Just bought my second bus

[Mrtoad25]

I just bought this 2006 freightliner Thomas built Bus. It has a cat C7 motor with 214900 miles on it, and 9000 hours. I flew to Phoenix and picked it up after I won it on auction site for 3k dollars and drove it 10 hours back to Reno.. Can anyone tell me what transmission is on this Bus here is a picture of the serial plate. .

[ewo1]

Allison 2500PTS

[Mrtoad25]

Originally Posted by ewo1

Allison 2500PTS

Thank you for the info.

[Drewser]

Curious where you picked it up here in Phoenix. Any idea what school it was working for? I know Apache Junction has been unloading some of those. Again, just curious

[Mrtoad25]

This bus was owned by Chandler school District. I won it through all surplus. The school district use some Bus place on Claremont Street to sell it for them and they put it on all surplus I guess.

[Drewser]

Originally Posted by Mrtoad25

This bus was owned by Chandler school District. I won it through all surplus. The school district use some Bus place on Claremont Street to sell it for them and they put it on all surplus I guess.

Nice. We do have a lot of good busses out here...seems like the schools sell them with lots of life left. And they are almost all rust free! Nice find.

[cadillackid]

thise FS65's, some of the best busses built... getting a running driving one form a rust-free area for 3K is a definite WIN!!

[Mrtoad25]

Do you know if this is a six speed transmission?

[desrtdog]

Originally Posted by Mrtoad25

Do you know if this is a six speed transmission?

It is a 6-speed transmission, although may be locked at 5…if needed, you can get the TCM reprogrammed to 6…

[Mrtoad25]

Originally Posted by desrtdog

It is a 6-speed transmission, although may be locked at 5…if needed, you can get the TCM reprogrammed to 6…

I was reading up on it yesterday. I don’t know if it’s worth it but also this bus had no problem doing 70 miles an hour coming back from Phoenix. I guess I’ll have to count the shifts next time I drive it.

[desrtdog]

Originally Posted by Mrtoad25

I was reading up on it yesterday. I don’t know if it’s worth it but also this bus had no problem doing 70 miles an hour coming back from Phoenix. I guess I’ll have to count the shifts next time I drive it.

Do you know what gearing you have in the rear? If so, with that and tire size, can calculate the theoretical rpm’s at various speeds in 5th and 6th….ratio in 5th is 0.74 and 6th is 0.64…

[Mrtoad25]

Originally Posted by desrtdog

Do you know what gearing you have in the rear? If so, with that and tire size, can calculate the theoretical rpm’s at various speeds in 5th and 6th….ratio in 5th is 0.74 and 6th is 0.64…

How would I find out what gearing I have in my rear end it looks like they put a brand new rear end in this bus as well.

[desrtdog]

Originally Posted by Mrtoad25

How would I find out what gearing I have in my rear end it looks like they put a brand new rear end in this bus as well.

Couple of ways - it may be on a data plate on the inside of your bus (photo below shows the plate for my bus), or alternatively, it should be stamped on the differential housing…(you’re looking for the rear axle ratio - something like 5.29, 5.38, etc…)

Also, what size are your tires?

[cadillackid]

2006 may or may not be 6 speed capable.. it was a transitional year.. depends on when the bus was built.. late 06 likely would be.. early 06 it may still have a 2005 model chassis.. school bus chassis often lag behind the body/title model year..

[desrtdog]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

2006 may or may not be 6 speed capable.. it was a transitional year.. depends on when the bus was built.. late 06 likely would be.. early 06 it may still have a 2005 model chassis.. school bus chassis often lag behind the body/title model year..

I was under the impression that all of the 2500 PTS transmissions were 6-speed capable, although maybe not programmed as such. Is there a way to tell from the Allison website what is available?

[Mrtoad25]

So it wasn’t on the manufacturer plate on the bus I had to look on the rear end itself, I took a picture of it. Looks like it’s 5.12 and it is only five speeds. I’m at around 2300 RPMs at 65 mph. Would it be worth it to unlock six gear change the ratio to a 4.7 or whatever would that make a huge difference?

[Mrtoad25]

This is the data plate.

[cadillackid]

no idea how fast you are looking to travel but if you in fact have a 6 speed capable transmission.. (you need to look for the TCM and see if it has a single large connector into it or if it has 2 smaller connectors).. the single large connector into the transmission TCM (follow the large wire harness that comes out of the back of the transmission).. means its a 4th gen 6 speed capable.. if the TCM has 2 smaller connectors then you only have 5 speeds.. but youd likely drop to about 2100 RPM at 65 with your current gears and 6th gear... im n ot sure id gear up any further in the rear.. at 65 thats not a bad RPM..

[Mrtoad25]

Thanks for responding. I will look into that and check what wires I have. I’m gonna take the bus in and have them service the engine so I’ll talk to them about unlocking sixth gear if it does have it.