4106 Transmission swap

sweeney153 · August 19, 2010, 09:09:34 AM

Has any one swapped a 4 speed for a v730. Had bad was it to do. or if you had it done how expensive? I want to swap and would like to talk to someone who has done it.

Kevin

Sweeney153

pvcces · August 19, 2010, 09:53:05 PM

Kevin, if you will use the search function, there are plenty of details in old posts.

This transmission was not offered as an option on this coach.

You will need to do some carving of your bulkheads.

You will need to reinforce the bulkheads afterwords.

You will lose some top end speed.

You will burn more fuel.

You will generate a lot more heat.

At times, you will still need to manually shift the transmission for the best performance.

No doubt, there is something to be gained by this conversion, but I don't see it's value.

Good luck.

Tom Caffrey

Paso One · August 20, 2010, 06:20:51 AM

Hi Kevin here is some pictures of what Tom is talking about.

I did it on my Fishbowl with the motor out for other reasons. ( can be done with motor in )

The bulkhead part is not as bad as it sounds.

I went with the Stone Benett shifter.

TomC · August 20, 2010, 08:04:19 AM

Everything Tom said is correct. But once you have the automatic in, you won't believe the difference in acceleration, ease of driving and getting into a steep campsite is just no big deal-neither is starting on a steep up hill. And this from a trucker that drove for 21 years with nothing but 13 spd transmissions. If I bought a truck now, I'd buy a Freightliner Cascadia with a DD15 that puts out 530hp and 1850lb/ft torque and use the Allison 4000HS transmission (it is now rated this high). I would love to goof with all the other truckers with their manual transmissions! Good Luck, TomC

sweeney153 · August 20, 2010, 08:41:19 AM

I know this was not an oem option but I also know a lot of them have been done.
I also understand the loss of mpg and speed. The speed is not an issue to me, The MPG I am willing to live with. The real issues for me are my knees and my wife. I want the auto for ease of driving. It will get driven a lot more that way.

What I am really looking for is info from some one who has done it to help determine if its something I can do my self. I have gotten on message offering to discuss it with me off line and will contact him but I figure the more info the better.

I can get a trans conversion kit from nimco in NJ for $1500.00. http://www.nimcobus.com/catalog/allison_conversion.shtml I think that is a good price. I'm not worried about shipping. I can drive there and pick it up.

Thanks

Kevin

Sweeney153

zubzub · August 20, 2010, 08:58:22 AM

This is a little off topic but....People talk a lot about their knees when they mention swapping to auto but I was just driving my bus yesterday and my clutch is very light...tons of travel but light. Did something change between to '04 and '06?

sweeney153 · August 20, 2010, 09:02:47 AM

Mine is far from light. Others have told me that's the way they are. I have bad knees to start with and after a few hours I'm sore.

zubzub · August 20, 2010, 09:40:03 AM

I guess they had to change something to get around the V8. As far as I can tell mine has a push rod and only 3 pivots from front to back. Anyone out there don't a complete R&R on the clutch pedal and components of a '06? Would be interesting to know if that helped.

pvcces · August 20, 2010, 08:52:54 PM

I understand from Ted Campbell that the 4106 had it's own linkage, and that it took more effort than the earlier and later models. He said that he can revise the linkage to make it easier.

However, the air assist was an option which made it a lot easier.

We have the mousetrap, which takes most of the effort out of it. I like it, but Ted doesn't. He calls it a bear trap.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey

OneLapper · August 21, 2010, 06:56:07 PM

Just did that job on my 4106.

When I took the original pressure plate apart I noticed that someone took out springs, presumably to make the clutch action lighter! Notice the missing springs!

I went through the entire system, top to bottom. Without the tranny attached, the pedal effort was zero, so it was easy to rule out binding. With the new clutch installed, it takes more effort than ever because the pressure plate is using all the springs now!

I would like to install an assist system. Clutching is taking some of fun out of driving the bus!

gus · August 22, 2010, 02:44:32 PM

Good linkage and close adjustment per the manual are essential.

I completely overhauled my linkage with all new clevises and pins, they were all worn badly-some almost half worn away, and it made a world of difference, but it is still not easy to push.

There are so many connectors, pins and clevises that just a little slop in each one will end up a lot of slack at the clutch arm.

The worst wear was the bell crank arms on the firewall that change the direction of the clutch and trans rods. I had to replace all these arms or their bushings.

zubzub · August 22, 2010, 03:16:13 PM

Guess mine was rebuilt at some point 'cause it's smooth as silk and light as a feather. Still doesn't make up for all the wiring hell I am still wading through.