A new Bluebird owner's tale of the first shakedown trip

[Dan and Cindy Sunderland]

HI Greg

I have beeen following you first trip to AZ. Much to my amazement, I can't
beleive this fuel
problem.

I have been driving this bird for 8 years every month and no fuel problems ever.
I just
rebuilt the Racor 1000 a couple of years ago just as a pre-caution. As both
filters were 2
years old, I thought they needed changing just because it had been 2 years, but
only 4 K
miles. I have been using Stanadyne additive to the fuel for the last 3 years as
it was
suggested by a boater friend. This should have negated any algae or other
problems.

I am truly sorry for this situation and do not understand what could cause this.
I will
follow the Mira Loma fix to see what they find. I wonder if some bad fuel in AZ
could have
been the problem. I forgot to ask you when we spoke whether you added more fuel
at the
border coming home.

SIncerely
Dan Sunderland
San Marcos
05 450 LXi



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Greg Young wrote:
>
> Hi! Introducing ourselves, once again, this time as owners..
>
> This will be a somewhat long post, so you have been warned. And if you decide
to
reply, best to trim to annoy the digest readers and dial up users a little less.
>
> We are Greg and Barbara Young, about to be empty nesters and selling our home
in
Escondido near San Diego. We decided to buy a Bluebird to be our new home for a
little
while, after doing much research on RV's & bus conversions. We talked
extensively to a
few Bluebird owners, including a couple whose birds were on the market. We
finally
decided on Dan & Cindy Sunderland's '86 PT-40, heretofore known as "Happy
Camper,"
and picked it up last Thursday. We bought it from them because it was
meticulously
maintained, had the feature set we were looking for, and they were only 10 miles
from our
home and we could rely on them for information. Dan & Cindy spent a half day
with us
going over the bus and its operation, and I videotaped every minute...
>
> So we decided to take a shakedown cruise to Arizona to see some friends, do
some
business, and determine what we would need to do to the bus to make it ours and
make it
work for our first big trip: We have a 3 week trip planned at the end of August
that will
take us to an alkali dry lake for a week of dry camping in 60MPH winds at 105
degrees
with 40,000 artists and musicians (Burning Man), then across country to
Pennsylvania to a
volleyball tournament, and back to San Diego via Colorado visiting some hot
springs. The
only things we knew we needed to do were replace the fuel filter and Racor
filter, fix the
driver A/C, and get the front tires replaced. Those tasks could wait until
after we got
back, right? I thought, "this is a short trip, the bus has been well
maintained, let's just go."
So we threw a few things in, my little household tool kit (definitely not
suitable for a big
diesel engine) and took off.
>
> Then the fuel flow problem started.
>
> First breakdown was on I-17 near Phoenix at 6pm Sunday. It had been driving
fine for
about half an hour, but stalled shortly after getting on the interstate in the
middle of an
Arizona monsoon. Got it off the road, but barely - about 1 foot from the
traffic flow, and
right at the exit for the state penitentiary. 18 wheelers whizzing by at 70 MPH
and a
prison make great neighbors. I had the replacement fuel filters, but no way to
get diesel
into the filter and Racor unit to prime them, so no way to get started. Called
a tow truck.
Called three,and had three visit. None of them could move us. Finally gave up
at 3am and
went to sleep to the gentle rocking of the passing trucks. Cop came and woke me
up at
4am. Got one hour of sleep. At 7:30am found a diesel mechanic who got the
filter
elements in, the engine primed, bypassed the apparently sick Racor filter, and
we drove it
to his shop Monday morning. He (supposedly) rebuilt the Racor unit which
> he thought was sucking air. Got on the road, and everything seemed fine.
Made it to
our destination, pulled into a camp site, and got some overdue sleep.
>
> Next morning the bus started, lurched forward 5 feet and died. Same malady -
no fuel.
Got another diesel mechanic to come by - wizened old guy named Andy of A&A
Diesel in
Mohave Valley, AZ. Great to work with, and got us going again - appeared the
check valve
ball in the Racor was stuck. But he also thought the return fuel line from the
injectors
might be siphoning off, and he expected it to be dead the next morning. We went
on our
way, and decided to stop at Calico Ghost Town near Barstow on the way home. Got
to the
KOA there without incident, and caught up a little more on sleep.
>
> Next morning the bus started and ran fine. I thought Andy had gotten us
completely
fixed. But as we got into Riverside that evening and were stuck in the endless
stop and go
traffic in I-215, the bus stalled. I got it up an offramp, and had just enough
air to slide it
back off the roadway before the brake set, else CHP would have had us towed.
This time
no amount of priming the filters would work - there was just no fuel coming into
the
secondary filter from the fuel pump, which we now think was the problem all
along. So,
yet another mechanic (4 hours at $147/hr) hooked us up with a little 12V pump
sucking
from our 300 gal tank and pushing a dribble of fuel into the Detroit 8V92.
Drove it to
Valley Detroit Diesel in Mira Loma where it sits today, and will for a few days
until they can
get to it, at whatever astronomical rate they charge. The good thing is that we
feel pretty
confident when it comes out of there we'll know it's working well. I
> only wish I could be there to watch the diagnosis and repair - I need to
learn as much
as I can about this beast so that I can better maintain it and minimize our
maintenance
costs. But alas, the shop is 80 miles from our house.
>
> A discouraging and harrowing tale of a first experience you say? Enough to
make us
regret the decision? No, not at all! We love our Bluebird! And we really
believe that Dan &
Cindy had no idea that there was an issue - we drove it with them ourselves, and
it had
been regularly driven and loved.
>
> Greg Young
> '86 PT-40
> (yet to be renamed...)
>