I can tell you that since we have gone ATM's our "overall drive line" maintenance and repair costs have gone DOWN. NOW don't get me wrong, they do have their problems, HOWEVER, most of these problems are due to poor grounds, dead or low batteries, low or inadequate air pressure, or DRIVER ERROR, etc.

Almost NO down time related to the transmission itself, the difference is that we have NOT had to spend ANY money on Clutch Brakes, U-Joints, Twisted or Bent Drive shafts, Rebuilt tranny's, Inter lock diff assemblies, Ring and Pinon gears, Flywheels, etc.

We HAVE replaced clutches, BUT this is usually around the 800,000 mile mark, so I really can't ##### about that. This is over a 20 year period of running a minimum of 6 to 10 OTR T/T averaging from 120,000 to 150,000 miles per year.

Out of that 20 year period the last manual we had was traded in last year. Our FIRST ATM went into service in 2006 so we have a pretty good cross section of years, conditions and drivers to pull from.


JMHO
Stan

Originally Posted by KANSAS TRANSIT

I can tell you that since we have gone ATM's our "overall drive line" maintenance and repair costs have gone DOWN. NOW don't get me wrong, they do have their problems, HOWEVER, most of these problems are due to poor grounds, dead or low batteries, low or inadequate air pressure, or DRIVER ERROR, etc.

Almost NO down time related to the transmission itself, the difference is that we have NOT had to spend ANY money on Clutch Brakes, U-Joints, Twisted or Bent Drive shafts, Rebuilt tranny's, Inter lock diff assemblies, Ring and Pinon gears, Flywheels, etc.

We HAVE replaced clutches, BUT this is usually around the 800,000 mile mark, so I really can't ##### about that. This is over a 20 year period of running a minimum of 6 to 10 OTR T/T averaging from 120,000 to 150,000 miles per year.

Out of that 20 year period the last manual we had was traded in last year. Our FIRST ATM went into service in 2006 so we have a pretty good cross section of years, conditions and drivers to pull from.


JMHO
Stan

No doubt about this,my statement was referring to electronics and new technologies,not ATM's in general.But jgremlin chose to take it upon himself to make it about ATM's.

Originally Posted by ShootThis

Way I see things is the more electronic crap they add the more chance of sitting in the shop.

Originally Posted by jgremlin

You are certainly entitled to feel that way. But we should acknowledge that your statement is speculation.

My company hasn't seen any significant downtime issues related to the automatics that we run. My statement is fact.

Originally Posted by ShootThis

And you have the ability to monitor the activity of every truck for the company you work for?What do you consider "significant"?

If I remember correctly you drive a daycab.Significant for you is the amount of time to walk to another truck and get into it,not sit in a shop for a day or two waiting for something to be repaired and losing money.So yes your statement is fact for a company truck that is in a yard on a daily basis,it is not fact for an OTR company in which trucks are out and running up to 24 hrs. a day and out 30+ days at a time.

It seems to me that the only reason you post is to try and incite an argument with others.Why would that be?

Well, I guess I can play. I work for a small fleet, 11 trucks. Two 10spd manual '04 Columbia's, 1 Mack CXU sleeper (it replaced a '00 Mack CH sleeper that had 978K on it's autoshift), 8 CH daycabs from '99 to '04. The Macks are all Eaton/Fuller autoshifts, backing either an MP7 or MP8 Mack engine. All have between 345K (the CXU) and 600K miles. All are run in Colorado, year rnd, all weather conditions. The daycabs have all had their clutches replaced around 400K +/-. Two have been partially rebuilt for gear failures. Between '01 and '03 they all had problems with shift motors failing regularly, this was related to an internal problem with Eaton and their parts supplier. Currently replacing the shift motors on my '09 today at 345K, first one to need done in 4 years. The '00 CH that left us in Sept. '08, had 978 on it's autoshift, the clutch was replaced about 640K, and actually, it probably would have gone another 100K but the clutch brake had failed so the boss had them do everything at once. All of the trucks have the clutch brakes checked and/or adjusted every PM (3 months, 15K miles, 300 hrs). The CH had it's primary power divider fail at 800K.

Both of the Columbia's (479K and 700K respectively) have had their manuals rebuilt at least twice, both have had their clutches replaced at least once. As for ability to monitor, yep, even though I'm a driver I do have the ability to monitor what is being done on every truck since I walk through the shop every day, at least twice a day going into dispatch, so I can see which trucks are in, and what they are being repaired for. Since we all BS during the day on the phone and radio, I know which of my co-workers are having problems and which aren't and what problems they are having (I should also note I'm the senior driver so they will cry to me about what the boss is doing).

Last time I can recall one of the autoshifts being down for more than a couple of hrs for trans issues was probably 4 yrs ago, and even then they had it back on the road in a week after the trans was fixed.

Shoot This, I am, or at least was, Old School, yes I know I have 20 years posted on my bio, that is how long I have been an O/O , Fleet Owner, I started driving trucks, tractors, loaders and other equipment just as a lot of you here did, grew up on the family farm.
I'm sure I could still work my way around a qudra-plex, two stick if I had to.

I will tell you this, I STILL don't like the amount of time it takes an ATM to "go thru the gears" as in pulling out of an intersection, I can also tell you I still don't like the fact that IF I wake up one morning and my batteries are dead I can't just get a "tug" from another truck and get it started.

IF it was JUST ME, and ONLY ME, I might still have a 10/13, but when you have "drivers" not "owners" you try and eliminate as many cracks as you can, to a degree, the ATM's do that.

The one that I am really waiting for is the new Allison TC-10, in my mind it will be the best of both worlds, a TRUE Counter Rotating shaft tranny WITH a Convertor, FULL power shifts, and no "clunkyness" that is IF they can get the bugs out of it quickly.

Originally Posted by ShootThis

No doubt about this,my statement was referring to electronics and new technologies,not ATM's in general.But jgremlin chose to take it upon himself to make it about ATM's.

No. I meant it about electronics in general actually. But as this thread is about automatics, I choose to keep the focus there. But as you've proven that you know everything about me and what I do and how I do it, I'll just concede that you know it all and leave it at that. Wouldn't want to argue with you seeing as how you know everything and all.

Originally Posted by KANSAS TRANSIT

I can also tell you I still don't like the fact that IF I wake up one morning and my batteries are dead I can't just get a "tug" from another truck and get it started.

With the new engines,even if you have a stick,you cannot pull them to get them running.

But jump cables do the trick just as good.

Originally Posted by daf105paccar

With the new engines,even if you have a stick,you cannot pull them to get them running.

But jump cables do the trick just as good.

This I did not know, our last manual was an 2003 and it could be "bump" started.

Originally Posted by ShootThis

No doubt about this,my statement was referring to electronics and new technologies,not ATM's in general.But jgremlin chose to take it upon himself to make it about ATM's.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this thread about automatics. Silly silly...