Let Me Know if You Have Allison Transmission Fluid Questions

I have purchased a 2004 winnebago adventurer w allison 1000. The books have paper advertisement refering to trans synd fluids. The rv has 33,000 miles, 1 owner before me. Bought from a dealer. How do I tell if has dexron3 or trans synd. Work horse says use dex 3. Would a test kit for fluids work or is dex 3 in the 2004s.?

BUMP

BUMP

"bump"

Tom: Thank you for answering my question.

Moisheh

Daytonaman wrote:
Great info! I did TranSynd and filters at 77. Just once. Did not want to rush to judgement. I like the oil analysis idea; if the unit had it initially, that means it never had Dexron, just used TranSynd. Except for some possible make-up.
Will an O.A. show fluid composition. Thanks for your expertise.

Daytonaman,

Yes. The oil analysis will show you if the viscosity and TAN (Total Acid Number) are in the correct ranges for TranSynd. A good oil analysis company will include all of the following tests which will allow proper assessment of the fluid and will show you the fluid composition as well as its chemical and physical properties:

• Wear metals
• Contaminant metals
• Additive metals
• Water Content
• Soot Content
• Fuel Dilution
• Viscosity @ 100C
• Oxidation/Nitration
• TBN/TAN (if it's an advanced analysis)

Note: I recommend that RV and Tow Vehicle owners do Oil Analysis every 5-6000 miles on engines and once a year on transmissions and generators. Owners should also do a Coolant Analysis on engines and generators once a year. Data shows that about 40-50% of all engine failures are due to problems related to poor coolant maintenance.

I've attached (2) links for your benefit. One is a Technical Paper that I wrote explaining how oils are formulated and what happens to them over time. The other link shows the slides I use when I give seminars at Good Sam Club state rallies. I've given this seminar at Good Sam Club state rallies in Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia over the past couple of years.

Technical Paper on Oils and Oil Degradation

My Good Sam Rally Seminar Slides

Please pass this information on to whomever in the Open Roads Forum needs this information.

IN CLOSING, THE INFORMATION AND LINKS ARE PROVIDED AS A BENEFIT TO THIS FORUM. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE DOCUMENTS ARE NOT INTENDED AS SALES TOOLS.

Great info! I did TranSynd and filters at 77. Just once. Did not want to rush to judgement. I like the oil analysis idea; if the unit had it initially, that means it never had Dexron, just used TranSynd. Except for some possible make-up.
Will an O.A. show fluid composition. Thanks for your expertise.

Daytonaman wrote:
This has been covered before, but I was wondering what the cutoff date for allison using transynd on MH4000 xmisions. The coach has a model year late 2002 w/ISM. I changed the fluid and filters at 77,000 one time and wondering if it should be done again. There is only a 1,000 or so on the new fluid.

Daytonaman,

TranSynd was used in the Allison factory in 2002 but it depends on what was used at the chassis manufacturer for "top off" (factory fill). Some folks don't understand this; but, the chassis manufacturer purchases the transmission from Allison and then builds it into a chassis along with the engine, driveline and cooling system. Then, the cooling system and transmission are topped off with whatever the chassis manufacturer has for "factory fill" transmission fluid. So, it could have been TranSynd but not necessarily. The best way to tell it to do fluid analysis once a year to watch the viscosity and oxidation state. If it remains stable from year to year, then it's no doubt TranSynd. Did you install TranSynd at the 77,000 mile change? If you only changed it once, then you could be running a mixture. The oil analysis would sort this out for you.

This has been covered before, but I was wondering what the cutoff date for allison using transynd on MH4000 xmisions. The coach has a model year late 2002 w/ISM. I changed the fluid and filters at 77,000 one time and wondering if it should be done again. There is only a 1,000 or so on the new fluid.

.............Flushing an Allison 1000 is NOT recommended by anyone that I know Of , except for a shop that Knows better but wants too make a little exrea $$ on their cash flow !!! , jf