help with Atlantean

[Jonathan Smith]

atlanteanliving wrote:

My Atlantean only has one fan belt fitted where there's provision for two both on the cooling fan and the alternator. It seems logical that there should be two. As I've never owned anything like it before can anyone tell me please if: a) Where there's provision for multiple belts I should fit all that the pulleys will take? & b) Can anyone recommend a supplier that does mail order or is in the Kettering area? c) Any mobile PSV mechanics around out there? Whilst I'm in 'daft question mode'... My old gal has been standing [save for regular run-ups and a crawl around the yard] since January. Selecting reverse seems to drop the vacumm guage dramatically, almost down to zero, I can hear a hiss coming from amidships somewhere. Is this a typical thing along with what's now quite a big stain on the concrete under the gearbox area suggesting a transmission oil leak. What oil goes in the gearbox & should I start putting one of my kidneys up for sale on Ebay to sort it? Many thanks in advance.

[Jonathan Smith]

I use a local (in Edinburgh) commercial vehicle garage for major repair work to my vehicle, they can usually source the required parts.

For fan belts you can usually get them from commercial vehicle spare part supplier or motorfactors.

Is the gear selection pneumatic? Some of the Atlanteans are pneumatic others are electronic gear selection. If its a pneuamtic one you may have a leak.

[atlanteanliving]

Thanks! I can only guess that the gear selection is via air as selecting gears, especially reverse certainly causes a problem with pressure...

[Jonathan Smith]

The pneumatic gear selector is normally on a pedestal , they have nice curved fingers on the top and a chunky knob. You'd hear a pssht sound when you select a gear. I love atlanteans

[atlanteanliving]

Yes, she makes lots of nice psssht noises, I find releasing the parking brake one of the best! Alas she also has a constant hiss when running and once she's switched off! Must try to sort this leak. Trying to get a PSV mechanic out to have a look is proving difficult. :-(

[BruceH]

admin said:

atlanteanliving wrote:

(snip) ... My old gal has been standing [save for regular run-ups and a crawl around the yard] since January. Selecting reverse seems to drop the vacumm guage dramatically, almost down to zero, I can hear a hiss coming from amidships somewhere. Is this a typical thing along with what's now quite a big stain on the concrete under the gearbox area suggesting a transmission oil leak. What oil goes in the gearbox & should I start putting one of my kidneys up for sale on Ebay to sort it? Many thanks in advance.

__. An excellent source for help with any transmission problems is Mike Wetherill Managing Director at Queensbridge (SV) Ltd, Milner Way, Longlands Ind. Estate, Ossett, Wakefield, WF5 9JE, Tel [phone]. They mostly do "modern" things but they're really sharp (full rebuild, spares, etc.) on older busses.
Bruce H, North Carolina USA
(PS Please say hi to Mike for me.)

[merlinbus]

In service, the Atlanteans had two belts. This was particularly important for the fan, as our ones (AN68`s) had a shaft running from the front (L/H rear corner of body) of the engine, across the engine bay, to the fan on the right hand side. This was a lot of weight for the belts to drive. If one belt went, the survivor didn`t usually last long, particularly as these were semi automatics, and some drivers` less than gentle gear changes, strained the belt too much.