Sterling trucks are no more

[dgl24087]

A couple of months ago I read that Nissan and Chrysler were going to engage in a couple of joint ventures. Nissan would manufacture cars (Sentra and Altima based) and compact trucks for Chrysler and Chrysler would manufacture full size pickups for Nissan.

 

[dgl24087]

Today's USA Today GM-Chrysler push for quick deal - USATODAY.com

 

[QRTRHRS]

Freightliner (Daimler) is in the news again. 2137 layoffs coming March 31st due to low sales volumns.

 

[Renze]

I still keep hearing that Cerberus is in talks with Nissan/Renault to hook up with Chrysler. That to me makes more sense. So would a N/R/C hookup result in a rebadged Dodge Ram being called a Nissan Titan?

Didnt Chrysler and Renault also do something together in the early 70's ??

 

[John Deere 3520]

Dodge doesn't need Allison anymore they have Asin!

last i knew the only asin trans was in the chassis cab models the normal 6speed auto is a 68RFE its pretty much the same as the 48RE i belive thats what it was with 2 more gears and a manual shift mode.

 

[Builder]

last i knew the only asin trans was in the chassis cab models the normal 6speed auto is a 68RFE its pretty much the same as the 48RE i belive thats what it was with 2 more gears and a manual shift mode.

Compare those 2 transmissions side by side sometime. The difference is pretty amazing. It's like when you compare a GM 6 speed standard truck tranny with an Allison 6 speed. The difference in input & tailshafts, clutches are a real eye opener.

Ford needs to do the same thing. I have seen the torqslip and the 4R100 compared and they're not as dramatically different. The solenoids are better and the 5th gear is better than just 4, but they need to do more work to catch up to the Allison & Aisin.

 

[John Deere 3520]

Compare those 2 transmissions side by side sometime. The difference is pretty amazing. It's like when you compare a GM 6 speed standard truck tranny with an Allison 6 speed. The difference in input & tailshafts, clutches are a real eye opener.

Ford needs to do the same thing. I have seen the torqslip and the 4R100 compared and they're not as dramatically different. The solenoids are better and the 5th gear is better than just 4, but they need to do more work to catch up to the Allison & Aisin.

well i dont know about you but would like to have the ZF6 instead of the allison in my truck and what im saying is i belive the aisin is only in the chassis cabs not the normal pickups the one in the normal pickup is a 68RFE.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You knock the TorqShift tranny all the time but I have not heard of one single failure on this site or any other. I can tell you I tow way more than my truck is designed to do and in some of the toughest situations possible, slick ramp 30 deg incline and heavy. I actually broke the factory 2" hitch and never had a single problem with any of the trannys, drive shafts, or rear ends in any of my truck. That includes the GM Dmax 3500 and the Dodge 2500 Hemi.

I am sure there have been failures but they are in all brands. Anyway you put it there has not been one glaring deficiency in the TorqShift tranny.

Also look at the 6 speed Ally closely and you will find there has been a rash of leaks. My neighbor just went through this with his 2007 3500 Classic, 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed just like yours Duane. The problem is fittings on the tranny and cooler hoses. His truck is just shy of 30,000 miles. Its a easy fix that was covered under warranty. Such a problem they did not have to order the parts, they keep them in stock at our local dealer. I was not going to bring it up but since you continue to brag up the Ally but I did. It is still a great transmission, I will never say it is not. I also like the Dmax engine and will not take a thing away from them either although the pre 05's were not easy to service seeing you had to remove the valve covers and a bunch of other stuff to fix the injector problems. That's why I dubbed mine DuraJunk! All in all Isuzu builds a good engine.

When I knock GM its not the engines or drive line, they are very good all in all. Its the chassis and interiors that really lack in my eyes.

Chris

 

[Paystar]

I never much liked the Sterlings after Ford sold them off. They got pretty cheapy and plastic. Still sad to see them gone and more unemployment. Freightliner is also sending ALL Western Star production to Mexico. Thanks Freightliner. I remember when they were hand built in Vancouver, very good trucks, then Freightliner turned them into mass produced junk in Portland. But it's the same everywhere now I guess.
It's going to be hard to know who owns who anymore. International had an agreement to take over GM's medium truck business, but they both pulled out at the last minute. Then you have the EPA killing off engine businesses like Caterpillar with their ridiculous emmissions laws. I applaud Cat for pulling out of the on-road market. I would rather see them gone than tarnish their reputation more then they already have with their poor performing ACERT motors. Now they will be coming out with a Cat truck which is basically an International Paystar chassis. Going to be funny seeing a Cat truck with an International Maxx Force engine in it. I also wonder if they will be back eventually? Seems weird to pull out of the market after spending so much developing a new line of class 8 truck auto transmissions to compete with Allison.

 

[Builder]

I am sure there have been failures but they are in all brands. Anyway you put it there has not been one glaring deficiency in the TorqShift tranny.

I disagree. The fact that it has only 5 speeds working at one time and no manual shift feature meakes it "deficient" compared to the competition.

Also look at the 6 speed Ally closely and you will find there has been a rash of leaks. My neighbor just went through this with his 2007 3500 Classic, 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed just like yours Duane. The problem is fittings on the tranny and cooler hoses. His truck is just shy of 30,000 miles. Its a easy fix that was covered under warranty. Such a problem they did not have to order the parts, they keep them in stock at our local dealer. I was not going to bring it up but since you continue to brag up the Ally but I did.

Yep. Mine was done at the dealer. It's a connection on the cooler hose. Not really a reflection of the transmission itself. New trucks come with the connection fixed.

It is still a great transmission, I will never say it is not. I also like the Dmax engine and will not take a thing away from them either although the pre 05's were not easy to service seeing you had to remove the valve covers and a bunch of other stuff to fix the injector problems. That's why I dubbed mine DuraJunk! All in all Isuzu builds a good engine.

And the 6L? Has that proven to be reliable? It cost more in warranty repairs than all other warranty repair issues in ford history.

When I knock GM its not the engines or drive line, they are very good all in all. Its the chassis and interiors that really lack in my eyes.

Chris

When I shopped for trucks, I was all set on buying a 450 4x4 crewcab (because Ford's 350 couldn't compare to a GM 3500, the 6L was junk, the Torqslip couldn't compare to the ally and the Ford rear was lame). Anyway, I felt just the opposite about the interiors. I thought the GM interior had nicer seats, proportional gaugues instead of idiot gauges and a nicer rear seat folding system. The cab was quieter inside.
The only thing Ford had going for it was higher GVWRs.

Not enough for Ford to keep me as a customer.

30,000 miles on my GMC and I have no regrets. That's after owning 12 Ford diesel trucks, 1 GMC and 2 Ford medium duties.

You're getting way off topic again, Chris.