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Overdrive???


PsYcRoW
09-16-2004, 01:30 PM
ohhk i a newbie when it comes to cars but anyways what is overdirve and should i have it on or off and why? thanks

imtheoneandonlyD
09-16-2004, 02:50 PM
doesnt really matter in city driving but you should have it off for highway. i dont know all the technical stuff with it. i just know that for my car 3rd gear is alot longer in OD than without it.

BleedDodge
09-16-2004, 11:55 PM
He's got that backwards. You should have it disengaged when city driving, but engaged when on the highway.

imtheoneandonlyD
09-17-2004, 04:02 AM
yeah, that i did, my bad thanks for the correction

LTJGWorth
09-17-2004, 09:15 AM
Yea I was reading that and was like, wha? If you run it off on the highway, your wasting gas.

imtheoneandonlyD
09-17-2004, 01:21 PM
yeah i was thinkin light on means its on, i just wasnt thinkin, lol

LTJGWorth
09-17-2004, 02:06 PM
Yea, Dodge did make it kind of confusing making it to where if the light is off, the overdrive is on and if the light is on, the overdrive is off. Geeze.

imtheoneandonlyD
09-17-2004, 04:21 PM
arent all cars like that? i think the light should be on if OD is on, but i guess they think otherwise

LTJGWorth
09-17-2004, 04:27 PM
I have a 1992 GMC Safari that has an overdrive tranny and it has 2 drives on the gear selector. One is a D for Drive, and the other is a D with a square around it for overdrive. No lights, no buttons.

imtheoneandonlyD
09-17-2004, 07:42 PM
yeah thats how i like it, i dont like the push button OD.

fredjacksonsan
10-08-2004, 02:39 PM
Hey, the light DOES say "O/D Off".

fredjacksonsan
10-11-2004, 12:31 PM
Overdrive refers to the drive ratio. In 3rd gear, you have 1:1, which means for every time the engine turns, the driveshaft turns once. In overdrive, the engine is turning slower, maybe only.72 for 1 or something like that. Lets the engine turn slower for a given mph, saves gas. (Although I prefer to think that it lets you go faster for the same amount of gas...whatever..).

CrucialConcepts
02-16-2005, 01:01 PM
Its Best to just keep it engaged all the time, and only dis-engage it if your towing something.

That way you get the Best MPG and you dont mess up your trans when your pulling something...

My 2 Cents
Rick

theFREAKnasty82
02-16-2005, 11:14 PM
actually, it's best to leave overdrive off unless your on the highway b/c excessive shifting causes heat and that heat wears a transmission down. And with these A-500/518 transmissions, leave OD off because overdrive is controlled by a 845 ft lb coil spring; that coil spring constantly engaging and disengaging only causes hell in these transmissions and can make them fail quicker than having it in normal OD.

CrucialConcepts
02-17-2005, 07:13 PM
If thats the case then why by defualt is it turned on? Wouldnt Dodge have make it the oposite?

theFREAKnasty82
02-17-2005, 07:20 PM
If thats the case then why by defualt is it turned on? Wouldnt Dodge have make it the oposite?

That's a very good question, that I can not answer; I guess they're thinking is that when you turn your truck off and you had OD off, and you turn you key back on, everything's back at default meaning OD is now engaged, since this transmission is a 4 speed transmission, hey ford does the same thing and so does Toyota, why I have no clue. The old Torqueflite tranny, those were bullet proof transmissions, though they sucked down gas w/ no regret, they still were highly reliable and would never give you any problems.

troy1
02-18-2005, 10:39 PM
The spring holds on the OD direct clutches basicaly just continues 3rd in the OD section 4th comes on a pistion compress that big dumb spring and disengaes OD direct clutch pack and brings on the OD cluthc pack.

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