That makes sense. I have thought about putting a 6 speed Allison in my truck. But in CA trucks only can go 55 legally. And my truck likes 58.
With that trans and its low gear you might run into issues with over torquing the drive train with a transfer case that has low range.
Maybe, yeah. 1st gear is 7.63:1 and with 6.17:1 axles, you would get some pretty low ratios with an even lower transfer case. Putting the truck into 1st gear makes it shudder - You have to do it manually, selecting "D" starts it in 2nd gear normally.
Range | 4060 | 4560 | 4070 |
1st | 3.51:1 | 4.70:1 | 7.63:1 |
2nd | 1.91:1 | 2.21:1 | 3.51:1 |
3rd | 1.43:1 | 1.53:1 | 1.91:1 |
4th | 1.00:1 | 1.00:1 | 1.43:1 |
5th | 0.74:1 | 0.76:1 | 1.00:1 |
6th | 0.64:1 | 0.67:1 | 0.74:1 |
7th | | | 0.64:1 |
Reverse | -4.80:1 | -5.55:1 | -4.80:1 |
You are correct in the 7 speed Allison which was an upgrade transmission. Apparently the Caterpillar CD7155 16 speed transmission was one of the originals transmissions. This is the one I was looking at some time back http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?auctionId=5659836 don't worry it ended years ago, it says it has an HT740, which is a 4 speed, my mistake........apparently they put a lot of transmissions in these trucks......
I think that GL made a mistake in listing that truck as having a HT740, it probably has a HD4070 or a HD4560. The 740 does not have an electronic pushbutton keypad. The M916A1s and A2s have the HT740 transmission, so maybe assumptions were made. The M915A3 and A4 have the 4560 transmission.
I kinda get the feeling that these Allison M916s with 4070s and air ride addons that myself, Soni, wehring, etc all own are perhaps early modifications vs the 916s that have come out lately with Allison transmissions in them. Our trucks are were modified prior to the April 2008 time period as part of some kind of testing by Northrup Grumman at Ft Irwin as part of the what they called the "Phoenix Team Ops Group." There are at least 7 of these trucks out there. Well, maybe 6 now with this project.
If anybody remembers those large long wheelbase Mack tractors at Barstow a few months back, these had the same markings and paint as our 916s, so maybe they were part of the same program.
These other M916s with 4070s or 4560s do not have the same air ride addons and have the dual digit Allison pushbutton green displays (WTEC IV) vs the single digit red displays of our 916s. (WTEC III) They also went way up in price since then. Okay, I've revealed enough secrets for one post.