New tranny, and a shop report

John316 · October 18, 2011, 12:27:06 PM

We just left the Detroit/Allison shop in Ocala, Fl. A week ago Sunday, C3 clutch (if I remember correctly) went out in our Allison B500 tranny. It was stuck in third, so we were still able to limp down to their shop.

They spent most of the day on Monday troubleshooting it. First they tried replacing sensors, since the computer wasn't seeing one of the sensors for the tone ring. We really didn't think that was it, because the tranny health check, showed gears 2-5 as red.

I won't bore you all with details, but needless to say tranny was shot. We rented a van and Penske truck, and continued from there. A rebuilt was ordered, and on it's way.

We really liked the shop. They were really good guys. So far, from what I can tell, it looks like they do way better work then our local DD place.

Rebuilt tranny, with a two year warranty was about 8K. Labor 1.5K (about that). New ECU (we asked for it), and new U-joints (I asked him to check them while he was in there, and one had a bit of a catch).

They had the tranny in the day after it arrived at the shop. Total down time for us was eight days (would have been seven, but the first day was spent troubleshooting).

We had them do our annual DOT inspection too. They come up with a clean bill of health. No problems. I asked them to look for anything else that might be an issue, and they didn't find anything.

Bottom line? We have a new tranny.

Florida Detroit Diesel in Ocala did a great job. I highly recommend them http://www.fdda.com/Location_Details.aspx?BranchID=10

FWIW

John

luvrbus · October 18, 2011, 12:45:45 PM

8000 is not a bad price John 6 years ago it would have been 15 grand exchange not a bad deal you got there isn't yours a B500R ?

good luck

John316 · October 18, 2011, 12:57:37 PM

Yup, Clifford. We were very happy. We really liked Walter their tranny guru. The rebuild came out of Grand Rapids Mi. Walter said that the place that the tranny was the best rebuilt they could get.

You are right, we do have a B500R.

We are happy campers!

DMoedave · October 18, 2011, 06:10:11 PM

Steve and his crew are the best! Is the empty bus still out back? i think it was from Michigan.

morefire · October 18, 2011, 06:23:00 PM

I guess I shouldn't point out that there are a bunch of brand new B500's and MH4000's available for this price.

Allison will warrantly them as well

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Unused-Allison-MH4000-Transmission-2008-never-installed-up-650hp-/320774424580?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4aafa54804

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320774428835?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

RnMAdventures · October 18, 2011, 06:53:06 PM

John, did they say why it went out?

belfert · October 18, 2011, 07:30:10 PM

I have my doubts that the units from Ebay would work In John's coach. The Ebay units do not have the ECU or the shift pad. John's coach probably has a WTEC II and it is likely a 2008 B500 would not work with a WTEC II.

robertglines1 · October 19, 2011, 05:21:23 AM

Good to know a good repair facility in central fla. We spend allot of time in Ocola area in winter. Bob Thank You

belfert · October 19, 2011, 05:34:29 AM

I'm surprised an Allison dealer would only charge $8,000 for a rebuilt B500. Is it an actual Allison rebuilt, or did someone else do the work? There is a local place that has a transmission rebuild division that said they could install a rebuilt B500 in my bus for $8,000 labor included.

My biggest fear would be losing the transmission on the road as I suspect most shops would have to ship a transmission in unless I broke down in a major metro area. I might be forced to abandon the bus and come back for it later.

John316 · October 19, 2011, 06:32:56 AM

Quote from: DMoedave on October 18, 2011, 06:10:11 PM
Steve and his crew are the best! Is the empty bus still out back? i think it was from Michigan.

Yup, empty bus was still out back. They also had an Iggle in there. I will start another thread on what they did to that one. I agree though, Steve and his crew treated us right!

Quote from: RnMAdventures on October 18, 2011, 06:53:06 PM
John, did they say why it went out?

They said it was clutch C3 (going off of memory). In testing it, they could manually get 1,3,4,5, but not 2-6 (again, from what I remember). The tranny would try to shift, but it wouldn't get out of 1st. C3 simply was worn out and the piston finally went out so far, it couldn't return. C3 was not operating at all. We were 100% satisfied that the tranny was shot. Personally, my guess is Peter Pan (it is an ex PP coach) used the retarder all the time. Shoot, if I was a company driver, I would too (but not on my own coach, lol

). My guess is it failed sooner due to the large amount of extra heat over the lifespan of that transmission. We only use the retarder when we need to stop in a hurry.

Brian is right. We have a WTEC II.

Quote from: belfert on October 19, 2011, 05:34:29 AM
My biggest fear would be losing the transmission on the road as I suspect most shops would have to ship a transmission in unless I broke down in a major metro area. I might be forced to abandon the bus and come back for it later.

That is what we had to do. I am glad it was only a week, but we had to move out and continue the trip.

I am also very comfortable with who rebuilt the tranny. It was not Allison, but they guys at the shop said it was literally the best rebuilt out there. I have no reason not to believe them. They were good guys, and treated us right.

Bob, they still have a 2 stroke guy on staff too. If you need anything, they can probably help.

God bless,

John

belfert · October 19, 2011, 07:05:22 AM

One other good thing for me about getting a rebuilt transmission locally is no shipping charge. Shipping would be $200 to $300 additional on the road.

There is a company here in Minnesota called Catco Truck Parts that remanufactures Allison transmissions at their own facility in St Paul, MN. They are mostly a parts house, but they also do some mechanical work including installing transmissions. I have no reason not to trust their work and I believe they have some sort of nationwide warranty. There is also a guy locally who runs a one man transmission shop that will rebuild a B500 for under $4000. I would be hesitant to use him because he only rebuilt a couple of them a number of years back. If something did fail on the road I have no idea what the warranty would be like.

Busted Knuckle · October 21, 2011, 01:43:02 PM

John,
Coming out of MI. I believe that your rebuilt is probably a Weller unit.
And yes they are very good. As far as the best? I'd say them & WW Williams are both about the same quality.
WW Williams manufacturing plant is in Albany, GA.
Both supply quality rebuilt units to Allison (and other) shops.

What I have found is that Weller is some what cheaper as it takes about a 2-3 days longer. Each Allison shop has their own preference of who they use but many will push the Weller unit as BEST to make a little more $ off it!
I can get a Weller for $6500 exchange and the WW Williams for $7200 exchange my cost & my Allison shop will get me either one with a $500 mark up + labor. (plus my dealer has it worked out with WW Williams that no core charge has to be paid & with Weller is has to be paid and refunded.)

BK

John316 · October 24, 2011, 07:35:40 AM

BK,

Interesting info. Thanks for the education.

When I am under there next time, I will get a pic of the plate.

We now have about 2K on the tranny. Still loving it. Shifts have smoothed out, no more clunking into fourth. It is great.

God bless,

John