Our buses transmission acting up

[dogman2456]

if it has the option of manual u can shift it your self

[mrfirecrotch100]

its got to be something with the clutch

[Lukeno52]

You Americans can stop moaning about your buses. One of the sets of local buses (no idea what it is, but it's a 1993-1995 bus, run by First) are very slow, rattly, give out a lot of blue smoke and stink quite bad - but their Volvo replacements aren't fairing any better, with dead rev counters and other electrical faults! xD

[RJxx0843]

I dont like Thomas Built Buses either

[ndaguanno]

I would say that the driver is pretty heated, beating the hell out of that bus it sounds like. I do know our bus never sounded like that or drove like that, I think it only had 80,000 miles though so it was still getting broke in I'm sure.

[Lukeno52]

@ndaguanno That's the only way to drive anything stuck in 5th, you'd have to absolutely floor it just to get moving. Even in a turbodiesel bus.

[theKing4720]

does someone know the name of the song at 1:21 to 2:00

[justwolfslife]

pretty good acceleration for being stuck in 5th

[ndaguanno]

@justwolfslife Probably was flooring it, you could hear the engine not hit any high rpms until it was shut off and restarted.

[ipodtouchfan221]

what a heap lol

[theKing4720]

i like the part at 1:22 to 2:37 and does someone know the NAME OF THE SONG AT 1:21 to 2:00??

[jamin108]

this is my favorite out of all thomas buses

[BigBoofBoof]

i like Thomas better an we have a 99 blue bird and its a peice off shit

[civilmaddog420]

that sounds like a stall at 1:30

[schindlerman96]

so at 1:30 do you think the driver shut it off or do you think it sounded like a engine stall i dont really know it most likely i think was a stall because of it being a thomas i hate thomas buses so much

[cunit1090]

Im pretty sure the driver shut the bus off to reset the transmission (been there done that). Plus if it would have stalled, it probably would have done so at the stop sign. Just because its a thomas doesn't guarantee a stall. The same Cummins in the TC2000 EF is the same one thats in the Saf-t-liner EF, but again this is an allison problem not a thomas problem.

[schindlerman96]

what happens though if its in drive they cant shut it off

[cunit1090]

In this video the bus wasn't stuck in drive, it was stuck in 5th gear. I've never heard of a bus stuck in drive, the buses i've delt with got stuck in neutral, but im sure if you shut the bus off, the transmission would probably reset, if not then it would have to be towed.

[wolfman9999999]

Why? Thomas only builds the bodies. All of the mechanics are off the shelf parts that can be more or less spec'd in every "brand" of bus. The problem here was with Allison, the transmission builder. The TCM got fragged. I have heard of the early 5 speed Allisons having major issues with their TCMs.

[schindlerman96]

thomas are ok but i like IC-Corp better we got an international IC-Corp back on september 26, 2009 and up to this point it has only been at the garage for its mandatory inspection

[an65001]

@wolfman9999999 Yeah. The engine is a Cummins, BTW.

[schindlerman96]

Ian at 1:30 did it stall or did the driver shut it off

[qwandiddy]

I Only Like Blue Birds especially the Blue Bird Pushers the best.

[cunit1090]

They're nice looking but just too expensive for districts to consistently afford, especially districts that keep cutting funds to their education department.

[cunit1090]

The problem is not in Thomas, its the allison transmission. We have the same problem out of our Amtran genesis. The majority of '97-'99 buses are now having problems with the allison push buttons getting stuck in a certain gear, its just the wiring that needs to be checked. I drive a 2009 C2, cummins ISB, and as opposed to many people's opinions about it, its one of the best buses I have driven. I have not been to the shop once and that better than i can say for the IC CE 200 i drove.

[schindlerman96]

my bus driver no longer has her C2 she has a 08 IC-CE 300 international today started our 3rd week having it and it hasnt been to the garage since she got it the previous driver had it there a few times i think but not as many times as her C2 was in the garage

[cunit1090]

The 300 is much better than the 200. I prefer the MAXXFORCE DT over the MAXXFORCE 7 anyday. And as you probably already know my C2 has never been to the shop for any kind of issues like a lot of other buses i've driver. Even though i love my C2, i think the best bus i have driven was the BB Vision.

[Stetsonater]

what year is it ? & did you downshift from d-4 or 3-2-1 then back up???

[rudolphna54]

Thomas Busses are crap. Leonard bus with International Frontends are some of the best.

[qwandiddy]

I rather drive Wayne buses than a Thomas but too bad that mostly cities prefers Thomas.

[rudolphna54]

I think leonard bus combined with the international frontend is the best combo.

[schindlerman96]

i so agree about most cities prefering thomas's my city where i live buys mostly thomas and you cant go through a week of shcool without a broken thomas bus

[s172mch]

the problem is its a 1997

[ArmadilloTrans]

The automatic transmission is easly replaced and pretty cheap for a rebuild.

[RodneyMJ]

duh she should pull over and call in for help

[9862671]

is this a thomas bus

[AllAmericanFE]

Yes a 1997 EF

[bryanharricharan]

Go Thomas Busses America Favorite School busses!!!!!!!!!!

[Jedimaster9414]

Blue Birds are way better.And they soundbetter and look better.

[cunit1090]

So not. As a person who has driven both bluebird and thomas buses, thomas build buses are better by far. This bus probably missed a lot of maintainance work which can lead to tranmission failure or engine failure on any bus.

[AllAmericanFE]

I have to dissagree with you. Our thomases are the worst buses in the fleet and we have had 3 catch on fire for no reason. Thomas buses are known for catching on fire. Our BlueBirds (the ones we have left) are the best in the fleet and everyone wants to drive them.

[cunit1090]

Its the complete opposite where i work. We are a majority Thomas fleet but the 175 or so blue birds we do have no one wants to drive because they are such bad buses and they are always in the shop (excluding the visions). We had an 06 AAFE break down for absolutely no reason, well maintained bus, now is going to have to be retired and replaced with a Thomas bus. Thats unacceptable and don't get me started on the conventional T444E. Absolutely horrible.

[dodger8822]

the 100 or so Thomas conventionals my district has do just fine. sure, they are old, worn out, and are slow uphill, but they're much more reliable than the new buses - the Thomas C2s - we got in the last year or so. I dont even consider the C2s or the Freightliner chassis conventionals "Thomas". theyre just shit.

Blue Bird I cant speak for. the only Bird ive ridden in was a E350 shorty that had 1 less row of seats compared to the Corbeil shorty it was subbing for. cramped ride on a full route.

[schindlerman96]

we have some thomas C2's way to many problems with them

[Stetsonater]

I could see why bluebird is desirable

life to death...........LIFE ANYDAY!!!

[cunit1090]

But their initial cost is expensive for many district budgets, and they have their problems too. I do however like the vision.

[AcaAllertor127]

@AllAmericanFE LACK OF MAINTENANCE!!! Thomas buses are the safest school buses out there.I repeat,LACK OF MAINTENANCE!!!

[ndaguanno]

@AllAmericanFE you don't drive out in roseville do you? all they have is bluebird which is why I'm wondering.

[bluebirdvision]

I agree

[cmarlow480]

question how did the bus driver know it was stuck in 5th?

video seemed normal?

[AllAmericanFE]

The transmission tells you what gear you are in. If you notice when he says that the bus does not shift at all until after he shuts it off at the next stop.

[patriotsfz]

@AllAmericanFE computer malfunction on the transmission. region 3 bus up here in maine got stuck in 2 wich we did 30 in a 55 so i made her shut the bus down. and it shifted normal. allison automatics are know for it you can have a perfectley good transmission but if the computer goes hay wire it wont work properly. wich makes it shift hard or not shift at all. poor design but nothin much you can do about it.

[aszypula]

does the transmission always act up on the bus

[AllAmericanFE]

not always but it seemed like it would only last for about a month before we needed a new one.

[Maxillius]

I don't see a problem really since the engine can handle having one gear and acceleration isn't affected at all.

[dodger8822]

say that going up a hill

[FBHSswimmer2006]

hey dude....what bus was this and what kind of transmission did it have? Allison or another kind?

[AllAmericanFE]

1997 Thomas Saf-T-Liner EF with Cummins engine and Allison Automatic push button transmission

[bryanharricharan]

I was driving a old blue bird busses last week because my thomas bus broke down and this bus dont sound like a thomas is sound like a blue bird

[bryanharricharan]

i dont see nothing wrong with transmission is shift smooth GO THOMAS BUSSES

[BGoode95]

Thomas buses RULE!!

[bryanharricharan]

I love thomas busses i love the engine sound

[saabdude67]

I know some of our BlueBird-Int'l conventionals runnin the 5sp Allison have that crashing, skipping to them also... The bus I used to ride did it really bad when the driver would feather the throttle around corners, which made me think it had a Detroit Locker diff in the rear-axle... God was it HARSH!

-Cody

[keanerulz25]

lol my school's enitre fleet is of thomas buses, except for some mini buses, and some new ones.

[Justin80084362]

our school district has 3 bluebirds, 6 Thomas Saf-T-Liner FS-65, and 8 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2's

[jefferyb304]

i remember riding a bus that would make your teeth clatter when stopped with the engine idling. here in southern west virginia some 98% of busses are the chassis on truck frame style with some saf t liner c2 starting to appear. my grandmother drove one in the southern most county of the state where they have an all stick shift fleet.

[xiiimwz]

I drove Thomas Built Buses for three years while in college and loved them -- we had a fleet of '82 Transit Liners with Cummins VT-225 and (I think) Allisons, a handful of '88 Transit Liners with Detroit 6V-71/Allison, and a few '89 Transit Liners with Detroit 6V-92/Allison. Performed really well -- some of the '82s had had transmissions rebuilt after 10 yrs/250K miles of in-town shuttle work, no surprise there...

[brownbrownson]

i hate Blue Bird buses with a passion. i prefer the 2006 and 2007 Thomas Saf-T-Liners.

[cc10266]

Have You haerd of Saf-T-Liner C2s. they are the newest thomas buses.

[PlanesTrainsAutos]

Yea nice buses! Our school has some.

[Clin10]

it also feels like it slips gears, like from 1st, slips second and goes to 3rd, as you feel the axle jump.anyone know if that is a big problem [obviously, but still want to get a second opinion before I report it to my local >>ATLANTIC EXPRESS>>>

[had to put it in 2 posts, sorry]

[Clin10]

The bus I ride on [1996 Blue Brid GMC CV200 diesel] acts like seemless shift as the RPMs barely move from gear-to-gear,like it stays around 1900-2300RPMs.we do have a problem of when the driver lets off the throttle,the bus goes into a frenzied axle-hop and seems to be going 5th...4th--3rd--4th--3rd--4th-­-3rd quickly before she gets on the brakes.

[AlvaroAlberto]

The School Bus of video, have posees the automatic transmission, is Allison.

[JZX100Chaser]

uh, if the bus has a touchpad transmission and shows "5", it means it goes up to fifth gear. the 2 arrows mean gear limit select.

[JZX100Chaser]

and its kind of like, when you change to 4, it uses only 4 gears. its like that, k?

[JZX100Chaser]

so it takes time to be used to it. i rode on a thomas bus (Saf-T-Liner EF) and has a touchpad tranny. it wasnt so bad, it went to 1 then to 5.

[6V92TA]

no bus in the world can go from 1st gear to 5th....thats impossible unless you have a manual shift Eaton/Fuller or a Spicer. no Allison skips its gears....no AT545,no B400R, no B500....none of them! touch pad or shifter. sounds like to me the ATEC controls are screwed,if it has an ATEC allison.

[JZX100Chaser]

no, the bus i used to ride in when was in motion, the engine sounded like it wasnt changing.

[6V92TA]

seemless shift. most Allison B300 and B400 transmissions shift that way. Some VR-731 ATEC trannies do the same thing from 3rd gear to 4th. you'd never know it went into over-drive until you're doing 60mph