Allison Transmission Questions

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Notlost,
This is not normal. I would take your MH in as soon as possible to have it checked out. It can either be the engine having heat issues heating up the trans, it could be the trans heating the engine or it could be a lack of cooling or blocked cooling hoses or cooler. Sometimes when hoses are built, they cut the inside rubber and this blocks cooler flow. Let me know and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello MTwallet,
Have you checked for codes by turning on to ignition and then hitting both arrows at the same time on your shift pad either once or twice until you get a flashing "D!" and then is folled by more than just --, write the other numbers down and let me know. You must have a code logged in whenever your check transmission light on the dash comes on. I look forward to your reply. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[mtwallet]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello AllisonMan,
Thanks for the reply, I stopped by our local allison service dealer,he gave me a hand book telling
how to check for codes. This guys were very helpful. I had 35-00 code interruption of power. I called their field rep, he told me to check for loose connections to the battery, sure enough a loose ground wire.
Mtwallet.......

 

[notlost]

Allison Transmission Questions

hi allison man,
now i know why so many people ask you for your knowledge! you are so right about my temperature heating up and the cause being a lack of air flow.
our beaver patriot has 2 issues, we feel. one is that the intake hose to the air filter is 7inches in diameter and is not even a true 7 inches as it's 'squished' along the way. it runs across the length of the rear of the engine, so it does have a long way to travel. in addition, our muffler is rated at upto 430hp (we have a cat c13 525hp engine). beaver is now building the new patriots with mufflers rated upto 525hp. we're getting horrible fuel mileage and feel the engine is being choked on the intake and may have back pressure on the exhaust. we also have an hourmeter air filter indicator that always runs in the red (danger) zone. monaco has ackowledged there is a problem with that but doesn't have a solution, as of now. they told me they're working on it.
we have addressed all these issues with the beaver factory, monaco service, caterpillar and anyone else who may listen..we have gotten NOWHERE.
i would greatly appreciate any help you can give us since we feel as if our problems may become serious and no one seems to even acknowledge responsibility, nonetheless help us to fix an obvious problem. l

 

[Grinch]

Allison Transmission Questions

Allisonman,
Please see the post under "General RVing" titled "Temp gauge sensor" posted by Grinch. I thought I was adding my post to the Allison Transmission forum.

Thanks, Richard

 

[sd_slim]

Allison Transmission Questions

I am looking at 2 foretravel U280's. Both have cummins 8.3L 300HP engines and Allison MD3060 tranny's. I have been told that these have transmission braking and that jake brakes not needed. What is this and is it true?

 

[mikevan]

Allison Transmission Questions

If you can get the vin # from each of the coachs. Call the tech support group at Foretravel in Texas. They can tell you what each unit shipped with. I have a 93 U-280 GV. It has a exhaust PacBrake installed. Later units could have the transmission retarter installed. This is a preferred method.

I don't believe the Jake brake was used on that unit. Not sure though.

Good Luck,

Mike

 

[rbigrig]

Allison Transmission Questions

Message Preview
Allisonman!

Hey, no offense taken at all! Let me apologize if my message came out sounding, well, upsetting in any way. You're far too valuable to this forum for any flak, real or otherwise. To that end, I took no offense in your message, either! Heck, if I had 27 years of Allison tranny training, well...I don't! I think I'll leave that to you.

In the ECU department, well, I do fix stuff like this all the time. I actually do board-level repairs on the side for the shop that I take my RV to here in Virginia. All sorts of circuit boards come in "unrepairable" or "unserviceable" and I can usually find the bad parts, and find and install new ones. In the case of the ECU, the only parts are the six relays, two 10 amp fuses, one resistor and one capacitor. On mine, the capacitor is in two pieces from the surge the rig took.

So, let me ask you this: can you access a schematic that has the value of the C2 capacitor? The ECU board is a 29509439 REV 0. If you can get me that value, I'll tell you what - I can repair these things all day long, and much more complex models, too (as long as I have schematics and component values for non-labeled or destroyed parts!). If you know folks at Allison that would be interested in component and board repair work, let them know I am interested! In most cases, the cost of goods (parts), time to repair, and access to finished product work out cheaper in the end than stocking news ones on the shelves at the factory (adding up inventory costs, especially when you retire units). A "factory certified" repaired part can be offered at a lower cost than a new one, and in the case of the ECU, live just as long as a new one, due to the fact that there are very few parts involved.

My shop tells me that, according to their distributor, they ordered 12 ECUs this year, and that's here in my town. If you guys want to look into a refurb program (certified by Allison, not me of course), then that would be something else. My website is http://www.newyawk.us and my email is s@newyawk.us. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!

But if that's no do-able, do you think you can find out the value of that capacitor? Any of your in-house schematics should have it, and that would at least enable me to have a spare on hand for the next electrical short my vehicle might suffer.

And, as always, thanks for everything!

 

[richard.reed3]

Allison Transmission Questions

:question: AllisonMan
98 tradewinds w/300hp cat. The upshift point for 6th is
55 MPH and the downshift point is 52 MPH. As long as I keep
the accelerator slightly engaged, the downshift is at a
much lower speed. I travel lots of backroads and curves at
45-50 MPH are common and unsafe to maintain accelerator engagement. Problem is lots of shifts between 5th
and 6th. Can the tranny be reprogrammed NOT to downshift
when the accelerator is not engaged at speeds less than 52MPH?
I drive very conservatively and always use the ECONOMY mode.
Thanks

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello notlost,
I am sure Beaver/Monaco will come up with a solution to your problem soon. Lucky for you this company is good at taking care of their customers. They need to find the solution before they can contact their customers. I would give it time but also keep bugging them. If you fly too far below the radar, they may forget you. Please let me know what the solution would be once they come up with one. They have to because the more vehicles they make, the more they will have to repair once the solution is found. Have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello SD SLIM,
yes and no, There is a lock-up feature that yes will hold back on hills, but I would try to either install or find a coach with an exhaust brake. These brakes use exhaust back pressure to hold you back and I tell you, they work wonderful and also save on brakes. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

rbigrig,
no problem pal. I have a couple engineers at my shop this week from Allison and I will relay the message about you interested in repairs. Unfortunatly, I would not be able to come up with the schematics you called for, heck, Allison has to hide a few secrets from me LOL. Check back later to see what I found out. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[transrand]

Allison Transmission Questions

rbigrig,
Let me know if you figure out how to rebuild ECU's. Using rebuilt parts is a very big part of my business. I am able to get rebuilt parts for everything inside the transmission, but I have been unable to find anyone who rebuilds the ECU's. Good luck trying to get Allison involved. I tried to inquire about it at the distributor that I used to work for. I don't know if it was them or Allison themselves, but they seemed more interested in selling new parts than rebuilding old ones.

 

[dumperdave]

Allison Transmission Questions

AllisonMan! I am impressed. Been checking out this site, and glad to find my way to an expert. I've got two issues:
First, I have a '92 diesel pusher with Cummins 5.9L Turbo and AT545. Cruising at 60 - 65mph is 2200 - 2500rpm. Sure do need overdrive! I can only go faster downhill with the wind. Is there an aftermarket overdrive like Gear Vendors or US Gear or does Allison do something like that?
Second, We just drove to Alaska and back (30 days) and went through several days of heavy rain on the way up. Ever since then, the overheat idiot light works like a guage. When the tranny warms up, it gives a light glow, and when we go over mountain passes it gets pretty bright. It's the Spartan chassis and dash. Any ideas
Thanks for being there!
DumperDave :approve:

 

[notlost]

Allison Transmission Questions

allisonman,
yes, i am working with monaco to resolve my problems. as of yet, no luck, but i know there is something wrong and will persevere. i would be happy to keep you (and the rest of the forum ) updated in case someone else has this problem.
again, i can't imagine how much time it must take to answer all the questions on this forum. you are truly a generous person and the epitome of what camping is all about. thank you for sharing your knowledge. :approve:

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

richard.reed,
The best thing you can do besides giving more throttle is to select 5th and keep it in 5th until you reach approx 2000 rpm. Try it and let me know. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello dumper dave,
My suggestion is to add a little taller gears in the differential but make sure a SCANN run is performed by an Allison distributor because they can run a program in their computor that will tell you what gears you need. The light is turned on by OHMs and the hoter the trans gets, the higher the OHMs. AT545 do not have a lockup feature which in short, locks the transmission 1-1 with the engine to move your vehicle in different gears depending on which model you have. Yours does not have lockup and is move from basically oil hydralics and when you move oil that much, you cause friction and that is why your transmission heats pulling steep hills. You can add an additional air to oil cooler to cool it down or synthitic Transynde is said to lower temps 10-20 d f. Thanks and have agreat day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

notlost,
I really appreciate feedback and kind comments like yours and others. This is what keeps me going. Have a great day!

 

[jimlin]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello AllisonMan,

I have a HD 4060 with retarder (year 2000 and 40,000 miles)that makes a growling noise when shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. The Allison Dealer would not accept that this was a transmission problem. Required drive shaft being pulled to check balance and u-joints. Also checked alignment of drive line requiring visit to manufacturer. Reprogammed the transmission shift points. Finally agreed that we could not find a problem external to the transmission. He is now putting in a rebuilt transmission (not a new one). The new shift points move the 4th gear closer to 3rd and moved the 5th gear closer to 6th. I have asked that the shift points be reprogrammed to their original settings. He tells me that once the shift points are change they cannot be reversed. Is this correct. Jimlin

 

[van2001ko]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello , I am a transit bus enthusiast and always wonder how their powertain works. Well anyways I have a few questions about it. The newest transit buses around here has a Detroit diesel series 50 275hp engine with Allision B-400R-WTEC III transmission, Anyways I have a few questions reguarding this transmission, and its WTEC electronics .

1. What exactly is a WTEC III transmission electronics ?
2. Can the WTEC programing tell the trasnmission to shaft at certain rpms and limited it's engine down to a range of rpm's?
3. Does the WTEC has any control on the accelaration of an coach or bus?
4. On our transit buses around here i pay attention to the speedometer and what is that shaft around 20mph on some of the transit older buses it had an indicators that tells what gear it is but on the 1st shaft it changed the 2 but on the second shaft it reminds in 2 until the next shaft i dont think it is a gear or somekind of torque convertor lock up?

Thank you so much