Eagles International Forum

I have this 1966 Silver Eagle bus with the 6V 53 engine and a 6-speed ZF transmission I believe my question is is it a common thing to have trouble when shifting gears Finding the gear.

I'm not the ultimate expert on stuff like that but...

You must have a Model 04 Eagle from the 60's. None of the +/-100 built were sold new in North America. Most were sold in Belgium, Holland and Morocco.

They had a different look from all other Eagles. They also had air suspension. There was a choice of a Mercedes inline six or the Detroit 6-V53 diesel engines. You may be able to get info directly from ZF but you'll need the model number, which should be somewhere on the housing. If not, there should also be pull-up panels in the aisle of the coach near the rear. Go under the coach and look for all the numbers you can find on the housing and contact ZF in the USA, Canada or Germany.

Out of curiosity, where are you located? USA, Canada, Europe, etc;, not your actual address.

If possible, I'd love to have your chassis number. They started at around 1250 and went up to about 1350. A few were exported to Canada as used buses.

Chances are the synchros in your transmission are shot after 50 years of use so make sure to ask ZF about this.

Also, your bus may not have an air assist for the clutch. I don't think it would be all that hard to add one into the existing air system.


Good luck and tell us what info you got from ZF.

Hello, when you shift the bus are you double clutching while trying to shift?

If you have the Spicer 4 speed manual, you must double clutch each time you shift gears.