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noob overdrive question

WOTBandit88

WOTBandit88

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Hey guys. Getting conflicting opinions on the use of overdrive and wanted to see what you guys say. I have a 700R4 with a 3:08 ratio in the rear (GHEY) and 31 inch tires. I use drive around town and usually overdrive when i hit over 45 mph.Some guys tell me its fine to use OD even just when cruising around town. When I pull grades and i feel it slow down i let off the gas and drop it into drive till i pull the hill. Is this how its supposed to be used? I don't have a tach so it bugs me not seein my RPM when I pull a hill in drive and the motors wound up a bit. Im used to my camaro just hitting hills at 80 in fifth gear and keeping my foot in it. (and thats with the peepee L03 305). Anyway to get a rough estimate on RPMs by the speed im going with the info I gave you up top? Thanks for any input guys!
 
keep it out of OD in town. Its even iffy on the highway IMO. with 33s and 308s at highway speed (65-70 i believe) it was under 1500 rpm...thats really bad.
 
If it's hunting gears and/or locking/unlocking the converter, drop it out of OD.

My old 305 with the same setup, was ok on flat ground right around 50MPH.

It really doesn't matter what gear it is in, as long as it's not hunting for gears. If load is high enough, it will downshift itself and stay there. The problem is, the early 700's were "stupid" and if you were in that transitional area between 3rd and 4th, such as a slight grade at 60MPH, it will continually shift up, then back down, and so on...that's when you need to downshift.
 
ya I never let it hunt for gears or anything right when I start up the grade and I see the speed goin down say below 55 ill drop it into drive and keep it there till its over the hill.
 
Install a trans temp gauge to be sure you're not hurting the trans. Don't worry too much about keeping it out of OD unless it's hunting between gears constantly or staying out of torque converter lockup for very long. The big thing is to make sure the torque converter is staying locked up because the trans will overheat in short order when the converter unlocks.
Trans temp gauges and coolers are cheap insurance.
Whatever you do don't pull a trailer with that setup, you'll kill that trans for sure.
 
I guess im just paranoid after hearing all the horror stories of 700r4's blowin if you look at em wrong. I dont put any load on OD at all hardly.
 
also how will I know if the converters unlocking/locking? Sorry for the dumb ass questions. This is pretty much my first auto tranny.
 
WOTBandit88 said:
also how will I know if the converters unlocking/locking? Sorry for the dumb ass questions. This is pretty much my first auto tranny.
Click to expand...

you can either watch RPMs or "feel" for it...

Keeping it out of OD around town will probably increase mileage a hair. It sounds good to keep the RPM low on paper...but its not always best. 1300 rpm is way too low for an old 350 and puts it out of its power band, therefore its inefficient. Think about too little gear when riding a bike...same damn thing.
 
ok so just dont lug it up hills and keep the RPMs up...and out of OD around town and I should be good eh?
 
Your truck is an '88, correct, the horror stories originated from the '82-86 versions, 1987 saw major changes which vastly improved the 700.

Still not the strongest trans on the planet, but if it's that year, it's better.
 
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