Broke Down in Victorville, CA - Good Sams is on its way

[TomC]

So Gary-what's going on with your bus? What did they find out about the transmission?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Time for an update.  Not only did my 740 tranny fail on the way to the rally but my laptop died at the same time.  Therefore I have been unable to keep up with what is going on.  I can read my email and the forum on my cell phone but it is too much of a hassle to reply on that small screen.

Allison rebuilt the tranny and they are starting to install it today.  They will also relocate the coolers as they were not in a good place which is why the tranny may have overheated and failed in the first place.  With any luck they will have everything back together tomorrow and I will be able to bring it home.

I also have a new laptop and I am getting it up and running now so I will better be able to keep up with things.

Watch for an upcoming issue of BCM to see photos of all of the buses that attend the rally and what we did there. It was a great rally.

[chessie4905]

"When it rains, it pours"

[Iceni John]

Allison rebuilt the tranny and they are starting to install it today.  They will also relocate the coolers as they were not in a good place which is why the tranny may have overheated and failed in the first place.

What failed in it?   Does your transmission cool through a heat exchanger on the engine, or does it only cool through its own separate external cooler/radiator?

John

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

What failed in it?   Does your transmission cool through a heat exchanger on the engine, or does it only cool through its own separate external cooler/radiator?

John

John, it just plain overheated. It has a Hayden cooler which they are replacing as well as another external cooler which should not be necessary.  The Hayden was mounted in a bad (non-air circulation location) in the engine compartment and the other cooler was mounted outside the main engine radiator. I am having them mounted in reverse locations. I am having them both re-mounted as you can never have too much cooling.

[Utahclaimjumper]

  Cajon pass can be a bitch at times,, and heat is the biggest killer of transmissions.>>>Dan

[windtrader]

time for transmission cooler temp gauge. What's involved, I'm sure you have one now.

[Iceni John]

John, it just plain overheated. It has a Hayden cooler which they are replacing as well as another external cooler which should not be necessary.  The Hayden was mounted in a bad (non-air circulation location) in the engine compartment and the other cooler was mounted outside the main engine radiator. I am having them mounted in reverse locations. I am having them both re-mounted as you can never have too much cooling.

Yes, I agree that one can never have too much cooling, at least here in the desert SW.   I moved my hydraulic fluid cooler from outside the radiator to another location where it's also cooled by the airflow to the transmission's new remote cooler - I just don't want anything blocking airflow to the main radiator or heating the air going through it.   I'm still toying with the idea of adding a second radiator on the right side, but that would be a lot of work.   In the meanwhile I drive my bus according to the gauges, particularly the coolant temperature and turbo boost pressure gauges.   Do you have a good transmission temperature gauge?

John

PS  -  Will we be seeing you at BGW X next month?

[Mike in GA]

I had posted a week or so ago that I had the same symptoms as Gary. Intense bucking when starting out. I have since been to the Allison shop here in Atlanta and I had a full transmission service. In addition to fluid and filter they checked the modulator, the governor, linkage shift points, etcetera. Even though the fluid had not been changed in 10 years it was bright red and did not smell. They pronounced everything looking pretty good. So now I am a little more confident that I will not have a transmission failure. Wish me luck!
Mike in GA

[lvmci]

Hi Gary,  where is the Allison shop located? Is it an Allison company shop? Tom, lvmci...

[Branderson]

I had posted a week or so ago that I had the same symptoms as Gary. Intense bucking when starting out. I have since been to the Allison shop here in Atlanta and I had a full transmission service. In addition to fluid and filter they checked the modulator, the governor, linkage shift points, etcetera. Even though the fluid had not been changed in 10 years it was bright red and did not smell. They pronounced everything looking pretty good. So now I am a little more confident that I will not have a transmission failure. Wish me luck!
Mike in GA

Hey Mike, do you live in Atlanta or near there?  I didn't know there was an Allison shop there.  I'm down the road from you in Phenix City AL, right across the state line from Columbus GA. 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

 Cajon pass can be a bitch at times,, and heat is the biggest killer of transmissions.>>>Dan

That may have been the straw that broke the camels back because I pulled it hard all the way up passing trucks. Wanted to ensure my engine would not overheat after doing a bunch of work on it.  Didn't know it was a tranny killer. If so, the repair shop is in an excellent location.  Broke down on the north side of Victorville a few miles past the top of the hill.

But better it break down here rather than in the middle of the desert where here is not even any cell phone service. 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Hi Gary,  where is the Allison shop located? Is it an Allison company shop? Tom, lvmci...

The shop is Dartco.  https://www.dartcotransmission.com/  They seem to have a very good reputation according so many of my bus nut friends.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

"When it rains, it pours"

Yep, and bad luck comes in 3's. So i am waiting for another big bad surprise next. :-)

[busfan]

Try a laptop with SSD (a non mechanical spinning hard drive) or one with a rough service cert.