I just got my new Mercedes powered bus! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

junqueyardjim · #1 01-12-2006, 01:36 PM

School bus that is. It is really a nice piece of equipment. Body is a Thomas MVP transit, 52 passenger, (two in a seat) Empty weight about 26,000. Engine is Mercedes OM 609 LA, six cylinder, 388 CID turbo charged and intercooled. My shop manager says it is 275 hp and 650 ft/lbs torque. The engine tag is on the valve cover, but way at the front of the engine and is extremely difficult to read. I will go and take a magnifying glass along and see if I can get more info from it. There is quite a little on the tag. Last year the busses we got were also Mercedes and the name tags were all over the engines. This year you really have to look to find the Mercedes label. The chassi is Freightliner and it is our first Transit with airride rear suspension. What a ride! I took a field trip to "The Perfect Slopes" near Cincinnati with 52 8th Graders and teachers on Monday and it drove and handled like a dream. Fuel mileage, (just seat of the pants figures) would seem about half of that of the old 3208 Cat it has replaced. The transmission is a Five Speed Allison and it has a big label on it that it is filled with synthetic (synfluid) oil.

dkveuro · #2 01-12-2006, 01:49 PM

Let me guess....it's yellow ?

.

TheDon · #3 01-12-2006, 03:32 PM

you do know busses are not yellow but chrome yellow... i have seen a few freightliner busses at school with a "powered by mercedes" emblem

rg2098 · #4 01-12-2006, 03:38 PM

Pictures maybe?

dkveuro · #5 01-12-2006, 03:59 PM

I bet it's a 'short' chrome yellow bus !

.

TheDon · #6 01-12-2006, 04:05 PM

short busses rock.. the whole thing is the back

dkveuro · #7 01-12-2006, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

short busses rock.. the whole thing is the back

You'd be happy here...http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10783

.

greasybenz · #8 01-12-2006, 04:07 PM

I just came back from guatemala yesterday and they have Mercedes diesel and International diesel buses running around but they have no emission testing or laws watsoever so the air is thick and reeks of diesel and the buses spew out so much smoke its disgusting but i got used to it

junqueyardjim · #9 01-12-2006, 05:28 PM

Yup, it really is yellow. It used to be "chrome yellow", that was when the lead was still in it. Now of course it is lead free. It probably is still not good to eat. Oh yes, and I got the "forest green" interior, with a light green marbleized linoleum floor, with anodized aluminum trim plates. Very pretty all around. But when I was a youngster riding a school bus in Michigan before WWII, our busses were a beautiful red, white and blue. They were beautiful! If I remember correctly, they were dark blue to just above the window, white through the window area and maybe 12" below and then the lower skirt and rub rails was just a gorgeous dark red. With black wheels, chrome grill and front bumper, they were attractive. Then we moved to South Dakota where we never saw a school bus, many of the kids came to school on their ponies and we didn't even have electricity in the school, we did have a water bucket for drinking water and an outdoor john. Fortunately kids in North America don't have to go to schools like that.

t walgamuth · #10 01-12-2006, 11:39 PM

does that engine look like it will fit in a pickup? i read that in 07 big dodges will come with mb engines instead of cummins. do you have any insight on the relative quality of the mb engines?

compared to cummins?

and when you said half the mileage you meant better, right? half the consumption?

tom w

junqueyardjim · #11 01-13-2006, 10:12 AM

That Mercedes seems huge. It would seem like it is too big to go into a Dodge, but maybe I am not looking at it from the proper perspective. In the bus of course it is a rear mounted pusher. But the block looks so very large. The cooling fan is on the right side and it is hydraulically driven. The left side is all air cleaner. The large oil filter looks like a luberfiner 10 quart. When my son comes home I will get some nice digital photo's. Also, from the outside the engines we got last year seemed so very noisy. I thought the noise excessive. But my new one is not noisy and I am interested to find out why. The engines last year seemed to have a lot of clatter at idle. Perhaps they changed the design of the lifters. Yes, fuel economy seems excellant. I will report on that when I can make a good accurate check. I will also get a zero to 60 time on it, that will be coming up tomorrow.

Diesel Giant · #12 01-13-2006, 10:15 AM

Dodge is NOT going to use MB engines. I believe they have a contract with Cummins well into the next decade for the Ram trucks.

Yes I am sure Mercedes would LIKE for them to dump Cummins. But the Cummins is a much better engine.

83-240D · #13 01-13-2006, 11:28 AM

that we are supposed to get a couple mb buses also. most all are thomas with a couple internationsla. cat engines and alison trans. i'm not holding my breath though as i was told this june '05. still it is still jan '06

t walgamuth · #14 01-13-2006, 09:58 PM

where i read it but it stated that 06 is the last year for the dodge cummins agreement and that after that 07 they would have mb diesels.

could be wrong or the facts might have changed. is your source recent? mine was prob close to a year ago.

tom w

greasybenz · #15 01-13-2006, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Giant

Dodge is NOT going to use MB engines. I believe they have a contract with Cummins well into the next decade for the Ram trucks.

Yes I am sure Mercedes would LIKE for them to dump Cummins. But the Cummins is a much better engine.

Yeah the cummins is a great engine, the 12v especially. A merc cdi would be nice in a small dakota truck though maybe a 5cyl cdi from a sprinter in the dakota!!! please dodge a diesel dakota!!!!