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Detroit Diesel Valve Adjustment
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Obviously, the cost to perform a valve adjustment will vary greatly depending on the accessability to the engine’s top end.
Before I bought my bus last November I had Prevost Ft. Worth do a thorough PDI which showed that the Jake was weak and a valve adjustment probably needed to be performed. This one-owner coach’s maintenance records did not show that this had been done previously.
After I bought the bus I had Prevost perform the valve adjustment at 143K miles. They had to disassemble the rear closet to gain access. Labor hours required was 16.6 hours @ $115 totaling $1909.
I’m glad I had this done as there were issues that needed attention. Not only did the Jake need adjusting but the cam plate was leaking and the valves were all out of adjustment with some being too tight and others being too loose. The injectors also needed adjustment.
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Kit,
Best to talk to Brian, that’s crazy. I know others have had the work done by American on their H and no where near that amount. Al had his H done there. Looking at my H, the valve cover can easily come off without removal of any floor parts or engine partial removal need.
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I had mine done at American fleet 6 hours no jakes just Trans redarder about 400,00 dollars , nothing done inside bus , all From engine bay, mine had 130,000 miles all good under the hood just very little out but nothing to worry about, Talk to Bob the owner or Brian the. Salesman
Edit I read the bill wrong you are right 800 , Brian
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Usually on an XL the floor in the bedroom has to come up to get the valve cover off. On an H usually all can be done from the engine compartment.
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Hey Everyone,
Today is my first day back inthe office. I will review with Danny and jump in hopefilly today or Tuesday after the holiday.
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Based on the comments above, here are some thoughts on this subject.
The wide range of price despency has alot to do with access to the valve cover. For starters, every coach is built with small variances from each of the major conversion companies. So this generally will have a impact on the price.
For instance, Peter came in for his valve adjustment, there was no need to remove his floor, or slide the engine out to gain access to the cover. And 6 hours later, Peter was back on the road the same day for around $8000.
Now lets say Peter’s bus didn’t have the room to access the cover, the only options from there are as follows. 1) Peter removes any and all flooring or closest materials to allow for access to the top of the engine, thus avoiding the cost associated with A.F. doing this work. By doing this portion yourself, you reduce the cost by 8-10 hours.
2) Now, for those that do not wish to tackle that much work, and depending on the configuration of your bedroom and the complexities of not wanting to damage any of the cabinets during the removal and installation of furniture, we would figure 8-10 hours total, just for that portion of the job. And for the record, A.F. does want to put a “greasy” “tool wheeling” bus mechanic inside a beautiful bus and then take on the liability of not scratching,denting, or bringing flith and/or gease into a bus that will then be left up to the parties involved to figure out what “said” damage is worth. And on top of that, a customer leaves with a not so warm and fuzzy feeeling about American Fleet.
So…. in cases like this, we would rather slide the engine out (which takes us the same time that is figured to access the engine from inside a coach) and complete the job that way. Plus this allows everyone to take a sneak peak of the front side of your engine which is rarly seen. And if there is something found, it can be addressed.
So for this scenario you are looking at the following
R&R of engine 8-10 hours
Valve Adjustment (no Jakes) 4-6 hours with Jakes 6-8 hours
Danny probably quoted a little more than what is stated above due to his history of knowing that once you get started on a job, you will sometimes find other issues. So its better to communicate to a client a price range versus a price that might be to low and then having to explain why it is increasing.
So looking at the big picture and weighing the cost vs. reward when it comes to sending a mehanic inside a bus to remove floor panels, it just makes sense to us to pull the engine and not deal with any of that when and if the job calls for it.
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Brian,
Your customer is on this thread dated 8/31/16 Kit T. (2004Bus) who owns a 2004 Marathon H3-45. I’am the PC member who referred him to AF.
Myself and others can’t understand why the engine must come out on an H3-45 Prevost for a valve adjustment.
AL
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If it’s a 12.7 L with jakes it takes longer than a 12.7 L with no jakes , if it’s a14 L with jakes same is true and when is a EGR motor it takes longer also, if I had a bus where the floor had to come out l would pull motor it’s about the same time and you can check things out a lot better on the motor when out, hoses and wires or leaks
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Finally got the valves adjusted at 117,000 miles on my 04H3 Marathon. Exh. were fine. In. were a little loose, Inj. heights were off a little. Jake was checked, no changes.
They also checked the CAC for leaks, none found.
Change in performance, fuel economy, NIL.
Finally found a recommended by Marathon Coach of Florida Detroit Diesel shop in Ocala. They did not have to remove anything inside, nor take the engine out. Saved well over $3,000 dollars from quote received from American
Fleet, after sending measurements and pics to Brian.
Job took about 4-5 hrs cost less than $500. Would recommend Detroit Diesel of Florida, Ocala office. Call ahead so they can assure that their slim valve adjusting tech is available.
From Marathon, San Antonio, Fl. Joe states all XL’s need floor and or bed removed. Most H3’s can be done
in chassis without any access from bedroom.
KT.
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KT,
Glad to hear you got that dealt with and for a great price. When customers such as yourself calls in to get a quote on a job like that, our approach is to give you the worse case scenario, and also the best case scenario. Since everyones bus is built a little differenently its sometime impossible to know exactly what space is provided (even with pictures provided) in anyone s bus. You just don’t know until you get it here. So we go out of our way to make sure you know, what you could be spending BEFORE you get here. We are NOT a bait and switch facility. And if we were, we probably would not have been around as long as we have. ****Clarification – I am not saying the establishment you went is in that category******
We recently had in Mr.Hanson out of Wisconsin for his tune up. Once we determined the engine did not need to be slid out, we got right to work. After a hour, we discovered one of the rocker arm buttons had failed. If that had not been discovered that could have done around $10,000 dollars of damage inside the engine. And don’t forget the tow bill on that as well. So we went ahead and replaced them all to be safe (per his approval and our recommendation)
Bob was pleased to get that taken care and was on his way the following day. I say all this to remind folks that its important to choose wisely where to spend your “bus money” and make sure you have a good understanding of what you could end up spending based on the worse/best case scenarios.
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KT. It is not true that all XLs or XL ll need the floor removed to adjust the valves or the motor slide out , who ever told you that is dead wrong
As far as American Fleet if they would have seen the coach they would have done what was best for you and them so if the shop you took it too did it without taking anything apart or sliding the motor out they would have done the same thing , they do not want to slide the motor out if they can do it in the bus, so to say you saved 3000,00 dollars not taking it to them is wrong you never gave them a chance to see the coach in person
I for one think they are the best in the business period . THEY HAVE MY VOTE. Thanks America Fleet for helping all of us out there you are a real asset. -
Brian,
We’re planning to show up on 19 June this year to have the valves adjusted, and also fix an oil leak where the oil filter bracket attaches to the engine, as well as any other leaks you may find. Would like an oil change and coolant flush at the same time. -
KT,
It is good you were satisfied with the valve work on your bus. We are always seeking shops that will do qualtity work at fair prices. I do want to mention something that might be misleading. American Fleet has received very high marks in the past, and although they are not advertisers we will recommend them because our members that have used them are universally pleased with their work and cost.
I think if they quoted as much as you said they likely included the cost of pulling the engine back as an alternative to disassembling the closet to get access from the top. If they did include that it is likely because they did not know your conversion of bus model. An H requires no interior removal, where an XLII is likely to require either the engine to be slid back or the interior to be disassembled to an extent to gain access to the top of the engine.
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Per,
We can handle that for sure! If you would please call me two weeks prior so I can lock in the exact date of your arrival, that would be appreciated!
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Brian:
Can you tell us more about the coach from Wisconsin you just serviced? Year, mileage, chassis type, and converter.
Thanks!
Dick
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