Looking at an '83 Chevy Motorhome (P30 Chassis) with a Detroit 500 Turbo Diesel that has 197,000 miles on it... Mechanically if it were well maintained, is that relatively low mileage?? Anybody know if the above description would suggest an Allison Transmission??

I am guessing that you are refering to the 8.2 liter Detroit Diesel, which is 500 cubic inches and was Detroit Diesels first 4 stroke V8 diesel.

Overall, much like the 6.2 or 6.5, they weren't too bad provided people took care of it and used it for what it was intended for. They didn't have stump pulling power, but did get good fuel mileage for their size and size of the truck they went into. The biggest problem with the 8.2 was with the head gaskets. The turbo models had more head gasket failures than the NA models, obviously due to the increased cylinder pressure with the boost. The cylinders were of the "free standing" design which were only cast into the block around the bottom of the cylinder. This was done to allow for better upper cylinder cooling, but the cylinder could sink in the block which would lighten the clamp load on the head gasket and cause it to blow out. A lot of them got thicker head gaskets and different head bolts put on under warranty early in their lives to help with this problem. Since your's has made it so many miles I would guess that it has had the upgrade and will be fine.

We had one in a 83 GMC 6000 dump truck. Again, it didn't have all the power in the world, but was very reliable. My best guess for longevity for a well maintained 8.2 would probobly be around 300,000-350,000 maybe.

On your transmission question. It is possible that it is an Allison. Could you post a pic of the trans or trans pan, it would be really easy to identify then.

Thanks alot... That is exactly what I was wondering...
assuming it was well maintained, only about 1/2 way through expected engine life...

He says he has a folder of all service records for the whole life of the vehicles to.

I am going to look at it tomorrow, so will try and see what I can see...

I just thought possibly it may be the allison because of the size of the motor home... I did a search for p30 chassis and most only had 6.2's and alot had 350's... I figured if they went to the 500 for this motorhome, they probably went to the bigger tranny too.

In 1997, I was looking at some used Ford C8000 cab-over fire engines the Indy fire department was selling. Our volunteer dept ended up getting one as our 1973 truck was just terrible and junk. Most of them, including the one we bought, had the CAT 3208 V8 N/A engine and Allison MT643 transmission. Our particular truck was really a great truck considering the 3208 wasn't the best engine CAT ever produced. It ended up being very reliable, decent power (210HP) and started quick. We later got a brand new truck in 2000. We kept the Indy truck as a second truck...along with our F350 squad. Then we bought a forth truck with a grant we were awarded from a FEMA program...a 2004 GMC C8500 Cat/Allison tanker pumper. So...four trucks and 3 bays...the Indy truck had to go. It was a sad day for me. I had spent ALOT of time getting that truck up to perfect condition and looking like a million dollars. It was truely a gem and a darn good fire fighting machine.

Anyhow...one particular Ford truck did in fact have a Detroit 8.2L engine. I think I remember a decal on it that said "fuel miser" or something to that effect. It ran out pretty good but I wanted the CAT powered truck because overall it was in better shape and we had a local CAT engine dealer for parts if ever needed. I thought it strange that Ford had these engines in their trucks. I've only ever seen the 3208 in them except for gas versions. Nonetheless...there it was.

Our highway dept has a gradall excavator with a 8.2L powering the truck chassis, and a 4-53T powering the excavator end. The 8.2 does OK moving it down the road from job to job on this heavy, hard worked machine.

Did you go take a look at the RV? What kind of transmission does it have?

No the new capitol partnership company that bought my home loan called me the day before I was going to look at it and actually wants to work with me instead of taking my house, so it appears at this point, I may not need the new home on wheels... I would like to have this one anyway, to use as more as it was intended, an RV, but would have to pay to store it some place if I do keep this house, so... cant be done now.

6ttntykmy