tranny service

[tammlyn]

i did my first tranny service at 120,000km with castrol semi syn.,shortly after allison had there service bull.suggesting to only use there oil,what i would like to know if you guys suggest that i make this change over now or stick with the castrol,i'm at 240,00km thanks mike

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Which fluid exactly did you use? What year truck? How many miles currently on the fluid? The ALLISON TES-295 fluid is a great oil, with long life, and extreme heat resistance. A good dexron 3 fluid is all that is needed though. The only fluid I reccomend to steer clear of is DEX VI fluids(GM's current atf).

 

[trouttrooper]

X2. can't find dex 3 around here though.

 

[btfarm]

Probably the most readily available TES295 equivalent is Mobil Delvac transmission oil.

 

[tammlyn]

i used the castrol transmax dexron v1,i did my first complete change of oil and pan filter at 120,000km,i would like to do another one now at 240,000km if you guys think it should be redone, oil is cheap tranny is expensive our local tranny shop thinks i'm nuts to do it again,but i also change engine oil every 5000km using rotela synthetic oil thanks mike

 

[trouttrooper]

Dex 6 is not compatible for Allison 1000 tranny. Don't go by what GM says, go by what Allison says. Find a fluid that says TES-295 equivalent. Not necessarily one that says "compatible for allison transmission". Needs that TES-295 approval

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

TES-295 is the best fluid out there, and it's rated for 125K miles(not sure how many KM's that is) for normal service. DEX VI can be used in transmissions built from mid year 06 on, but is not reccomended by ALLISON due to the damage it does to the seals over time. Transmissions built before March of 06 or so did not have the new style seals in them. GM topped them off with DEX VI on the assembly line, but ALLISON factory filled them and tested them at the factory with DEX 3 or TES-389 fluid. GM doesn't care if DEX VI kills the seals because they know it will happen over time, not immediately, so it gets them a reman trans to put in when the fluid kills the incompatible seals.

As to DEX 3 type fluid, you have 2 options. Either buy a DEX/MERC type fluid, or you can use GM manual trans lubricant(the lightweight one, don't have the number for it off hand).

 

[tammlyn]

this might be a dumb question but i thought that castrol transynd synthetic was blended by them for allison transmission

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

TRANSYND is made by CASTROL for ALLISON to ALLISON's TES-295 specification.

 

[tammlyn]

thanks i guess i will go find some castrol oil,what procedure would you recommend to flush system,i do have a castrol dex v1 in in now

 

[trouttrooper]

takes extra fluid, but this is what a guy who was part of testing allison told me. drain, refill, drive around a little bit, drain, replace external filter, refill. for all intensive purposes it's about as complete replacement of fluid as you can get.

 

[SnowDrift]

Drain all Castrol out (and get it ALL out) by whatever method it takes and start over.

 

[Will L.]

This is a perfect candidate for a flush machine.

 

[btfarm]

Use the Hoot method to flush it. As long as you have a stock exhaust that leaves room to pull the return line. See the DIY section

 

[JayTheCPA]

TES-295 is . . . rated for 125K miles(not sure how many KM's that is) for normal service.

It comes to 200Km.

Was bored one day and found a KmH to MPH relationship of 80 = 50 on the speedometer. Looked higher up the speed curve and saw 160 / 100 lined up as well (not that I go that fast, mind you ) and then again at the 240 / 150 marks when the 'Ah-Ha!' moment occurred in that the measurements remain linear to each other (as opposed to exponential or logarythmic). Ever since, have had an easier time with the distance and speed conversions to metric

 

[Ed HD]

1 mile = 1.6 KM. Which is why 80=50, 160=100, etc.

 

[ak diesel driver]

my 96 had almost 500000 kms on it

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

This is a perfect candidate for a flush machine.

I've yet to see a flush machine that holds enough oil to flush an ALLISON, let alone one that can flow enough oil to do it either. These things can pump out 9 quarts in under 25 seconds if you pull one of the cooler lines. And then theres the pressure issue. Most trans cooler circuits don't see much more than 30-40 PSI, the ALLISON can hit 220 PSI.

Drain all Castrol out (and get it ALL out) by whatever method it takes and start over.

Not really possible, the converter in these things will retain over a gallon. Even pulling it out and draining it, it will still hold almost 2 quarts. You can drain out about 12-13 quarts if you drop the filter and valve body, then let it drain overnight, but it will still hold close to 5-6 quarts in the torque converter and front pump area. These things hold almost 20 quarts of oil stock.

 

[Will L.]

That's why he gets to teach the class! I would have worn some Dex 6 trying it!
So what is the best method Ferm? For the Ally and for a lowly 4L80e?

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

For the ALLISON the HOOT method works about as good as any. For the 4L80E a flush machine works just fine.