Starting the Bus

Chicken bone, chicken bone
Lucky lucky chicken bone
Chicken bone, chicken bone
Lucky lucky chicken bone
Rabbit rabbit, treat 'em good
Lucky lucky, knock on wood
Yogi Bera, Tub McGraw
Fire 'em up!
Kumbaya!

Basic starting

To start the bus, you must turn the key to the ignition position, and then say the chant. While you're chanting, the glow plug will warm up. After yelling "Fire 'em up!" turn the key to engage the starter motor. If she starts up, yell "Kumbaya!" and pat yourself on the back. If the bus does not start within the first few seconds, turn it off. The batteries aren't strong enough for you to crank on the starter for very long, and there are several more sophisticated ways to start her if she's feeling persnickity.

Ether

If you're having trouble starting in cold weather, the best thing to do is to shoot some ether (a.k.a. starting fluid) into the air intake before trying to start her up. The air intake is just in front of the batteries behind the back-most service hatch on the left side. It doesn't take much -- just a couple of squirts. If flames shoot out the back, you're using too much.

Do not use ether unless the engine turns freely! Ether is extremely explosive, and will cause some of the cylinders to fire, moving the crank-shaft. If a cylinder head is leaking, and one of the cylinders has filled with water, that cylinder will not compress, and when the other cylinders fire, the crank-shaft will bend, destroying the engine forever. Unless you've heard the engine make a couple of revolutions successfully, do not use ether.

Back starts

Back starting can be useful if the battery is running low, or conceivably in other situations. To back start the bus

1. Make sure the engine is in neutral and the parking brake is on. You should think about chocking the wheels too.
2. Pop the middle engine access hatch on the left side -- the one where you can see the cylinder heads.
3. Find the big metal rod with a spring attached to it that's sticking out from the engine. It should move vertically with some force. This lever releases all the manifold pressure from the engine when you pull it, letting the engine turn more easily, but not actually start running.
4. Pull out the IGN knob. You should hear buzzing from the cab.
5. Flip the switch labelled Glow Plug to On.
6. Say the chant.
7. Pull down on the big metal rod. (You may need a friend to do this.)
8. Press and hold the buton labelled 'start'. At this point the engine should start spinning relatively easily and quietly. Let it spin for a second or two to get up to speed.
9. While still holding the start button, release the big metal rod. The engine will sputter a bit, and start rumbling. Once it sounds like a rumbling diesel, let go of the start button. You can now yell "Kumbaya!"
10. Flip off the Glow plug switch. Do not push in the IGN button yet. THis will turn off the engine.
11. Run into the cab, and put your key in the ignition and turn it to the 'running' position. Now you can push in the IGN button, close up the engine access hatch, and roll out.