RTLO 14613B Oddity

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by stat.will, Oct 19, 2025 at 12:05 PM.

  1. stat.will

    stat.will Bobtail Member

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    I've got a 2000 Freightliner classic with an RTLO 14613b in it. It originally had an RTLO 16913A, but I'm guessing that someone went with what was available and downgraded at some point in the last 25 years. The weird part is, this 13 doesn't 13 very well. It should be a single over trans with 8-lo being direct drive and 8-hi being something around 0.85:1. Instead, 8-lo is direct and 8-hi is around 0.73:1. Further f*king the cluster, each high range hi gear is about 50 rpm off from the lo gear above it, so it shifts like a 9 speed with a split top gear, and drives like a 10 speed rpm and ratio wise. Anybody have any clue what and why this thing is like that?
     
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  3. Bean Jr.

    Bean Jr. Road Train Member

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    Bizarre! I don't see how it could be .73 instead of .85.
     
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  4. W923

    W923 Road Train Member

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    How are you coming up with your information as far as rpm and final ratio
    You are correct to my knowledge that the b ratio is approximately.85 and the a is approximately.73
    What rear end ratio because high numerical ratios will make the gears seem closer together.
    when you say it doesn’t 13 very well are you saying it doesn’t shift properly or that it isn’t very noticeable?
     
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  5. stat.will

    stat.will Bobtail Member

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    It's a 3.58 rear with 11r24.5s (about 44"). Bottom 4 shift normal, normal shift to 5-lo, 450ish rpm drop to 5-hi, then 6-lo is almost the same rpm as 5-hi. 6-lo to 6-hi is full gear rpm drop, then 7-lo is roughly the same as 6-hi, etc. The splits on each gear are nearly full gear drops instead of the normal ~250 rpm split beetween gears a 13 should have. The way it works out, you effectively only get 1 usable split gear on the top end.
     
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  6. Oxbow

    Oxbow Road Train Member

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    I don't know how it was done, but I recall guys swapping gears or something inside the box to make it a "double over". I wonder if that is what happened.
     
  7. Willis Inc.

    Willis Inc. Bobtail Member

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    If they switched gears 7/8 in the trans.to try to get Double overdrive it would have a U shift pattern. Unless they also put a RTX shift rail top on it.
    I just put a RTOO-14613 in my truck last week, It has the RTX top which gives it a standard shift pattern.
     
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  8. Willis Inc.

    Willis Inc. Bobtail Member

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    If 8 Lo feels like direct 1 to 1 and 8 Hi feels like .74. Then it may have been switched out from .86 to .74 OD gear.. Because it had a .86 before the lower gear will be closer together. The 1 to 1 and then step to .74 is a big step on the top end. That's what the 10 speed I took out had.
     
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  9. BillMot

    BillMot Bobtail Member

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    Those older Freightliner gearboxes can get strange when you mix models. It’s running like a ...Frankenstein setup, drives like a 10-speed but is really meant to be a 13.

    The 50 rpm gap in the high gears isn’t ideal, but as long as it shifts cleanly and doesn’t chatter under load, you can treat it like an odd 10-speed and get used to how it pulls.
     
  10. stat.will

    stat.will Bobtail Member

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    I'm going to swap it for an RTLO 18913A or 18918B as soon as I can afford to. That truck should never have had a 1400 ft/lb trans installed
     
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  11. BillMot

    BillMot Bobtail Member

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    That 1400 ft/lb trans really isn’t strong enough for that truck. Running it like that could fail under load and that’s dangerous on the road. Swapping to an 18913A or 18918B will handle the torque safely and keep you out of trouble.
     
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