The state of the bus (long)

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:31 pm

Replace all of it, its a drop in the bucket.

That is all IMHO. Im not the keeper of the bus :wink:

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Ryan Holton wrote:

Replace all of it, its a drop in the bucket.

That is all IMHO. Im not the keeper of the bus :wink:

Anyone have a suggestion for a shop to do this? Triangle Truck has been great for regular maintenance but they didn't strike me as transmission specialists.

I'd like to find someone local who can actually help understand and try to correct the symptoms.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:56 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

I'd like to find someone local who can actually help understand and try to correct the symptoms.

I'm in the midst of researching that one as well Mike.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:55 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

Ryan Holton wrote:

Replace all of it, its a drop in the bucket.

That is all IMHO. Im not the keeper of the bus :wink:

Anyone have a suggestion for a shop to do this? Triangle Truck has been great for regular maintenance but they didn't strike me as transmission specialists.

I'd like to find someone local who can actually help understand and try to correct the symptoms.

Randy Melton? not local unfortunately. i have worked for a place that used to take their trucks to Cardinal International.

Ron Spencer · **Posted:** Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:51 am

If needed I've several oscilloscopes that can be used.

R

PJ Aspesi · **Posted:** Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:23 am

for the cary residents, The pennysaver has a coupon for $275 off a transmission repair. I believe the place was called Cary Transmission and Auto Specialists.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:00 pm

Karl Shultz wrote:

MikeWhitney wrote:

I'd like to find someone local who can actually help understand and try to correct the symptoms.

I'm in the midst of researching that one as well Mike.

Sorry guys, been kind of out of circulation since Thursday. Just got back from Roebling Road in Savannah, where I was an instructor candidate mentor on Friday, and then classroom instructor for green and yellow groups on Saturday/Sunday. I'll be back on finding somewhere local to take the bus for transmission diagnosis and sensor replacement this week.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:44 pm

Spotted a transmission shop close to where Roxboro and Duke streets come together on the way north out of Durham. I'll hit those guys up tomorrow.

BretLuter · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:26 am

Karl Shultz wrote:

Spotted a transmission shop close to where Roxboro and Duke streets come together on the way north out of Durham. I'll hit those guys up tomorrow.

Sounds like the old Cottman transmission. I would avoid them like the plague.

While I"m no expert, I've done some reading/research on these Ford Diesel auto trannies (I've got a '96 F350 Powerstroke). What I've seen/heard all indicates that these transmissions are just OK, and if you start having problems, you really need to have someone who knows what they are doing work on it. If you just take it to a tranny shop and have them "rebuild" it, you'll probably be OK for a short while, but it is not a long term solution.

There's a guy who owns a shop in Arkansas who is the guru of these transmissions. It's called Brian's truck shop (http://www.brianstruckshop.com/index.html). Probably not worth shipping the bus tranny to him, but this is the guy that all the hardcore Powerstroke owners rely on. (Karl- you've probably heard of him if you've spent any time on thedieselstop.com)

I've seen some rebuilt transmissions advertised on Ebay at reasonable cost- they even claim to have some upgraded parts to help alleviate some of the known weaknesses in these trannies. Wonder if Mike's lift would hold the bus up in the air??

My 0.01 cents worth...

Bret.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:32 am

My suggestion, call Randy at Custom Fleet Service in Wilson. They know transmissions and engines and won't bend us over.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:27 pm

BretLuter wrote:

It's called Brian's truck shop (snip) (Karl- you've probably heard of him if you've spent any time on thedieselstop.com)

Yes Bret, I'm well familiar with BTS. I was hoping to avoid a specialist of this sort...though I recognize that just going to BTS would likely solve our problems. He's on the "back burner."

Vincent Keene wrote:

My suggestion, call Randy at Custom Fleet Service in Wilson. They know transmissions and engines and won't bend us over.

Vincent, talk to me. Or, call me at 919 - 454 - 4775.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:35 pm

FYI, I'm "going dark" for the weekend as I'm going to the Pro Solo in Atlanta.

Matt Nicholson · **Posted:** Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:43 pm

The shop that rebuilt my '01 transmission did an EXCELLENT job and was only $2K and I got an upgraded torque converter and shift kit. (Yea cheap labor costs in BFE, NC!!!!!). This guy has repaired all the Superduty transmissions for the county vehicles, so he knows what he's doing. The 4R100 in my track is extremely similar to the E4OD in the bus. Repair cost should be similar.

Is it worth a 6-8 hour round trip to save at least $1K?

Edit: nevermind, only a few sensors will be replaced. But if you guys decide to rebuild, I can get a quote from my shop here.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2007 11:48 am

OK, I'm back and mostly recovered from the Doublecross.

I do think that the bus will make it to Danville, so we should in my opinion be okay for the next event.

Club officers, my assertion is to find a transmission specialist somewhere within an hour of the triangle, and take the bus there. Rather than me posturing on the web about whether or not some stopgap measures will keep it alive for say another year, let's get an expert opinion.

Replacing the aforementioned sensors, however, is probably a good practice regardless. So, I'd say the club should budget say $1000 in transmission R&R minimum.

The Bully Dog "shift kit" attempt should be done as well. This is something that as far as I know could be carried over into a new or rebuilt transmission, so no money lost there. From what I understand, some club members who aren't me could probably do this job in an afternoon.

If we need to rebuild it, my strong assertion is that when doing so, we should put an upgraded torque converter in it while we're in there. I think Nicholson told me that there's an "RV" torque converter that's a lot stronger than the garden variety unit.

Thoughts? Sorry I let this slip a little bit over the past couple weeks...been real busy.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Karl Shultz wrote:

I do think that the bus will make it to Danville, so we should in my opinion be okay for the next event

For anyone who is getting paranoid about this ... keep in mind that the current symptoms have been consistent for the last 2 years. Trans light coming on when hot, occasional slippage. There's a good chance it would continue to work OK indefinitely.

Just throwing that out there. It's a good idea to get some work done, but IMO I don't think it's *urgent*

Karl, we should talk and put together a gameplan.

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The state of the bus (long)

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