EricbSC 1973 05 Eagle

[rusty]

I hope there is some rust bullet left when I get ready to paint the 15. You need to own stock in the company. You will be happy with the larger brake.

Wayne

[ericbsc]

You are right Wayne!! I think I must have used 5 gal. of the stuff at $$$$$!! I talked to them several times before I started. They told me it is better to buy the quart size rather than gallon. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Do not work put of the can unless you intend to use the entire can. The chemicals evaporate quickly when exposed. I used a plastic bowel and brush when not spraying it. When you close the can MAKE SURE NO PAINT IS IN THE RIM!!LOL I had to turn the first one up side down and use a can opener after I did that one!!

I made my own redneck alignment machine to pre check the bogie alignment. I used a wooden jig over the hub, then attached a new 6' level. This gives me a sight with the side of the bus past the first bay. By measuring at the ends of the wood jig ( it is roughly the same length as the tire dia.) I determined that the drivers bogie has a toe out condition of app. 3/8". I will shim to a toe-in of app. 1/16-1/8".

[ericbsc]

Well, it took two days to get the old arms off, a week to get parts, and eight hours, but I have one side done( I think!!). I made a fixture to hold a lazer bore sight for a rifle, then mounted it on a small tripod at the wheel centerline height. I then adjusted until I had the same measurement the full length of the bus. Worked pretty good! The bogie is NOT an exact thing. The shims are tapered and are only available in a few thickness. Also, as the bus goes down the road, the tires are pulled out due to the arm being in front. If the inside bushings are worn this will be worse. My drivers bogie tire is worn almost 75% in 16k miles. The others are almost full tread. The passenger side is nowhere near as far out. Best I could determine, it was toed out about 3/8-7/16 of an inch not counting the pull factor. I took all of that into account when I went back I took Jeffersons advice and erred on the toe-in side.

Lazer fixture:


Driver side done and ready for drum:

[ericbsc]

Finally got everything back together. I had a guy with a calibrated set of state scales come by today. He carries four of the thin 10k scales. We weighed each axle and tire. I was pleased wit the results from my northern tool jack with the gage.

Drivers side Pass. side

Front 5400 5900

Bogie 4400 4200 (exactly what I had)

Drive 9300 8600

My generator is on the drivers side middle bay. This would add a little to that side. I was also a little suprised at the overall weight. I weighed last year at a truck stop and got a weight of app. 41,300 lbs. With the state certified scales it comes in at 37,800. A dif. of 3500 lbs. I may have had a motorcyle behind but can't remember. While I was reindexing the bogies I noticed that the drivers side came slightly off the jack when I adjusted the splines. My thought was that that rear was lighter as the other side didn't raise up. That was opp. of my thinking?? On now to check the rear axle alignment, then for a drive.

[77Eagle05]

Eric, with the front drivers at 5400 it will even out to the Pass side when you sit in the drivers seat !!!
Ed

[MrBreeze]

Thank You ERIC, For All This Great Information.

I Also Am In The Slow Prosess Of Re-Indexing My Bogies. Mine Were Bearly Touching The Ground (2500).

Looks Like You Are Doing A Super Job ! Looking Forward To The End Results Of Your Road Test.

10-4

MrBreeze

[ericbsc]

Went for a drive this week. The bus drives great!! It has improved with every change. The eagle drive is a combination of a lot of little things. I changed the following over a peroid of a couple years:

1. All new tie rods and ends.
2. Front spindles,hubs hor. and vert. king pins to a model 15.
3. New upper torsalastic mounts.
4. New steering box to a tas 65.
5. New steering colum for tilt tele.

These improved the steering greatly. Then when I put the 60 series in I removed the entire rear axle and replaced it with a model ten. Somewhere down the road the PO had actually hung the rear on something, and snaped the adjustment rod. I replaced all the inserts in the rods with new delrin inserts, then realigned the axle. The driving at that point was easy, but it had a slight wander. When I checked the bogies, I found that the drivers side was toed out about 7/16", and the passenger about 3/16". That had the entire thing fighting against its self. I think for around $$$10k you can make one of these things drive like a new car!!!!!LOL

[MrBreeze]

Eric, Great Job !!!

I Am Doing My Boggies Right Now
Wow !! What A Job So Far
Just Getting The Two Pinch Bolts Out Has Been A Real Challenge. I Have Invested Three 30 Packs Into This Project So Far..

Its Almost Hard To Believe How Tough Those Bolts Are !!!

I Want To SCREAM !!!!!

10-4

MrBreeze

[ericbsc]

I had the option of destroying mine because I was replacing them!!LOL I ended up using a cut-off wheel on the bolts. I cut them in the slot. I used a 1" air wrench (yep, the big one you use on lug nuts) with a lot of Kroil penatrating oil on the top half. I ended up using a torch on the bottom half. I cut into the end of the arm till I saw the bolt. Then me, a 12 lb. hammer, and a quart of spring water hammered ir out!! Took me about nine hours for both sides!!

[77Eagle05]

So a quart of Spring water !! You mean 1 hour of work and 8 hours
passed out !!
Ed