Dashboard and Tranny

[FireScience]

Hi. I'm new to school buses, and new to the group, and I'm having trouble finding my way around the forums trying to find the things that I want to read about. There is one thing that I need to do, and one that I want to do to my bus.
First, the need. My bus has an Allison MD3060 Tranny. Right now, the 6th gear is still locked out. The guy who sold me the bus seemed very knowledgeable, and he said that the shop he uses would charge me $950 to unlock the 6th speed. But he also said that all they had to do was reprogram the transmission module of course, and the engine control module as well to reset the shift rpm's. This just seems a bit steep on the price for work that doesn't involve any mechanical changes. Any thoughts on this topic.

Second, the want. I am really dissatisfied with the layout of the dash and some of the controls. It's also a very flimsy plastic dash that is noisy and moves around a lot. So I want to remove it and build my own with the gauges and controls in more logical places. Right now my speedo and RPM gauges are right under the center of the windshield. I don't like to have to take my eyes that far off the road to see these things, especially with no cruise. I don't want to move things so far that I would have to cut any wires. I'm hoping that there is enough to move them where I want without going through that mess. But what I'm wondering is if anyone has ever built a new dash. I can't find any threads about either of these things, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by FireScience

Hi. I'm new to school buses, and new to the group, and I'm having trouble finding my way around the forums trying to find the things that I want to read about. There is one thing that I need to do, and one that I want to do to my bus.
First, the need. My bus has an Allison MD3060 Tranny. Right now, the 6th gear is still locked out. The guy who sold me the bus seemed very knowledgeable, and he said that the shop he uses would charge me $950 to unlock the 6th speed. But he also said that all they had to do was reprogram the transmission module of course, and the engine control module as well to reset the shift rpm's. This just seems a bit steep on the price for work that doesn't involve any mechanical changes. Any thoughts on this topic.

porkchopsandwiches recently achieved the coveted status of functional 6-speed Allison. He wrote about it in his build thread, I think, and I'm feeling too lazy right now to search it out.. IIRC it took a letter (or a few?) to Thomas to get their approval for the change, then a visit (or a few?) to the Allison dealer to do paperwork and get the change done. Seems like he said the cost was a few hours times their labor rate. So yeah, $950 seems high.