Motor Brushes
Mood:  on fire
Attention Fools......
when you replace blower brushes, you replace all of them, not some.
Yes, sometimes you can get a motor to run by replacing one or two of the brushes. But it
will only run long enough to get the bus out of your hair. Then it will go roadfail again somewhere else.
Everyone wants to bitch about not making enough money, not having good enough benefits, not having new equipment....the reason why is because the company doesn't have the money to hand us, stupid shit like this is why. Maintenance costs are high because of fools that do things like replace two out of four brushes. Roadfailures are expensive.

We are here to prevent roadfailures , not cause them.
If a motor has 4 brushes, replace all 4, if it has 2, then replace both.
You are already in there working, so why not go on and do it right.
Case in Point, the coach that failed at our location today, no a.c., condensor motor inop, 2 brushes were like new, 2 were old and worn out. I replaced all 4, it took about 20 minutes.

I won't name the location that made the repair, but it is one of those that is always getting free pay checks. There is no good reason for half assing a condensor motor brush replacement. The only reason is laziness. And stupidity. The thing that really burns my ass is that in their MCMS comments, the mechanic says he replaced all four. A bold faced Lie. Is there anything in the world worse than a Lazy Liar ?? Is there any pride left in the world ?

Maintenance Training
Dear Upper Maintenance Management.....
Please, Please, Please read this article......
How to find and nurture quality technicians

Reducing Roadfailures
Mood:  a-ok
Want to reduce roadfailures and downtime ?????
Well, how much downtime, and how many roadfailures are due to problems at the Engine ECM harness connectors ?? A great, great deal I would venture to say. Most of which are caused by corrosion from insulation rubbing, or cuts.

The problem with the ECM on the 6v92's was stupid location. Right under the Turbo Charger. Nice temperatures there....And the harness is constantly rubbing the top of the engine, usually the power steering filler neck.

On the Series 50 and 60 engines, they got bright and moved the ECM away from the Turbo Charger, to a much cooler location, right on the side of the engine, about a foot off the road. This one stays cool, but has constant harness connector and wire corrosion.

These problems do not exist with the Transmission ECU and the ABS ECM. Why ?? Because they are mounted remotely, in one of the baggage bins, in a sealed box. Once in awhile they experience a wiring harness corrosion problem, not nearly as much as the engine ECM.

Why not mount the Engine ECM remotely, and reduce a whole buncha roadfailures and out of service numbers.

Maintenance Costs
Mood:  loud
Why are maintenance costs so high??, everyone asks.

Here is one small example, one of many of the stupid things we do repeatedly....

When a coach has a siezed bearing on a fan gear box, what do we all do for repair ??
Replace the fan gear box. Depending on how you order, a fan gear box can cost from $2000-$3000.
Has anyone ever heard of rebuilding it ??
The parts to rebuild the siezed shaft and bearing will cost about $300 and it is far less labor intensive and not time consuming.





Another thing is Heat Valves. Replaced over and over, when they are rarely the cause of the problem. A heat vavle is a big chunk of brass with a hole thru it. Everything that does all the work can be serviced.





the heat vavle rebuild kit is only $83 while a new heat valve will run you $625. It is not hard, or time consuming. There is about 5 or ten more minutes of labor than what it takes to install a new heat valve. The rebuild kit part number is 16007076.




The brake valves all have an available rebuild kit, as well as purge valves. Pretty much any vavle has a rebuild kit that can make it new again for a fraction of the cost to replace the entire Valve. This is where you can save a lot of money at your garage. Make sure people aren't replacing parts that can be easily rebuilt.

My bus came straight out of the garage and broke down.
Mood:  not sure
many drivers ask, "why is the equipment in such bad shape, why does it come straight out of a garage broken ??"
Well, that's the million dollar question.

Lower Budgets
Smaller active fleet
older active fleet
operator abuse
general maintenance neglect
poor repair of a previous failure
There are 50 million reasons.

One of the biggest problems is the absence of Operator Level Maintenance. That is you, the driver. Driver level maintenance doesn't mean you have to fix anything. Maintenance simply needs you to know what you are operating and properly report problems by doing pre and post trip inspections correctly. Operators, for the most part, don't know the equipment and don't inspect the equipment. There will NEVER be a good fleet maintenance program without knowledgeable, active, driver involvment.
Keep in mind, proper driver inspections are the law.
Regulations 396.11 and 396.13.

The next biggest thing is at least half the mechanics cannot troubleshoot the equipment they are paid to repair. Training has to be established, but it needs more specialized than in the past. Training was done in 2003 with materials from MC-9's and 102A3's There was also some new materials, but not nearly enough. GLI and ATU need to offer financial assistance to contract employees so we can update our own educations as well. Wouldn't that be an investment ??

Generally, most maintenance locations are not concerned with what happens to the piece of equipment as long as it makes it to another maintenance facility before it breaks down.

It isn't all the mechanics fault that your bus breaks down when it came straight out of the garage.
A mechanic cannot predict the future. Some things break completely seperatly of what was just repaired. If your bus just got the brakes fixed, and it road fails for no AC, that is hardly that mechanics fault that just fixed the brakes. And keep in mind, all mechanics answer to supervisors. If the supervisor tells them to put it back in service, then they have no choice. The supervisors only concern is the number of out-of-service. There is NO quality control.
There are some real good mechanics out there in our Fleet. Many that have taught me some good stuff. But I think they are out numbered by the ones that take no initiative to make themselves better. It's time to start learning about Multiplexing, and they are still learning about Basic Electricity.
Our Mechanics and Supervisors should know as much as the people we had as trainers before.
Our trainers should be damn near engineers, and there should be one in every garage.
Our operators should know the equipment like the backs of their hands. And should be given techinical training on that equipment regularly.
you should not have to explain to an operator what the rear engine start switch is, they should know the day they drive their first run. The ignorance of most our drivers is unbelievable.
Maintenance needs to be involved, deeply, with the driver training program.
This equipment should not be out of service so much, but everyone is to blame for it's condition from the head of maintenance to the janitors. The equipment is neglected. Period.

D4505
Mood:  d'oh
They say MCI's new D4505 looks like a G-model in front, and a D - model in back....................................................................................................................So what happen was, someone got pissed at the G and drove a D- model up it's ass........

The G-Coach
Mood:  incredulous
Is it possible, or has the company gotten any kind of reimbursment on the G-Coach ? Like a Lemon Law.
Or do we have to suck it up and drive on because we helped design it ?
I read an article recently, (it is posted at the Dog House for download in PDF), which told all about the G-Coach a few years back. Rave reviews it got. They said it was designed specifically for Line Haul Service. That's funny because EVERYONE says it is nice, just not made for our kind of business.

The AC systems suck, rather Carrier or Thermo-King.
Entry Doors are almost all defective. (don't work in cold weather, none latch correctly, outter skins break in half)
How many caught fire at first ?
Charging system woe's.
What about those crappy door handles on all the service doors ?
Don't forget the front axle problems.
I recall many overheating issues also.
Power Steering sucks in them too, though it hasn't been brought up much.
I think we had some Tire and Wheel problems too.
Parcel Rack AC leaks all over the drivers.
Lavatory door sucks ass.
Heat Valve problems.
The turn signals above the drive axle constantly corroded.
Drivers Seat.
Wheelchair lift out of service most of the time.
Tag Axle bearing boxes and swing arms.
Emergency Exit window latches and handles.

With that being said, and aside from the Detroit Deisel engine and Allison Transmission, what is good about the G-Coach ??
And isn't it fair to say that much of the Company's financial woes (high Maintenance costs specifically)are due to the G-Coach ??

It's a conspiracy
Mood:  incredulous
I don't use that word often, but this is defenitly a conspiracy. It is 2005, and you are telling me that no one has come up with a better package for cookies ?? Specifically OREO's. What is the deal with that damn package ?? Chips Deluxe is another one. They got the little plastic tray in the foil package, like a lot of other cookies. You can't close them tight after opening. Some cookies have the little wire tie thingy on the end, that helps, but those packages are still a pain in the ass to get in and out of. Archway cookies. Now there is a dumbass package if I ever saw one. The conspiracy is, that someone has made a better package for cookies. They just won't use it because they know our cookies are going stale and we will have to buy more. Bastards. By-the-way, That package is out in Roswell with that Alien guy.

Nuts and Bolts
Mood:  irritated
What the hell happened to Nuts and Bolts newsletter ?
That was a pretty useful little tool to some of us.
I know half our mechanics can't read and write worth a damn, but some of us can.
It couldn't have been that expensive to produce that little thing. It was just a couple pages in Black and White.
I mean, management wants to improve the maintenance program, so they take away all our sources of good knowledge....Training Department and Nuts and Bolts.

It's Called A Saddle
Ever see those black marks all over a windshield ?
Or sometimes, worse, deep scratches. If anything gets done about that when it happens, it is usually a wiper blade change at most.
It's called a SADDLE folks.



The saddle that the wiper blade sits in is worn out and needs changed.
Some wiper arms have bushings in the ends that can be changed too. These things wear out and require maintenance. Changing the blade isn't really going to help too much for too long. Also, changing the saddles will make sure the wipers clean well, not to mention it is a lot cheaper than replacing blades and arms all the time.
There are 3 different sizes, and here is the part numbers......
3G-34-73 NARROW
3J-34-42 MEDIUM
3J-34-65 WIDE
the bushings are, 3B-34-96
P.S....a wiper blade is the metal thing the Refill sits in. A Refill is not a blade.