At 7:39 this morning

The Enemy · Jan 31, 2012

At 7:39 this AM, at 512,090 miles, the transmission on our Sprinter went up to Trans Heaven. We had picked up a load and travelled 36 miles on 11W in TN just outside of Bean Station. We came to a red light, stopped and when we took off, we drove another 100 yards before the engine started free revving. Pulled over on the shoulder quickly and puit it in park, then reverse, then drive. Nothing, no movement. It was a good trans that treated me well and we travelled to a lot of cool places.

We are now in a hotel in Knoxvile and the Van is at Jim Cogdill Dodge. A trans from SilverStar is on its way here and barring no delays we should be back on the road thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

usafk9 · Jan 31, 2012

May she rest in peace.

OntarioVanMan · Jan 31, 2012

The Enemy said:
At 7:39 this AM, at 512,090 miles, the transmission on our Sprinter went up to Trans Heaven. We had picked up a load and travelled 36 miles on 11W in TN just outside of Bean Station. We came to a red light, stopped and when we took off, we drove another 100 yards before the engine started free revving. Pulled over on the shoulder quickly and puit it in park, then reverse, then drive. Nothing, no movement. It was a good trans that treated me well and we travelled to a lot of cool places.

We are now in a hotel in Knoxvile and the Van is at Jim Cogdill Dodge. A trans from SilverStar is on its way here and barring no delays we should be back on the road thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

Nick..Congratulations....a job well done....it served you well.....

cableguymn · Jan 31, 2012

she may rest for a bit... but she'll get new clutches, updates (if anything) and any broken/worn hard parts replaced.

Then she will end up in someone elses sprinter.

Good miles for the trans though. a 4L60E in a GM tends to go about half that.

sluggo · Feb 1, 2012

The Enemy said:
At 7:39 this AM, at 512,090 miles, the transmission on our Sprinter went up to Trans Heaven. .

Were there many other transmissions at the funeral?

ChrisGa23 · Feb 1, 2012

Haha slugo. Sorry about the transmission. Hope you get back on the road soon

Load One #188

paullud · Feb 1, 2012

It sucks that it happened while on a load but at least it gave you a lot of miles.

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OntarioVanMan · Feb 1, 2012

The #1 question in the sprinter world..have you changed out your tranny yet?
A close first...Done your EGR yet?

TSexpediter · Feb 1, 2012

Sorry to hear that but half million miles it's great for that trany .How much will cost to replace it ? Part and labor?

Jenny · Feb 1, 2012

The dealership quoted us almost 10k for a tranny from Dodge, 6k from Jasper, and we are paying $2544 from Silverstar, plus $300 of that will come back to us for the core. Then just installation.

OntarioVanMan · Feb 1, 2012

Jenny said:
The dealership quoted us almost 10k for a tranny from Dodge, 6k from Jasper, and we are paying $2544 from Silverstar, plus $300 of that will come back to us for the core. Then just installation.

I do believe that is where Steady Eddie got burned by 8K plus a few years ago....

Steady Eddie · Feb 1, 2012

Nick/ Jenny

The tec there, Joey, is very good. He had mine out and in less than four hours. However, that female service writer will roll it in sand and then broken glass and stick you!!!! Keep an eye on her.

They, that Dodge place there, charged me $500.00 to install mine. I have a little more miles than you and I'm on my third trans. Good job there.

Make sure to tell Joey, that the SS trans comes with about a gallon of fluid already in there. They overfilled mine in Memphis and had to drain it out. I also had to replace the Transmission control unit. It had transmisson fluid in it. It traveled up the wires from the tranny to the unit under the drivers seat. Leaking elec connector was the cause. I carry 3 of those with me, and have it changed out every second fluid change. ($10.00 part, saves you over 500 to replace the unit and have it re-programed).

I changed my last tranny out because it would shake rattle and roll between 40 and 55 mph. After that, it worked fine. More than likely it was just the tor convertor, but I was getting close to my next change, so I had it replaced just to be safe.

As you know now, these tranny's go without any warnning....

Steady Eddie · Feb 1, 2012

OntarioVanMan said:
I do believe that is where Steady Eddie got burned by 8K plus a few years ago....

LOL- over 9K for new one. Then, my next load ended me in Walton, KY. Met Jennys Mom and Dad there, while talking with them a guy comes up and ask me if I have heard of Sliver Star Transmissons out of Ok. No why? (@#$%^) oh they have tranny's there for Sprinters at 1,900 or so. Yeah, to little to late.

LisaLouHoo · Feb 4, 2012

So...tranny problems common in Sprinters? Are the replacement trans new or rebuilds? Asking for a good pal. Thanks.

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Jenny · Feb 4, 2012

LisaLouHoo said:
So...tranny problems common in Sprinters? Are the replacement trans new or rebuilds? Asking for a good pal. Thanks.

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Yes, Sprinters are quite notorious for them. A new one would cost you a crap ton. A dealer tranny was 10k installed, Jasper 6k. We went with Silver Star out of Oklahoma. Labor, shipping, hotel from Tuesday to Friday, rental car for a day and food $3326 before the $300 core return. All three came with a 3 year 100k warranty.

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OntarioVanMan · Feb 4, 2012

LisaLouHoo said:
So...tranny problems common in Sprinters? Are the replacement trans new or rebuilds? Asking for a good pal. Thanks.

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I'd have to disagree with Jenny somewhat....I don't think common would be the correct term to use.....our trannys normal like span so they say is between 350-450,000 miles....Mine went at 459k and Jennys beat me at 512K .dammit...LOL...I think Turtles just turned 400K.....every part has an expiry mileage ...

scottm4211 · Feb 4, 2012

The expiring without warning is what would make me mental.

westmicher · Feb 4, 2012

The good news is 512k miles. The bad news is it didn't last forever. I just hope our lasts as long!

Good luck with your new trans!

westmicher · Feb 4, 2012

The Enemy said:
At 7:39 this AM, at 512,090 miles, the transmission on our Sprinter went up to Trans Heaven. A trans from SilverStar is on its way here and barring no delays we should be back on the road thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

We're curious, did you change the fluid & filter like Mecedes recommends? I think it's every 120,000 miles or so. . .

Wolfeman68 · Feb 4, 2012

LisaLouHoo said:
So...tranny problems common in Sprinters? Are the replacement trans new or rebuilds? Asking for a good pal. Thanks.

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The trans from a dealer is usually new. The Jasper and Silverstar are remans. The weak link in sprinter trannys is the torque converter. Debris from the converter plugs the filter and the computer goes into limp in and the engine will flare.

The tranny case is completely sealed and can be tested using a special tool and an air pressure gauge. You increase the air pressure gradually and listen for the gears to shift. If you hear the all the shifts, the gear train is intact. You then flush the trans to verify there are no excessive metal shavings present. Some shavings are normal. If the flush results are good, you put a torque converter on and you're done.

How do I know this? 30 years with a wrench in my hand, 10 yrs of it rebuilding Allison trannys on transit buses, 20 in Chrysler dealerships with tech training classes on sprinters.

My three sprinters have 500 to 600k on them and they all have the original trannys in them. Two of them have had the TC replaced. Total cost of a TC replacement was $800 parts and labor.

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