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Old 11-07-2007, 01:54 PM   #1
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I posted earlier that I was attempting to get a M3 service quote from Transwest, the local Oasis Freightliner dealer in the Denver, CO area. They told me they had never performed a M3 and would have to price it according to the hourly rate.

I sent Transwest the M3 servoce checklist that Gaffney uses, asking for a quote of the same service items. Today, I received their price quote of $1,684.50.

Gaffney will do this same service for $1,100.

What are your thoughts? Am I being ripped off or is this a reasonable price difference considering labor rates, etc.?
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Old 11-07-2007, 01:54 PM   #2
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I posted earlier that I was attempting to get a M3 service quote from Transwest, the local Oasis Freightliner dealer in the Denver, CO area. They told me they had never performed a M3 and would have to price it according to the hourly rate.

I sent Transwest the M3 servoce checklist that Gaffney uses, asking for a quote of the same service items. Today, I received their price quote of $1,684.50.

Gaffney will do this same service for $1,100.

What are your thoughts? Am I being ripped off or is this a reasonable price difference considering labor rates, etc.?
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Old 11-07-2007, 02:14 PM   #3
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Rex - it is a little on the high side, but if you drive a few hundred miles to go to another FTL shop, you have to factor in 400-500 bucks worth of fuel.

What is their hourly rate? Are they going to bill you actual hours and parts? Is the $1684 quote a firm price regardless of how long the service actually takes?

How many labor hours did they figure - do you know? FTL in Tolleson said M3 service takes a full day. To me that's 8 hours times $110 plus some parts.
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Old 11-07-2007, 02:40 PM   #4
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I have found the prices in Gaffney to be much more reasonable than the prices in the Jersey area. Its best to schedule your service while on an extended trip when you are in area if possible.
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Old 11-07-2007, 06:11 PM   #5
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I would call around to other shops in the area , just to compare. Never did an M3 ?
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Old 11-07-2007, 06:32 PM   #6
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The only problem is that Transwest is THE place in the Denver area for Freightliner service.
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Old 11-07-2007, 07:14 PM   #7
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The closest Oasis dealer outside Denver is Amarillo (426 miles) or Albuquerque (440 miles).
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Old 11-08-2007, 01:37 AM   #8
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You have to remember that at Gaffney, they do this service over and over again and probably can do it blind folded. They are very proficient at what they do.

At many dealers they don't know what a M3 is and they have to fumble their way through the service. This is why you can expect some price difference... Good Miles
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Old 11-08-2007, 12:17 PM   #9
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Bang on Ichn. We had our Year One service done on our Journey at Gaffney and were VERY pleased. Just a bit over $500 which included switching from Dexron to TranSynd and the 2 tranny filters. We came away feeling they were very fair and as you say it is all second nature to them. We highly recommend them based on our experience and if we had a FTL chassis we'd make sure we dropped in for service on the way home from FLA in the spring.
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Old 11-08-2007, 02:01 PM   #10
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I learned today that $685 of the M3 cost is draining and flushing the transmission, refilling with synthetic oil. Do you think flushing is necessary when the tranny oil is changed?
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Old 11-08-2007, 03:10 PM   #11
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LK23-- first thing is to verify your coach transmission is filled with TranSynd oil. If it is (and I believe it is) then your service interval is 36 months/75k miles to replace the primary and secondary filters, and then 48 months/ 100k miles for the fluid.

Considering the above, I would be willing to bet that you are not due for the transmission service yet. Maybe you can put it off 1 more year. Then go to your Allison dealer for this service (or to Gaffney).

If you don't know what's in the tranny, call FL. Give them the last 6 digits of your VIN, and they will tell you what's in there.
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Old 11-08-2007, 04:03 PM   #12
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Pusherman,

Thanks for the reply. My tranny was partially filled with TranSynd and later topped off with non TranSynd when new. At 5,000 miles I had the tranny serviced. They changed the filters and topped off the oil. So I have a mix of TranSynd and non TranSynd.

My coach is three years old and has 24,000 miles. The service manual says to change the oil at 25,000 or 12 months, so I am due. After the change to TranSynd, I can go 36 mths or 150,000 miles.

It still seems that $685 is way too expensive to have the tranny oil changed.
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Old 11-08-2007, 04:24 PM   #13
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LK23:
Pusherman,

Thanks for the reply. My tranny was partially filled with TranSynd and later topped off with non TranSynd when new. At 5,000 miles I had the tranny serviced. They changed the filters and topped off the oil. So I have a mix of TranSynd and non TranSynd.

My coach is three years old and has 24,000 miles. The service manual says to change the oil at 25,000 or 12 months, so I am due. After the change to TranSynd, I can go 36 mths or 150,000 miles.

It still seems that $685 is way too expensive to have the tranny oil changed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

LK23, I suggest you contact Allison Warranty Admin and determine your warranty status. If you look at your warranty documentation you should find that you must have TranSynd to qualify for the 4 year warranty. If you did not have 100% TranSynd when new (and like Pusherman I too figured you'd have TranSynd as Winnie should have been having FL fill all 3000 MH units with TranSynd by the 2005 model year)then you only get 2 years unless you convert. Conversion from Dexron III to TranSynd required 2 changes to qualify.

If they still require another change (and 2 more filters) using TranSynd within a year after the first it will bump your cost even more. Given what Gaffney charged us IMO $685 is very high.

Don
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Old 11-08-2007, 04:30 PM   #14
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Thanks for the reply. My tranny was partially filled with TranSynd and later topped off with non TranSynd when new. At 5,000 miles I had the tranny serviced. They changed the filters and topped off the oil. So I have a mix of TranSynd and non TranSynd. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Despite what the Freightliner chassis manual says, our 2005s were completely filled with TranSynd. Unless the non-TranSynd was added at your 5000 mile service you should still be 100% Transynd.
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Old 11-08-2007, 06:32 PM   #15
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How does a person find out what exactly is in the transmission? My manual says it was partially filled with TranSynd and later topped off with non-TranSynd. My 5,000 mile service says the filters were changed and the oil level topped off. It doesn't state what kind of oil.
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Old 11-09-2007, 01:46 AM   #16
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As suggested by others, call Freightliner Customer Service, ask them the questions you are asking here. If they don't satisfy you ask for Mike Cody, getting the right info from the horses mouth is much more than just taking our opinions.

Seems to me at one time Allison did not recommend flushing the tranny,,but what do I know?
Things change and maybe you can get a straight answer from Freightliner/Mike Cody..Good Luck
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Old 11-09-2007, 03:03 AM   #17
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ichn2go:
As suggested by others, call Freightliner Customer Service, ask them the questions you are asking here. If they don't satisfy you ask for Mike Cody, getting the right info from the horses mouth is much more than just taking our opinions.

Seems to me at one time Allison did not recommend flushing the tranny,,but what do I know?
Things change and maybe you can get a straight answer from Freightliner/Mike Cody..Good Luck </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ichn, you are absolutely right. Last night I was going to paste in an extract from the 3000/4000 MH manual that says "don't flush" but figured I didn't want to get into that again. I think there might be a distinction here between flushing the system and flushing the oil cooler.

LK, download this doc from Allison as I think you will find it VERY interesting. The term flushing machines used in previous versions has been deleted and replaced by "purging machines" so what that means I don't know.

I haven't meantioned that I went through months of headache on the Dexron/TranSynd issue. They cut off the 5 year warranty based on date of purchase of the MH. Our manual and the material delivered with our 04 Journey said 5 years. Allison said NO - 2 years. I finally got Allison, Freightliner and Winnie together and when I explained the class action risk they made the change to date of transmission manufacture and serial number.

Frankly, I thought Winnie had ordered with TranSynd for the 05 models and if they did you will find a Tag on the tranny filler pipe that said TRANSYND very clearly. If it is not there then either it fell off or they used Dexron.
Allison 1099C

Good luck.

Don

ps. Out of this ordeal I developed a good relationship with the Allison folks and have found them very helpful. In appreciation for what I went through then sent me a box of Allison goodies that I've really enjoyed (Allison hats, tool and electrical bags, pen, diary for the MH, etc).
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Old 11-09-2007, 03:38 AM   #18
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Shadow:
--snip--
Frankly, I thought Winnie had ordered with TranSynd for the 05 models and if they did you will find a Tag on the tranny filler pipe that said TRANSYND very clearly. If it is not there then either it fell off or they used Dexron.--snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Our Horizon is an '05 (chassis build date of Feb '05)and we do have a TranSynd sticker.
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Old 11-09-2007, 05:56 AM   #19
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU

Your responses were VERY helpful.

I called Freightliner this morning and verified that I have TranSynd in my transmission. I called Allison and found that if I had both filters changed at 5,000 miles (I did), my next interval is 48 mths (another year from now). Bottom line: I don't need my tranny serviced now and it saved me $685 on my M3 service cost. Plus, when I service the tranny next year it will be filter change and not oil change.

I also learned that Allison does not recommend that the tranny be flushed when the oil is changed. They said draining and re-filling is sufficient. When I thought I needed an oil change, Transwest insisted on flushing. Buyer beware.
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Old 11-09-2007, 10:20 AM   #20
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Glad things worked out ,,,,Good Miles
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