Transmission smell

[rick.carm]

I am new to the forum, but like what I see regarding help and suggestions from RVer's on this site.

I have a 1999, 32 foot Aerbus with a Triton v10 and a 4R100 transmission. I tow a 2002 Honda Civic.

While pulling up a long grade in OD I began to smell and odor coming through the vents. I slowed down and turned off the OD and the smell dissapated. The transmission continued to shift and run normally. This happened a number of times over the course of the next few weeks of our trip. I started shifting out of OD right at the beginning of grades and didn't hook up the car coming out of Yosemity (some 6-8% grades) until we hit the flat land out of fear of damaging the transmission. The transmission continues to shift and run fine but I am not sure what to do at this point. The fluid level is OK, still red and does not smell burnt. Should I take it to a dealer for a check up?? Should I just have it serviced with a new filter and fluid? Has anybody had this type of problem and what did you do about it?

Thanks

Rick

[W4RLR]

Check around the transmission fluid filler tube and see if it is wet with fluid. The fluid may have overheated and leaked out the tube, hitting the exhaust. Also check the rear transmission seal, it may be leaking. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check for leaking seals in any case.

[rick.carm]

I crawled under the motorhome to check the pan, filler tube and overflow tube for fliud drips. All I see is a thin coat of oil that has seeped out around the gasket and the filler tube. It is a dry thin coating, no drips, and has some dirt and dust in it. The coating does go up the filler tube a few inches. There are no drips or fresh signs of fliud.

Thanks for the idea.

Rick

[trainsktg]

Possibly unrelated, but regardless...when in a long grade, you should definitely continue your new habit of shifting out of OD.

For peace of mind, I recommend a Scangauge for around $150. I monitor my transmission temperature constantly. Occasionally, on really steep inclines out west here, I will pull over if it climbs above 200F to let it cool down. When towing in normal driving conditions, it seldom gets above 165F.

Keith

[rick.carm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trainsktg Possibly unrelated, but regardless...when in a long grade, you should definitely continue your new habit of shifting out of OD. For peace of mind, I recommend a Scangauge for around $150. I monitor my transmission temperature constantly. Occasionally, on really steep inclines out west here, I will pull over if it climbs above 200F to let it cool down. When towing in normal driving conditions, it seldom gets above 165F. Keith

I will be changing my driving habits as soon as I get this ironed out. I am looking at a temp guage to keep an eye on things.

One thing I was wondering. Why didn't the tranny downshift out of OD? I can't remember if it did or didn't. Does yours come out of OD when speed is reduced??

Thanks for the ideas

Rick

[trainsktg]

Mine automatically drops out of OD when I am slowing down (I can't tell you at what speeds this happens though) as well as when the engine starts to work harder. If I remember correctly, the transmission is actually 'smart', in that it adjusts its shift points to match your driving habits. When I first got my coach, it would downshift at the start of the slightest of inclines. After driving it a few hundred miles, it stopped doing this, as long as the speed of the coach didn't drop. If the grade looks to be greater than maybe 2 degrees, I'll manually drop the OD before the computer does it.

The Scanguage is neat, because you can also monitor four engine conditions simultaneously, as well as additional parameters that you can immediately scroll to see. I generally watch water temp, trans temp, instantaneous mpg and trip mpg.

Keith