October 2004 - Performance Zone
October 2004 - Performance Zone
The owner-operators and drivers that read 10-4 Magazine are special people. They love great running and great looking trucks. They take the time and put forth the effort to be original and make their trucks different from what the OEM’s deliver to the dealer. Two oil people from Corona, California also like to think differently, but from the others in the oil industry. They are Forest Lucas and his chemist Dell Findley from Lucas Oil Products. I want to share a story about what happened to me and how one of their great products saved my $4,000 automatic transmission.
This summer, I was traveling eastbound on I-70 in my 1995 Cummins-powered Dodge pickup and towing a 16' v-nose trailer. While cruising along at 70 mph, the automatic transmission shifted from 4th gear, which is overdrive, to 3rd gear. My initial thought was the throttle positioning sensor had went bad and that I would pick one up at the next town. So I turned off the cruise control, slowed down to 55 mph, and continued to drive the truck in direct gear. About three miles later, the transmission downshifted to 2nd gear - now I knew something was wrong. I put the shifter into neutral and coasted to the side of the interstate. I jumped out of the truck and noticed automatic transmission fluid pouring out of the front of the engine. In fact, the front of the trailer, the back of the pickup and the undercarriage was dripping with Lucas Automatic Transmission Fluid. Needless to say, I had that terrible feeling you get right in the stomach when you’re broke down on the side of the highway.
So on with the coveralls and under the
front of the truck I went. A hose coming from the transmission cooler had broke
right at the clamp. So I called 911 and they put me in touch with a local garage
that brought out a case of automatic transmission fluid to me. I cut the bad
section of the hose off and slid it back onto the fitting, installed the fluid
and was on my way down the highway. About three miles later, the same thing
happened (the transmission shifted from 4th to 3rd), so I immediately put it
in neutral and pulled over.
Looking under the truck, again I had a massive transmission leak. This time
the hose split wide open. Fortunately for me, the towing company that brought
the fluid to me was following me and called to his shop to bring some 1/2” hose
and more fluid.
Back on with the oil-soaked coveralls, under the front of the truck, fluid dripping everywhere, even in my hair. The mechanic from the towing company and I replaced the hose, put more fluid in the transmission, and once again I was eastbound in Kansas. Filled with generic fluid, my transmission had lost much of its crispness. This transmission is not stock - it is equipped with a Pro Torque torque converter, Level 10 transmission parts, and assembled by Mark Nolf of Nolf Chrysler Dodge in Fairmont City, Pennsylvania.
Upon returning to Pittsburgh, the generic fluid was drained and replaced with Lucas High Performance Semi-Synthetic Fluid and a quart of Lucas Stops Slip transmission additive. This transmission is now back to the way it was or just a bit better. When you put it in drive and hit the throttle, the 7,000 pound, 4-wheel drive, Cummins-powered Dodge comes to life. This pickup produces over 400 horsepower and 1,000 ft. of torque - and all of the lubricants are LUCAS. By the way, Forest Lucas says that you don’t have to use the Stops Slip with his transmission fluid however, after the punishment I put the unit through in Kansas, I just felt that more was better. Now on to some other issues.
Gary Soloway of Boise, Idaho has a hot running Mack, and I don’t mean power wise. His Mack engine runs hot on the exhaust gas temperature. Pulling a flatbed across Southern Illinois at 60 mph in 18th gear using 15 psi of boost at 1,350 rpm, his pyrometer was registering 1,100 degrees on the cold side. Add 300 degrees to that to compensate for the hot side, and this Mack with an E7 454 engine was running at 1,400 degrees at 15 psi of turbo boost. I had Gary drop to 17th gear and the rpm went to 1,650 and the speed was still 60 mph, however the turbo boost dropped to 8 psi and the pyrometer read 900 degrees. Still too hot, but it’s 200 degrees cooler than it was, and Gary claimed that the truck was running better with less effort.
So think about this: the 454 Mack develops
about 15 hp per pound of boost, so using 15 lbs at 1,350 rpm’s, the engine is
developing 225 hp. At 1,650 rpm’s, the engine is developing 8 to 9 psi of boost
or 120 to 135 hp and running 200 degrees cooler. You decide which is better
for the engine. Still think lower rpm’s mean better fuel mileage?
Gary was only averaging 4.75 mpg, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the numbers
as Gary tries out running with the higher rpm’s. The key is to try various gears
and rpm’s, maintaining around the same speed, while keeping an eye on the boost
gauge. The lower you can keep the boost, while maintaining a reasonable speed,
the better the fuel mileage. I always try to keep the boost at around 10 psi
on the level ground.
Here’s some more good news about fuel mileage and 60 Series Detroits. Rick Jackson from Cincinnati, Ohio installed the Pittsburgh Power Computer on his 1999 Freightliner and noticed a tremendous increase in the horsepower. However, the fuel mileage did not improve to the 3/10th mpg that he was expecting. Then he replaced the mufflers with our straight through high horsepower muffler and gained a solid 7/10th mpg. Now he has power and fuel mileage.
About mufflers, it’s been brought to my attention that some International trucks are also using a muffler similar to the one used on the KW-W900L. This muffler is mounted under the bunk and the exhaust enters and exits from the front, then goes to the Y-pipe and into the stacks. We are still developing a glass pack and another design of a straight through muffler to eliminate back pressure, increase fuel mileage, lower exhaust temperatures, and quiet Jake Brake noise. Stay tuned for more details on this project. Take care and think POWER and ECONOMY to enhance the “art of the ride!”
Copyright ©
2004 10-4 Magazine and Tenfourmagazine.com
PO Box 7377 Huntington Beach, CA, 92615 tel. (714) 378-9990 fax (714)
962-8506