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gear vendor worth?

I just spent the last two years driving in the city with a 465. I don't know if I'd car to do all that gear splitting if i didn't have to. Maybe on some grades and for just overdrive:dunno:

and for an older rig, his 456 sure looked like it shifted smooth.
 
I had a 89 ext cab dualie with a 454 th400 in town it would get 15mpgif I gear split it. I agree with a manual trans it would be a hand full to gear split. I had a hard time doing it but I also had my license for like a year...


I wish I could put one on the back of my 4l60 but that might be kind of pointless if it even worked.
 
well, I am really liking the idea of the ranger, but wonder how much crappier my 465 will shift with the extra junk on the input shaft. I sure wish there was a way to shift it other than the shifter through the floor, I have always liked interior stuff to look stock.

the gear vendor would make both of these a non issue, but not being able to use it at low speed or 4x4 kinda sucks.
 
The gear vendors will shift when it gets enough pressure built up, which is usually 25 mph. It will drop out of overdrive again at that speed due to loss of pressure or the computer. I could only see using it at a real low speed for 4x4, but it doesn't do that so I don't see low speed being an issue. The right transfer case, trans, and rear end gear should give you what you need for 4x4, but then again I am not a big 4x4 guy.
 
It may shift, but I'm pretty sure GV says NOT to let it shift. It is quite harsh when you forget about shifting it and it drops out of OD.

I believe that's an auto trans vs. manual difference.
 
Deuling said:
Oh good lord, everyone would be dead if I had to try that in town :haha:




I am not a good multi tasker. That is why I do not drive manuals with even one stick.
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My setup shifts no where near as smooth as that guys. I wonder what setup he is running? My ranger is rarely lined up and I have to wait for the syncros somewhere in between the gears. I double clutch a lot for both the trans and the overdrive. I also try to rev match on the way down. My upshifts are much easier than the downshifts. I have gotten use to all this as part of the experience.

When I drive in the city I mainly run with the ranger in underdrive. It gives me the pep to keep up (I can't actually keep up so just read that as go kinda faster) with traffic.
 
Finally got ahold of the guy with the GV, and he wants 1200. THat includes 465/205/GV all the electronics, and driveshaft, all out of suburban. I will try to go look at it this weekend, and make a decision, but this would be the easiest, and cheapest way to go, especially since a friend offered 400 for the trans/tcase if I buy this stuff.

Any hwy mpg improvement with the GV? The people I know with them gained 1.5-2 mpg, but they were lower geared, and in the 8mpg range (454)
 
I think Dad's truck picked up maybe 1-2MPG. About 11MPG freeway now. TBI454/465/205/GV/4.10/33"
 
This thing already does 12 on the highway, if I got another mpg out of it, I would be very happy.
 
And I did find a post where a guy says he added a GV behind his late th400 (40 pulse vss), and used the stuff from his th400 in the GV for vss.

I hope this works.
 
black dawg said:
And I did find a post where a guy says he added a GV behind his late th400 (40 pulse vss), and used the stuff from his th400 in the GV for vss.
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That would be nice. Guess GV had to use the "add on" VSS for folks still running cable drive speedos.
 
Went and got the GV this morning, got it put in this after noon. Dont have the stuff for the speedometer yet, might be a little while.

This thing is way cool, and works perfectly. Its funny, I have been fighting a driveshaft speed vibe with this thing for a long time (2 different driveshafts, 1 new), and with the crappy looking old shaft that came with this GV, the burb is perfectly smooth.
 
My setup is a th400 with a GV on the back, no transfer case as it is 2wd. There are flat spacers in the coupler which attach the GV to the trans shaft. Does your setup have the same coupler and spacers? GV has directions for setting that up. I set mine up properly and had to do it again when I had a different th400 built up. I wonder if this has anything to do with people who say they slam back into direct drive. Bad U joints may cause this as well. Mine doesn't slam, but it does have a firm clunk if you don't rev the engine when you take it out of overdrive. If you have it in manual mode and come to a stop, it doesn't clunk. I tried it in auto mode (I always manually shift the GV) and it only had a small clunk when the computer took it out of overdrive as I came up to a stop.

You can not use the engine as a brake when in overdrive. Down a grade use only direct gears if you are not on the throttle. I can go up hill in 2nd over but can only use 2nd when going down and towing a trailer.

The GV is a hybrid transmission, so to speak. It uses a few different ways to transmit power. I think reverse uses clutches. When my GC broke, I lost reverse and on the road I didn't have any engine braking. It was either cruise rpm when on the gas or an idle when I took my foot off and was still doing 65 mph. It is kind of cool how they combined aspects from other transmissions. I don't remember all the details now. It will run on just about any lube in a pinch, at least in direct drive, and it can run with little lube in direct drive. It seems that you just may loose reverse if it dies. My paperwork recommends GM full synthetic manual trans fluid with a certain part number. It runs around $30 per quart, but it only takes one quart to change the fluid every 5k miles or so, and a little more than a quart to fill a new unit. There is a screen in the oil pan and another finer filter under a plug in the unit, above the oil pan. That plug needs a spanner wrench with two pins. There is supposed to be a snap on part number that fits it. They should have just made it a hex drive so an allen socket would fit.
 
Finally got the stuff ordered to add the 40 pulse vss to the gear vendor, and gear vendor says that the stuff from a th400 will work perfectly.

I have put a few hundred miles on it so far, And I will be surprised if mpg doesnt go down, because before I would drive 65 max and now it is like 75.
 
The th400 reluctor and speed sensor fit and work perfectly in the gear vendor. now to put some miles on it, curious to see if there is any mpg improvement.
 
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