-
Spending the day at American Fleet Diesel Service
I had the pleasure of going to AmericanFleet Service in Springfield MO on Thursday. The repair was to change out my speedometer sensor on the Allison transmission, one of 3 sensors. This one is located near the output tail shaft.
Meeting Bob (owner) Brian and Danny I was encouraged to tour the entire shop. From the NAPA days I have been in 100s of repair shops and this one is on the list as outstanding in well organized and clean. There was no place in the entire shop where I saw trash.
In the photos you can see engines in stages. Most engines ae rebuilt tested and shipped out. Some change overs are done in house but Springfield, MO. The speciality is Detroit Diesel and Series 60 is the staple of there business. They have rebuilt not 100s but 1000s and shipped all over the world.
Parts sandblaster….on the right is the steam clean area, photo unclear..operator error
Stocking Allison Transmissions and parts
Engine assembly area rows of parts
Rebuilt S-60 in Dyno room. Every engine is tested after assembly
Hooked up Series 60 for Dyno testing. This engine will run on this cradle and stress tested (Dyno). Keep in mind this engine is connected to coolant, fuel, filled with oil, exhaust, electrical and securely bolted in place to run at high RPM.
Short blocks of S-60..engine blocks without heads
Gasket rack
Series 60 block showing placement of upper main bearings in place. The crankshaft will then be placed on top, lower main bearings set , caps installed.
Engine blocks and crankshafts ready. Note shrink rap to protect components.
engine blocks and cylinder heads…note care to protect parts
Assembly of a 6V92TI Detroit Diesel complete engine with components when shipped will be ready to install. This engine will be Dyno tested before shipping.
Here is a Van Hool passenger bus. Built with a Cat engine and ZF transmission. In this case American Fleet will change the engine and trans installing a rebuilt S-60 DD and rebuilt Allison trans. I’am told the realiable S-60 /Allison is hands down the preferred power train. Operators run the Cat/ZF combo but rarely rebuild. Cost over the life of S-60/Allision reinstall makes this change over common in passenger buses. Brian also shared they are bidding on 8 buses change from a operator.
ZF trans hugh in comparison to Allison trans
Cat engine that was removed from VanHool. Will be sold to Cat rebuilder. Has been power washed.
Bob, (owner) asked that I encourage our members to call with engine questions. We have worked on the S-60 so long that understanding what works and what does’nt sets us apart from all other DD shops.
Thanks American Fleet, great tour in a very clean engine shop.
-
9 Replies
-
Al did you have a bad sensor? Or where you doing PM ( prevented matinance)
-
Peter,
I had a bad speedometer sensor which after the bus was backed in shop was changed in “14 minutes.
Speedometer dash needle would shake / wonder around in the 60-70 mph range.
Sensor is one of 3 in the Allison but the one that causes the shifting problem is up on bell housing area. This one is on tail output shaft. Common part change. Allison dealer had 30 each in stock.
Problem solved and cured. I’ll post a picture, left the old part in the bus.
-
Al,
We enjoyed hanging out with you even though it was only 14 minutes! We are glad that it was a minor repair. I wanted to add one picture to all of your great photos that you took during your visit. This is a picture of what our engines look like when they are ready to ship or install at our facility.
Ready to ship!
.
Ready to install
-
Brian: NONE of us ever want to see our engine/transmission package on a proprietary steel tube frame
pallet. But in a worst case scenario, we have comfort in knowing where to find you. -
Dick,
I’m not sure how to interpret your post?!? We ship our engines on steel tubing frames that we build ourselves that are bolt down for safe travel and and have never had a issue. When you refer to a “pallet” it sounds like you believe we ship $20,000 engines on a pallet made of wood and nails.
-
Brian: I used the term “pallet” generically to describe a device used as a base on which to fasten something for shipping. Please note the my italicized edit above.
When I was in the airplane business we regularly shipped and transported Pratt & Whitney 450hp R-985 radial engines on a pallet to which a wooden fixture with hold down bolts had been securely fastened. Worked pretty slick. I regularly hauled two engines on their fancy pallets in the back of a half ton pickup truck. At the time mid-1970s I was told a freshly overhauled engine was worth over $10,000.
You might want to post a picture of the steel tube shipping cradle that you use for the PC Forum members to see.
Keep up the good work!
-
Dick
I can do one better, I am bringing an engine with me to Jeff’s seminar as a show piece. I hope to see you there and we can inspect the tubing together over a piece of pizza!!
-
We attended the first seminar and aren’t planning on attending this one. As the seminars evolve, we’ll probably be attending another one and hope you’ll be there. If we get in your area, we’ll stop in.
-
We’re very happy to have American on board at PC and look forward to their participation at our seminar next week. Al’s visit confirms American is a first class engine company with many years of experience. I for one will be heading in their direction at the first sign of any engine issues.
Log in to reply.