i live in suburbea, but drive to the country 2-3 times a week where my horses are...in the truck i had before, a '93 suburban, i always drove in regular drive on the city streets, and in o/d when i was on the highways...i was advised to do this by my mech to save wear and tear on my o/d from shifting in/out of o/d so much when driving locally...


i've tried drivng my jimmy in 3rd when in the city, but the rpms get high quickly, which concerns me...i assume the allison was built for city driving also, but i worry about it going thru so many gears between lights, stop/go traffic, etc...


a friend of mine suggested that in the city i drive in the tow/haul mode, and turn it off when i get on the highway...


any thots/advice?...is my paranoia showing ? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Wacko.gif

Put it in drive and run it!


I wouldn't want to run it in third as you stated the RPM'S will scream and will only cost you fuel and wear and tear on the engine.


Only use the tow haul when towing as this changes the shift points and firms them up quite a bit. This transmission is designed to run up through the gears, and isn't anything like the old ones. To my knowledge what the dmax has is a true 5 speed transmission and fifth is considered an overdrive due to it's ratio, I don't recall the ratio, but I am sure someone here knows it.This combanation has plenty of power and computer logic that it WILL dictate when a shift is needed, Just let it do it's thing it won't hurt it.


Just my .02 Fran

What 04wanabemax said. Yup!





Bill

DITTO 04Wanabemax------The DMAX/ALLY combo can certainly take care of it's self in city driving!--------Phil

I too drive combined city and hwy daily.. I put it in D and seems fine to me.. Now if your pulling a trailer then Tow Hual would be recommeded esp in the city.. I pull a 5er 10 k(rarely ) (20 ft flat bed if moving tractor or getting hay) but when I leave the hwy and get fuel or bathroom I go to TOW/Haul or if in hilly area leave it in Tow /Haul.and lock out OD. .I switch to regular if towing on flat hwy at 65-70, But I have seen on the web site that some guys just leave it in Tow Haul.. but don't know what the advantage is if traveling at hwy speeds in cruise control and the transmission isn't shifting with every little rise on the road..http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Geek.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Geek.gif Edited by: david b

Running in Tow/Haul locks the torque converter from 2nd up, and keeps the trans temp down. Very useful info.

My box trailer is a 6x6x12 single axle with no brakes. When I tow in-town or in stop-and-go on the interstates in cities I use tow/haul for the grade braking and extra torque-locking to reduce trans temps. You should always let your transmission do its design job and shift as it wants to instead of forcing one gear.

The Allison is smarter that most drivers. Put it OD and drive it. Shifting in and out of OD running empty does not hurt it at all. Later! Frank