OH NO! Allison 1000 5 speed broke!

[catmandoo62]

ah now that makes sense,forgot about the allisons behind the duramax's..as you said it made a grinding sound before the pawl grabbed.not familiar with these allisons but on say the old turbo 400 the rear drum had notches and the pawl had a tooth that would push into one of the notches this would suggest the rear shaft was still spinning until it slowed enough to catch a notch.also you mentioned in park it still wanted to roll forward,this would suggest a disconnect between trans and differential

[CamJam1]

Well, that certainly sucks YD. Those mountain passes in your backyard are hard on these old girls. Just came back from Colorado myself, and every time we went over a mountain pass I was hearing noises that probably didn't exist anywhere but in my imagination.

I had the transmission rebuilt on my 2008 Chrysler Aspen three years ago at a cost of around $4,000. 20k miles since then and it still shifts like brand new. Anyway, here's hoping yours is not a tremendously expensive repair.

[Soppy]

It sounds like the tail shaft snapped inside , or the splines stripped. It could also be something broken in the rear diff if the driveshaft turns when it is running in gear.

[yeloduster]

Yesterday the truck shop called. They verified that something is physically broken inside the transmission and they cannot repair it. The shop manager told me that the failure is HIGHLY unusual. They have never seen a failure like this in an Allison transmission and they deal with lots of Allison transmissions in buses and trucks although generally they work with the 3000 and larger transmissions. A remanufactured transmission will be procured from an Allison remanufacturing facility.

Estimate is that the new transmission will arrive in time for release to me by about 6/21.

That is the good news. Now the BAD news. Remanufactured transmission + R&R + all new fluids = ≈$7200.

Also bad news is that I will not get to see the actual broken part nor will I ever know what actually happened.

I'm still bummed that I bought a Workhorse partly to get the "BULLET PROOF" Allison transmission and that the transmission is the first thing to go! I think this motorhome has lived its life above 3000 ft elevation. Operating at that elevation and higher means the engine has never exceeded 300 HP and 390 ft/lb torque at the input to the transmission. How the heck did >400 ft/lb torque break an Allison transmission. The only conclusion is my transmission had a defective part from the factory. BUMMER!

The "GOOD" deal I got when I bought this motorhome doesn't seem like such a good deal now!

[JonathonM]

Originally Posted by yeloduster

Yesterday the truck shop called. They verified that something is physically broken inside the transmission and they cannot repair it. The shop manager told me that the failure is HIGHLY unusual. Also bad news is that I will not get to see the actual broken part nor will I ever know what actually happened.

I'm still bummed that I bought a Workhorse partly to get the "BULLET PROOF" Allison transmission and that the transmission is the first thing to go!

The "GOOD" deal I got when I bought this motorhome doesn't seem like such a good deal now!

What happened to your transmission is a complete and total bummer and highly unusual!
The allison 1000 is greatly superior to the 5r110 and 6r140 in almost every way but that doesn't mean they are bulletproof or without assembly/manufacturing defects. However, we do expect higher quality from Allison than Ford. Again... this is total bummer.

Talk with the shop and find out where they send the broken transmission. You may be able to track it and find out if it will be reman'd or scrapped. Probably not scrapped, these cores are very valuable and almost always rebuilt unless the case is damaged. If you can find out where the transmission lands, you might be able to find out what broke...

[Arch Hoagland]

That's a bummer for sure!!!

Do you happen to know if the fluid and filter were changed at the recommended times since it was new?

[yeloduster]

Thelma the motorhome is finally back in my possession! As I was told by the shop at the beginning of this adventure that my motorhome was behind their commercial customers on the priority list. It get it but I am not necessarily happy about it. Their usual customers are; Colorado Springs buses, fleet trucks and independent truckers. The livelihood of people depend on those vehicles...mine doesn't!

The original transmission was returned to the Reman facility. A request for failure analysis has been made but no promise that I will get the information.

The test drive:

• Mostly as I expected based on the experience driving with the original transmission.
• Downshift from 2nd to 1st is HARSH! Shop technician and manager said that it may be due to the learning curve of the transmission firmware. If shifts aren't satisfactory bring it back after 500 miles and they will make it right.
• My shift points seem to be the same as after the Brezel TCM tune.
• There is a whine!? I don't recall it before. It may be the fan clutch!?
• The repair includes a 2 year unlimited mileage (as though that part matters) unlimited parts and labor warranty. The warranty includes tow regardless of where the motorhome is at the time of failure.

Other stuff:

• Included new torque converter (rebuilt)
• Included new TES 668 transmission fluid.
• My PPE deep fin aluminum pan was moved to the new transmission and my temperature gauge was hooked up.

Cost breakdown:

• Transmission $3650.00
• Transend 5 ga $272.15
• Freight $125.50
• Shop supplies (whatever that it) $175.00
• Tax $335.98
• Labor $1600.00
• Total $6158.63

The cost came in ≈$1000 below the estimate! I think maybe the shop tries to under promise and over deliver. A good thing.

The motorhome was ready last week but I was out of town until today so all the time in the shop isn't their fault.

I'm plan on going to my favorite spot in the Colorado mountains this week. It is about 400 miles round trip with lots of up and down grades. I might know more when I get back.

[Arch Hoagland]

Thanks for the update.

I think you got a pretty good deal based on what I had to pay for a refurnished transmission in my 2000 Lexus.

Hope all goes well for you!

[CamJam1]

Great to hear that you're back. Not too bad, all things considered. Just the sales tax alone on a new one would run more than that!

[AKIQPilot]

Glad you got it all back together and on the road YD. $6000+ isnt bad really. I think the 1-2 shift will mellow out a bit after you get a few miles on it. These transmissions do have a learning curve like the tech mentioned.

[George Schweikle]

Glad you are finally running again and thanks for posting your experience

We bought a used 2005 Safari Trek, 8.1, Allison 1000, W20, a few years ago and it definitely whines in the lower gears. It had 52,000 miles at purchase, and the previous owner upgraded the tranny fluid to the later style. It downshifts coming to a stop, but the 2-1 shift seems normal.

[D Gardiner]

Originally Posted by yeloduster

Cost breakdown:

• Transmission $3650.00
• Transend 5 ga $272.15
• Freight $125.50
• Shop supplies (whatever that it) $175.00
• Tax $335.98
• Labor $1600.00
• Total $6158.63

$3,650.00 actually not that bad.
We just had the 5R55S in our explorer remanufactured $3.627.77
The R&R was all me, so no labor charge.
If the shop had performed the R&R it would have been an additional $1,260 + $90 for fluid.

[m.elliott63]

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

you said when you put it in park it made a gear grinding sound before the park pawl found the hole.now this gets me because i didn't think any allisons had a park mechanism.my 99 winne with a 454 and allison doesn't and my freightliner fl60 didn't my 2000 bluebird school bus.none of em had park they all had a brake drum on the back of the trans.supposedly because of the weight of the vehicle was too hard on the park mechanism.

My 98 National with a 454 has a GM transmission not an Allison. I would think your 99 Winie did as well?

[Hpozzuoli]

I feel your pain. One of the last trips I took on my boat before I sold it, I blew the port QSM. I had no choice but to replace it at a cost of $60k all in (ZF gear too).

Simply enjoying your toy and something breaks costing you unexpected 10’s of thousands is a crappy feeling. I share your pain. I wouldn’t hesisitate getting a used tranny. I have the same Allison 1000 in my coach. I would go used in a heartbeat.