Allison 545 Transmission Fluid Leak

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

not trying to give you a hard time.
know you are in a bind. sorry.
just brainstorming to try to help.
that elbow is replaceable but if the starter thread is just messed up then it might be a pain to clean up the threads but then you know what you have.same idea with a brand new elbow if you choose so?

[Beeb]

Yeah... I'm not sure where the confusion is. I get that it's supposed to be JIC8. But the mechanic did say it was a #10, which is 5/8" according to the link Cadillac sent. I don't know why it would be the wrong size. But I also don't know why I have an AT545 transmission when I specifically bought a bus that was advertised as having an Allison 2500.

I think I'm most inclined to just buy both sizes and see which one fits when it arrives.

I just followed the advice of people in this thread and on Reddit. I took the hoses to the mechanic and asked for duplicates. That's what he did. I didn't know there was an option to re-use the old fittings.

[BamaBus]

Originally Posted by Beeb

Yeah... I'm not sure where the confusion is. I get that it's supposed to be JIC8. But the mechanic did say it was a #10, which is 5/8" according to the link Cadillac sent. I don't know why it would be the wrong size. But I also don't know why I have an AT545 transmission when I specifically bought a bus that was advertised as having an Allison 2500.

I think I'm most inclined to just buy both sizes and see which one fits when it arrives.

I just followed the advice of people in this thread and on Reddit. I took the hoses to the mechanic and asked for duplicates. That's what he did. I didn't know there was an option to re-use the old fittings.

I thought the problem was the fitting on the transmission not the hose. I would take the fitting off the trans to look at it and get a replacement if it is.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

bama bus.
the issue is.
for the OP. you might have the correct fitting for your line if the shop matched them and the threads on your elbow connection are mucked up.
just looked 3 min ago at my 545 transmision and i dont have elbows like that?
but could be make and model specific.
do you know exactly what transmission you have?

[BamaBus]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

bama bus.
the issue is.
for the OP. you might have the correct fitting for your line if the shop matched them and the threads on your elbow connection are mucked up.
just looked 3 min ago at my 545 transmision and i dont have elbows like that?
but could be make and model specific.
do you know exactly what transmission you have?

I think we are on the same page. The trans fitting looked like threads were bad. I thought that if he took the fitting off the trans to inspect he could get a better idea of the fitment issue with the hose. I am not sure if the thread pitch and spacing are the same on a pneumatic and hydraulic flare fittings. So earlier when I asked about HD I was unsure if they would have the correct fitting. Are you asking me what trans I have? I did note earlier that I just bought a bus Friday with the same Weller reman but I also have it plumbed differently. It's too bad that he bought a bus with a 545 when it he was thinking it was a 2500. I believe in an earlier thread he said he was getting it from a dealer. If so, the dealer should make it right.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Originally Posted by Beeb

Yeah... I'm not sure where the confusion is. I get that it's supposed to be JIC8. But the mechanic did say it was a #10, which is 5/8" according to the link Cadillac sent. I don't know why it would be the wrong size. But I also don't know why I have an AT545 transmission when I specifically bought a bus that was advertised as having an Allison 2500.

I think I'm most inclined to just buy both sizes and see which one fits when it arrives.

I just followed the advice of people in this thread and on Reddit. I took the hoses to the mechanic and asked for duplicates. That's what he did. I didn't know there was an option to re-use the old fittings.

take the elbow out. take it and the new line back to whoevere made youre line.
once you get it out look at it if its messed up you buy a new one if its not take it and your new hose back to where it was bought with elbow in hand.
not hard to say an 8 or 10 just by looking but then again its not hard too crossthread something if you dont know what a bolt or nut. flared fitting and many more feels like when they are cross threaded.
I FEEL LIKE YOU are just not holding your tongue right?
patience is key in a mucked up spot even when you know what you are doing.
i do threaded pipe for a living and sometimes when i can not get a threaded piece to start? (alignment is the most important) and i know both threaded pieces are golden i turn the fitting or pipe opposite of tightening until i hear a click then i know the two mating surfaces are near each other and ready start.
if you know your hoses and fittings are correct then just use some patience
to work with it.

[turf]

when i added a trans cooler, i believe the fittings that worked were AN.

it was an #8 or 10 AN fitting

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

take the elbow out. take it and the new line back to whoevere made youre line.
once you get it out look at it if its messed up you buy a new one if its not take it and your new hose back to where it was bought with elbow in hand.
not hard to say an 8 or 10 just by looking but then again its not hard too crossthread something if you dont know what a bolt or nut. flared fitting and many more feels like when they are cross threaded.
I FEEL LIKE YOU are just not holding your tongue right?
patience is key in a mucked up spot even when you know what you are doing.
i do threaded pipe for a living and sometimes when i can not get a threaded piece to start? (alignment is the most important) and i know both threaded pieces are golden i turn the fitting or pipe opposite of tightening until i hear a click then i know the two mating surfaces are near each other and ready start.
if you know your hoses and fittings are correct then just use some patience
to work with it.

Yeah - I took that same approach with the other end of one of the hoses. I couldn't get it to connect to the radiator, but when I reverse-turned it until I heard a click, then I could get it to go. I tried that with this one, but I never heard that click. It's possible I'm just not aligned right. It's a very tight space and I don't have great access. I will go back out today and try the things mentioned in this thread.

[cadillackid]

you bring up a good point.. 5/8 vs 1/2, I know my hose is 5/8 , for some reason i thought the JIC fitting was 1/2, but now maybe I need to get one of my leftover fittings out and measure it, i think you are right that it should be 5/8 on the JIC side and #8 on the ORB side.



so I looked up what I ordered from grainger when I swapped out the last transmission and I infact did order a 5/8 on the JIC side..


Good catch!!!



-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Beeb

Yeah... I'm not sure where the confusion is. I get that it's supposed to be JIC8. But the mechanic did say it was a #10, which is 5/8" according to the link Cadillac sent. I don't know why it would be the wrong size. But I also don't know why I have an AT545 transmission when I specifically bought a bus that was advertised as having an Allison 2500.

I think I'm most inclined to just buy both sizes and see which one fits when it arrives.

I just followed the advice of people in this thread and on Reddit. I took the hoses to the mechanic and asked for duplicates. That's what he did. I didn't know there was an option to re-use the old fittings.

In the last couple years its VERY common for sellers to not want to admit the trans is a 545. We've even had forum members guilty of misrepresenting what they're selling. BUYER BEWARE. Until 2003 the vast majority of buses have 545's.

[Beeb]

UPDATE:

Got the fitting out. Not too hard. The threads were mangled to death. It had clearly been cross-threaded. I don't know if I did it or whoever put the hose on before me. I tried cleaning up the threads, but I don't have any good tools for it, and it was in pretty bad shape.

I took the fitting to the mechanic who made my hose to see if he had the part on hand. He didn't. But he confirmed the size. As Cadillac just said, it is a #10 JIC (5/8") and #8 ORB (1/2"). I ordered the new part on the site Cadillac sent for overnight delivery. Hopefully will have this mess finished tomorrow... Thanks again to everyone who has helped me! This would have cost me a TON of money without you all!

[Beeb]

FINAL UPDATE:

Got the new part in on Friday. I was able to install it and connect the hose immediately. I turned the bus on, and NO LEAKS!!!

I had to put 3 gallons of trans fluid in before it was full again, but we were finally back up and running. We drove the 100 miles we had to go and got to our new land, where the bus will likely remain parked for quite some time (if not forever). I noticed a clacking sound from the engine compartment, which sounded like a bearing about to go bad... which is annoying because I had the exact same problem just a few months ago, and they said they fixed it... But I just pushed through it and drove here anyway. We made it, and now we're setting up our little homestead! Thank you to everyone who helped us out! You really saved our butts!

[Miss Mercedes]

This thread has already helped someone else!

The 3800 I picked up last night sprung a leak somewhere along the drive. It's not nearly as bad as yours was but bad enough to leave the ground damp under the transmission. Just aimed a flashlight at the transmission and bam, leaking from the fitting. Looks like an easy enough first fix!