Swapping a Allison 2000 into T444e with at545

[Joyminer12]

Hello, I seem to be unable to find information on a transmission swap I need to do. My bus is a 1999 International 3800 with T444e and at545 trans. I have a 2000 5 speed Allison to put in it. Does anyone know who I can talk to about this conversion. I have a harness and controller out of the truck the new trans came from. It was supposed to be a t444e truck but wires don’t seem to match my bus. If I could get a stand alone harness that would help. The old speedometer is driven by a cable and the new trans is electronic. Throttle is electronic so how would it be connected to the trans? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

[WIbluebird]

RolesvilleMarina did a swap very similiar to what you're talking about doing.



I can't figure out how to tag users but you can search for his posts and/or DM him if you need details.

[cadillackid]

I did the swap also on a 99 IH3800.

What did your harness come off of?

As wi said rolesville did a similar swap..

Ultimately under the hood of your 99 up by the computer on the right side you will find a 3 pin wire connector that goes nowhere just hanging.. it will have a yellow/green/black wire thats a data link that goes back to the new TCM. That’s how throttle , engine load etc gets to your new allison..

I’ve never seen a cable speedo on a 99.. does your speedometer and cruise etc work? Usually the AT545 has a 2 pin connector on the top of the trans riggt at the rear and that’s your speedo ...

Is your bus hydraulic brake or air? If hydraulic did your new trans come with the drum and lever already attached?

Unless you get your ECM reprogrammed to say transmission type of “allison MD” then you will have downshift issues and cruise / speedo won’t work right.

I reprogrammed mine but then upgraded it to a 2004 engine ECM to solve those issues..

Rolesville marina had a whole donor bus and he swapped the engine ECM into the bus he put the new allison 2000.

[Joyminer12]

Thanks for the replies. To answer your questions cadillackid: I was told the harness I have came from a dump truck with a T444e that’s all I know about it. Bus has hydraulic brakes and new trans has the emergency brake drum attached.

[Joyminer12]

So you can swap ECM’s from 1999 to later year without problems?

[cadillackid]

Yeah it won’t hurt in fact in my case it helped my cold weather manners and transmission integration.. in 1999 the allison 2000 didn’t exist in fact WTEC IIi was brand new for the MD3060 which is why the empty connector exists so they didn’t quite have the communication algorithms perfected. I bought a 2004 ECM then programmed it for my parameters and it works great

[Joyminer12]

Who programs ECM’s? Can you send just the ECM or does it have to be installed in the bus? Thanks for your help!

[Joyminer12]

Ok I found the plug by the ECM it’s flat w/yellow,green,black wires. On my 2000 trans harness the plug is round but same colors. You are correct about the speedometer cable the 545 doesn’t have one. After comparing the 2000 harness to my bus I think it will work. I got confused since it has several plugs that appear to have nothing to do with the trans. So, looks like reprogram my TCM to match my bus, get 2000 or newer ECM have it configured, should be good?

[kazetsukai]

Oh man, please document your progress here as detailed as you are willing to. An AT545 -> 2000 swap is on my short list. Best luck.

[cadillackid]

well I just types a LONG reply out to tell you where the wires go.. but the forum page re-loaded automatically and erased every bit.. and i cant get it back.. so at some point when I get time ill have to start over..



anyway yes that 3 pin round connector will connect to the 3 pin flat connector that you found in the engine bay, the connector is a 3 pin METRIPAK connector, they can be bought online.. I have a whole bunch of them..



I know I also wrote out what the harness wires should be in rolesvillemarina trans swap thread.. you can see a play by play of a similar swap in my thread titled 'the Redbyrd Transformation' i did this 3 years ago.. albeit I used an allison 1000 and I did a lot of custom programming to make it integrate perfectly..



but you can see many ofthe steps involved though.. as a guide..

[Joyminer12]

Thanks for all your effort! I read through the documentation of your swap. Very informative. However, I am getting concerned about all the programming necessary. I’m not a computer wiz as you appear to be.

[cadillackid]

The only required programming is changing your engine computer to allison MD, abs resetting the final drive gear ratio ..

I had lots of programming as I wanted perfect integration with such modern ideas like auto downshift on cruise control, tap shifting etc

[Joyminer12]

I need to go to a dealer and have them change trans to MD. Got that but not sure what final drive to set. Also you said something about the speedometer pulses? I will also have to have the TCM reprogrammed to my vehicle as well?

[Joyminer12]

Also, how does the TCM get power?

[cadillackid]

some of the wires in your harness.. at the connectors if you pull the plastic tubibng back a little the wires often have circuit ID's printed on the wire insulation.. I can try and look those up for you.. there will be a BAT+ power, a ground or 2, and an IGN+ going to the TCM from dangling wires. unless the people who pulled the harness out saved every connector and every terminal without cutting anything.. then they are often pretty easy to identify but I think you said it came out of a truck instead of a bus?

[Joyminer12]

Ok I will look at the harness tomorrow. Yes the guy I bought it from thought a dump truck. I’m hoping that the TCM programming is close. My bus is 175hp, GVWR 27,000, 4.10 rear with 10r22.5 tires.

[cadillackid]

the TCM may have inhibits on it so it wont go into gear if it thinks the dump bed is not parked.. it prob has a PTO in it. you'll just need a PTO cover for that unless it has one on it..

[Joyminer12]

Trans has a plate over pto hole.

[Joyminer12]

My wires are numbered at the TCM plugs.

[demoman]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the TCM may have inhibits on it so it wont go into gear if it thinks the dump bed is not parked.. it prob has a PTO in it. you'll just need a PTO cover for that unless it has one on it..

i run dump trucks and you need to be able to drive back and forth with the bed raised so the load will come out.