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Ken Sair · 05-09-2012, 03:47 PM

My 2007 Beaver Contessa has 70,000 miles and 5 years of service. I am the original owner. At 3 years I changed the filters and added about 2 litres of Transynd to replace the lost fluid. Other than that no one has touched this thing. There are no leaks.

Now, I just had the fluid tested by JG Lubricants. Here is what they said.
Everything is in the normal ranges with the exception of the following.

Aluminum is 23 (abnormal). Aluminum is likely in the form of alumina/silica (dirt).

Silicon is 71 (abnormal). Abrasives (silicon) are at significant levels. Lubricant change is suggested if not done at sampling time.

Zinc is 45 (abnormal. Zinc is slightly high for this product.

None of the above was in the critical area.

It goes on to say check for possible source of abrasives entry ie: faulty filter elements-housings-seals-breathers fill points etc.

The all important TAN (acid number) is .61 and is in the normal range.

Did I get some contamination by taking the sample when I put that little tube down the dip stick tube? I am hard pressed to believe it came from somewhere else.

The reason I ask is two-fold. I had a qualified technician look at the Transynd several months ago and he said it looked good (albeit no test done).

Secondly, from everything I read on this forum this stuff should last 300,000 miles. Heck, the Dexron III in my chevy truck is good for 100,000 miles.

Can anyone give me some direction here. I dont want to replace it if unnecessary. I just feel it should last longer than 70,000 miles.

What are others doing?

ps. I am going to call an Allison dealer on FR in Virginia as I will be staying there for 3 weeks and can get the work done if necessary.

Thanks, Ken 2007 Beaver Contessa

greystroke · 05-09-2012, 05:27 PM

First question is are you absolutely certain your rig came with Transynd?

Wish I could help so I will just keep your thread alive.

If you have doubts, maybe you should change the fluid and retest.

Stillwater · 05-09-2012, 05:38 PM

First thing. Do a retest and be careful not to contaminate the sample. For the price of a retest it makes no sense to go running off in all directions!

Pusherman · 05-09-2012, 05:42 PM

Allison recommends transmissions (3000MH) w/ Transynd change filters at 3 years and fluid at 4 years irregardless of mileage. There is an asterisk (*) which states intervals can be extended with fluid testing.

I'm in the camp that fluids and filters are cheap insurance. I personally follow the OEM's time intervals for fluid and filter changes.

Most motorhome owners just don't put that many miles on their coach annually to follow the mileage intervals (I put on about 6K mi/year on mine). Time is just as bad on fluids as mileage is.

DpDave · 05-09-2012, 05:57 PM

Ken, the man to talk to on this forum is "hzjcm8". When I was looking at going to synthetics, I traded a number of PM's with him, and got some excellent and clear information.

As I recall he is an oil engineer, and now operates an oil testing company. If it were me, I'd drop him a PM, and ask his advice.

Good luck...

Mr_D · 05-09-2012, 06:03 PM

Yep, he wrote the spec's for TranSynd while working for Allison, now retired and has his own testing company (JG Lubricants) so I see you're already aware of him!

EngineerMike · 05-09-2012, 06:21 PM

IIWMI'd believe the oil analysis and change filters & fluids. Nothing lasts forever. Trucks get way stupid high mileage out of Transynd, because they drive way stupid high mileage in short time periods relative to RVs. We'll never see the same mileage, just like tires- our junk dies from age not mileage.
Probably won't hurt anything going a bit further, dial it into other service when you are scheduling some.

Mike Canter · 05-09-2012, 06:49 PM

See if this attachment sheds any light.

Ken Sair · 05-12-2012, 09:09 AM

Thanks to all for your input and insight.

There was a small problem with JG Lubricants re: tarnny fluid that was resolved with a phone call. The fluid was then retested. Essentially the same results that showed some contaminants. Recommendation was to replace.

I then had a long talk with Allison. They informed me that the Transynd was not quite lasting as long as originally anticipated. Based on the test and it was 5 years old he also recommended drain/refill.

So I have decided to replace the fluid. I firmly believe a little maintenance never never hurts.

So, as I am do for a filter change in 6 months I decided to have that done also. The dealer (Lynchburg VA) was more than reasonable IMO. They will change filters, drain Transynd and fill with Transynd for $400. I dang near fell over. Their labor rate is $68 an hour. A little soon on the filters but this price sounded good to me. Transynd and filters are about $240.

Additionally, I am having the CAL (calibration) changed back to original. Dealer says it should be $45. Thye original change was $150. So, I am very happy with the dollar figures here.

Again, thanks for all the help.

Ken

Gary RVRoamer · 05-18-2012, 08:43 PM

I think you are wise to change the fluid and filters - no sense gambling with an expensive piece of equipment. But have the new fluid tested after a 3-4 months of use and see if the new fluid is also showing signs of the same contaminants. If so, you may have a wear problem that needs repair.