Consider reman axles & transmissions

Consider reman axles & transmissions

Remanufactured parts, which are "greener" and more cost-effective, are an alternative for fleets when the cost of new components no longer makes sense.

Axles
What considerations go into axle selection? Remanufactured product is a price point alternative for fleets when the cost of new components no longer makes sense. As vehicles age, replacing drive axles with new ones can be too costly when considering the value of the vehicle. Today, the majority of commercial vehicles currently on the road are candidates for reman.

More fleets are opting for remanufactured components for speedy delivery and nationwide warranty. Recently, the increased number of remanufactured components has matched the influx of used trucks in the marketplace. Value-minded truck operators are seeking to capitalize on increased freight movement, according to sales analysis at Meritor’s Aftermarket—Remanufacturing.

“Trucking operations of all sizes are realizing the real value, not just in terms of cost, which can be 30% less, but also in terms of quality that correctly remanufactured parts bring to their bottom lines,” said Doug Wolma, general manager, Remanufacturing, Meritor.

With an increase in the purchase of reman components comes a core shortage. Remanufacturers must continually re-evaluate their core sourcing, core recovery techniques and processing to keep the components cost-competitive. Items such as brake shoes must be in compliance with OE specs, and not scrapped unnecessarily; table corrosion is the biggest reason to remove the shoe as a potential core.

Filling a niche
Wolma reiterated that reman components offer a higher quality and lower cost (than rebuilt components), filling a distinct market niche with older vehicles operated by second or third owners seeking the lowest costs to remain competitive.

According to Wolma, this demand for remanufactured product will grow in the future. It will be made of more sophisticated electronic components. Product portfolio will grow, change, shift and broaden to include electronics, actuators, controls, engine, brake and mechatronics.

As many as 28 electronic control units (ECUs) are on a truck today, and reman can definitely meet that need for replacements. Wolma noted the importance of maintaining a remanufacturing mentality when striving to meet the needs of fleet customers. Reman suppliers must add more products to their offerings.

A huge key to reman is availability—it must be instantaneous. The major players know this: a fleet can’t and won’t wait—the repair must be “now,” not tomorrow or even later. The major remanufactures have warehouses around the country and OEMs’ PDCs know this—there’s really only one chance at a reman replacement.

Some components on a heavy vehicle routinely get replaced as part of a preventative maintenance program. This can be based on achieving a specific number of miles driven or time on the vehicle. Axle differentials typically don’t get replaced until they fail. Typical causes of differential failure include:

• Driver abuse
• General high-mileage wear
• Shock load
• Spinout from getting stuck
• Lack of, or insufficient lube level
• Incorrect pinion seal installation

Transmissions: Replace or repair
Matt E. Colwell, global product strategy manager—vehicle group, Eaton Corp., says, “As a major supplier of medium- and heavy-duty transmissions to the North American trucking industry, Eaton has a wide range of customers who often ask if it is best to repair or replace a transmission when complications occur. The answer is wide-ranging, and one that requires maintenance supervisors to carefully consider many key factors before deciding on the best option. A good point to begin with is defining the differences between repairing and replacing.”

Repairing a transmission is an attempt to fix the item or component that has failed in the transmission, but may not necessarily fix the root cause of the failure. Depending upon the depth of the repair, this may be the least expensive option. However, repairing can be more time-consuming than replacing, thereby requiring a vehicle to be off the road and not generating income.

When opting for repairing, it is very important to note that the repair will only be as good as the service provider doing the repair. Eaton strongly recommends that the provider has the necessary training and experience with the use of only genuine OEM-approved components to ensure the repair is done correctly and to help prevent the problem from recurring.

So if you want peace of mind, get yourself a good technician. Replacing is essentially the purchase and installation of a new, used or remanufactured component.

Application
In some applications, perhaps in the case of a fleet with multiple trucks so that one can be down for lengthy repairs, the option of repairing makes good, practical sense. While a subsequent repair should be expected and may be a nuisance, the disruption could have little impact on profits.

Downtime will most impact the profits of an owner-operator or fleet engaged in over-the-road hauling. In these applications, a quality reman product will typically be the better choice, rather than days or weeks of downtime. Having confidence that the unit will be reliable for the long-term is another reman advantage.

Service life
Individuals or fleets planning to operate their vehicles for one or two years may not want to invest in replacing the transmission and opt for a repair.

On the other hand, with more and more fleets extending buying cycles and looking at vehicle service lives of four to five years or more, one may want to consider a reman or other replacement product and its reliability, performance, service and warranty features that are included with the product. The Roadranger service network offers value beyond the initial sale and backs all of Eaton’s Fuller Reman transmission products.

Failure type
While all failures are bad, some are not as bad as others, and the possible scenarios are countless. That noted, above is a look at a few examples that can influence the repair versus replace decision.

But the best advice is to always deal with an experienced and properly trained service provider. Also, be sure that same technician always uses genuine, OEM-approved components. In doing so, the level of certainty in the uncertain world of replace versus repair is sure to deliver better reliability, performance and lower total lifecycle costs.

Warranties
Eaton recently upgraded fleets to a three-year warranty on standard reman transmissions. In addition to the use of OEM-quality parts, Eaton heavy-duty Fuller Reman transmissions have more new parts than most other reman transmissions, and all units are performance-tested to ensure all Eaton standards and specifications are met, the company noted.

The program is available only for standard Fuller Reman transmissions in linehaul applications in the United States and Canada. For program details, reference the Reman Bundle Package Sales Card (APSL0300) and the Warranty Guide (TCWY0900) on Roadranger.com.  


Manager’s point of view
1. Reman carriers are generally used as replacement carriers due to cost and usual ready availability.

2. Reman carriers are used when a catastrophic failure occurs and it needs to be replaced.

3. A reman is generally lower cost and locally available. Replacements occur when a carrier fails from a number of causes, including general high mileage wearout, shockload, overload, run low or out of oil, excessive differential action or spinout from getting stuck and failure of major components.

4. Remans also have been used when the repair facilities cannot repair the failed axle due to unqualified staff or an overly busy location not being able to do a timely repair. An upgrade to a driver-controlled diff lock or a pressurized lube pump option would be other causes to use a reman.

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