15 speed Eaton??

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Dedrick, Nov 20, 2019.

  1. Dedrick

    Dedrick Bobtail Member

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    I am buying a truck from a friend of mine who is kind of a doofus. Now, I watched him drive the truck and he does not grind his gears. But, he was calling it a 13 speed the whole time when after driving it across town I believe it to be a 15 speed.

    It appears to be a 10 speed with a H-L splitter that works for the high range gears (6-10).

    The way my friend would shift it was he would go straight from 5 to 7L, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H. So I guess the way he used it it was a 13 speed because he was skipping over 6 all together. When downshifting, he would sometimes downshift to 6H on a curve. But he was calling that "extra gear" you can shift down to on a curve. But he said he never used 6L because the rpms were weird.

    I found what he was talking about because 6L appeared to be a lower gear than 5. I guess, that could be viewed as a gear you can shift down to in traffic without having to keep using the splitter to go back and forth from 5 to 6.

    I guess my question is, are the L gears meant to be used regularly that way? It seems when cruising along in 10H, 10L is a nice gear to have as a passing gear or uphill gear to maintain speed, rather than going down to 9. But is it meant to be used that way?
     
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  3. 062

    062 Road Train Member

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    One way to tell a 13 from a 15 is the color of the thumb switch on the side. 13 is red,15 is blue,18 is gray.
     
  4. Bean Jr.

    Bean Jr. Road Train Member

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    If he drove it like a 13 speed, why would you think it is a 15? And btw, the extra 5 gears are Granny gears, not on the high side.
     
  5. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    A 13 is just a 9 that you can split the top 4 on. Red splitter button.

    A 15 is just a 10 that has 5 deep reduction gears. Blue button on the shifter, plunger on the side of the stick, or an air switch on the dash.

    If you progressively shift a 15 from lowest gear to highest gear you'd only use 12 gears.
     
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  6. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    If he went from 5 to 7th it's a 13. A 9, 13 and 18 do not use what you call 6th or low position on the high side.

    Yes it's meant to be split that way.
     
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  7. Dedrick

    Dedrick Bobtail Member

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    Because he wasn't including 6L or 6H in his 13?

    Let's ask questions that have already been explained in the OP.
     
  8. Tall Mike

    Tall Mike Road Train Member

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    Unless the splitter button has been changed.
    Chrome is a popular color is why I post this.
     
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  9. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    How do you get a 6th position? They're only 5 speed main boxes.

    NVM. Brainfart
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2019
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  10. Snow Monster

    Snow Monster Medium Load Member

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    I think your buddy probably has a 13 spd and uses the cheater gear, which is not recommended.

    You can't split gears with a 15 speed, you drive it like a 10 spd unless you need more low end grunt.

    What might look like the splitter is deep reduction for a 15 spd, the hi lo paddle is hi lo just like the other Eaton boxes.
     
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  11. OLDSKOOLERnWV

    OLDSKOOLERnWV Captain Redbeard

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    I was wondering the same thing....

    We use to use “the cheater” just to finish topping a hill but never to pull the hill.
     
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