Hi all, I recently bought a used MH that has a Ford 460 engine in it. I've never had a vehicle that had Overdrive in it. I was told by a RV seller to not use Overdrive while in the city but use it when on the highway or freeway. He said city driving can cause the transmission to overwork or over shift.Is this true? I want to make sure I do not do any damage to my MH so what is the proper use of Overdrive?Thanks,Dennis

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

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.

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

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.

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

Proper use of OverDrive | Good Sam Community

Dakzuki
Explorer
Aug 05, 2014
In addition you can anticipate an impending hill and downshift before you get there. Then you are performing the gear change with less load on the tranny.
dlt123me
Explorer
Aug 05, 2014
WesternHorizon wrote:
> WesternHorizon your link does not work... Is that one that had to have a login to view?

http://www.atsdiesel.com/ats2/about_copilot.asp

Sorry, above is still working for me without any login. If not start with atsdiesel.com and work downward.

If I cut and paste the Html link into my browser, it works, but if I click on your link it fails... It looks like the actual underlying link has spaces in the Html address, where the displayed link, if copied, works...

Anyway, I was able to figure out how to make it work by copying and pasting it into my browser.

Thanks for responding.

Dennis
WesternHorizon
Explorer
Aug 05, 2014
> WesternHorizon your link does not work... Is that one that had to have a login to view?

http://www.atsdiesel.com/ats2/about_copilot.asp

Sorry, above is still working for me without any login. If not start with atsdiesel.com and work downward.
time2roll
Nomad
Aug 04, 2014
If the transmission is hunting then yes lock out overdrive. And if hunting 3-2-3 etc then go ahead and hold 2nd. I often run in second for extended periods of heavy traffic for example.
j-d
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2014
Ford went through a "consolidation" in the 1990's where they converted all their existing transmissions to electronic valve bodies and standard model nomenclature. E4OD became Four-Speed Rear Drive One Hundred (times ten) Torque or 4R100. Before it was something like Electronic Four Speed Overdrive. But from what I understand only the OD was controlled electronically.
dlt123me
Explorer
Aug 04, 2014
WesternHorizon wrote:
j-d wrote:
For the price I'd consider a more comprehensive solution from Five Star with 4R100/V10. From their site it isn't clear if they cover the E4OD/460

Thanks! I found this http://www.atsdiesel.com/ats2/about_copilot.asp and it appears there is a whole drivetrain upgrade path at least for some vehicles.

I have a '95 Ford E350 7.5L EFI with OD so as you say there does not seem to be anything from Five Star for it. (I'm assuming I have the E4OD but have not absolutely confirmed that.)

I will definitely be very careful to get the right TransCommand if I go that route.

Just tracking the various issues and solutions on an RV could be a full time job... ;)

WesternHorizon your link does not work... Is that one that had to have a login to view?

Dennis
WesternHorizon
Explorer
Aug 04, 2014
j-d wrote:
For the price I'd consider a more comprehensive solution from Five Star with 4R100/V10. From their site it isn't clear if they cover the E4OD/460

Thanks! I found this http://www.atsdiesel.com/ats2/about_copilot.asp and it appears there is a whole drivetrain upgrade path at least for some vehicles.

I have a '95 Ford E350 7.5L EFI with OD so as you say there does not seem to be anything from Five Star for it. (I'm assuming I have the E4OD but have not absolutely confirmed that.)

I will definitely be very careful to get the right TransCommand if I go that route.

Just tracking the various issues and solutions on an RV could be a full time job... ;)
j-d
Explorer II
Aug 03, 2014
Be careful here gang. The Bank$ site lumps the E4OD used with 460 in with the 4R100 used with V10. But! The E4OD uses TransCommand 62560 and 4R100 uses 65270 (the one linked to Amazon). I don't know if the prices would be different but the kits apparently are.
For the price I'd consider a more comprehensive solution from Five Star with 4R100/V10. From their site it isn't clear if they cover the E4OD/460
dlt123me
Explorer
Aug 03, 2014
WesternHorizon wrote:
Actually, an OD is not like a 5th gear because it applies to all gears when driving over a certain speed: typically 2nd (maybe), third and fourth. The OD is in the drivetrain behind the transmission.

The TransCommand is interesting. Seems to address a fairly specific issue / model of transmission. It would be nice if they listed a price on the website. I have requested this.

Not sure what it costs elsewhere, but Here it is on Amazon...

Dennis
WesternHorizon
Explorer
Aug 03, 2014
Actually, an OD is not like a 5th gear because it applies to all gears when driving over a certain speed: typically 2nd (maybe), third and fourth. The OD is in the drivetrain behind the transmission.

The TransCommand is interesting. Seems to address a fairly specific issue / model of transmission. It would be nice if they listed a price on the website. I have requested this.

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