Allison Transmission Questions

[Preacher Man]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi Allison Man!

We will take possesion of our 04 Sportscoach Limited Edition in a few weeks. It's equiped with a 330 Cat and Allison 6 speed. Does it come from the factory with the synthetic fluid?

We'll be towing a 10,000lb trailer and traveling between 40 and 50,000 miles a year in fulltime ministry. Do you have any precations or special advice for us?

Thanks in advance!
Mark Walter
www.jamaministry.com

 

[Frito Lay RV]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi Allison Man!


I have a 86 Grumman Van 10,000 GVW with a Cummins BTAA3.9 Diesel. 120HP@2500RPM. At the moment it has a THM400 trans. with 3.73 in the rearend. Fine around town but lacking on the highway. I'm contemplating going to a AT 545. Van converted for RV use.
What do you think?

Thanks

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello Preacherman,
Your Allison MH3000 is dyno'd at the Allison factory with synthetic Transynde but it is up to the chassis manufacturer to choose between synthetic or regular Dexron III.
My only advise is when you take it in for the 5000 mile filter change, spend a little now and have changed to synthetic if your chassis manufacturer did not put it in. It is good stuff, cooler oil and pays for itself with less services.
I guess I have another bit of advise, HAVE FUN! Thanks and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hello Frito Lay,
If I were you, I would stick with the TH. Doing a repower is very expensive ( I would estimate 4-5000 total) You have flexplates, bellhousing, cooler, shifter, cables and modulators to install. You TH has done well so far and the AT545 still does not have converter lockup.Just enjoy what you have is my suggestion. I know that sounds bad coming from an Allison Man but I would rather you be happy with decision than maybe make the wrong one. Don't get me wrong, the AT545 is a good transmission, just not worth the expense to re-gear with. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[Preacher Man]

Allison Transmission Questions

Thanks AllisonMan! It's a Freightliner chassis, so I'll shoot them an email and see if I get a reply. Either way, I'll make sure they put in the synthetic at the 5000 mile mark!

Definately gonna do the fun thing. We've been workin' towards this day for many years. Can't wait to see where He's gonna take us on this journey called life!

God bless,
Mark

 

[Frito Lay RV]

Allison Transmission Questions

Thanks Allison Man,
I thought you might say that, but just had to ask.
Thanks for an realistic answer.
I have a AT 545 in a Hino, works great, which is why I had to ask.

Thanks again.

 

[The Beave]

Allison Transmission Questions

quote:Originally posted by AllisonMan

Hi there. I have worked on Allison Transmissions for 27 years. If you have any questions, please post and I will check back once a week and try to answer them all. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[The Beave]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi Allison Man, we have just purchased a 1997 Beaver Monterey with the Allison 3060 transmission and 300 HP Cat engine. The coach has 57,000 miles on it. All of the maintenance records are complete except for the transmission service.

The transmission seems to work just fine, although I have to admit that this is my first experience with an Allison transmission, so I don't really know what to expect.

I would like to have the transmission oil flushed and changed and the filters replaced. Would you recommend the synthetic fluid! Also would you know of an Allison service facility in the Las vegas area?

Thanks for your help, I enjoy reading the postings.

 

[The Beave]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi again AllisonMan, just a follow up question, today I finally found a record of a transmission oil and filter change at 18,184 miles (20 Quarts) by the previous owner. The previous owner called it an "Allison X' Mission". Whats that? :question:

 

[The Beave]

Allison Transmission Questions

Just noticed, that oil and filter change was in 1998. Looks like I better get the transmission serviced.

 

[airtime_262]

Allison Transmission Questions

allisonman-
I apologize for the last post, My wife pissed me off, and I took it out on you. Again I apologize, can you help me? Again, my post is on page 5, please let me know.
airtime-

 

[rainbird-too]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi AllisonMan
I have an Allison MT653 approx.1985, that shifts to neutral when I stop at a stop sign, It shifts fine the rest of the time.
any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi the Beave,
"X" mission is slang for transmission. It looks like you are due for an oil change. My usual rule of thumb is if it is 97 or newer, synthetic is way to go. Older than 97 I recommend DexronIII. My reasoning is the transmission has lasted that long with Dexron III, why change and go to expense of synthetic. I do this post at home and do not have a Allison Distributor/dealer book with my. Las Vegas I believe is either Stewart and Stevenson or Williams Detroit Diesel Allison or look in phone book under truck repair and the local Detroit /Allison distributor. If you cannot find, please give me a call at work and try to catch me on my phone (busy busy) and I will find one for you in my book. Thanks for the question and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi airtime,
Sorry I missed post last page. I think Clark should be able to find the problem. With the shutter as I would call it, has anyonedropped the pan to see if anything like clutch material is in the pan? How long has it been since the oil has been changed? I do know if you have not kept up with filter changes especially a vehicle over 2 yrs old, the filters will definatly cause shift problems. The microns on these filters do not take much to make the trans shift funny sometimes. Say you did all oil changes, then what? HMMMMM good question. Is your driveline in time? Meaning are the yokes lined up correctly in phase? You may also have a bad TCM (computer) on your transmission. The first thing to do I guess is to have an authorized distributor or dealer hook up their laptop and see if they can retrieve any codes. A lot of times your typical truck dealership has no idea how to work on an Allison. Please let me know how things turn out. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi USAM,
You are correct that it has to be 140 or higher. Wow you must have a heck of a coolant system. Does it read sump temp or do they have a temp sender in a fitting? Freightliner usually puts their senders in a T fitting in the wrong place. They put on leg that the sender does not even touch the oil and all you are reading is splash. I would look under your rig and look at cooler fittings where hoses go into trans. The correct way would be if the oil shoots straight out of the trans across right to the sender and the sender not being on leg of T that is not opposite stream. Have you tried getting a reading from tower or just going by temp on gauge? Are you getting OL 70? if so you are too cool. If it has an OL and then a flashing 8 and counts down to 0 with OL and either LO or HI or OK and if LO or HI anda number, the number is amount of oil in quarts you either need to add or remove. They should not haveadded DexronIII. I would make them do a service with a whole new batch of synthetic. 4 qts is not the end of the world but if that was pure transynd from the Freightliner chassis factory, you paid for pure, NOT contaminated synthetic oil. If you have a problem with dealer, have them call me at Pacific DDA in Ridgefiel, WA ask for Rick in trans (I am foreman)my direct number is 360 887-7556. Thanksand have a great day!

 

[The Beave]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi AllisonMan, Thank for your response.

I was back checking my transmission oil today. The oil looks very fresh, color is very red and there is no smell. All other maintenance on the coach was performed meticulously by the former owner, so its likely that the transmission was serviced appropriately, but not recorded.

My local Allison dealer will provide a oil test kit for about $25. I'm wondering if the test would give me an idea how much life is left in the fluid?

 

[rudyhiebert]

Allison Transmission Questions

From my experience, the oil analysis report only shows whether or not it needs changing plus a list of percentages of metals and maybe contaminants.

 

[Flyboy]

Allison Transmission Questions

Greetings AllisonMan,

We just returned from a 1200 mile shake down trip in the 1995 Allegro Bus DP we recently purchased. It has the 8.3 300 Cummins with Allison 6 speed tranny. The current mileage is 32,000. I do not have any info as to the last transmission service. I do not have a transmission manual and someone on another forum was kind enough to point me in your direction.

... here's the deal... There were several occurrences of it up and down shifting really hard and on 3 occasions starting from a dead stop the transmission slipped for about a second then shuttered and grabbed. This was usually on an incline. My first thought was that it was low on fluid. However, a check of the fluid level showed full with good color and no burnt smell.

Any advice on this problem would be appreciated. Thanks!

Flyboy

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi The Beav,
I would not think the sample is neccasary. I would split the difference and go 1 year then have serviced. The sample would be only good if you were going to start records and see if everytime your oil is changed, it would show differences in metals and particulates. Yes it will tell you if oil viscosity is still good, but if it is red (usually DexronIII) then you should be okfor a year. Thanks and have agreat day!

 

[AllisonMan]

Allison Transmission Questions

Hi rainbird-too,
Sorry about late response. I would have the oil pressure checked. It may be as serious as a worn out oil pump not givving enough pressure at idle, or as simple as a broken first clutch trimmer spring. I would take in to nearest distributor or dealer and have checked out so you do not get stuck out on the road. Good luck!