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DancinCampers · 11-25-2004, 06:42 PM

Hi all,

Yesterday I had our coach in for some chassis & coach warranty work. The service writer said I needed a 5000 mile service on the tranny. This service drained & replaced the fluid & filter. I told them that the previous owner had the filter replaced at 4375 & 6433 miles. The coach now has 6653 miles. They said it still needed done so I told them go ahead.

My question is the book I have says fluid doesn't need changing till 50K miles or 24 months. Did I have unneccessary work done?

The catalytic converter heat shield on the driver side had broken several welds & they re-welded those. I thought I had a leak on the right rear shock absorber, but they said it was a dirty differential vent, they cleaned it.

This was my first warranty work, and except for it being a very long day, was not too bad.

Thanks in advance. I have a generator question, but will ask it in the Winnabago forum.

DancinCampers · 11-25-2004, 06:42 PM

Hi all,

Yesterday I had our coach in for some chassis & coach warranty work. The service writer said I needed a 5000 mile service on the tranny. This service drained & replaced the fluid & filter. I told them that the previous owner had the filter replaced at 4375 & 6433 miles. The coach now has 6653 miles. They said it still needed done so I told them go ahead.

My question is the book I have says fluid doesn't need changing till 50K miles or 24 months. Did I have unneccessary work done?

The catalytic converter heat shield on the driver side had broken several welds & they re-welded those. I thought I had a leak on the right rear shock absorber, but they said it was a dirty differential vent, they cleaned it.

This was my first warranty work, and except for it being a very long day, was not too bad.

Thanks in advance. I have a generator question, but will ask it in the Winnabago forum.

Joe Gilbert · 11-25-2004, 11:08 PM

No, you received good information. Allison does require an oil and filter change at the 5000 mile point. I bit the bullet and changed to transend (changed twice to meet Allison requirement)at this time. In the case of the 1000 series Allison, changing to the new fluid does not extend the waranty however, the fluid is superior and the drain intival is 2X that of Dextron.

Joe G

Tom-NC · 11-26-2004, 04:16 AM

Dan, I have an Allison 1000 in my coach and was told to replace the spin on filter only and not change the fluid in the entire tranny. I could be wrong. When I changed filter I made sure I added enough fluid in the filter before installing it and it worked out fine. I can't see changing transmission fluid so soon. Maybe DriVer has answer. I would also check in your manual.

Oemtech · 11-26-2004, 04:45 AM

At 5K I changed the filter, cleaned/replaced the magnet, added fluid to the filter and checked the level. That's all that is needed.

If you go to Transyd you will not get an extended warranty on the Allison 1000. Me I think I will change to Transyd or Amsoil when it is due.

I also plan to add a Amsoil bypass filter system and synthetic oil to the engine.

DancinCampers · 11-26-2004, 05:40 AM

Thanks all,

The dealer is a Winnebago & WCC site & they had the 5K service requirement listed on their service board as an ongoing special. But I still think it was not necessary till 24 months, unless Allison changed their requirements & being the second owner I did not get any notice.

As far as getting the extended warranty, the pamplet I have says it is available on the 1000 series, for 1 or 2 years at a cost of $400/$600. It must be purchased within 12 months of delivery, but it is only available to the first retail owner. So unless I can get them to change their minds I won't be able to purchase the ETC.

Cruzer · 11-26-2004, 08:03 AM

Allison requires a filter-only change at 5,000 miles. After that you go to the regular intervals. At 5K I did swap out my fluid for Transynd as well but it wasn't required. I also installed a tee fitting for a tranny temp gauge in the "to cooler" line at that time. But, all you need to do is swap the filter at the first 5K.

Here's a link to the schedule as on the Allison Website that will better define the suggested schedules. Do note that if you change your Dexron 3 for Transynd you will extend the service interval but if you are only dumping the pan you will only have half-synthetic in there so you have to change it twice before going to the extended service interval.

Also, while I did install a gauge at this time I wouldn't bother with it again. With the Transynd it never ever got close to hot and I flogged it good on some mountain passes. The Allison with Transynd is a very impressive setup.

DriVer · 11-26-2004, 10:50 AM

Thanks Cruzer! The bases are covered.

I am shocked that a dealer would "oblige" an owner to change their tranny fluid at 5K miles especially when the gentleman told the service writter that the filter was already changed twice! Sounds like they might charge for it, not change the fluid and simply replace the filter. (or maybe just wipe it off with a rag.)

Sounds like somebody foldin' a few dead presidents.

Joe Gilbert · 11-26-2004, 12:40 PM

For what it's worth I would not use Amsoil in place of Transynd. The reason is that Allison does not approve of any fluid for extended drain intervals except Transynd. I attended a three hour Allison seminar and they strongly suggest the change to Transynd and though Amsoil may be a good fluid Allison has not approved it. The only approved fluids are Dextron or Transynd.

Joe G

DriVer · 11-26-2004, 03:48 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joe Gilbert:
The reason is that Allison does not approve of any fluid for extended drain intervals except Transynd. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Joe G., And here's the rest of the story ...

AMSOIL Torque-Drive™ Q&A (product data sheet)
Allison transmission company manufacturers heavy-duty transmissions and recommends maintenance practices for those units. Allison establishes transmission fluid quality levels through fluid specifications such as the popular C-4. Allison established another specification for high quality oils called Technical Engineering Specification-295 (TES-295). Operators using TES-295 oils can extend drain intervals according to Allison recommendations in bulletin 10-TR-99 Rev. B, and operators are eligible to purchase the Extended Transmission Coverage (ETC) warranty. ETC is an additional warranty beyond the standard Allison warranty.

What is TranSynd®?
TranSynd® is the only TES-295 licensed synthetic transmission fluid formula available. It is manufactured by Castrol® and marketed in conjunction with Allison. This formulation is also being made available through other marketers under private label as well.

Why are there not other products licensed as TES-295?
Competing lubricant companies seeking TES-295 approval for their own formulations are faced with formidable obstacles. Allison requires a test to be run on a specialized test stand, which it has not made available to other lubricant companies. Furthermore, Allison requires a field trial but has not established formalized field trial protocol. This effectively locks out competing oil companies and allows Allison and Castrol to charge exorbitant prices.

How can any other oil company compete if the the manufacturer "refuses" to sanction your product even though Amsoil Torque Drive is a better product at a less expensive price?

It's unfair to simply qualify 1 companty to produce a product that is already being marketed "off brand" that simply meets the specification. When a product exists that exceeds the specification by the manufacturer, this product needs to be evaluated by Allison and qualified as a suitable transmission fluid.

When the manufacturer locks you out of the competition the only people that make any money on the deal is Castrol and Allison and the consumer pays the freight.

For additional infomation read the complete story by clicking on the following link: Torque Drive vs Transynd

You probably don't remember the "Steed" oil additive pyramid do you? It's the same deal and there are only 2 people playing it.

There's also one other companty that makes a very good synthetic tranny fluid and that's "Red Line".

Tom N · 11-27-2004, 06:04 AM

Is the current Allison 2100 with the W24 coming from the factory with Transynd???

Joe Gilbert · 11-27-2004, 09:59 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tom N:
Is the current Allison 2100 with the W24 coming from the factory with Transynd??? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Allison runs all new transmissions at the factory using Transynd. They than drain the pans and ship the transmissions. Note that the torque convertors are still full of Transynd. It is up to each OEM if Dextron or Transynd are used to fill the pan at their location. This is not a good thing for the end customer because most OEM's still use Dextron, likly due to the much lower cost. This means the new owner must foot the bill to get the improved fluid and if your service agent cannot flush the Dextron than you must drain the Dextron, fill with Transynd, run the transmission and repeat the drain and refill. Allison now considers the transmission full of Transynd. The need to do this twice is because there is no way to drain the Allison torque convertor.

In theory all new transmissions must be marked with a tag on the dipstick if they contain Transynd. At least that is what the Allison people told me. You cannot tell by the looks as both fluids are red.

All of this info was outlined at the Allison seminar I attended.

JoeG

DancinCampers · 12-02-2004, 04:05 PM

Hi all,

I had a very nice discussion over the past several days with a fellow at a local (Las Vegas) Allison Distributer, trying to find out if I could purchase the Extended Transmission Coverage (ETC), which I mentioned in a previous post.

Jim was very helpful in the detective work. Bottom line for me is that I will not be able to purchase the ETC, because it is only available to the FIRST retail owner, and must be purchased in the first 12 months. So even though I am still under the time limit, since I am the second owner I can't take advantage of it.

As a side bar, for what it's worth, Jim mentioned that Workhorse is the only one, in his experience, that fills the transmissions with Dextron.

For DriVer: I do think I misplaced several presidents for an unnecessary Trans service, & will take it up with the Service Manager. I guess my lesson learned is don't leave the big black book at home.

Gary RVRoamer · 12-03-2004, 04:46 AM

I understand from a guy who researched his own rig that Freightliner is also (finally!) now using Transynd when they fill up the Allisons. That wasn't the case for a couple years, but if you have a recent model Freightliner chassis you might want to check with the factory to see what type of fluid was used in yours.