Work Horse, Allison 6 SP

[krf9113]

I have a 2008 Safari Simba W-22 Chassis with the GM 8.1, Allison 6 sp tranny. I experienced a transmission overheat indication while traveling east from San Diego. MH became sluggish. Pulled over to rest stop and had to be towed in. Cal Pacific technician couldn't find any issue with it, all of the codes supposedly indicated normal. Has anybody out there experienced the same overheat issue?

[marvel]

I saw a message "check transmission temperature". I stopped and pulled out my workhorse owners manual and it gave no instructions as to how to "check" the temperature.

I checked the transmission fluid and it was as it should be. By now 10 minutes had passed and the message was gone. Never saw the "check transmission temperature" again but now that you have reminded me, I am going to call Workhouse.

[mfire1339]

Have you had the brake recall done? Maybe they were hanging up.


Mike

[chief02]

Allison has a default "Limp Mode" to prtyect the tranny. So i have heard. Google it

[Fred and Bonnie]

What were the road conditions, uphill, downhill? Downshifting the transmission to hold you back?

The only time I received a temp warning was when I decending a 6% grade at 25-30 MPH. I upshifted and shortly the warning went away. I felt my speed was too slow for adaquate air flow at higher RPMs under a load.

I now monitor my trans temp with ScanGuage II to prevent this from reoccuring.

Fred

[lakewoodpaul]

Got that warning near the summit of wolf creek pass in Co.[10800ft] towing a jeep liberty, I believe I blew some fluid out the vent too, added some transynd, everything seems fine 4k mi later. I did stop at the summit to let things cool down.

[krf9113]

After I was towed back to El Cajon, CA. I did have to travel back across the same pass. This time with no incident.
I did contact Workhorse via e-mail and their response was as Mike noted in his response. The brakes may be a factor.
I'm also having an issue with the chassis A/C this may also be a factor since it appears to be on all of the time regardless of where the switch is positioned.
I did talk to a person in Casa Grande who showed me his rig, 2007 Safari Simba. He claims that he cohereced Workhorse into putting a transmission cooler. It was mounted in front of the engine radiator. Sometimes puffery runs wild amongst RV'rs so I'm not certain as to the reality of his claim concerning Workhorse.
Thank you for all of the responses

[dieselclacker]

krf9133,

You already have a transmission cooler in front of the radiator, and the fellow with the 2007 Simba also has one, it is a stock item on all Workhorses with the Allison.


Dieselclacker

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krf9113 After I was towed back to El Cajon, CA. I did have to travel back across the same pass. This time with no incident. I did contact Workhorse via e-mail and their response was as Mike noted in his response. The brakes may be a factor.

As time goes by newer rigs will exhibit a brake hangup however on a 2007/2008 chassis this isn't likely. I would only buy into that argument if it could be proven however it is unlikely.

After the incident of being sluggish, there must have been some time lapse between the time you turned the key off to the time that the tow truck showed up. Did you try moving the vehicle at all and did you at any time see "Reduced Engine Power" in the command center?

I'm thinking you had an electronic hiccup and that had you given this issue a bit of engine stop/off time that you may have been able to resume travel due to the lack of DTCs being found.

If this ever happens again, pull over, shut down and give it a few minutes and see if the lamps remains lit. Waiting for tow unless absolutely necessary is a BIG pain. If it recurs, I would say that getting a tow might be prudent. Some of us have even gone to the point of disconnecting the battery and letting the vehicle sit for 20 minutes and then reconnecting and resuming with mixed success. Some may see this as a similar effort as rebooting a computer.

[Doug Sage]

I had a wire to a sensor come loose and the transmission went into the limp home mode. You can't miss it - your transmission goes into 4th gear and stays there. It is a lot of fun getting a motorhome started moving in 4th gear! I don't know anything about a "reduced power" setting unless it is this 4th gear mode.

[krf9113]

Thank you.
Yes ""diesel clacker you are correct. I misstated, they installed a larger transmission cooler. It is at least twice as thick as the standard one.
The unit being under warranty, I had an additional 4000+ feet to climb, in the desert, and the temperature was rising to 90+ degrees. I opted to contact Workhorse. They determined that it should be towed. Also fluid was dripping from the top of the tranny. I don't know whether is was blow out or from the condensation of the A/C.

[krf9113]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer As time goes by newer rigs will exhibit a brake hangup however on a 2007/2008 chassis this isn't likely. I would only buy into that argument if it could be proven however it is unlikely. After the incident of being sluggish, there must have been some time lapse between the time you turned the key off to the time that the tow truck showed up. Did you try moving the vehicle at all and did you at any time see "Reduced Engine Power" in the command center? I'm thinking you had an electronic hiccup and that had you given this issue a bit of engine stop/off time that you may have been able to resume travel due to the lack of DTCs being found. If this ever happens again, pull over, shut down and give it a few minutes and see if the lamps remains lit. Waiting for tow unless absolutely necessary is a BIG pain. If it recurs, I would say that getting a tow might be prudent. Some of us have even gone to the point of disconnecting the battery and letting the vehicle sit for 20 minutes and then reconnecting and resuming with mixed success. Some may see this as a similar effort as rebooting a computer.

Thanks DriVer. Good info

[lakewoodpaul]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krf9113 Thank you. Yes ""diesel clacker you are correct. I misstated, they installed a larger transmission cooler. It is at least twice as thick as the standard one. The unit being under warranty, I had an additional 4000+ feet to climb, in the desert, and the temperature was rising to 90+ degrees. I opted to contact Workhorse. They determined that it should be towed. Also fluid was dripping from the top of the tranny. I don't know whether is was blow out or from the condensation of the A/C.

Just curious, how thick is that transmission cooler, id like to compare it to my 09

[krf9113]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakewoodpaul Just curious, how thick is that transmission cooler, id like to compare it to my 09

The individual is no longer in our RV park. I did take a photo of it. I would estimate the cooling unit to be between 2 3/4 " to 3" thick.