Ultra Shift Problem

jjoerger · Feb 25, 2010

I have a 2006 Freightliner Columbia with the Mercedes MBE 4000and Eaton Ultra Shift transmission. 650,000 miles on it.
Recently I had a problem with the truck failing to go into 2nd gear when coming to a full stop. The truck would not move. I set the brakes, put on my 4 ways and kept trying to shift it from F to N to R to N to F. After about 2 minutes of doing this and reving up the engine a bit while in N it finally went into gear.
It has done this 3 times now. About a month apart.
Anyone know what causes this or how to fix it.
I am suspecting that the clutch brake is not engaging and that the clutch may need adjusting.

timexlgx · Feb 25, 2010

In order to give my 2 cents, need to ask..
Is it only 2nd gear?
Have you replaced the main clutch lately?

Auto trans always have self adjusting clutch, unless someone was playing smart, so no adjustment is needed.
(there was a clutch out there at one time called self-adjusting, but needed adjustemnt !?!?!?)
If UltraShift won't shift at ANY mileage, 1st thing to check is the main clutch. Second is loss of air on trans shifter.
And 3rd bad sol valve or XYZ shifter.
And of course, bad computer.

FYI. If you ever get stuck, have someone push/pull the truck for few feet, it tends to "move" the clutch from the "bad" position. it's the broken spring that is causing the problem.

jjoerger · Feb 26, 2010

The only time it does this is when coming to a full stop. All other up and down shifting works perfectly. It only seams to do this about every 50 to 100 full stops.
My local Freightliner dealer says it sounds like the clutch brake is not engaging so the input shaft is not stopping. Says I probably need a new clutch at a cost of $2900.
Will find out next week when I get it home and they can look at it.

timexlgx · Feb 26, 2010

Well, if dealer says clutch brake, it costs $150.
If new Clutch is needed, have small shop do it for about $1,900 in Chicago area. New Clutch brake disc included

jjoerger · Mar 4, 2010

The truck is now in the shop.
Clutch was worn out, pilot bearing is shot, input shaft is damaged from pilot bearing failure, and the flywheel is damaged from the springs in the clutch coming out and gouging the recessed area where they fit into when the clutch is engaged.
The owner of the shop gave me the option of replacing the flywheel as the mating surface was not damaged.
I decided to replace it while it was torn down because there is a good possibility that it could be out of balance. $450 for a used one.
I don't have the final bill yet but it looks to be over $3000.
I am having it done at an independent shop in North Florida

LDB · Mar 4, 2010

Did they say what, if anything, could be done PM wise or otherwise to avoid such an occurence?

jjoerger · Mar 4, 2010

LDB said:
Did they say what, if anything, could be done PM wise or otherwise to avoid such an occurence?

No, they didn't have any advice but the shop owner did say that it could be the original clutch with 650k miles on it. The pilot bearing actually wore out before the clutch. The clutch still had around 30% on it.
Total cost was $2918. I get it back tomorrow and back in service on Monday.

greg334 · Mar 5, 2010

650k on a clutch is pretty good and the pilot bearing should have been replaced maybe at 400k to be safe.

How bad were the gouges?

Could the flywheel been ground?

Are you going to replace the harmonic balancer too?

TeamCozumel · Dec 18, 2010

jjoerger said:
I have a 2006 Freightliner Columbia with the Mercedes MBE 4000and Eaton Ultra Shift transmission. 650,000 miles on it.
Recently I had a problem with the truck failing to go into 2nd gear when coming to a full stop. The truck would not move. I set the brakes, put on my 4 ways and kept trying to shift it from F to N to R to N to F. After about 2 minutes of doing this and reving up the engine a bit while in N it finally went into gear.
It has done this 3 times now. About a month apart.
Anyone know what causes this or how to fix it.
I am suspecting that the clutch brake is not engaging and that the clutch may need adjusting.

We just experienced the same issue with the same model described above only our mileage was around 450,XXX. Replaced most of the above and had the fly wheel turned. Total was around $3,700 in Lancaster, PA (Freightliner).

On a side, the hourly rate in Lancaster is $120. If you're ever in the Fort Wayne area, have your clutch checked at Stoops as I believe the shop rate there is considerably less.