The 3000 Transmission went into Limp Mode after being in traffic for several hours. Had the Trans checked by Inland Power Group, Carol Stream,IL, (They were originally Detroit Allison before coming under the Inland group.) The finding are all"PSI's" Pressures are low. They recommended Three choices 1.) Over Haul $4800, 6 month warranty, 2.) Rebuilt Trans from Weller (a Allison licensed rebuilder) $6000, 2 yr warranty. 3.) Rebuilt Trans from Allison $7300, 2yr warranty plus tow if required. The RV has 91000 miles and we drive less 10k a year.May I have some comments on the choices for cost and which one to take. I lean toward #1 because of the small number of miles I drive and cost. I would wait until next April so the warranty would cover 2014 rv season.

Any chance for a second opinion or are you very comfortable with the diagnosis?

barlow46 wrote:Any chance for a second opinion or are you very comfortable with the diagnosis?I'm comfortable with diagnosis as I saw all the results. They are a very large operation and do the rebuild/overhaul right there. When you have any service work there the waiting room is over this area and you can see how it's done. Very impressive to see the old timers put one together from a basket of parts.

Only 6 months warranty bothers me...

Limp mode normally reduces the pressures in all circuits.Have the ECM rebooted, and allow the transmission to return to normal mode. over heating the tranny once should not ruin it. but it will place it in limp mode.try it, what do you have to loose?

I can guarantee a Rebuilt Tranny for 25 Years.....BUT.....The Price will be $100,000.00Seriously Warranties are Not the End All reason to make a purchase . They are offered by the supplier as an incentive to encourage You to trust the product and the Manufacturer or in this case Rebuilder to deliver a product that works as advertised. In My experience if it is Rebuilt correctly and installed properly it will be trouble free long after the Warranty has been forgotten.If it is going to fail it will fail within the first 2~300 Miles!

Allison Transmisson Model MD3000MH | Good Sam Community

jimrose
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
Just a little more clarification, The tran went into safe mode three times in the last two times we were out. Also I leave the exhaust brake on all the time. The last time for safe was after coming down several blocks of a steep hill at slow speed with the tran in 2nd. I will call shop Monday to see if the ECM was rebooted. Thanks for all the thoughts so far.
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
jimrose wrote:
Just a little more clarification, The tran went into safe mode three times in the last two times we were out. Also I leave the exhaust brake on all the time. The last time for safe was after coming down several blocks of a steep hill at slow speed with the tran in 2nd. I will call shop Monday to see if the ECM was rebooted. Thanks for all the thoughts so far.

Has your transmission ever been serviced by flushing with the filters changed?

transmission fluid deteriorates with heat, It may have been that way a long time, that is not good for it and may have caused this problem. The transmission cooler may have become clogged also, contributing to this problem.
RedG
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
Allison does not recommend ever "flushing" their transmissions. Flushing can do more harm than good.
Did you take a look at the fluid? Transynd will turn dark orange with age, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Did the fluid smell burnt?
What did they actually do to diagnose your problem?
Did they drop the pan and look for burnt clutches, debris, etc.? If all they did was read the codes, I think I'd clear the codes, replace the filters/fluid and drive some more to see what happens.
Low PSI can be caused by a clogged filter. A new one might solve your problem. If your Allison has never been serviced in 91000 miles, I wouldn't be surprised if that's your problem.
To answer your question, if I had full faith in the rebuilder, I'd go for #1. If not, #2.
dons2346
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
I, for sure, would contact Allison before doing any "rebuilding".
docj
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
RedG wrote:
If your Allison has never been serviced in 91000 miles, I wouldn't be surprised if that's your problem.

Has your transmission been serviced previously? A '01 model would probably not have had Transynd originally. Did you or anyone change it over to Transynd? I hope you haven't been running Dexron for 91,000 miles without servicing it.
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
RedG wrote:
Allison does not recommend ever "flushing" their transmissions. Flushing can do more harm than good.

Do you have a reference for that?

I was about to do mine.
rocmoc
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
jimrose wrote:
Just a little more clarification, The tran went into safe mode three times in the last two times we were out. Also I leave the exhaust brake on all the time. The last time for safe was after coming down several blocks of a steep hill at slow speed with the tran in 2nd. I will call shop Monday to see if the ECM was rebooted. Thanks for all the thoughts so far.

This isn't the first time I have heard this. The previous owner of our Rig also drove everywhere with the exhaust brake on and burned the tranny up by 45,000 miles. He was told by the repair shop NEVER to leave the exhaust brake on, just when you need to slow down or stop. When we bought the rig it had under 50,000 miles on it with less than 5,000 miles on the newly rebuilt tranny (have the invoice where he paid $5,000). We now have over 60,000 miles on the rebuild / 5 years without any problems. AND we have pulled some HUGE grades & loads in very remote locations. I would still try what others have said as you nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Good luck!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
docj
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
rocmoc wrote:
jimrose wrote:
Just a little more clarification, The tran went into safe mode three times in the last two times we were out. Also I leave the exhaust brake on all the time. The last time for safe was after coming down several blocks of a steep hill at slow speed with the tran in 2nd. I will call shop Monday to see if the ECM was rebooted. Thanks for all the thoughts so far.

This isn't the first time I have heard this. The previous owner of our Rig also drove everywhere with the exhaust brake on and burned the tranny up by 45,000 miles. He was told by the repair shop NEVER to leave the exhaust brake on, just when you need to slow down or stop. When we bought the rig it had under 50,000 miles on it with less than 5,000 miles on the newly rebuilt tranny (have the invoice where he paid $5,000). We now have over 60,000 miles on the rebuild / 5 years without any problems. AND we have pulled some HUGE grades & loads in very remote locations. I would still try what others have said as you nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Good luck!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

IMHO this doesn't make any sense. An exhaust brake or a compression brake isn't doing anything UNLESS you are slowing down or stopping. Having it on when you are cruising on the highway shouldn't have any effect on the transmission until you let up on the pedal.

I can see someone arguing that the repeated downshifting that occurs could cause transmission wear but I'd be rather surprised if many motorhome owners drive their vehicles enough for this to be an issue. Remember these transmissions are designed for buses, garbage trucks, etc, vehicles that run all day upshifting, downshifting and idling.
wolfe10
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
I concur. While leaving the exhaust brake on all the time will cause accelerated wear for lots more shifting, you are not going to wear out an Allison 3000 by doing that.

But, with exhaust brake on, every time the throttle is closed, the exhaust brake comes on and the transmission downshifts toward the pre-select gear. NO COASTING. So, MPG suffers, and at least for me, it would drive me crazy to have it downshifting and upshifting several gears on each down/up hill.
jimrose
Explorer
Sep 08, 2013
Some further info, We bought the RV April 04 with 24800 miles, Changed fluid and filters June 05 35000 miles, changed fluid/filters Aug 09 73100 miles, changed fluid/filters Sept 12 88246 miles. Present miles 91000. Will call Allison Monday and get their comments.
Thanks for all your comments to date.