T444e At545

[Kstjarre]

Hello everyone, I just acquired a 97 3800 bus with the t444e and the At545. I have a little experience with this transmission by driving our tc2000 blood mobile for a few years and never had an issue with holding it to the floor on 50-100 mile trips. I know the reputation this transmission gets for skoolie conversions but my main question is this. Although I know it will be slow just like the TC2000, has anyone had good luck driving this combo long distance until they had money to upgrade the trans? I would like to focus on building the interior for a bit and bring in the slow lane all the time won’t really bother me. Any good input would be great, I already know the issues and design of this transmission. Thank you

[s2mikon]

Install a transmission temperature gauge, auxiliary oil cooler and keep the rpm's up and it will last a long time. I have had 2 of them over the years and never had any problems.

[Kstjarre]

Thanks for the reply, those items are definatly top on the list. I live in SC but have family in CT and I plan on taking the bus up there a few times a year. I’m hoping with some of the long hills in Virginia and PA that it will be fine with the cooler just slow going.

[cadillackid]

my personal experience.. I made quite a few Ohio to florida and back round trips.. as well as into new york and West virgina /virginia/ carolinas mountains before mty AT545s (1 in each of 2 busses) gave up...



I have zero idea what the care of these units were prior to me getting the busses.. but they were in service in flat areas of the country...



putting on a gauge and a cooler will help for sure..



I wouldnt necessarily trek a lot of trips across the cascades or the rockies in hot summer weather with a 545 but flat or smaller mountain ranges it will work OK ( as good as a 545 can).. until you can decide what to change it out with

[Kstjarre]

This bus is from Georgia so it was in service in a relatively flat area. I do plan on swapping it out eventually but the good thing is I have found rebuilt at545s for under $500 if I need to throw another one in until I can do a mt643 or Allison 1000 swap. I’m hoping I can do some stuff inside the bus and be able to make at least a few trips with the trans that’s in it. I’ll be on vacation so speed isn’t really a factor lol.

[Kstjarre]

Update. I went to pick up the bus today 4 hours from home. I was roughly 230 miles through all kinds of terrain. It handled the mountains and hills better than expected and ran 65 on the flats at about 3/4 throttle. I’m sure that will change with the added weight of converting it but I was pleasantly surprised at the power on hills, I was expected to be at 35 and creeping along.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Kstjarre

Update. I went to pick up the bus today 4 hours from home. I was roughly 230 miles through all kinds of terrain. It handled the mountains and hills better than expected and ran 65 on the flats at about 3/4 throttle. I’m sure that will change with the added weight of converting it but I was pleasantly surprised at the power on hills, I was expected to be at 35 and creeping along.

my red one ran 70-72 with its AT545 and did decent on the hills prior , it just didnt like doing it over and over again.. however that trans gave me warning so I never got stranded.. it started acting wierd in its shifting and running warmer so I knew its days were numbered..



the other bus did "just break" which is unusual for a trans.. normally you get plenty of warning by monitoring patterns and fluid color as well as temp.. the DEV bus just went from 3 to 'N' as I traversed a freeway ramp.. never to move on its own again.. luckily it was 3 miles from home..



so you'll likely know if something is going wrong and can plan accordingly for it.. obviopusly assuming you dont do something like run it up a mountain with the trans temp gauge Buried.. they can and do break suddenly then but sensible use and you will be fine.. possibly for a good long time..

[Kstjarre]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

my red one ran 70-72 with its AT545 and did decent on the hills prior , it just didnt like doing it over and over again.. however that trans gave me warning so I never got stranded.. it started acting wierd in its shifting and running warmer so I knew its days were numbered..



the other bus did "just break" which is unusual for a trans.. normally you get plenty of warning by monitoring patterns and fluid color as well as temp.. the DEV bus just went from 3 to 'N' as I traversed a freeway ramp.. never to move on its own again.. luckily it was 3 miles from home..



so you'll likely know if something is going wrong and can plan accordingly for it.. obviopusly assuming you dont do something like run it up a mountain with the trans temp gauge Buried.. they can and do break suddenly then but sensible use and you will be fine.. possibly for a good long time..

I will definatly be monitoring it and a cooler+temp gauge will be added before I take it on any long trips. Local should be fine as it’s very flat where I live.

[HamSkoolie]

Where are these "long hills" and "mountains"? There must be different definitions east of the Mississippi.

In fact I was flying out of Andrews AFB one day and we hit some turbulence. The instructor said "that's mountain turbulence". When I asked what mountains he pointed to some little foothills and said those. I laughed quite a bit.
I did see a couple of hills in W Virginia but nothing I'd call long.


Then again I'm used to the stuff out here. Oh and that 15% grade in S. Dakota at Mt Rushmore..... OUCH

[Kstjarre]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Where are these "long hills" and "mountains"? There must be different definitions east of the Mississippi.

In fact I was flying out of Andrews AFB one day and we hit some turbulence. The instructor said "that's mountain turbulence". When I asked what mountains he pointed to some little foothills and said those. I laughed quite a bit.
I did see a couple of hills in W Virginia but nothing I'd call long.


Then again I'm used to the stuff out here. Oh and that 15% grade in S. Dakota at Mt Rushmore..... OUCH

There are a few steep and long grades on my route from Sc to Ct. The worst one is Probly going on 77 from NC into VA, it’s about 12 miles from bottom to top and back down with plenty of runaway truck ramps. PA has a few ups and downs on 81 also.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Where are these "long hills" and "mountains"? There must be different definitions east of the Mississippi.

In fact I was flying out of Andrews AFB one day and we hit some turbulence. The instructor said "that's mountain turbulence". When I asked what mountains he pointed to some little foothills and said those. I laughed quite a bit.
I did see a couple of hills in W Virginia but nothing I'd call long.


Then again I'm used to the stuff out here. Oh and that 15% grade in S. Dakota at Mt Rushmore..... OUCH

well Sorrrry mister man that us out east are low life compared to mister macho man out west.. but you can overheat your brakes going down hill for a few miles on an 8% or 1500 feet as you can on some big ole western mountain..



as you can burn up an AT545 on the same grade going up...



doesnt matter..



I have driven the stretch of I-77 many times both ways.. as Ive also drive the Monteagle a few times too.. both of those stretches along with Jellico mlountain on I-75 can be treacherous if you arent paying attention or have the wrong rig.. nope they may not live up to Ham;s ultra macho men-dont-cry mister big hill status but there have been many an accident along those stretches of road.. as well as ive personally seen a truck use a runaway ramp.. and seen more than one stopped on the runaway ramps.. so yes I want a rig built proper for mountainness travel..

[HamSkoolie]

It's not a macho man thing, it's an east/west of the Mississippi thing.



I'm sure there are some grades out there but I've been across the country 5 times and most of the way a few more times. I've also flown a lot of the east (below 10,000') and only saw what I'd call foothills.
Here in the west, just to get to my mothers house 400 miles away I have to go to at least 8,000 feet just to clear terrain. To the coast just 45 minutes away (by air) it's at least 5,000.
The highest airport east of the Mississippi is Ingalls Field in Virginia at a whopping 3,793 feet.

Out here in the west, our highest airport is 9,934 feet in Leadville CO. With standard pressure and a 72 degree day the density altitude is 13,000 feet (higher than the service ceiling of many small airplanes.


It's just geography and physics, not macho

[Johnthebusboy]

My GMC/BB came with the 545. And a 6.14:1 drive axle. The high rear differential gear ratio kept the engine spinning fast. So fast I could could go up 5% grades without down shifting.

The gauge you have to watch is the transmission temperature gauge.

The longest trip we made with the AT 545 was about 3,000 miles. I replaced the 545 after about 70,000 miles. It was tired. Long before this the 6.14 drive axle was replaced with a 4.11. In 3rd gear the new drive axle was as fast as the old axle was in 4th.

The transmission temperature gauge is your friend.

[Kstjarre]

Originally Posted by Johnthebusboy

My GMC/BB came with the 545. And a 6.14:1 drive axle. The high rear differential gear ratio kept the engine spinning fast. So fast I could could go up 5% grades without down shifting.

The gauge you have to watch is the transmission temperature gauge.

The longest trip we made with the AT 545 was about 3,000 miles. I replaced the 545 after about 70,000 miles. It was tired. Long before this the 6.14 drive axle was replaced with a 4.11. In 3rd gear the new drive axle was as fast as the old axle was in 4th.

The transmission temperature gauge is your friend.

The temp gauge and the cooler is definatly going in before my first major trip. I did crawl under the bus to drain the air tanks and I noticed it has a weller transmission in it so it has a rebuilt trans in it. I’m not sure how many miles are on it but it does shift really good and no slip uphills so Im thinking with a cooler I can get a few miles out of it.