Transmission "feel" question

Most feel the same from the factory, but the abuse from drivers make each transmission feel different.
Plastic gear lever bushings wear, and cause the sloppy feel.

They just need to get them fixed....

 

I don't know about getting a spec's out smooth shift. All trucks will feel like they are shifting smoother when they have been serviced...meaning the mechanics tighten this lube that etc... the other reason why some of the trucks shift better than others is the amount of wear that the previous drivers have done to the trani and clutch. When you get your first truck from your employer( when you finish orientation and training) you get an opportunity to go over your truck. Drive it ...if it shifts like crap take it to the mechanics with the rest of your laundry list of issues that you find and ask them to readjust the clutch cause it shifts like crap.

 

Very true.....they are like people in that respect

 

in general, trucking schools buy in "lots" of used trucks. this reduces the over all cost of buying equipment that get the shiot kicked out of it by students. the trucks my former (and current employer *both schools*) buy are from Ryder, Penske, maybe defunct trucking companies as well. heck, we even have purchased a few Con-Way trucks... most are single axle day cabs, 7, or 10 speeds. so they have been abused by the dozens of drivers over the years. the best ones however, become the "fleet pride" and are road tractors.

if YOU as a driver were to go out and buy a brand new truck, YOU would be the only driver....YOU would treat the truck like gold, because YOU paid for it. a company driver couldn't give a rat's fat arse how he treats the equipment, if he breaks it, they put him in another one.

if YOU break YOUR truck......YOU gotta pay for it, so it stands to reason YOU will take good care of YOUR truck. that transmission shifter should last hundreds of thousands of miles......

 

Every truck has a 'feel'. One thing I hate is going for a pre-hire test drive on a new engine/trans combo. It takes most drivers a couple of hours of driving to find most of the little quirks that every combo has. Some like higher shift points (my old Mack CH613), some like low shift points (the '08 Pete I was driving). If you stick with a 1500/1000 rpm range to hit then you can tweak it from there.

Heck I never could get used to the truck my buddy I drove with for orientation (paperwork only) has. A '94 KW, CAT engine with a RoadRanger 15 speed. For some reason I just couldn't get used to the shift points. Maybe because they were all different depending on the load you had. I know the KW needed a new trans, I think he was going to drop an 18 in there. Would be really nice when that happens.

 

Every brand of truck has it's own shifter, with different bends, different legnth, different legnth of throws, or distance between gears. You can have the same transmission in each truck, and all change diferent because of this.

How the was previous drivers drove will also have a huge effect on how the feel is. Different engines also will make changing different, as some rev up and down faster, some take fuel quick, others dont, some like high rpm changes, some don't. A Meritor or Rockwell transmission will feel completely different than an Eaton.

 

most transmissions come with the option of two "different" feels! these are, Take it or leave it! you get in the truck and drive the durn thing! for having over a million miles on it, the tranny in this truck is in pretty good shape, I can still tell when it goes to the high side. and I don't have to guess where the next hole is. Pretty lucky I guess. But this was the first truck my boss bought and it's been pretty well taken care of.