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Gary RVRoamer · 04-24-2002, 12:50 PM

Phew! I just brought the motorhome back from the Allison dealer where my T-1000 tranny had its first required service - a fluid and filter change at 5000 miles. I opted to change to Allison's TranSynd synthetic becasue (a) I firmly believe synthetics are superior in longevity and fuel mileage and (2) Allison has extended the service interval for synthetic users. I went with the Allison product (made by Castrol) because I wanted no excuses if I ever have a tranny problem.

The price for this peace of mind was $271. I think I was hosed a bit on the labor because I was charged for 1.5 hours (at $74/hour), which is a lot to drain and refill a tranny with an easy access drain plug and an external, spin-on filter. And the TranSynd itself was outrageous at $137.48 for ONE gallon. I was prepared to pay $60-70/gallon, but $137 is pretty steep in my opinion!The filter was cheap enough (about $7) but they added another 5% for "Miscellaneous" shop materials, a common practice these days.

All in all, I think Allison charged way too much for this simple service. In my book, $175 would have been more like a fair price. If I were to do it again, I think I would buy synthetic tranny fluid (that met Allison's service spec) elsewhere and get the filter from their parts department. I would still probably pay a professional shop to do it, just to avoid any future suspicion that a DIY job may not have been properly performed. Still, it is pretty much a one-time expense, so I'm not losing sleep over it tonight.

The good news is that the W22 rear axle comes with synthetic gear oil already installed. Workhorse verified that for me yesterday. I changed the engine oil to synthetic last week, so I should be all set for a lot of summer miles.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX by National
WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD

Gary RVRoamer · 04-24-2002, 12:50 PM

Phew! I just brought the motorhome back from the Allison dealer where my T-1000 tranny had its first required service - a fluid and filter change at 5000 miles. I opted to change to Allison's TranSynd synthetic becasue (a) I firmly believe synthetics are superior in longevity and fuel mileage and (2) Allison has extended the service interval for synthetic users. I went with the Allison product (made by Castrol) because I wanted no excuses if I ever have a tranny problem.

The price for this peace of mind was $271. I think I was hosed a bit on the labor because I was charged for 1.5 hours (at $74/hour), which is a lot to drain and refill a tranny with an easy access drain plug and an external, spin-on filter. And the TranSynd itself was outrageous at $137.48 for ONE gallon. I was prepared to pay $60-70/gallon, but $137 is pretty steep in my opinion!The filter was cheap enough (about $7) but they added another 5% for "Miscellaneous" shop materials, a common practice these days.

All in all, I think Allison charged way too much for this simple service. In my book, $175 would have been more like a fair price. If I were to do it again, I think I would buy synthetic tranny fluid (that met Allison's service spec) elsewhere and get the filter from their parts department. I would still probably pay a professional shop to do it, just to avoid any future suspicion that a DIY job may not have been properly performed. Still, it is pretty much a one-time expense, so I'm not losing sleep over it tonight.

The good news is that the W22 rear axle comes with synthetic gear oil already installed. Workhorse verified that for me yesterday. I changed the engine oil to synthetic last week, so I should be all set for a lot of summer miles.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX by National
WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD

Richard and Babs and a Bob Tail Cat · 04-24-2002, 01:05 PM

I think your transmission had to be flushed which may account for the additional labor. I checked it out before the last service to my 3060 Allison and decided to stick with the cheap stuff.

Richard and Babs

DriVer · 04-24-2002, 01:14 PM

Bob Riley wanted to charge me just over a hundred bucks for the erl when I was at the National last year. Amsoil makes some good stuff and it's probably better than the TranSynd.

Your post has really put the fear of the Lord in me regarding NOT doing the service myself.

Just last week I got under the MH and changed my oil and filter with Amsoil synthetic and I used a Hastings filter. I also greased my fittings with Amsoil HD synthetic lube. I checked my rear and it was up. I'm good to go aside from the tranny oil.

Is there a drain plug on the converter? I know that the drain pan is pretty deep. That little dinky Allison filter can't possibly cost much. I don't remember exactly but I think that the tranny takes 15 quarts.

See all the information here for the tranny:

Allison T100 Series

I think I can, I think i can ....

01 Winnebago/Workhorse Model 37G/W20 Adventurer
01 Cavalier LS
Nor'Easters

"We Will Never Forget"

[This message was edited by DriVer on April 24, 2002 at 08:31 PM.]

Gary RVRoamer · 04-25-2002, 06:28 PM

Yeah, the spec sheet says it uses 13-15 quarts, depending on the type of pan installed. My bill from the Allison dealers says "1 Gal TranSynd" but on the same line it has "4 @ $34.37", which sounds more like 4 gallons. Guess I'll have to call them and find out which amount is right.

I haven't noticed if there is a drain on the converter, but the one on the pan is quite obvious.

I was only on the dealer's property a total of 1:40 minutes, including paying my bill, so my guess is they clock the rig in at the entrance to the service bay and clock out when it drives out. No flat rate for an oil change - all straight time.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX by National
WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD

Gary RVRoamer · 04-25-2002, 06:39 PM

Amsoil is good stuff and I would be happy to have it in my rig, but I figured I was only going to do the transmission fluid thing once (the change interval for the synthetic is 75K miles) so I would bite the bullet for Allison's own label, just in case there was a problem down the road. I don't ever expect to do anything with that tranny again unless there is a breakdown, and if it breaks down I want the warranty to cover it with no questions. So in effect, I bought a bit of insurance by paying their price.

Other than being a bit pricey, the Allison shop in Ocala, Florida was a very pleasent place to do business, clean, prompt, efficient, etc. There is also a Cummins dealer right across the street, which is also a Coach Care center and an Onan dealership, so folks with Cummins-powered pushers can get engine and tranny serviced almost at once. The Ocala Cummins shop is highly recommended among Rvers across the country.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX by National
WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD

DriVer · 04-26-2002, 12:45 AM

Thanks for info Gary.

01 Winnebago/Workhorse Model 37G/W20 Adventurer
01 Cavalier LS
Nor'Easters

"We Will Never Forget"

Unclebob9 · 07-20-2006, 05:57 AM

I have been doing a little research into this. Transend or Amsoil synthetic are surerior products. I have an Allison 4060 6 speed world transmission. It holds 43 quarts. When you do the initial change, 6 quarts are left in the system, due to the transmission cooler not draining. Some shops have a pressure device that can force out most of this trapped 6 quarts. They charge dearly for this. I found a couple that after changing the oil will disconnect the line going to the transmission from the cooler and then start the engine and watch for the fluid to change color and then shut off the engine. This takes about 40 seconds. And has removed the trapped fluid.
Amsoil should run about $7.50 a quart (in large amounts).
Best of luck: Bob

rogueii · 07-20-2006, 08:21 AM

Gary:

I changed to Amsoil Last Fall, DIY.
Allison Shop in Tampa wanted to change mine --Twice, just like I did for $325.00 each Time--for a total of $650.00.
It became a DIY for me.

Did you change your Engine to Synthetic at 5000 miles??
I had heard to do it after 14,000 miles.
I changed to all synthetic at 21,000.

chasfm11 · 07-20-2006, 03:45 PM

I just did the fluid change on my Allison 1000 in April. I also did the switchover to Transyd. I called around my area and had one of the Alllison dealers quote me $30.43 per gallon. When I arrived, they tried to charge me $47 per gallon, telling me that the $30.43 was a "trade" price for someone in the repair trade. My reply was "I just hung out my shingle today." and made them sell it to me for the price that they quoted to me. My filter was $8.50.

I carefully measured the amount of fluid that I took out as 10.8 quarts. I assume that I didn't get the fluid out of the torque converter which is why Allison wants me to do the change again in 24 months before going the longer time and distance. I put the same amount back in. Since I cannot check with the transmission push buttons and have to read the dip stick, I'm hoping that I got it right. That sure isn't easy to read, especially with the new synthetic fluid.

For just over $100, I think that it is well worth it.

Gary RVRoamer · 07-20-2006, 07:28 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Did you change your Engine to Synthetic at 5000 miles?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I changed to synthetic at the first oil change, wich I did at 3700 miles becasue we were embarking on a journey to Alaska.

By the way, did you realize the thread tow hich you replied is over 4 years old?