So, this bus comes in for Inspection....

[BGgraphy]

This unit was brought to the shop, a passenger carrying mid size transit style bus that is in a fleet that runs 24/7, I would guess around 30,000 lbs. empty, some where around that number anyhow. The bus was brought to us to verify that repairs had been made correctly. One of the problems identified by another shop that like us was not responsible for the maintenance on any units in this fleet was that both tie rod ends had excessive play and needed to be replaced. I assume most here know what tie rod ends are and the importance of being assembled correctly. This is exactly how I found the tie rod end replacement. Scary huh?
Right side


Left side


As you can see, this is pretty bad. yes the tie rod ends are threaded in but could easily come out, which would make steering difficult. I have to finish this inspection on Monday.
Here is another of the complaints. Replace both kingpins. I took these shots and started my report and looking at this shot, I have to wonder if they were replaced at all. The upper arrow is a bolt that has to be removed along with the pin in the middle arrow. Does anyone else think that both the bolt and pin were not removed which would mean the kingpins were not replaced, only cleaned. The threads on the bolt look like that nut has not been off in a while, dirty threads. Sorry about the IQ. The pin, which is usually frozen in place and at times very hard to get out, does not look like it has moved either. The lower arrow shows the bearing which should have an even flat surface around the outside of the bearing, it looks a little uneven to me. To me anyhow. Any thoughts on the kingpin? I will get a better look Monday.



Thanks for looking.

[S_Egbert]

Somebody's butt is in deep doo- doo, or should be. That kingpin doesn't look like it has been out any time recently.

[MidnightSun]

Never know what condition those things are in. Once on a long bus trip in Thailand, I had the seat behind the driver. Happened to notice that NONE of the gauges were working! Makes you wonder what else might not be...........

[Scatterbrained]

So let me get this straight, one shop did the inspection. Another did the repair, and your shop does the post work inspect? Sounds like the middle man there needs to be removed, public safety and all that.

[BGgraphy]

Originally Posted by Scatterbrained

So let me get this straight, one shop did the inspection. Another did the repair, and your shop does the post work inspect? Sounds like the middle man there needs to be removed, public safety and all that.

You pretty much have it right. This is a big problem at this facility right now. There is a company that has the contract to provide maintenance on all these units. Their in-service breakdowns are off the charts, so the big bosses of the entire place have decided to pull one unit every month or so and perform a safety inspection. That shop maintains other vehicles at this facility and are quite good. We are a private shop that has done work on a previous contract, the GM wanted us to reinspect this unit one more time and not be embarrassed at the main facility before it was returned to service.

[angryman]

Kingpin has definitely not been touched. I'd also question whether the tie rods were touched also. All that it looks to me is they have removed the brackets. The castellated nut on the ball joint looks untouched.

[Gojira1976]

Thank God for second opinions! Great capture in all way's!

[PhotosGuy]

I wondered where the retired Detroit bus mechanics ended up.

[Scatterbrained]

Originally Posted by PhotosGuy

I wondered where the retired Detroit bus mechanics ended up.

And here I thought they were all at the VW plant in Mexico.
I've had cars come in off the truck with the doors not even bolted on!

[X-images]

Originally Posted by MidnightSun

Never know what condition those things are in. Once on a long bus trip in Thailand, I had the seat behind the driver. Happened to notice that NONE of the gauges were working! Makes you wonder what else might not be...........

Haha. That reminds me of a bus trip I once took in Penang, where there's the modern govt owned fleet and then the local operators. Decided to take a local bus just once because it wasn't full. First the gear stick fell off in the driver's hand mid-shift and from then on the ticket collector would hold it in for him everytime a shift was required. Then we ran out of gas and had to coast the last couple of kilometres to the nearest gas station. Luckily it was pretty much all downhill and we were quickly waved through a police checkpoint when they realised what was up. The worst thing though was no gas meant no motor which meant no air-conditioning!!!

[RadAL]

get a picture of the whole bus?

[mwalsh9152]

Originally Posted by BGgraphy

You pretty much have it right. This is a big problem at this facility right now. There is a company that has the contract to provide maintenance on all these units. Their in-service breakdowns are off the charts, so the big bosses of the entire place have decided to pull one unit every month or so and perform a safety inspection. That shop maintains other vehicles at this facility and are quite good. We are a private shop that has done work on a previous contract, the GM wanted us to reinspect this unit one more time and not be embarrassed at the main facility before it was returned to service.

First? We had a large local dairy distributor that used to have them running their shop, I used to make a FORTUNE towing all their trucks that broke down all over the place. I was quite sad to see them ousted. Scary thing is that they do a lot of the school bus contracts around here too.

[joeseph]

glad i'm never likely to be riding on said bus...

[lonescout]

As others have said, it does not appear that the kingpin has been touched at all, and the amount of rust on the tie rod ends suggests that they have not been changed, just the clamps have been loosened.

This sort of thing should be passed onto your equivalent of our DoT and the shop closed down!