The RedByrd TRANSformation.

[Robin97396]

That so complicates things when you do work like that in your driveway instead of a nice shop. Good job. You're ending up with a high performance bus which is on the fascinating side. If you had a shop you'd probably make some really unique machines.

[cadillackid]

Oh yes!! it was my facvorite thing to do!! ROAD TRIP!! it was Hot , it was Sultry! and there was a transmission in florida waiting on me! Off to Custom Automatic COnversions to go get some goodies!!



so I hopped in the trusty Silverado, cranked the tunes, put the windows down, and blasted the A/C! time to go get some Shinies!



back home again where a Tale of 2 transmissions can Begin!!



the immediate differences are that the shifter linkage is farther back on the new one, and the cooler lines come from bottom rather than the top.. otherwise it looks really similar.. the parking brake bracket also mounted differently on the new from the old. so I needed to look at how to make that work too..



-Christopher

[Tootalltechie]

Will you custom make the linkage or go to a donor vehicle?

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[cadillackid]

the bus is in my storage unit which is on a paved lot, under roof but open sides.. it is about 5 minutes from my house.. so some of the work im doing at the house.. but the work on the bus itself im doing at the storage lot.. the people there are really cool about it.. and dont seem to mind me and others doing work to their vehicles there..

after the road trip, i chose to take a rest and Bake some cookies.. after all it had gotten cold and rainy for a couple days!. so i couldnt work at the bus itself..

and YES!! I still have christmas lights around my living room window!! (im into modern and Vintage christmas decorations as another Hobby).



-Christopher

[BlackJohn]

Congratulations Chris on dropping that thing out safely. So many things can go wrong but your foresight avoided those problems. Still got all your fingers? Sure would have been nice of your buddies to help a bit in the heat.
Hope the install goes as well for you.

John

[Tootalltechie]

I can just see it cookies, glass of milk and 2 transmissions on your work bench.

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[cadillackid]

Time to go to work omn that parking brake bracket.. the drum and leveer assembly moved over and bolted right onto the new transmission.. I went to twork online looking for a parking brake linkage bracket.. but found there are many many different ones for allison 1000s.. I found a couple GMC brackets from the C5500 .. but to m,y dismay were discontinued.. my guess is they arent ever replaced often so they were discontinued quickly after the vehicle was not made anymore..

I looked at the old bracket and decided I could use parts from it and fab up a new one..

who do I think I am ?? TANGO? to go fabbin up stuff... well im gonna try!.



the old transmission makes a nice SHop "Vice"!



and after some cuttin and grindin and a paintin.. wa la! a new parking brake bracket!..



-Christopher

[cadillackid]

with stuff moved over from the old and realizing the differences of the shifter linkage it was time to get basck over to the storage unit with the new tranny.!!

into the silverado we go... man am I glad the electronics screwed up in my chevy volt 2 years ago and I traded it for a Silverado LT!!



since all this work is greasy and my truck is New, something nice to have is a solution of DAWN liquid and water.. along with 90 mil nitrile gloves.. it allowed me to clean up nicelty after all the GREASE of being under an old bus..



old paint drop cloth (other side is nice and clean) to keep my truck seats clean.. I may use my truck like a truck, but I want it to look like new all the time!



so I hoisted and dragged and slid (transmissions slide very easily on cardboard! and doesnt scratch the pan up too much.

this time I used a 10000 lb strap at the front and back to lift it up and get the jack under it.. then I left the big strap in front as backup in case something went wrong.. I tied the transmission to the jack with a 1000 lb strap.. the jack itself can tilt both directions if need me..



as you can see in that pic i bolted the ring to the torque converter.. DONT FORGET to do that or you have to take out the trans and put it on! and use LOCTITE on those bolts!!!

I chose blue because it can be loosened without heat if for some reason i ever have to take it apart...



Notice the device on the side with the silver ends.. that is the new Neutral Safety Reverse light switch... the old AT545 used pressure switch for reverse.. and Neutral safety was also on its own.. the 1000 doesnt have these functions built in.. so I got a switch for a GMC truck.

this is the one I ordered... Amazon has everything!!

https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/la...bj7#3455216220

so now I had the transmission up nice and high, got the tilt just right.. but my little body just didnt have the brute to get it in place.. so alas I took another 10,000 lb strap and tied it to the front frame of the bus.. where i could get out in front and "winch" in the trans one click at a time.. so I winched.. and jiggled and finisssed a little on the jack.. I felt like it was bound up somehow.. I would raise a little lower a little.. finally was lined up across 2 studs and I turned the wheel through the inspection port.. made sure the studs lined up with the flex plate holes..

went back in front and with one click i heard a "Chi-Thangggg!!".. holy crap its in!!!

if you have ever installed a transmission in your life in anything its a sound you never forget.. its one that has you scrambling right quick "get the bolts started before anything else happens!!".. and after the bolts are in you do your happy dance!!

and an allison 1000 bolted into a school bus in place of a 545!!! oh yeah baby!!!



-Christopher

[Tango]

Outstanding Chris!!! --- All that and cookies too? I AM impressed. And you are ahead of me on the parking brake bracket. I still have to find/fab one. But I also need the lever and a place to put it so...well, maybe later.

Happy to hear no digits were harmed in the making of this epic production. Now for the shiny stuff!

[cadillackid]

Now to go to work on the peripherals.. we have electronics / cooler lines / shift loinkage/ driveshaft, and parking brake to hook up..

by the way the parking brake bracket was perfect.. the linkage connected right up and the brake feels like it engagesand disengages normally..

for the cooler lines.. they come off the bottom of the trans instead of the top.. if you read the message boards they will tell you that the cooler lines are #10, and they are if you use a GMC standard bell housing.. (90% of the mainstream 1000s are used in the GMC medoum duty trucks like the C7500's and the HD pickups.. (3500 Duramax duallies)..

in effect the lines coming off from an SAE3 bell housing are #12. they are an ORB (O-ring-Boss) type fitting.. not NPT or flare. I ordered a couple fittings from Grainger to do the job.. my original lines and my cooler are #10 so i needed to adapt.. ..

I chose a swivel type fitting as that way i could choose the direction it pointed.. this is important since I was using 90s and not straight fittings..

these are the fittings.

https://www.grainger.com/product/4VT...376ceb1c1ecda9



I decided to use steel braided line since these lines are on the very bottom of the bus.. the originals were factory located there and i found Navistar part numbers on them so even though its wack to have the lines so low to the ground, theyve lasted 17 years.. so i surmised i could place mine in the same spot.. the steel line is good for temperatures over 300 degrees and pressures of 1250 PSI...

ahhh yes.. I remember these Blood-suckers.. AN fittings.. ugh.. anyone who has ever installed them has dealt with the Fray, the blood, the tears, and frustration they can bring unless you have great patience..



be sure to use the assembly lube for these.. and I cut the hose with a cutoff wheel on my grinder and VERY LITTLE PRESSURE.. so the steel doesnt fray.. nice clean cuts make for easy assembly..

routed in the new lines.. and everything screwed together like it was supposed to...
so now I have cooler lines!!.



-Christopher

[cadillackid]

Next on the agenda.. a driveshaft.. yeah gotta send the power to the tires!! so better address that..

as i figured would be the case, the driveshaft position is back from the original.. its a known fact that generally the allison 1000 is 3/4 to 1 1/2" longer than the AT545 (depending on the bell you choose.. ).. if I had chosen an SAE2 bell, the adapter ring removal from the engine wouldve put me at just about 3/4 inch longer than the 545.. there is some leeway in the deirveshaft length and the mounting of the carrier support bearing..

the air suspension makes fitting this up easy.. as i dumped the air in the air-ride so now the bus sits down as low as its every going on its suspension.. this is important because the rear driveshaft is inserted into the spline as much as it will ever be.. you dont want to have too long a driveshaft and have the splines potentially bind on suspension travel... so i let all the air out.

the center support bearing mounts to a symmetrical plate thats in the frame opf the bus.. this plate is slotted and if needbe for a longer shaft could be flipped around..



when I mocked everything up.. I fitted the driveshaft to the yoke on the parking brake and into the splines.. then use the tranny jack to support it all in its near operating position.. as you can see im really close to the edge of the splines.. and if I flip that plate around I line up too far in front of the slots.. so I determined that 1 1/4" of length needed to be cut out of my driveshaft.. that puts me in the middle of the slots in the plate.. so i still have some wiggle room if needbe..

when you are measuring be sure to jiuggle the bracket on the bearing around to make sure that rubber is in its middle position and that the metal piece isnt cocked or stressed one way or the other.. that gives you the most neutral position to measure from..



so I dropped of the driveshaft yesterday at my favorite shop... getting a shaft shortened is a common routine operation.. most cities have shops that do this all day long... ive used the same guys for all my hotrod projects and they are great.. (Driveline 1 in columbus ohio)..

-Christopher

[Tootalltechie]

Some clutches and torque converters may use safety wire instead of use of thead lock. I'm guessing that your bus doesn't.

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[cadillackid]

There definitely wasn't safety wire on it originally, there was evidence of possible thread lock although the bolts came out straightforward and didn't have that "crack" loose like loctite was in use.

The oncommand instructions from navistar recommended thread lock on the torque converter bolts and on the u joint bolts.
I've only ever seen safety wire once and the bolts tjemselves were different than regular ones.
Is one better than the other?
Christopher

[oricha1984]

So I've been reading this thread with two browsers open at the same time. One with Skoolie.com and the other googleing stuff to understand what is being said here, lol.
Thanks for info.

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[Tootalltechie]

For our situations thead lock is fine. Safety wire is old school & mission critical situations. All though I have seen it used in high stress automotive situations.
Gordon

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[cadillackid]

I heard rumors some of the suspension parts on old cars used safety wire,, and that people found the bolts "loose" but of course they didnt back out and cause failure which is the most important thing.

of course in a rotational situation like torque converter bolts a loose but still wired bolt is about as good as a missing bolt..

I bought a jeep cherokee chief once years ago from a guy for $50.. he put a transmission in it.. and then was frustrated because a couple months later he "blew the engine".. said it has a horrible knock.. he was just over it by this point..

heck the tranny and tires were worth more than that.. turns out all 3 torque converter bolts were loose.. at the time I just tightened them up and went on my way for several years... it sure made a heck of a racket and amazingly didnt ruin the flex-plate..
-Christopher

[Tootalltechie]

The most recent use of safety wire was on a high performance clutch pack. If not done right might as well leave the wire off and leave bolts loose.

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[cadillackid]

I could see where on a clutch pack with the high temperatures and flexinfg that LocTite would be useless.. since the recommended way to remove it is to heat.. and high perf clutches can get nice N warm..
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

so I lifted the transmission with a couple ratchet straps.. big ones.. and then I pulled the jack out from underneath.. so the transmission was supported by set ratchet straps.. the trans jack now went under the parking brake drum where i lifted it as a point higher on the trans.. and disconnected the rear ratchet strap. then I dropped the rear to the ground... next I took the trans jack to the front where I tried to lift the trans via the bell... no dice.. too big.. grabbed the car jack, and lifted the trans at the bell and went up top and released the ratchet strap from up above... then I could go safely from the front of the bus and release the car jack which let the trans to the ground!!!..

-Christopher

Next time use your ratchet straps to lower the tranny to the ground once teh jack is out from under it.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

after the road trip, i chose to take a rest and Bake some cookies.. after all it had gotten cold and rainy for a couple days!. so i couldnt work at the bus itself..

and YES!! I still have christmas lights around my living room window!! (im into modern and Vintage christmas decorations as another Hobby).

You are an odd critter; hope to meet you someday!!

Originally Posted by cadillackid

ahhh yes.. I remember these Blood-suckers.. AN fittings.. ugh.. anyone who has ever installed them has dealt with the Fray, the blood, the tears, and frustration they can bring unless you have great patience..

Wrap VERY tightly with tape, then cut. I have a car full of these damn things. They're great once you have all the hoses made. They are a MOTHER to get the hoses made.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I could see where on a clutch pack with the high temperatures and flexinfg that LocTite would be useless.. since the recommended way to remove it is to heat.. and high perf clutches can get nice N warm..

Safety wire is used in aircraft stuff a lot. Kinda hard to park a plane at 37,000 feet, get out, and tighten a bolt even if you just happen to have the right size socket in your hand.

[cadillackid]

unfortunately ive not found a ratchet strap that would lower on the ratchet, its usually release and fly.. I was concerned if I just released it the damn thing taking my fingers off as it fell to the ground..

yep i definitely taped .. that and the cutoff wheel seem to be about the best tricks to those hoses.. ive had hotrods full of them over the years.. and they dont fail..

the red and blue ones in a hot rod look cool as heck..

being an aviation mechanic must be nerve racking.. "crap! wheres my 5/8 wrench.. did I leave it in the engine? did I tighten the fuel line before leasving the wrench in the engine?"

-Christopher