High Torque and Transmission life
- By Bruce Mallinson
- Published 11/10/2005
- Driving
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Bruce Mallinson
I started writing in 1992 for the Trucking Industry. My career in this industry started in 1969 at the young age of 19. I have been developing high performance diesel engines for the past 28 years. Please visit my web site @ http://www.dieselinjection.net
View all articles by Bruce MallinsonAs a reader of 10/4 Magazine do you enjoy the feeling of TORQUE from your engine? If you do than why does this word concern so many Owner-Operators with 60 Series Detroits? Owner-Operators with Caterpillar and Cummins Engines just don’t seem to be as concerned about adding torque to their engines. What engine you’re running really isn’t necessarily the issue when it comes to torque. Owner-Operators must understand that when the horsepower is increased in an engine the torque also increases. However it is very seldom necessary to use all of the power that is available to you. Here is a rule for the entire trucking industry and holds true for the readers of 10/4. Sharp Owner-Operators DO NOT have transmission problems related to TORQUE. Company drivers are a different story. They will floor board the throttle and use all of the power the engine will develop from starting out and going up through the gears. Owner-Operators do not. Even pulling sleds at truck pulls, using engines that are built to 900 horsepower and 3000 pound feet of torque in front of 12-5-13 speed transmissions which are rated for 1200 foot pounds of torque and they still don’t have transmission problems.
My brother Brian Mallinson, at the age of 44, started driving an 18-wheeler. The first time I took him up the interstate I said to myself this poor transmission will never last with him. He was a rookie and never had the opportunity to drive a Class 8 truck. A 444 Cummins, which produced 1400 foot-pounds of torque and has a 14-6-13-speed transmission, power his 1990 Marmon and the engine was stock for the first year. The second year we increased the flow to the injectors, installed the duel fuel line kit, FASS system and reworked the fuel pump. The 444 Cummins now produces 700 horsepower and 2200 foot-pounds of torque. By rights the 1400 series Eaton transmission should never stand up to this engine. However this truck runs so good that all the driver has to do is move the throttle ½ inch and the loaded semi moves along effortlessly. And, over the long haul, this transmission has only had a bearing kit installed in it at slightly over 1 million miles. When you have a great running truck, you will use less power to start out and to keep the load moving at 65 mph or what ever your given speed is.
Remember when the K Series Cummins Engines were released? That was back in 1974 and the strongest transmission back then was a 12-5-13 speed. 600 horsepower and 1150 cubic inches put out way more torque than 1200 ft. lbs. and we did not have transmission issues back then. If you use the power to keep the load moving at highway speeds, the torque is not a factor as to the life of the transmission. Now if you’re a heavy hauler, with excessive power, you must use the power wisely. This past summer, Sunbelt CCH Inc. moved the largest load I have ever seen? It was a missile launching pad and the gross weight of the pad and rig was 504,000 pounds and was 304 feet long. Sounds impossible. There were 29 axles under this load using remote control steerable dollies. A 379 Peterbilt, powered by a 550 Caterpillar with a Pittsburgh Power Performance Computer and driven by JR Nutting, was used to pull this load. A 359 Peterbilt powered by a 425 B mechanical Caterpillar was also pushing the load. That’s right, it took 2 tractors to move this load and it took 2 months to go from Cape Canaveral, Florida to San Diego, California. At times this rig moved at 55 mph and no transmission failures. If you would like to see this rig it is on their web site at www.sunbeltcch.com.
Please remember this: Horsepower and torque, properly used, will never hurt the driveline of today’s trucks. Anything can be beaten into the ground. Its up to you the driver to keep it ALIVE! Start out easy, roll into and out of the throttle and, even when you’re accelerating at highway speeds, apply the throttle with ease. If you roll smoke from your stacks you are pushing too hard on the throttle!