Power Loss in Tempo No 775

[77syk7]

I realise that this batch of 4 Optare Tempos delivered (Nos 773-776) delivered in 2010 to Centrebus have few fans. However, when new, I can clearly remember riding in one from Sowerby bridge to King Cross and it 'stormed' up the hill - in fact one of the fastest buses I have ever ridden in. They claimed to have 282 bhp from their Mercedes engines and I was clearly impressed.
Imagine my disappointment yesterday when riding on 775 from Huddersfield to Wakefield on the 232 - the bus was down to less than 20 mph when climbing up from waterloo to Lepton (and this is not a steep climb). The bus was totally lacking in power on any hill and made an unfamiliar whining/grinding noise from the drivetrain.
Can anybody enlighten me at what has happened to this bus - has it been refitted with an old Gardner 5LW?

[1601]

Jun 26, 2018 9:51:39 GMT 1 77syk7 said:

I realise that this batch of 4 Optare Tempos delivered (Nos 773-776) delivered in 2010 to Centrebus have few fans. However, when new, I can clearly remember riding in one from Sowerby bridge to King Cross and it 'stormed' up the hill - in fact one of the fastest buses I have ever ridden in. They claimed to have 282 bhp from their Mercedes engines and I was clearly impressed.
Imagine my disappointment yesterday when riding on 775 from Huddersfield to Wakefield on the 232 - the bus was down to less than 20 mph when climbing up from waterloo to Lepton (and this is not a steep climb). The bus was totally lacking in power on any hill and made an unfamiliar whining/grinding noise from the drivetrain.
Can anybody enlighten me at what has happened to this bus - has it been refitted with an old Gardner 5LW?

I have had the same experience with an ex arriva tempo going up meltham road to Netherton, crawling up 10mph tempted to just die..

Tempos are very strange buses to be honest!

[FIYHANunDer]

Jun 26, 2018 9:51:39 GMT 1 77syk7 said:

I realise that this batch of 4 Optare Tempos delivered (Nos 773-776) delivered in 2010 to Centrebus have few fans. However, when new, I can clearly remember riding in one from Sowerby bridge to King Cross and it 'stormed' up the hill - in fact one of the fastest buses I have ever ridden in. They claimed to have 282 bhp from their Mercedes engines and I was clearly impressed.
Imagine my disappointment yesterday when riding on 775 from Huddersfield to Wakefield on the 232 - the bus was down to less than 20 mph when climbing up from waterloo to Lepton (and this is not a steep climb). The bus was totally lacking in power on any hill and made an unfamiliar whining/grinding noise from the drivetrain.
Can anybody enlighten me at what has happened to this bus - has it been refitted with an old Gardner 5LW?

The whining/grinding noise will be the diff failing or at least lacking oil, known fault with these. The lack of power is usually a few things, sometimes a simple wash of the rad sorts it, other times its a compression/turbo issue. If it was blowing black smoke that suggests a turbo fault.

Good buses when looked after and maintained.

[arrivayorks]

By the sounds of it, they could be fitted with econospeed?

[Deleted]

Interesting post, whilst on a Yorkshire Tiger one when they did the 711, the bus seemed to struggle on hills I mean with great difficulty. Not sure when this was though.

Michael Windle