automatic transsmition

eilatmar

New member
shalom helow you travelers...i rest my eays on a 92 1120 af mercedes for building an expedition truck. its got about 70.000 km . its got an automatic transsmition. what do you think ?automatic transsmition, is it an advantage or is it a disadvantage ? thank you for you ideas.
 

Neil

Observer
I am 2 years into South America now and have come across mos terrain.

My concern with the automatic is , does it have the ability to be held in each gear.

For example when climbing long steep inclines , possibly for hours on end , I need to hold the vehicle in the lower gears permanently to keep the revs high and the water tempreture low. Ie third gear at 2500 rpm . Otherwise it will overheat.

Would the automatic want to change up all the time.

If it can be held in first, second and third, I see no issues

Neil
 

DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Have had both over the years - back to GM's Turbo Hydromatic of the '70's. Assuming a decent transmission, either will work.

-- Auto can be better in soft sand, but you can learn to manage the clutch with care. Some autos have a "snow" mode which starts in second to reduce the torque. Some swear by it, others simply modulate the accelerator.

-- Auto is less work in traffic - a real issue with my 917 and arthritic knees!

-- Autos can be prone to hunting a bit on roller coaster roads (think Andes back roads). That is, you climb a grade and the trans upshifts at the top, when you want it to stay in gear for the descent. Modern transmissions often have a sport mode or tow-haul mode which will eliminate this problem. (Isuzu in Bolivia had the sport and Chevrolet in the Rockies had the tow-haul.)

-- Almost any modern auto can be locked into either a single gear or lower range of gears for long descents.

-- A modern auto transmission can spare the drive line - no jerks in the drive train even with a jerk behind the wheel.

-- All require maintenance - fluid changes, clutch adjustment/replacement, etc. A temp gauge and knowledge of the temps for your transmission is nice for rough use.

I don't know about Mercedes Benz auto trans, but on the 917, with a lot of traffic and a transmission two meters behind the steering wheel, I often dream of the lovely six speed Allison on my Chevrolet. (Wouldn't mind the 800 foot pounds of torque, either.)

Hope this helps.
 

eilatmar

New member
thank you all. i have just find out that the transsmition that i am talking about is a pneumatic alison. so , do you know any thing about it ? thanks.
 
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