Proper use of OverDrive

othertonka wrote:

dlt123me wrote:

othertonka wrote:
Overdrive in the city probably will not even activate at slow city speeds so I would say his statement to not use overdrive in the city is not a valid statement. Overdrive is like having a 5th gear added to your already 4 speed transmission. It won't even shift into Overdrive until you reach a speed of 50 to 60 MPH. Do you drive 50 or 60 in the city? So just leave it ON. Now for Highway driving I would use it except for mountain driving, then turn it off. In mountains your Transmission could "HUNT" , shifting back and forth, in and out of OD and in and out of HI, thus building unwanted heat in the tranny while you are climbing. Now going down hill you turn OD OFF and downshift the tranny to use the engine compression to hold you back, thus saving your brakes.

So you are saying... Level terrain OD ON... Mountains terrain OD OFF. In other words, up or down hill should be OFF. Right? Did I understand correctly?

Dennis

Yes you summed it up very well. It will only shift into Overdrive when the speed is high enough for it to do so without lugging the engine. If you are in second gear and turn the OD switch ON, it won't shift into OD until you go through the other gears and reach a speed that will allow it to shift. (usually between 50 and 60 depending what engine and gear ratio you have.

Thanks for clearing that up for me...

Dennis

dlt123me wrote:

othertonka wrote:
Overdrive in the city probably will not even activate at slow city speeds so I would say his statement to not use overdrive in the city is not a valid statement. Overdrive is like having a 5th gear added to your already 4 speed transmission. It won't even shift into Overdrive until you reach a speed of 50 to 60 MPH. Do you drive 50 or 60 in the city? So just leave it ON. Now for Highway driving I would use it except for mountain driving, then turn it off. In mountains your Transmission could "HUNT" , shifting back and forth, in and out of OD and in and out of HI, thus building unwanted heat in the tranny while you are climbing. Now going down hill you turn OD OFF and downshift the tranny to use the engine compression to hold you back, thus saving your brakes.

So you are saying... Level terrain OD ON... Mountains terrain OD OFF. In other words, up or down hill should be OFF. Right? Did I understand correctly?

Dennis

Yes you summed it up very well. It will only shift into Overdrive when the speed is high enough for it to do so without lugging the engine. If you are in second gear and turn the OD switch ON, it won't shift into OD until you go through the other gears and reach a speed that will allow it to shift. (usually between 50 and 60 depending what engine and gear ratio you have.

othertonka wrote:
Overdrive in the city probably will not even activate at slow city speeds so I would say his statement to not use overdrive in the city is not a valid statement. Overdrive is like having a 5th gear added to your already 4 speed transmission. It won't even shift into Overdrive until you reach a speed of 50 to 60 MPH. Do you drive 50 or 60 in the city? So just leave it ON. Now for Highway driving I would use it except for mountain driving, then turn it off. In mountains your Transmission could "HUNT" , shifting back and forth, in and out of OD and in and out of HI, thus building unwanted heat in the tranny while you are climbing. Now going down hill you turn OD OFF and downshift the tranny to use the engine compression to hold you back, thus saving your brakes.

this is my understanding of how OD is to be used.

kevin

It will cause it to shift more, as every time you let off the gas. It will go into overdrive, and then when you gas it again, it will change back down.

Prolly won't hurt it, but it will shift up when there is no load on it.

othertonka wrote:
Overdrive in the city probably will not even activate at slow city speeds so I would say his statement to not use overdrive in the city is not a valid statement. Overdrive is like having a 5th gear added to your already 4 speed transmission. It won't even shift into Overdrive until you reach a speed of 50 to 60 MPH. Do you drive 50 or 60 in the city? So just leave it ON. Now for Highway driving I would use it except for mountain driving, then turn it off. In mountains your Transmission could "HUNT" , shifting back and forth, in and out of OD and in and out of HI, thus building unwanted heat in the tranny while you are climbing. Now going down hill you turn OD OFF and downshift the tranny to use the engine compression to hold you back, thus saving your brakes.

So you are saying... Level terrain OD ON... Mountains terrain OD OFF. In other words, up or down hill should be OFF. Right? Did I understand correctly?

Dennis

Overdrive in the city probably will not even activate at slow city speeds so I would say his statement to not use overdrive in the city is not a valid statement. Overdrive is like having a 5th gear added to your already 4 speed transmission. It won't even shift into Overdrive until you reach a speed of 50 to 60 MPH. Do you drive 50 or 60 in the city? So just leave it ON. Now for Highway driving I would use it except for mountain driving, then turn it off. In mountains your Transmission could "HUNT" , shifting back and forth, in and out of OD and in and out of HI, thus building unwanted heat in the tranny while you are climbing. Now going down hill you turn OD OFF and downshift the tranny to use the engine compression to hold you back, thus saving your brakes.

n7bsn wrote:
What transmission? It really does matter.

If it's the E4OD, that's not bad advise. If so, I would crawl underneath and see if someone has installed the "Banks TransCommand" into the electrical jack on the transmission.
If not, consider doing it. It modifies the shift of the E4OD to reduce overheating.
A friend that owned a Trany Shop started installing these on tow-trucks with the E4OD and the incidence of failed transmissions dropped way, way down.

I am having some work done on my generator this next week. I will ask the mechanic this question.

Is it spendy to add the Banks Transcommand if it is not on my MH?.. and to be honest, I don't know what tranny I have... i.e. E40D or not.

I have a 1995 Fleetwood/Itasca Jamboree 30ft Class C motorhome with a Ford 460 engine. It has 36,900 miles on it so I suspect putting on a Banks Transcommand would not be too late if it doesn't have one.

Thanks,

Dennis

What transmission? It really does matter.

If it's the E4OD, that's not bad advise. If so, I would crawl underneath and see if someone has installed the "Banks TransCommand" into the electrical jack on the transmission.
If not, consider doing it. It modifies the shift of the E4OD to reduce overheating.
A friend that owned a Trany Shop started installing these on tow-trucks with the E4OD and the incidence of failed transmissions dropped way, way down.

We only use it on highways. That is what I was taught as well.