ridofpwrstroke

My wife gave me permission to get anything for the truck this christmas. I decided on the gear vendors overdrive for the G56 and the 273 T-case. Who on here has bought one, or where can you get the cheapest price on one? Looking to buy one before she changes her mind.

dodgezilla04

can you have your wife call mine please?

ridofpwrstroke

No, because then she will want the 3 karat diamond tennis bracelet I bought her for christmas that she WASNT supposed to know about.

MOJO1

Man i want one real bad! Let me know how it works out on RPMs.If it is as good as thay say i will get one to. THANKS.

Mr Bee

I had a gear vendor OD for 235,000 miles on my 99 F250SD with a six speed.
I could not reccommend it high enough. I am saving my bucks to put one behind my 48RE. About 4K installed. The gas savings alone paid for it about 3 times. 265 75 16 tires, 3.73 rear gears and I was turning 1550 RPM at 75 MPH. Low RPM makes things quieter in the cab, your motor and all rotating parts have reduced wear... (I should be a GV Salesman
They are strong as heck, towed 15K often and never an issue.

NOTE: If you are going to install a Gear Vendor behind a std. trans, be aware that it is notchy when it engages and disengages. If you are looking for silky smooth shifts with the OD unit, not going to happen. If you get somebody who sells them and is honest, they will tell you that it takes getting used to.
Notchy, clunky, you pick the word. If you think this may be a problem for you, find somebody who has one and will give you a ride. Worth it to make sure that you can live with it.
Again, great unit and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

XLR8R

I thought the GV overdrives were a couple of grand; $6K buys a lot of fuel!

What was your mileage before/after?

mitternocht

Mine was $2995 direct from GV. You have to shorten your drive shaft too. Look at this tread:

I wouldn’t go without it now, however it is hard to part with $3K. 1750RPMs at 75MPH is awesome down the highway even with no muffler the truck is quiet as can be.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=120688

It isn't that clunky; with a little practice you can shift it without knowing it is there. Actually when you do forget it is there it will downshift on its own at 18 MPH which will make a bit of a clunk, however I think the dual mass flywheel absorbs the shock.

NukleusX

I looked up pricing for a new unit for my truck and the one for mine is about $3K. Glad it was on the truck when my dad picked it up!

Even on my auto it is a little 'clunky' when it engages, but at least you know when it is on

JohnInNH

I picked up 3 mpg. Love the change in "top end" Try tooling along at 80 with a G56 w/o one. I don't want larger dia tires (extra load on brakes, front end etc.)

This way I have less RPM (or more speed) Less noise... more RPM flexibility. 5th/5th over for towing. (direct drive)

Disadvantages.... drive line strength, and having to change OD fluid and clean the screen. (need special tool). I doubt I will break the yoke or shaft with what I use the truck for. I don't tow or haul over 4-5K. fluid maintenance BFD... Easier than lubing the freaking front drive shaft U-joint. (well, almost)

I disliked my truck when I first got it. The RPM BS turned me off big time. I do most of my miles on the highway at 70-75 MPH. Passing up to 90 MPH on 2 way highways (Trans Canada 17 and M28 in MI as an examples)

20 minutes after I got the new truck I was saying "This suc$s!" I was so mad. I was going to return it on the 30 day grace deal. Called the dealer.. Was ready to...

After playing on the net and forums the GV OD was the solution. Still liked my 1997 with a 5 speed and #10 torque plate a little better. But at least now the new truck is growing on me.. I may even like it better some day.

The seats are horrid... grrrrr I loved my 1997 seats on my old truck.. the new ones are hard and have metal bars where my hip bones are! ***? who designed these POS seats?

Anyway back to the GV OD... I am glad I have it! that and a Smarty and you are all set. (SB clutch next)

Is it worth it? figure out you highway miles... then calculate the savings per year at the difference of 2-3 mpg. Break even was 3-4 years for me Piece of mind and the change in driving experience makes it worth it to me well before that.

$3500 is a tough nut up front to bite.

But I had a lot to deal with

Plow
GV OD
Rims for Snows
Snows
Shocks (stock are horrid!)
Winch mounting kit
Cap
Line x

Hummmmmm Adds up fast!

Bigfoot13

I have a US Gear OD and love it! I turn around 1900 RPMs at 70 MPH with the OD engaged. It also added 2-3 mpg. It cost me about $2500 for everything including the driveshaft shortening, but I installed myself (with a little muscle help from my son-in-law).

XLR8R

That's about what I figured; each time I've thought about getting a GV for one of these trucks, I've calculated that they'd pay for themselves in 3-5 years.

The main reasons I held off were driveline strength considerations and quirky operational characteristics.

Same thing with US Gear.

ridofpwrstroke

I ordered mine yesterday and shipped to Alaska was $2550. Prob 100 bucks to take my driveshaft in and get it shortened. I figure I will keep this truck for 6-7 years unless they come out with a mega cab long bed. It will pay for itself over and over again. I hate getting passed on the highway going 64 and feels like I am going 55 in a 65 zone. I will let everyone know how it goes. I will try to take pics.

willmc

How did you get it so cheap?

ridofpwrstroke

I asked the dealer up here for a price for my truck. He asked if it was for a mega cab or a quad cab as the megas have another bracket. That is what he quoted. I was going to spend 2795 from a guy on ebay until dealer up here told me his price. I also bought my camper from him in June.

redeyedracer

I too have had one of these units on my old f550 w/6spd for 200,000+mi....It worked OK...but there was no way i saw a 3-4mpg increase using it though.

Also this truck was worked very hard ALWAYS pulling 8k empty and around 15-20k loaded, never really without a trailer. It never got much better than 8-10mpg. It seems like it was running about 2100rpms at 70mph with 4:10's.

CLUNKY??? yes, if you have a light load and you give it plenty of time to shift. HOWEVER with a heavy load and even a minor mistake or incomplete clutch disengagement, or worse, forget to take it out of OD while slowing down (it aoutomatically shifts out of OD at around 20mph) and that clunk turns into an EXPLOSIVE BANG!!!

Now I never broke the GV unit even though IMO it was thoroughly abused. IT DID however eat my clutch ever 50,000mi like clockwork...see all that driveline shock fatiged the chutches friction plate springs until they finally broke and would fall out and bind behind the pressure plate so the chutch would not disengage. Tried a few different aftermarker clutches, no difference except for mabe a little MORE CLUNK!!! I guess something has to give right??? So i guess you could say that I am impressed by the STRENGTH of the unit....but thats about it....I would not by another....even for my 06 that runs 2500rpms at 75mph, and it never pulls more than 7k (toyota truggy on a BP trailer).

Another thing to consider, especially for auto tranny guys, is that you may you may not see much of a mpg increase if your highway crusing rpms are already around 1800rpms. The reason (IMO) is that diesel engines don't have a "static" fuel to air ratio like gassers, which means that at lower rpms there is much more fuel being injected compared to the volume of air in the combustion chamber (it runs ritcher at lower RPM's and leans out as the RPM's increase).

Dang I babble alot!!!! Anyway I know this post sounds kinda neg. but just relaying my experiences (utility/work point of view). On a lighter note, there is the "coolness factor" that comes with having that little red **** and alot more gears to play with, along with a healthy increase in top speed.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Buy it if you want a cool toy for your toy...don't buy it if you are expecting it to make/save you money.