Anyone familiar with a Semi Automatic Trans - Do's & Dont's?

[LA to Cleveland]

I've seen it printed on this board before, no question is a dumb question, so here it is. I road tested this afternoon in a freightliner with a 10 speed trans & then I was assigned a truck which I was told has a "Semi Automatic" trans, the big boss said he thought it has rockwell 13 speed if that's possible. I once moved an International with an fully automatic trans & I remember either reading in the booklet or employee handbook about "clutch abuse" or overheating the auto trans somehow by running too long in a certain RPM. Are there any warnings or other do's & don'ts to be aware of before driving a truck with a semi auto transmissions? I haven't seen this truck yet, I bring it home this weekend & no one at the office was able to tell me about the make, model etc. What needs to be known about this trans?

[Malaki86]

The semi-auto has a manual clutch (the pedal), unlike the full auto.

[Uturn2001]

If I understand your term correctly, "semi-automatic", you are talking about a tranny that shifts itself but still has a clutch pedal.

If this is the case then all you need to do is put your foot on the clutch, depress it all the way to the floor, put the truck in drive (or reverse if backing) and then let off the clutch like you were driving a manual.

There is also a hold function on the tranny that will keep the tranny from shift automatically. Use this when going down hills. Get in the proper gear by dropping your speed to where it needs to be, move the selector to hold or H, and the truck should remain in that gear until you move it back to drive or shift it manually.

From time to time these trannys are known to get stuck in a gear. 95% of the time when that happens all you have to do to correct it is stop in a safe location, shut the truck off for a minute or two and then restart. Make sure the tranny is in nuetral when doing this.

Also like a manual do not ride the clutch in any way, and the only time you will need to use the clutch is when coming to a complete stop.

And yes, it is possible for the tranny to be a 13 speed. The semi autos or auto shifts as they are usually called, are actually a manual tranny that has been fitted with various electronic and mechanical devices that move the tranny from gear to gear for you.