Hello folks. I recently bought a 2009 Columbia with the 14L Series 60. It has 515 HP and 3.55 RR (at least that's what the previous owner told me). My authority just went active and I'm preparing to hit the road soon. Now, it's been about 4 years since I drive a manual (and those were newer trucks with the DDs in them), so I am a little gun shy at the moment.
I went to the yard today to bobtail around a bit, so I can get a feel for the truck. Let's just say things didn't go very smoothly. Not terribly bad, but not good either. It's safe to say I won't be hauling in the PNW or Appalachia any time soon. So I need some pointers...Any advice and insight will be greatly appreciated.
1- So I guess the place to start would be the beginning. At school I learned how to short-shift in the lower gears (about 1200 rpm) to save fuel and engine wear. In this truck, I wasn't able to. It seems like I have to rev higher to the normal 1500 or so. Mind you, I was just bobtailing! Is this normal? Does the hp and rr play a role in this? Should I just double-clutch instead of floating until I get a feel for this truck? (That clutch is almost as tough as an old Pete's.)
2- If I take this to a shop, will they be able to tell me exactly what the correct HP and RR is on this truck? Can it be adjusted if I don't want so much testosterone? (Owner says this truck is a guzzler.)
3- Should I drive this like a 9 or 10-speed, and only use the upper split on the last gear?
Any pointers or practice ideas will be greatly appreciated.
One more thing...the previous owner put in a manual fan switch. He says he kept the fan on all the time. What is the purpose of having a manual fan switch? Is it wise to keep it on all the time?
Re-learning to shift a 13-speed EF
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by gekko1323, May 10, 2022.
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I drove a '99 Columbia spec'd the same for a friend. The 515 Det. had more than enough steam, the splitting wasn't really needed.. Only on the steepest hills, did I drop half a gear. I remember, 13th @ 65mph, was like 1400 rpms, and that truck would do 100 no problem, get you in trouble it would, and many times, I just left it in direct( 12th)
Far as "short" shifting, never heard that term, I thought it was "progressive" shifting, and while it works in the very low gears, as you get to the bigger gears, you can't do that. I never did that, and wound 'er out in every gear, just seemed better. Also, bobtailing is much different than even with just an empty wagon, so don't put too much credibility on the bobtail part. You'll be fine, really,
and you'll find out with those Detroits, unless you have a real ball buster, you'll probably never even have to use the splitter and every rookie in the world tried their darndest to puke those transmissions and couldn't. They were tough boxes.
Another Canadian driver and gekko1323 Thank this. -
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