Automatic transmission?? Freightliner Cascadia

Which auto is it? Freightliners have two options today, a DT12 (or DT15) or an Eaton.

The DT style transmission is an in-house design for Detroit, designed to work with the Detroit engine. Overall a good transmission.

The Eaton is a more generic transmission, designed to work with a wider variety of engines. Absolute crap in my personal opinion.

 

Harder to back up, imo. Dont have the clutch to ride back into the dock. When you go to set up you don't stop on a dime like you do a manual. Roll past your spot so you have to account for that.

 

Don't walk, RUN AWAY!

The Mercedes motor is a boat anchor (and would probably fail at that as well)! Plus an Eaton auto shift. DT transmissions only mate with Detroit engines.

All in all, a junk truck that will cost you more than you will earn on the few days it sort of runs.

 

Its what I do. I ran a couple of those higher mileage Mercedes engines with the Eaton Autoshifts.

Only good thing I can say about them is I got a lot of home time out of them. Bard to be a driver when the darned truck won't run!

If it wasn't the engine screwing up, it was the blasted transmission! Honestly, I'd rather have a gosh darned PACCAR motor or a idiotic MaxxForce. They will at least run a week or two between breakdowns!

 

The problem with the newer automatics is when you are going down hill they will hit coast mode and come out of gear so the engine will idle and save fuel. When you start up the hill, it's late, and you lose 5-10 mph before it's back in gear again. I drove a KW with one yesterday regulated at 64mph with 42k on in Tn. I had to put the flashers on at least 6 times because it was so slow to catch up. I did not try manual mode though. I did get 7.8 mpg.

 

I like my Detroit engine with the Detroit transmission (DT12). Run always from Mercedes and Eaton auto shift.

The Detroit transmission has a couple thing that can only be done when you have the transmission and engine and truck all talking to each other. One is the transmission can turn on the engine brakes. That stops transmission from missing gears when pulling a hill. Also at stop lights and in parking lots. Another this the DT12 has is GPS location on the hills. So it knows when you pulling a big hill and it will hold the gear and raise the engine RPM vs dropping a gear and then not being able to pull it. So it switch back to other gear. It stops gear hopping. That's what Eaton transmission would do. The last big thing is, when you stop on a hill or a stop light the truck keeps the brakes appieda so you don't roll back. The second the truck and transmission feels you trying to pull the trailer, the brake will release and you just drive. It sounds simple but it takes the transmission and truck and the engine all working together to do this. Easton transmission don't have that ability.