.. I believe you probably saved someone’s life on the road by correcting those brakes. I admire your talent and what you do!

[@justhes]

Wow, there were a lot of things wrong on that bus. Dude was lucky it even stopped!

[@larrypierce2777]

When I used to work on Truck Box trailers, I found a lot of mechanics that didn't know what they were doing. It takes classes, a good teacher and experience to do brake work. I changed a lot of trailer brakes and drums and tires to for that matter. S- cams and actuator. All sorts of good stuff. Enjoyed it. Brake and shock work can be tedious and hard work. It's a good thing you were around for this owner. I know he's thanking you a lot.

[@iamrichrocker]

not sure if you ever have explained your past work history, in regards to where you trained at..but you really know these buses and the engines..if you could or am willing could you do a video let us know..hope your channel grows..you deserve many more subs..

[@MrHeem94]

Pride in work is almost gone. Thank you.

[@jamesshanks2614]

I helped a friend replace the propane stove and 6 gallon hot water heater with a induction electric range and oven which requires you use metal pots and pans on the cooktop or they don't heat up, right after you remove a pot of boiling stew you can place your hand on the burner and it's won't burn your hand. By doing this he can now go down the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and tunnel where before he was restricted due to the propane bottles on board. Saves them the horror of the Washington DC Baltimore interstate mess. Driven it too many times driving an 18 wheeler. Until I discovered route 13 down the Del Mar peninsula. For heat I installed for him a webasto diesel fired hot water heater heating the coolant for the engine rated at 44,000 btu,s. He installed a 30 gallon hot water tank getting the heat from the engine coolant or from the webasto for domestic hot water and for preheating the engine. Push comes to shove if you ever need an experienced driver to move a coach kindly keep me in mind please. Pm me on Facebook please if needed. Most of the time when on the road and wanting to cook they use a 3000 watt inverter instead of the generator with 6 deep cycle batteries for the house circuits. Cheers!

[@ObamaoZedong]

One of the most underrated youtube channels of all time

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Thanks mom. ;) just kidding thank you person i don’t know

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Almost 2 yrs vegan.

[@ObamaoZedong]

@@BusGreaseMonkey dude that's awesome! I've been vegan 5 years. Hence my screen name lol. What was your motivation?

[@codyluka8355]

That's for sure!

[@hypothalamusjellolap8177]

Positivity is the motivation. It just balances the insides for the more energetic outside.

[@philrusciano115]

I just found your site and I am very impressed. My Uncle drove a grayhound for 38 years and ever since I saw him in the 1st one I wanted to own a converted GH like the one in this video.

[@larryvess1698]

Enjoy the longer videos. You have a wealth of knowledge with those buses.

[@christhackrsy]

That’s horrendous they can’t have checked brakes after doing it, you are a really good technician not many around these days!

[@mikemcgrew65]

Chris Thackray that's for sure, I am so thankful that I can do my own repairs.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

@@mikemcgrew65 That video alone is a very good reason to get just far enough into tech stuff and buy the tools to do things like that for Your own, this "hired guy" who seriously tried to kill him and his passengers should be sued outta business for sure.

[@1towmater1]

And that is why Michigan requires a mechanic to be certified.... So a moron don't hang a sign out front saying he is a mechanic and does shoddy work that kills someone. Scotty you are a rare breed, you do great work because you honestly care about your work! Keep up the great work, would love to be able to work with you someday. I've been turning wrenches here in Michigan for 20 years. Got a 3-53 in my generator that I'm learning the old school stuff on. Been doing GM, Ford and Dodge diesels since 96.... Still like the old school stuff better!

[@rwebdaddy]

I just started watching your videos by accident and now I'm hooked! I love working on old stuf.

[@kerrygleeson4409]

Remember this job poor guy glad you got it all sorted out for him Thanks for sharing 👍🇦🇺

[@Superduty_59]

I watched all the short clips before but putting them all together is even better! Thanks for sharing!

[@timmytool1231]

Loved those solid old buses. we had several in our fleet. We asked the boss to turn them up some when we did long trips over the road, we had one that would do over 80, I'm sure it would have gone faster but the mechanics would only turn em up just so much. They went to N injectors on some if I remember which helped also. One of the day I nearly died laughing is when one of the drivers rocked the bus up a drive way and the engine starting running backwards, fuel pour out, what a mess. Miss those days enjoy your vids!

[@durakingdiesel]

Awesome video. I think it's terrific that people still mess around with these gm buses. I wish I could venture more into the buses other than KZbin. They are just incredible pieces of history and machine. So cool. Keep these old gm buses alive they deserve it

[@philgrimsey3637]

As a Joe public who works on his own stuff, as far as possible, I only ever take one side of anything apart so I have (a) reference that may help and (b) s##t less likely to get mixed up. Great work here :)

[@bigpjohnson]

Especially with brakes. The ONE time I removed 2 calipers at once (my dad was helping me), I pressed the brake pedal to seat the first caliper and blew the piston out on the other side. Good luck trying to find seals or a caliper for a BMW in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday. Lesson learned!

[@lt1nut]

That's how we were all taught and told. Nowadays we can take a quick pic with the cell phone beforehand for various reasons too. Brakes: arguable the most important system on any vehicle. Thanks for the great videos!

[@EricH928]

Also, we all have phones now--take pictures as you take things apart!

[@davem5333]

That is assuming that the person that worked on it before you did it right. Not always the case.

[@michaelgavard]

just found your channel today great show and a bus lover i am . 40s and 50s. great show you have keep up the great work. looking forward to many more shows

[@codyluka8355]

Have always loved old busses and those Detroit Diesels. Classy vehicles from a long past era. Converted right, they are sweet. Love your channel!

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

"Back in the day", as us old folks like to say, the 2 stroke Detroits were king of the road. I grew up in a farming/trucking family. I'm 50 years old now and the farm is long gone, but, I now own 5 (Cummins powered) semi tractors that are on the road every day. Even though I don't hear it every day anymore, I still love the sound of a "Screamin Jimmy" on the Jakes! I also have 2 of dads old tractors for show trucks. One (my favorite) is a 1978 GMC General with the 8V92TA Detroit. I love taking it to truck shows and throwing on the Jakes just to hear that sound!

[@watahyahknow]

nowadays its so eazy to take out youre smartphone and take a picture of the whole brake setup and work from that

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Great videos only wish I had more time to watch them...Diesels are my life and there is nothing better than watching you work on these old buses...Thanks...

[@anthonyvee]

God bless you man for doing what you're doing.... Hard work and you do it with a smile... I wish that I was in a place where I can have a bus. The old ones are beautiful. Maybe when I grow up. i'd love to have a mechanic like yourself.....(I'm 62...)

[@greglammers9905]

I’ve been a motor coach mechanic for over 40 years. In fact when I started, we had a brand new 1975 pd4905a that had just been delivered from Pontiac Michigan where they were built. Had a bunch of 4104’s, 4106 and 4903’s. Haven’t worked on any gmc buses in a long time. Thanks for the videos. Nice job. Too bad, several years ago we went thru our parts room and cleaned, probably thru out and scrapped a lot of good gmc parts you could use now.

[@neilpuckett359]

Just found your channel I've been an owner operator for 25 years (trucking 42 years) and its obvious you're dealing with lack of/none/incompetent maintenance if they were taken care of they wouldn't be to bad to work on good luck bud! P.S. great vids!

[@FreiGuy329]

One of your best videos. Learned that all mechanics are created equal.

[@FreiGuy329]

I meant not create equal !!

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Hehe... ok i forgive you.

[@thebiggerman6975]

really enjoy your vids,as a mechanic for USPS for 35 years I have played with many types of vehicles heavy and light delivery but I have always been intrigued by those gm bus engines .fun to watch a guy who knows whats going in that engine bay,That brake job you squared away nicely was a discrace,The worst part of that was the idiot that did it must have know there was serious issues but still let it go.anyway, keep up the good work

[@davidsonlankford1168]

Stumbled onto your channel today. Really enjoy the repairs on the old stuff even though I don’t know a thing about buses! Hope you are training someone to take your place because there aren’t many kids coming log that know anything about what you are doing. Keep America Great!!

[@davidsonlankford1168]

Also like your editing. You cut to the chase! Really makes it interesting. Thanks.

[@MrWade1010]

Awesome work, you really know your stuff, not many of them old girls still roll'in in canada. I like the longer videos to

[@drgnner6028]

4106 was one of my favorites to drive. A 4104 felt like a sled compared to it. You do great work. Happy I found your channel.

[@mauriceschrooder7089]

Great Job my friend 👌👍

[@63256325N]

Coolant is needed, as you said, for anti-freeze/anti-boil and well as rust prohibitors. Very important indeed. Thanks for the video.

[@PinMonkey1960]

Nice summary. I did catch the originals but this filled some gaps.

[@conantdog]

Wow great work you do and you're a traveling mechanic that's a challenge man.I'm a car mechanic but I've recently gotten interested in the two stroke diesels I find that rack setting fascinating you do good work man those people are lucky to have a guy like you this devoted and knows the old stuff it doesn't whine about rusted bolts you just get them off 👍👌

[@lilrip2691]

That owner was lucky to have you working on his rig. Well done..

[@pocketchange1951]

Thanks for the ride, 👍👌❤🇨🇦

[@michaelheimbrand5424]

When you were driving in the rain, i tried reaching for the viper switch......on my laptop. I guess it´s bedtime.

[@garychapin3383]

LOL

[@shockingguy]

Excellent staff to know. Thanks

[@davidlj53]

Yep, I’m addicted to your channel!

[@justaguy34y]

Update: March 2019 "BUMP STOPS" are now ILLEGAL . Nice work by the way. Very talented .

[@olspanner]

Really enjoy you longer videos.

[@nizzy1057]

i can feel it, this channel about to blow up

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

We have quadrupled in subscribers in the last 2 months. I hope it continues to grow. I’m trying to do a better job for you all too.

[@johnstanczak5075]

Wow, after watching a number of your videos, I feel I have the brakes, S Cams, springs, wheel bearings, seals, drums, shocks, bump stops, and air bags down....When you look at something of the ages of these coaches, things are bound to be bad..I think it would help me also on the purchase of one as well, and to expect the unexpected...Thanks for all your engine videos as well of the problems, cures, and source to do that kind of work... the more I watch these videos, the bus bug has me by the ass....

[@NomadicSociety]

man u know your S%&* on these old Detroits! im impressed! your the last of your breed boss!

[@hackfabrication139]

Absolutely love your 'get down and dirty' videos! Ditto on the unsafe brake job. Probably cost a lot of money to get such crappy work done by that 'professional mechanic'.

[@cobrasvt347]

Now that's my kind of RV. Nice mine he done on that bus 🖒

[@Steve-bo6ht]

One good brake and that was faulty Scott I seriously think you saved this persons life

[@norcalray7182]

Same here I really like the all in one videos.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

🚆 I learned something today. Just a interesting topic and channel. "Young man you have an outstanding channel continue, four star rating."

[@Kill-Dozer]

That shock looked like it had been recovered from a 500yr old shipwreck.

[@barrym4079]

Boy that owner must have been horrified to see all the stuff you find. Old mechanic is chopped liver now. Must be nice to drive it, and actually have the brakes work. Great content. Thx from Canada.

[@Doug_E_Dee]

That cacklin' jake is music to my ears!

[@somerandomguy3868]

WOW, this bus is serious can of worms, deeply in need of your expertise. It's good to see things put right

[@handful6wes252]

i enjoy your videos. i would almost kill to have one these old buses for my home.

[@lamm442]

Awesome job keep on trucking..

[@lar4305]

What a great engine sound they make.

[@henrytudor7058]

Nice looking bus.

[@jerrywestin1787]

It is so sad how other mechanics rip off the consumer Thank you for your good works

[@patricklanigan]

The shop that did the brakes before you should have their licence pulled. That was damn scary! Truck mechanic or not that is the sign of a no talent clown that gives mechanics a bad name. When I was a kid my dad bought a PD4104 that we converted into a motorhome. Your videos bring back a lot of memories, most of them fond. For the last 20 years I have been back working on buses but not ones of this vintage anymore. I actually miss the old GM buses in many ways.

[@grumpyg9350]

Great job!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@aaronmessmer3482]

I thought that bus looked familiar, then you did the test drive and I knew exactly what town you where in.

[@buckshot6481]

Impressive. That's the model I used to ride back and forth to El Paso.

[@TheFlyingBusman]

No idea who has allegedly being carrying out ‘maintenance’ on this but I sincerely hope they are no longer getting their grubby paws on it anymore. Poor maintenance can often be worse than no maintenance. That was one rough job. Well done fettling it.

[@rudedog302]

Agree that bearing surface is done, never going to get a bearing to not spin on that or the seal to work properly. Agree, not running coolant, really not good for the liners, and a fast way to take out a water pump seal. A friend of mine who is cheap as the day is long killed his M-11 Cummings by running water in it simply because his radiator had a leaky tank seal. $1200.00 radiator cost him $20,000.00 for an engine rebuild way before it's time.

[@mtvjackass74]

Im in love with you!!!! Beautiful bus!!!!

[@KoJo-qh9od]

Sad that the owner paid for work to be done and all he got was a lighter wallet and dangerous brakes. Now he's paying twice. I wish people would call out these bad mechanics publicly.

[@38911bytefree]

I dont how much do you charge but it is worth every penny Man. You know your bussiness and you manage to work alone on this heavy equipment. Love how oversized everything is on this buses. Modern RVs look so crappy compared to a proper bus. And I bet they dont ride near as nice as a bus. After all, a bus is meant to live on the road.

[@wackowacko8931]

Just FYI - you can make polyurethane engine mounts by using the old mount and removing the rubber, then use a two part liquid and cardboard forms to make a new mount that won't be affected by oil. If you are out in the middle of nowhere and need a new mount, you can make one for $25 instead of buying a new one that costs hundreds and having to wait several days to get it. There are a bunch of KZbin videos on how to do it, just do a search. You will want to use the hardest durometer poly formula.

[@misters2837]

OMG....THE S-CAM SWAPPAGE! - The mechanic that FUBAR'd that... is lucky he didn't get someone killed! (Really cool how they "Clocked" The 8V71 so it has the rear bank laying almost horizontal, and the front bank is almost Vertical. - I wonder are these "Reverse Rotation" like the 6-71/manual powered coaches?)

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

It astounds me how much incompetent "work" you keep running into on these buses. Really enjoy the videos. Keep them coming.

[@shreddder999]

I think it's just because they either don't know the older systems or they don't know buses.

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

I hear that, but there is no excuse - especially in this day and age - to not find out what they don't know.

[@elljay4587]

That's scary..... I run trucks and you can skimp on some things , but brakes and steering, they gotta be right

[@shreddder999]

And engine/transmission mounts and suspension.

[@lt1nut]

Out can't go anywhere if you can't stop... Don't take off in a plane if you don't know how to land... Don't launch a boat without a hull/bile plug... Doesn't run makes for a bad day. Doesn't stop makes for a bad month, year, or life. Immediate stops are painful and expensive on good days...

[@slewofdamascus]

skimping is a habit, a bad one, how about just doing everything with 100% vigor and ethics? Otherwise, what is the guld dang point?

[@wiserman100]

Well, the good news when the s-cams are swapped side-to-side is you never need to replace the brake shoes. and you can go really, really fast at the bottom of long mountain grades.

[@marioc.bitanga1974]

Im'not gonna get tired of u'r channel\

[@desertbob6835]

Of all the GM PD-series, the 6 was my second fave, but the 4 was my all-time favorite. The driver's dash and side panel were logical and easy to reach on the 4, while the idiotic "selector knobs" on the 6 and contemporary transits were the bane of my existence oft times. The pony motor AC on the 4 would deliver full capacity in heavy traffic, while things could get stuffy with the engine driven later models. The 6 did have the best brakes in the biz, though, and one could argue that they rode a LITTLE better, not much. The derated 8V71N gave gobs of power, but I'm reminded of the tale from an old Embree driver in a 4 with N head and N65s and "A" timing running around a 'Hound 6 on Cuesta Grade on US 101 like the latter was parked. Those were great days for the now-gone bus industry.

[@johncollins6023]

An old man asked me. "What's cheaper?" A clutch or a transmission?" I double clutched ever since.

[@JoelHudson]

Looks to me that that break job was a wait for it SCam! with apologies

[@romandybala]

On the S cams. Thats why they invented the term Murphys Law.Its why planes in WW2 were crashing. They found that if it was possible to fit a part the wrong way around that is what would happen. So they decided to make it impossible to fit it the wrong way around and saved lives. I hate to imagine the knowledge of the worker who fitted those cams and that he didnt test them for function because they would also have had to adjust them and that would have shown up the error.

[@KS-cp6bj]

That clunky windshield wiper would drive me to drink.

[@Viperman200221]

I always love having to do more work because the last person had no idea on how to properly fix what you are working on!

[@paulmanson253]

Yep. Just love it. Not.

[@lt1nut]

Life is more enjoyable when you think of the customer you just made for life, the ten people the customer will tell, and the ego boost, no matter how small. YEP, it used to drive me nuts too.

[@conantdog]

Oh my God as I said looking at those breaks those people are lucky they have you.

[@user-jn4pn3sm9u]

5:25 that jeep cherokee xj lookin dam good

[@marc1553]

I was wondering how much money the owners can put into these rehabs. I bet it can be huge amounts of cash. Of course each bus is different. I hope you get paid for what you do. Anyway, you do a awesome job. Thank you. I just love watching you do your thing. I bet it's some money. I.v

[@jamestsmith4500]

I wish you showed what you did to the axle with the spun bearing. It looks like it needed replacing... Great video !!!!!

[@gbowne1]

I have parts for at least 20 different Detroits in stock here in WA. 53's, 71's, 92's (6;8,12 and 16) and the 16v149. Also some Cummins 4BT and 6BT.

[@gbowne1]

I also found some more parts for most Perkins.

[@haydona1845]

@@gbowne1 Do you have a whole cummins 4bt motor or just parts?

[@gbowne1]

@@haydona1845 Right now just parts. Also have small Volvo and also Perkins. Some outboards.

[@davidclark5138]

Great videos, I just started watching and subscribed, hae you ever talked about your shop, And where your located, do you ever take in other service work. Thanks for the vids.

[@Campminivan]

I am a new subscriber I am enjoying your videos, as a kid my father had an old bread truck "camper" in the driveway as long as I can remember now I know why it never left the driveway. These parts are they wickedly expensive...I feel sorry for the owner but grateful for his determination so I can see the work involved...you have very ancient mechanical skills.

[@erikj.2066]

Another pro for using proper coolant, mixed properly it raises the boiling point over that of strait water.

[@jamespn]

Nice work on the suspension. Didn’t realize those cam bushings were so crucial in brake actuation. I assume you turned those drums, that I would’ve liked to see the set up on a brake lathe. Nice interior on the bus, looks like a home away from home.

[@jamesshanks2614]

Normally you don't turn the drums on a truck or bus, simply buy new ones then you know it's correct.

[@chrisrhudy2000]

I know it is expensive as hell but id run evans coolant in a bus like that. Evans coolant is a waterless coolant that has a much higher boiling point so it not only wont rust your cooling system or add lime scale to it it protects to a much higher level than regular coolant and does not need to be changed like regular coolant either. I like these videos since im a big fan of old gm and detroit diesel engines.

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

If this engine ever gets to the boiling point of water it’s usually screwed. 180 operating temp. 205 it’s hot but fine, any more than 210 they really let you know your don’t like it in a hurry. I personally keep mine below 200 as a general rule.

[@jamesshanks2614]

The propane heaters not only raise the humidity they also raise the CO2 level in the bus. He'd be better off with a webastos number 2 burning hot water mini boiler to heat up your engine or if you install steel radiators like they use in the UK you can very comfortably heat the inside of your coach without raising the humidity or the CO2 levels at all. A webasto boiler is nothing more than a standard oil burner with a very small motor to run it on. Can be had as 12 or 24 volt. Generally setup for no more than 1/3-1/2 gallon of diesel oil per hour rated at 50'000 BTU. A Very economical way to heat your engine, hot water, and coach in cold weather.

[@wildcoyote34]

another great video ,, I do love the look of that paint job on that bus ,, it looks like it's from the 80s I sure felt sorry for that bus seeing the coolant draining ,,that's just nasty ,, i'm guessing you are gonna need a water pump fairly soon with all the grit in that system

[@BusGreaseMonkey]

Amazingly he’s not had any cooling issues. Runs right at 180. Which is usually hard to do with an Allison adding heat to the cooling loop.

[@wildcoyote34]

that is good to hear ,, I drained my water this morning and am treating it with CLR to see if i can rid the radiator of the limescale buildup which i think is my problem ,i'm about 90% sure the waterpump is fairly new and the thermostat opens right at 180 like it should

[@brianfoley4519]

very lucky you have had a look, it is a wonder more buss's with incorrect axle brake work done, that didnt get into an accident...

[@captgrant]

Yep, it all makes sense now. I must get a bus...

[@PatrickBaptist]

I guarantee that spider was the source of the whole problem.