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Eaton /Fuller Doesnt seem to have any problems with drivers not using a clutch for all shifts 9/10 / 13 /15 /18 speed NON-SYNCED trans! They log usally over a million miles each before any major repairs . My dad put over a million miles on 2 of his trucks with ZERO transmission problems and the man floated just about every shift and class 8 trucks are non-synced transmissions ! Your talking about people shifting syncronised transmissions lighter duty trans is where all this confusion is coming from if the trans is sycronized use the clutch but if its non -synced dont BIG DIFFERENCE !
BROWNIE BOXS !!!! Back in the day 70s 80s if you had enough motor to actually pull in the top gears you had a monster motor and the only time we could stretch em out was out west down on 10 i had a few friends with 5x4 s some running 1693s and some with kt 600s back when it was fun !
Thank you for opting to join in, its good to have the perspective of someone that is familiar with the guts of these machines. I most certainly am not.
If you have ever rebuilt these transmissions like I have, you would notice they are "not" your normal transmission. They have "3" shafts in them that are "timed" together for a reason. This allows the smooth shifting they are known for.
Same here deuce or a 5-ton second low second high then run the other three out in high and no double clutching. Now the Fuller 10 speed I had in my GMC dump truck yes I could float the gears and take my time and match the RPM no problem. Now when I had 17 tons on and pulling a grade I would bump the clutch once to get it out and bump it once to get it in. The clutch pedal only went to the floor on a dead stop when I was putting it in first cuz I had a clutch break.
Evidently you never took EATON/Fuller's advice on how to use their transmissions.
Then why do we not see cronic problems in class 8 transmissions why do 95 % of all commercial drivers of class 8 trucks shift without the clutch once under way ? Why is there 80% more clutches being replaced without the transmissions being cracked open ? Why do truck manufactures still offer half a million mile drivetrain warranty on class 8 trucks knowing how the majority of the industry shifts its transmissions ? The trillions of miles that Fuller/Eaton has logged up on its transmissions were logged on them by drivers shifting without clutch once in motion ! I know there is and has been a huge loss in experienced drivers available so in your bizz i feel sure your seeing more abused drivetrain components than at any other time in history but for good old school drivers rarely had trans repairs if kept full of lubricant to factory specs ! I think what your seeing in shop settings are the results of no or little experienced drivers that have become the majority at all levels of the transportation industry so i dont see a time when your not going to be super busy repairing what TODAYS COMMERCIAL DRIVER is doing to their trans ! And the biggest uptick in drivetrain changes are the flood of automatic trans being ordered in new trucks because they cant find people that can shift a trans successfully ! It will be like the pick ups used to be hard to find a automatic to today you cant find a maunual trans in regular pick-ups and it will be the same for class 8 .
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Did you go to the website I posted ? This is "EATON's" site. The manufacturer of the transmission. They say use the clutch ! Go to the site, look at the video's posted and then come back here and tell me why I'm wrong to say "use the clutch" .
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You must have never spent more than 10 minutes in a over the road truck by your statements are all B.S. ! Just to keep it civil just poll all the commercial drivers of class 8 trucks on this website no one uses a clutch once under way in class 8 trucks if they have been driving more than 2 days ! And again i dont know what planet your repairing transmissions saying that automatics are cheaper to repair when i came off the road in 17 we were giving anywhere between 23 to 28 thousand depending on the shop for rebuilt allison world automatic transmissions and have been that way since the 90s ! Ive been in a commercial truck since 1973 as a kid every summer all summer till i turned 20 and went full time cross country a year before i was legal ! My dad owned every truck we had and every dollar for repairs came out of his pocket with no transmission repairs or builds and everyone in those circles were all owner operator and i drove for owner operators till 88 then went into busses for the next 30 years so just to add up have i ever been on the road almost 50 yrs and the 30 in busses were surrounded by 10 to 25 trucks with us every day so i never got away from trucks since i was 5 ive lived and breathed trucks busses and heavy equipment my entire life never had a job that wasnt on the road for the most part and everything your saying is ass opposite of what ive personaly watched every stinking day for almost 50 yrs! Everything you have said elludes back to small to medium transmissions from how they work to the cost your quoting like your talking about repairing a ford 550 or 700 med duty transmission and sure not a class 8 ive got some where between 2.5 to 3 million miles and ive NEVER lost a trans to this day in a commercial vehicle and im a dime a dozen in driver world no better no worse common as house flies ! So i will just end this whole debate by we must have been in 2 opposite ends of the planet and we will just agree to disagree ! Now it sounds like the both of us are retired and stuff is changing every day and in just a few more years nothing we knew will be the norm and we will be full of useless knowledge that no one needs unless theyre in a scrapyard ! or museum lol
Rusty myself I have found their steering wheel holders and their are drivers.
I sometimes leave it in gear - especially if I expect the light to change to green; leaving it gear allows me to get going faster & avoid the po-po.I guess only if the clutch is broke?
The way you described it read like how everyone should stop a vehicle with a manual transmission, or at least how I do it:
- Downshift to appropriate gear when anticipating stop to engine brake - use service brakes as needed
- When approaching engine idle speed, press in clutch and use service brakes the rest of the way to a stop
Having written it that way, I don't technically leave it in gear all the way to a stop. In my old Wrangler, I'd downshift to 3rd to engine brake, then press the clutch in when I get around the engine's idle speed. By that point I can stop safely with service brakes. In my dad's M37 or halftrack, I'd downshift to 3rd as well and do the same thing. Even with my M35A3 or my wife's 1-ton Savana I put the automatic in 3rd to engine brake.
I think it helps with these vehicles being geared as they are that they can engine brake pretty easily without having to downshift far. Though the 1-ton Savana's 4L80-E can be flipped to 2nd around 40 MPH for more engine braking power.
So your saying you were a "professional" truck driver , right ?
