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Yamhill county, Oregon | I'm looking to repower / rebuild a old homemade self propelled sprayer. Thinking of using a 5.9 cummins and allison at545 automatic trans out of a 1997 bluebird school bus. It has around 200,000 miles on it and is said to run and drive good, although I haven't seen it or test drove it yet. It's a 1997 model year so it should be a 12 valve engine, correct? Whats your experience with this engine / trans combo? Anything in particular to watch out for?
Thanks. |
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south west in | I have no idea about the trans. As for the engine it should be a 12v engine with a 11mm p pump and 190hp. To make it run correct you might have to put a off road governor on it. Other than that the only thing I can think of is to remove front timing cover and check the dowel pin and check the timing housing bolts, they can come loose and fall into the gears making a mess. |
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The black sand beaches of Jamaica, IL | For use in a sprayer I think it would work well. It should be good in a lower speed application. We have a 94 Dodge Ram that the boss got talked into putting an at 545 and I don't like it, it revs a lot higher at highway speeds and lost some overall top speed. Also, make sure you have a large cooler on it as I need to look into putting a bigger one on ours as I think it runs too hot causing it to leak after driving for a while. Why he didn't put another nv4500 in it I don't know but again for the application you are thinking of it should be fine and if it goes out I think rebuilt units aren't too pricey. |
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North Central Montana | my guess would be that the bus would be on its 2nd trans. They hold up pretty well in the buses, and are relatively cheap to replace when they go up in smoke. The transmission throttle cable setup is going to be pretty important to have right.
If taken care of, that engine could run a long time yet. |
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Between Omaha and Des Moines, 7 miles South of I80 | You should call a tranny shop about those AT545. Get their opinion on your type of application. I do know the torque convertor slips A LOT and creates a LOT of heat, under heavier loads = engine rpms says high and vehicle slows down and torque convertor just keep generating more and more heat due to slippage (under load). Note: You better plan on plenty of "cooling" for your overall plan. Call an Allison shop and just ask the shop foreman, if he recommends buying one or if he would own one. Their answer or "lack of answer" or "hesitation in giving an answer" might tell you something. |
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Idaho | Hey I am doing the same thing this winter! I have a self propelled sprayer that has a 500g tank and had a 350 chevy engine. Was geared wrong to where I could only go 6 mph. Next gear up was 14 mph and then at that speed I couldn't pull my hills. I bought a 96 5.9 out of a dodge 2500. The transmission is stock and that worried me but another farmer did this same thing 10 years ago and has had no issues with the tranny. |
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halfway between Lapeer and Port Huron, MI | Coming from the school bus world the 5.9 will be fine the 545 might be a little less than desired, they are about maxed out at the 210 hp anything bigger and they went to the 643. The 98's we had with cummins and 545's were electronic (the modulator) so keep that in mind. The guys at Valley Truck in Grand Rapids MI are the Allison Guru's around here. Friends of ours put a 3208 with an Allison out of a fire truck in a Steiger for pushing silage several years ago they got a kit so it wouldn't kick down on it's own they shifted it manually for roading and such if i remember correct. |
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sc ks | 545 has no lockup converter. I have one in a f650. Lots of slip but keeps on ticking. And cheap to replace. Top gear is 1 to 1 and slip is about 10% on mine. |
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Yamhill county, Oregon | Thanks for the comments guys |
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5.9 cummins and allison AT545
