1975 flxible allison transmission problems, someone know trannys well?

[kbunnystarr]

[DrivingMissLazy]

Kristine, you need to put some information between the brackets for it to show up.
Richard

[FloridaCliff]

Richard,

I was just talking about you to someone (it was nice) hadn't heard from you in awhile and there you are.

Were your ears burning.

Cliff

[rv_safetyman]

Kristine, I saw your post on BNO and offered the following reply:

Kristine, you need to give us a few details. First tell us which transmission you have and what the symptoms are.

Most of us are not "experts", but many of us have some experience that might help and some of us have various Allison manuals that we could use to help you with your problem.

[kbunnystarr]

ok, im sorry for the delay in gettin back here, I have been in a whirl wind since i moved from seattle to Lake Havasu. my sisters house.  the bus issue:
i made the trip without a single issue ......until i got 7 miles from my destination.....
ok, so no running hot at all thru the trip, once about 25 miles from havasu it got up to 200 for about 5 min, but other than thta even on the inclines at 35 mph it ran 170-180.  no other issues at all, ok so i stopped at newberry springs on 40, then left early in the AM to avoid heat goin thru mojave desert......was some slow driving and watched heat but no issues, then when i turned off 40 to 95 to head into havasu, i noticed the bus/road, wasnt sure which, felt a tiny bit rougher.......thought it was probably the fact that it was a hwy not interstate, anywya, it wasn't super rough just noticed something...checked gauges and everything seemed normal......on the incline on thta hwy was the only place the bus got up  to 200 temp....i said to myself, ok if it doesnt level off in a min or 2 im pullin over to cool down, but then in like a min, the incline leveled and went to a decline down the hill and it cooled right away to 165-170ish. 

so kept drivin and then once saw first signs of 'town' i said to myself  again, need to find a place to pull over, get some ice and food and call my sisters husband.  so i saw a gas station on the right, saw there was a bit of a hill to go down off the hwy into a very snug gasstation, so went to the light and took a right on the road and thenturned into the station.  bus felt like it was gonna die, wierd, went to park but there was no space to park or really move at all, so i was just gonna pull back out on hwy 95 and go a little further into town.......but when i came to go up the hill, like 45 degree angle i suppose.....and pull out of the station back on the hwy it felt like it was gonna die again, and then did, and then got it up to the hwy and then it wouldnt move, wouldnt go forward, it didnt die, and it wouldnt move, it jsut sat there.......in first and 2nd both......( i have an automatic) then felt like it was gonna die, so i put it in 1st and gave it a bunch  of gas and it still wouldnt go forward.....and saw a bunch of black smoke come out of the tailpipe....never seen thta before....so i put it in reverse, since i couldnt just sit there, coasted backwards and went forward in 1st on level ground still feeling like it was gonna die, and turned on the side road, with a wide place to park and parked and sat there with it running...........not over hot, nothing else wrong, then it died. 

so....i went to get ice came back and like 20 min later, started it, and in neutral it was fine, but when i went to put it in 1st it wanted to and almost died, so put it in 2nd, went forward, and almost died, got it to the light to get back on the hwy cause after talking to my sisters husband it was like 7 miles t their house...........and when i got to the light same thing ...wouldnt go forward on the hill.........reverse and neutral was fine, anythign else wanted to die....well, knew i was in over my head, and luckily it was no /hardly any traffic, so i put flashers on, and when noone at all behind me, coasted into the lot on my rt just behind me, and put it in neutral and coasted back down to my left, and parked where  was.

called my sisters husband he brought a mobile mechanic, they thought maybe fuel filters changed those , not it, so toed it to their house where it sits. 

ok, added details......i believe it is 2 issues, .......i checked all my fluids, tranny and oil and all was fine BUT on the oil....there was oil all over the back of the bus......like literally sprayed i guess over the entire back top to bottom of the back....had never been ther before, and my gut said it was from when i gave it alot of gas to get it up the hill, and the black smoke.....but i dont know ..........still the oil was fine when i checked the dipstick thing and it wasnt leaking from anywhere........BUT when the toe truck guy and me/we went to get it off the toe truck ( that was a near disaster in itself) and it was slightly tilted to the right, it started t dip out of someplace underneath....... a fair amount.....was hearing people say....maybe it was a gasket or a hole in a filter and the fan blew it out etc......i dont know what they are talking about, all i know is ther is oil where it isnt supposed to be , but still read ok on the stick.

the bus starts with no problem, airs up, everythign fine, in neutral but you put it in 1st now at all and it ies, 2nd too...........a guy said we need to check the governor ilter, ..........i dont know.........anythoughts on this?  i really need some advice.....will be near computr for the next few days, i am in sdak with my mom seeing some dr's....will be back in havasu with bus around the 10th of oct...........i HAVE  to get this fixed asap.............any thoughts are so appreciated...and any questions i will try to answer as best i can.

with gratitude, kristine

[kbunnystarr]

i have a 4 speed automatic allison transmission, well it says 4 speed on the paperwork, but it goes 1, 2, 3, n, r on the dash............so is thta right?

and it is a 8v71 DetroitDiesel

[Busted Knuckle]

Kristine,

I wish that I could be of some assistance on this one, but transmissions are not one of my strong points (except changing them), and unfortuneatly I don't know of anyone near you to reccomend for assistance. Might try Don Fairchild he's in Bakersfield, CA and has a sop specializing in making the 2 stroke engines run cleaner and should know of someone who might be able to assist you! BK 

Go to the members list and send Don a msg, I'm sure if at all possible he'll be of help if he can!

[kbunnystarr]

i appreciate the reply, i am assuming it is transmission ......th eoil thing is believe is separate, ......do you have any thoughts on the governor and gov filter?  a guy said it could do similar things, not letting the bus go ettc.....i dont know, jsut grasping at straws..............peace

[gumpy]

Well, I'm not much help, either, as tranny's are not my thing, but...

If it's trying to die when you put it in gear, then it sure sounds like the tranny. It sounds like the lockup is locked up and not releasing.

What color was the oil that ran out when you towed it?  Could you determine where it was coming from?

Oil all over the back indicates you have a leak (drip, small stream) while you're driving and the air currents deposit it all over the back of the bus. It's possible this just started. I had a main hose rub a hole in itself and in 1500 miles, it put 3 gallons on the back of my bus and all over my toad. With that much oil on the back of the bus, you should see some drips underneath when parked. Not necessarily a lot, either. On that long of a trip, a simple drip from the air vents could spot up the back of the bus.

If the oil level is ok in the engine, then it's possible that it's coming from the tranny. The leak could be a hose leaking.

Lack of movement be a clogged filter on the tranny, but I wouldn't expect it to make the engine die. Just wouldn't go.

What color is the oil on the tranny dipstick? When you check it, is it idling, in neutral? I'm very suspicious of the oil level in the tranny as being the cause.

craig

[frank-id]

There is a Allison tranmission shop near Seattle, Wa.  The owner is named Harry.  He says he lives for Allison.  This man is friendly and very knowledgeable.  He will talk to you on the phone.  Do not waste his time but he will help.  The shop name is Powershift NW..  Woodinville.  425  487 1535.  Before calling, gather all your information as all the data on the trans ID tag.  Copy all the numbers.  Harry can find your trans in his magic book.    Frank  in Idaho

[kbunnystarr]

What color was the oil that ran out when you towed it?  Could you determine where it was coming from?

it looked like oil, dark, clean, not sure how to explain ....jsut looked like oil......no, we couldnt figure out exact location of the leak, it was , the best i could see, way to the left of the transmission, like center or left side of motor, not saying it was the motor, but jsut saying it was dripping  out and hard to pinpoint where but once sitting level on the ground, there is not even a drip.....

What color is the oil on the tranny dipstick? When you check it, is it idling, in neutral? I'm very suspicious of the oil level in the tranny as being the cause.

it is what one guy said, burnt transmission fluid, but the guy i got it from used oil in it instead of ats fluid, have the email of explaination from him in the bus in az but im in sdak..........he said people do it....made me worry from the start, but have read how others do it as well.......so it looks like, well , thin oil on the tranny dipstick, does that make sense?  yes, checked it idling and in neutral.......was full as well.

[kbunnystarr]

thank you frank, for harrys # and the reply.  i really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!!!

[gumpy]

Still sounds like your torque converter isn't releasing....

Here's a thread of similar discription...

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=968.0


Running oil in the tranny is not unusual. You just need to know what's in there and not put the wrong stuff in.

[kbunnystarr]

 ???so if it was yer bus, what would you do first?  as far as step one, 2, 3 etc......to figuring out the issues and how to go about fixing?  its hard cause i dont know mechanics much, and being female and not being taken advantage of.......ya know>?>

[busguy01]

While in SD, if you are close to Sioux Falls, check with interstate diesel. They service a fleet of buses and know what they are doing.
JimH