PTO owners, how do you account for miles when servicing your transmission?

[Mikey P]

Do you count hours as miles, do you feel the fluid is getting enough abuse to warrant the early change?

Most mechanics I speak to feel that since no clutch plates/gears are being used that there is no contamination is being done so stick the the dash board mileage for service intervals.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

Ours are clutch drives so your V/AT may be different being trans mounted pto's. We go with the dash mileage, never had a trans fail. Our most used van has 250k dash miles, still going strong. I think use of the proper fluid is more important than a frequent change.

 

[bob vawter]

Ya boss...hate to say it...but the direct drive IS way better than the PTO off the trans...

way less wear on the trans and PTO...!

 

[GCCLee]

After a couple months hard running, I'll change the oil. If it's slow like now, I don't worry bout it much. Trans is currently going out, replacement is downstairs so, when It limps home I'll swap em : ) about every two weeks I'll inspect the tensioner

I do check the oil when getting fuel. Yea Im the guy at the pump wit his hood popped.

Dash Mileage I guess

 

[Desk Jockey]

Never had a tranny failure on CDS or Clutch drive either. Oil change for us is the bigger concern.

 

[Russ T.]

I have the oil change joint do mine @ every 1500 miles. They do lube, oil, filter for @ $24 and it takes 5 minutes. They have it set up so you remain in the vehicle while they do it. They have ESPN on to watch and serve coffee/tea/water. They also have a camera under the vehicle so you can see what's going on down there. It's awesome!


The Clean Machine

 

[bob vawter]

I have the oil change joint do mine @ every 1500 miles. They do lube, oil, filter for @ $24 and it takes 5 minutes. They have it set up so you remain in the vehicle while they do it. They have ESPN on to watch and serve coffee/tea/water. They also have a camera under the vehicle so you can see what's going on down there. It's awesome!


The Clean Machine

uhhh Russ...i'm not sure if i would want some brain dED high school dropout TOUCHING my source of income that feeds my family..
other than me of course!


jus sayin'

 

[GCCLee]

uhhh Russ...i'm not sure if i would want some brain dED high school dropout TOUCHING my source of income that feeds my family..
other than me of course!


jus sayin'

I used em to flush the crud outta this tranny I'm babying : ) told em touch my dip stick I'LL SLAP YOU!






They asked no questions after that an flushed the tranny, decent crew at best.

 

[GCCLee]

Never had a tranny failure on CDS or Clutch drive either. Oil change for us is the bigger concern.

Pretty sure this one had some beginning issues when I got it. Loudest ride ever when we drove it back from NJ, about 90 I was numb when we got home.

 

[Chris A]

I do my trans once a year. Everything is systemized at most oil change places so its pretty hard for them to fook it up.

 

[bob vawter]

damn man that is one 'spensive tranny too.....

i would shop boneyards for a low mileage replacement OR buy a wrecked truck that you can test drive...pull the trans..tuck the motor away and sell the carcass....
i always had a spare motor on a stand....

 

[Russ T.]

uhhh Russ...i'm not sure if i would want some brain dED high school dropout TOUCHING my source of income that feeds my family..
other than me of course!


jus sayin'

It's got to be this way while I operate out of my house. It's freezing cold and I have 2 full size vans crammed in my 2 car garage. It would be very difficult to just change the oil. Plus, maybe I'm being naive, but they're just changing the oil. I check my dipstick regularly so would be aware of a leak.


The Clean Machine

 

[bob vawter]

funny story......my wife USED to stop at a quick change place...
one time they FORGOT to put the oil BACK in........soooo
i dunno WTF was dumber...
them
or her for driving out with it knocking.....







she can't see this can she????

 

[GCCLee]

Low milage replacement on standby. Sitting on a pallet in the garage. Stuffed under a table.

 

[bob vawter]

were you around when i showed everbody how to rivet
quarter panels on....
i'm thinking this was the second..maybe third set of quarters that i put on this truck...
you can make a truck last almost forever..

 

[GCCLee]

Call u butch insteada Bawb : )





Nice work mcgyver

 

[Joe Appleby]

We rarely have a trany last longer than 75k with a CDS GMC combo.
Even with a trany cooler I can count on replacing them. Probably done 6 of them. 1 van is on its 3rd with 90k.



....

 

[Art Kelley]

I get my trans fluid changed on the 03 Express every year if I remember. Sometimes 1 1/2 years. Transmission runs fine after 120K mi and 10K hours of idle. It has a factory trans cooler. I did have to have the '87 GMC trans repaired after 35K miles and it was fine for another 200K miles and 20K hours on that pro1200.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

When it comes to vans Chevrolet = disposable. Crap through and through. Ford is not without their shortcomings but at least they try to blend cost effective with durability. Chevy provides a "better" design but should be sold at Harbor Freight.

 

[Chris A]

When it comes to vans Chevrolet = disposable. Crap through and through. Ford is not without their shortcomings but at least they try to blend cost effective with durability. Chevy provides a "better" design but should be sold at Harbor Freight.

That's funny I've heard the same said about Ford's re: transmissions. I have a feeling it has more to do with driving habits than anything.

 

[Jim Martin]

Ya boss...hate to say it...but the direct drive IS way better than the PTO off the trans...

way less wear on the trans and PTO...!

Yep..2 different animals...the direct drive guys are not using there tranny for power...they only need to do there regular tranny service...BUT...they really should do oil changes every 1500 mile instead of the normal 3000 because there van is sitting there idling....

The PTO...transmission take off's....what I would do is have the tranny serviced every other time you get your oils changed...your running diesel so every 4000 to 4500 miles is OK...and that includes your idle time...BUT...when you do the tranny..they will probably just suck the fluid out of the dip stick tube and just put fresh in....That's OK ...but every 3rd tranny service...take it in and have them pull the pan and replace the filter.....

OIL and service is cheap....break downs are expensive..........

 

[Russ T.]

My Cleanco 47 manual is 75 pages long and I have read almost all of it...but I still feel pretty clueless. I think I have a PTO, is that right? I bought it @ 6 months ago and really don't know how it was cared for. Help me out here guys. What would you do to get it in top shape? I don't want to over do it and throw $ out the window, but I don't want to miss something and hurt it's performance or longevity, which would also cost me $. Kansas City is almost 3 hours south. That's where my closest Cleanco Service is. Any help is really appreciated.


The Clean Machine

 

[Russ T.]

I guess PTO includes direct drive and clutch drive. Am I right here? I think I've got a clutch with a belt under the hood. The manual says to change the engine oil every month but says nothing, other than keeping an eye on levels, about changing trans fluid frequently. The thing is great so far but I haven't done hardly anything to maintain it. I don't even fully understand how the thing works. Maybe I'll take a bunch of pics to show you guys in Cali? Maybe I'm just WAY to slow with jobs right now and am over thinking this...


The Clean Machine

 

[Steve CGD guy]

There isn't much that needs to be done to the carpet machine itself when you have a clutch drive like yours is. Check the pump oil and grease the blower and U-joints on the drive shaft front and back regularly and you will be fine. The engine is way overpowered for what is needed to run the unit, the clutch can be the weak point of these systems along with the u-joints. Keep up on the scheduled oil changes and open the engine hood in the summer to let the heat escape and enjoy many trouble free hours of cleaning.

 

[GCCLee]

Bring ear plugs, I rarely shut up : )

 

[Russ T.]

Bring ear plugs, I rarely shut up : )

I can't imagine. ;-)


The Clean Machine

 

[JoeClean]

Thats pretty slick! My backup van is looking rough but I don't want to put a lot into it, you got any more pics on how you rivet panels on?

were you around when i showed everbody how to rivet
quarter panels on....
i'm thinking this was the second..maybe third set of quarters that i put on this truck...
you can make a truck last almost forever..

 

[bob vawter]

i did have a bunch....but im downsizin my photobucket..
it's soooo easy...
basically you jus hold the repair panel up to the truck and trim off anything on the truck that gets in the way.....
the repair panel should come cut to fit the body line.....
BUT..don't forget to prime the backside real good...or it will rust out in a year
each side should take an hour or so..easy peesy
i paid $600 for that truck in 1996 and sold it to CRASH when i sold my business in 09....
and that's all with the SAME Genie in it!

you know in Cuba...they use cars forever!