NIGHTSTALKER FL70 with specer 7 speed Well to start off with I know if you are reading this you do have one of these peices of JUNK. WELL THE SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED.You can now have it replaced with a eaton 9 speed for about $4000.00 call Gary Tanner at 1-706-776-1679. I have two of the FL70's that have been change to the eaton 9 speed. Works good feels like a real truck now.try it you will like it :9
SPICER 7 SPEED HA HA !
- Thread starter RNOBLES1
- Start date
Two questions. First, were these running CAT 3126's. Second, can you replace the Eaton 6 speed with this 9 speed tranny? I do not have any particular problems with the 6 speed, but it would be nice to have a few more gears when traveling through PA and NY.
WEAVE: What's your opinion on this?
Thanks, and Drive Safe.
WEAVE: What's your opinion on this?
Thanks, and Drive Safe.
NIGHTSTALKER yes they were running 3126 cat's I dont see any reason why you can't change the 6 to a 9 you can call Tanner at the number I gave he can tell you more I can tell you that I didn't have to change the clutch and that the RPM'S for speed did not change 65 MPH about 1650 RPM'S
Freight_Shaker
Expert Expediter
i agree with having the extra range in gears in the fl 70 but if your only runnin 211 H.P in the mountains a fuller wont do you any good in my honest opinion :+
Being able to use an Eaton 9 speed is nothing new, and the business class trucks could be ordered from the factory with 9 or 10 speeds installed. It just wasn't done too frequently because of the extra cost, and impractical as most FL70 chassis wound up as city trucks where a big non-syncro was not necessary. Using a 9 or 10 speed non-syncro is a good idea in my opinion to replace a shot Spicer 7 speed or Eaton 6. I am going to take it, though, that the $4000 9 speed is a used transmission. No harm though, it will still be way better than the 7 speed Spicer. It will probably add a couple hundred pounds to the truck, too, something to keep in mind. If you drive team with your wife, she might not care for a non-syncro either.
-Weave-
-Weave-
Oh, no doubt I'd take a big 9 or 10 speed over those syncro jobs for a highway truck. One could almost make an FL70's powertrain feel like a highway job, especially when CAT 3126's are not torque monsters, you can downshift a bit more to keep the revs and HP up on the big hills. The 9 speed conversion is well worth the money when it costs the same $4000 to rebuild/replace a 6 or 7 speed syncro. The non-syncros take a little more skill and patience to shift though, and for that reason a lot of the chix out there don't care for them. They are happy to master the 6 or 7 speed as they shift much like the tranny in a car. The terms double-clutching or power-shifting are not in most of the expediter vocabulary.
One SHOULD be able to find a 9 or 10 speed to use with the little CAT's or Cummins to bump the highway RPM's down, but I don't know what models Eaton or Rockwell has that fit the small engine bolt patterns. With a 3.5x-3.9x rear and 9 or 10 speed the engine should only turn 1300-1400 RPM at 65 MPH. On the straight aways, that equals fuel savings. Also, knowing how to quickly downshift the non-syncro is a must if using a little engine with a big tranny. A CAT 3126 with only 700-800 ft/lbs on hand is probably going to do a whole lot of nothing in a high gear with hammer down on a hill even when downshifting a few gears- you have to keep the revs up, so you'll downshift a lot, which equals a lot of work. A big truck engine like an S60 has just about double a 3126's torque, and thus can pull away with little or no downshifts on a big hill with the 9 or 10 speed.
The conversion would be the right thing for you and I RYNOBLES1, but I'm not sure everyone out there running an FL70 with a syncro and small engine would like it too much.
-Weave-
One SHOULD be able to find a 9 or 10 speed to use with the little CAT's or Cummins to bump the highway RPM's down, but I don't know what models Eaton or Rockwell has that fit the small engine bolt patterns. With a 3.5x-3.9x rear and 9 or 10 speed the engine should only turn 1300-1400 RPM at 65 MPH. On the straight aways, that equals fuel savings. Also, knowing how to quickly downshift the non-syncro is a must if using a little engine with a big tranny. A CAT 3126 with only 700-800 ft/lbs on hand is probably going to do a whole lot of nothing in a high gear with hammer down on a hill even when downshifting a few gears- you have to keep the revs up, so you'll downshift a lot, which equals a lot of work. A big truck engine like an S60 has just about double a 3126's torque, and thus can pull away with little or no downshifts on a big hill with the 9 or 10 speed.
The conversion would be the right thing for you and I RYNOBLES1, but I'm not sure everyone out there running an FL70 with a syncro and small engine would like it too much.
-Weave-